Chapter Twenty

Tate

“You’ve hardly touched your dinner. I thought those mini burgers and tots were a favorite meal of yours.”

Bronson was right. The tiny Hawaiian buns were soft and sweet. He cooked the burgers perfectly and there was none of that pickle debauchery. He even bought me tots and happy face fries. Everything was perfect.

Everything but my stomach. I’d been nauseous since taking the test earlier that day, and now my anxiety was a vise grip around my entire body.

“Tate?” He pushed some of his alpha power into his voice making me snap back to reality.

“It is my favorite meal,” I confirmed.

“Then what’s going on?” Instant calm washed over me as he slid his hand over mine, giving me warm comfort. “Talk to me. We can’t work together on a problem if I don’t know what the problem is.”

When he came home from work, he changed into a pair of gray sweatpants and padded barefoot on the wood floors. I loved how he relaxed here.

In my heart, I knew I could tell him anything and he wouldn’t get angry, but it was hard to get over those old patterns of thought. Healing took work.

“There’s something that’s bothering me. No, it’s not bothering me. I’m afraid and afraid you will be upset at the outcome, and I’m not…”

Bronson tossed the tot he was holding, onto his plate and came around the bar to pick me up. He worked in an office and in a club, but I’d found he was incredibly strong. He carried me to the couch and moved me to straddle his lap, facing him. Strong hands found my hips and gripped them. “Are you afraid of me, Tate?”

“No.” I shook my head. “I’m afraid of what you’ll think of me.”

He exhaled and I saw tears well in his eyes. “Tell me what’s going on so I can help you. Please, mate. Whatever hurts you, hurts me.”

I steeled myself mentally. I had to tell him the truth. He deserved it. “When I was with Ryder, I got pregnant. I loved that baby. But, one night, Ryder got angry and pushed me down and I lost the child. I couldn’t even protect my baby.”

The tears he had been holding fell down his face. “Omega, I’m so sorry you lost your little one, but I hope you know that wasn’t your fault. That bastard abused you, and he’s at fault.”

I shrugged. “He said it was because I wasn’t a good omega. I was too weak, and the baby probably knew and didn’t want to live.”

Saying it out loud made it seem silly, but Ryder cut me in half with those disgusting words.

“He is a shame of an alpha and a jerk of a man. You didn’t deserve those words and they are the furthest thing from the truth. You are so brave and kind and giving. You could’ve come out on the other side a bitter and mean person, but you aren’t. He did that to you. He killed your child, omega.”

“I know that now, but the old feelings creep up. Sometimes they are louder than the good thoughts.”

Bronson hugged me to him and wrapped his arms around my back, rubbing circles, soothing me more and more with every breath.

I still had something else to tell him.

He pulled back and I decided to gather up a bit more courage. “I…I thought of all of that and him and the other baby because today, I bought a pregnancy test.”

He nodded. “And you already took it?” His Adam’s apple bobbed. I didn’t want to torture him a minute longer.

“I’m pregnant.”

Big tears rolled down my alpha’s beautiful face as his smile grew. His cheeks pinked. “Tate, you’re carrying my young? My pup?”

I nodded. “I’m scared I’m not strong enough, and I’m going to lose it. The way I lost the other one.”

Bronson took my hands in his and kissed each one. “This is not the same. This situation is not the same, and I’m not Ryder.”

“No. No, you’re certainly not.” We paused. Letting the news sink in. “Are you happy?” I asked, bracing myself for the chance he wasn’t as thrilled as I was. Scared but thrilled.

“My mate, my love. I’m so damned thrilled, I don’t know what to do. I’m beyond happy to be having a family with you. I never thought it was in the cards for me. But you have changed my life around in the best way possible. Am I happy? Never been happier in all my life.”

My turn to cry.

Once we’d hugged and laughed together, Bronson cleared his throat. “Are you comfortable going to a healer? I would like you to get some testing done and make sure everything is okay since you’ve had a miscarriage before.”

“What if it isn’t? What if something is wrong? Would you find another omega?” I choked on a sob. To know my alpha was in the arms of another would kill me. Ryder’s cheating hurt a little bit, back when I was with him. Bronson? My heart would never recover.

“Tate.” He drew me in to lie across his chest. “I will never find another omega. You are it for me. You are my fated. My true mate. No matter what happens, you are mine.”

I nodded, and my hands went to my stomach. “I want to go to the healer. Would you come with me?”

He peppered my head and face with kisses. “I wouldn’t miss it. Can you do me one more favor?”

“What?”

“Now that I know you’re having our baby, I really want you to eat your dinner.”