Chapter Fourteen

Desie

I need new pants. I need new everything, but especially pants. I"ve been so busy with everything and trying to find time to spend with my boys that I haven"t gone shopping for new clothes, but the time has come. It"s officially unavoidable. I have three dresses that still fit and today I"ll be wearing the pink one. It"s made of soft tee-shirt material and the way it stretches across my stomach is cute instead of awkward.

Seth and Michael are in the kitchen and Ben is sprawled across the couch when I come down the hall. I know how they all feel about shopping. Ben is the only one who actually enjoys going with me but the other two don"t hate it.

"Who wants to go shopping with me?" I ask, pulling my jacket out of the hall closet.

Ben immediately gets to his feet. "What are we shopping for?"

I gesture at my ever-growing stomach. "I"m out of pants. And I need scrubs for work. I need new lounge clothes too. I can"t put it off anymore."

Ben rubs his hands together. "Do I get to pick some stuff out?"

I smile at him. I"m so glad he still wants to pick things for me. He"s always done that. I usually end up getting some of the things he suggests, but half the things he picks for me can"t, or shouldn"t, be worn in public. I can only imagine how I"d look right now trying on some of the things he"d pick out. "Maybe."

"Maybe?"

"Yes, maybe," I say, tucking a piece of hair behind my ear. "I can"t wear the stuff you usually pick out. If you haven"t noticed, Benjamin, I"m huge. And I"m going to get bigger. I can"t wear all those skimpy things, not even around here."

He grins at me. "I think now"s the perfect time to put you in some skimpy stuff. But I"m willing to compromise."

"Where are we going?" Seth asks, sliding his feet into his shoes.

"The mall," Ben answers with a smirk. "The big one."

I"m glad it"s the middle of the week instead of the weekend. This place would be too overrun for Seth"s comfort if it was the weekend. It"s also midday, which means there are even fewer people milling around. I feel a little like I"m walking with a security detail as we walk past the stores and kiosks. Michael on one side, Ben on the other, and Seth right behind me. The twins usually walk beside me like this when we"re out somewhere, but with Seth watching from behind adding another level of security I feel very much like a celebrity or something. I catch a glimpse of us in one of the windows and smile. I love how we look together. I might feel like I"m surrounded by a team of bodyguards, but we look like any other happy pack enjoying an afternoon together.

The first stop is the functional one. I pick up several new sets of scrubs in varying sizes. I don"t know what my body is going to look like over the course of the rest of this pregnancy, so I"m planning ahead. The next stop is the place where I usually find things I like. Their maternity section is amazing and I find the majority of the rest of what I need, including a few formal dresses that Seth encouraged me to get because we"ll be attending several charity events for both the WCC and the East Coast Council before the baby comes. I"ve tried on so many things that I"m a little past exhausted and working hard towards hungry, but we have one more stop. I mentioned needing new pajamas and bras, which means a trip to Ben"s favorite store in the mall. Marah-Jayne"s.

"The chingadera store!" he grins, wiggling his eyebrow. "Do I still get to go back with you to try everything on?"

"Only if you"re the one trying it on," I tell him. I"m not having another marathon of trying things on just so he can see me do it.

He laughs at me and rubs his hands together. "What are we after today?"

"Bras," I huff. "Just bras, Benjamin. We don"t need me wearing a bunch of lingerie right now. I just need some new bras. That"s it."

We get more than bras. And Ben follows me into the dressing room like he always does. I can"t wear any of the strappy, lacy things he piled into the basket; not functionally anyway. Michael and Seth are sitting in chairs in the waiting area and trying to hide the fact that they"re pouting about it. The dressing rooms are small and there"s barely enough room for Ben and me in here.

"The purple one next," Ben says, lifting the lacy "nightgown" up by the strap. "Turn around. I"ll undo the one you"re wearing. Are you feeling okay? I know you"re tired. We"ll put you to bed when we get home." He reaches behind me to release the clasps of the ridiculous blue push-up bra he wanted to see me try on and pulls it off of me, making no attempt to hide his oggling. "I might even let you rest."

Okay, this one is nice. I thought it would be tight or itchy, but it"s so light and comfortable; and the gauzy material splits vertically so that my belly peeks out. I turn to the side to see how it looks and meet Ben"s eyes in the mirror.

"We"re getting that one."

I shake my head. "It"s going to look outrageous when I"m even bigger than I am now."

He bends to slide his hand across my stomach. "It"s going to look gorgeous. We"re getting the green one, too. If you weren"t so tired, we could break this one in right now."

Unfortunately, I am too tired. "Let me have a nap when we get home and then we can break it in."

Once we get home, I do get the nap I desperately need, but nothing gets broken in because Mateo calls in a panic because Amber"s water broke.

"I know you"re pregnant, too, but please, Des, hurry." Mateo clips as politely as he can. I can tell he"s pacing because I hear Amber hiss at him to stop. "I"m just nervous, mi amor. I have to walk around."

I stifle a yawn and begin the process of getting up. "Is she having contractions? They may not have started yet."

I listen to the scuffle happening on the other end of the call and then Amber answers. "No contractions. I"m fine, just a little soggy. I was getting up from the sofa when it happened. Should I take a shower or get into the tub?"

I get to my feet and grab the bag I packed for when Amber went into labor. "Either. Whatever you"re more comfortable with. We"ll be there soon. Try not to kill my brother before I can get there."

"No promises," she laughs and ends the call while I yell for Seth and the twins on my way down the hall.

Seth almost smacks into me when I walk into the living room. "What"s wrong? Are you alright?"

I reach up and grab a handful of his shirt to pull him down for a quick kiss. "Nothing"s wrong. I"m good. But we have to go to Mateo"s right now."

"Why?" Seth asks, going for his shoes by the door. "What happened?"

"Amber"s water broke."

"Shit. Ben! Michael! Come on, we have to go!" He grabs the keys from the hook without tying his shoes.

"We heard, Seth," Michael laughs. "We were just in the kitchen. Do we need to pick anything up on the way? Do you need anything from the hospital?"

I slide my feet into my shoes, wiggling my heels down into them. I"m not at the point where I can"t bend over and tie them, but I am at the point where I"d rather not. "No, I made sure everything was set up last week. I"ll call and have a van on standby, though. Just in case. She won"t need it. Amber"s been storybook this whole time."

Some omegas spend hours and hours in labor. I"ve even known several who were in labor for a couple of days. Not Amber. It took her all of half an hour to go from her water breaking to consistent contractions, and now they"re about two minutes apart. All of her alphas have been banished from the room because they were hovering. They didn"t go far. They"re just outside the door, but at least they"re out of the room and Amber feels like she can breathe. Only Tony has been allowed to stay.

To be fair, her alphas were doing quite a bit of hovering. It wouldn"t have bothered me, the very idea that my pack would be more than a few feet from me during my labor makes me feel hollow. But every omega is different and every choice they make for their journey is the right one for them, and I"ll be no different.

"Is it time?" Mateo whispers from the doorway. "Is he here?"

"Do you hear a baby crying, Mateo?" Amber bites out.

"I was just checking on you, princessa."

"Do you want to stay in the house?" she asks through clenched teeth.

I bite my lip to keep from smiling. "Mateo, will you go check on Seth for me?"

Seth and the twins are outside standing guard. Seth is on the front porch, Michael is on the back patio, and Ben and his nervous energy are walking circles around the house and yard. I"m not worried about Ben, his nervous energy mostly comes from being excited about a new baby. He loves babies, especially brand new ones. I"m pretty sure he"s going to be insufferable when ours is born. I"m not worried about Michael, either. He"s happy to be watching over everyone right now. But Seth... Seth is anxious. His bond feels tight, almost itchy. I don"t think he actually needs to be checked on, but I think knowing that I"m thinking about him will make him feel better.

"You just want to get rid of me," Mateo complains, but he leaves to check on Seth anyway.

Amber grasps my wrist and pulls me close to her line of vision. "What are the chances that I can push this kid out of me before he gets back?"

"Slim to none," I laugh. "But it won"t be much longer. He"s just worried about you."

She lets her head rest against the pillows piled behind her and closes her eyes for a rest between contractions. "He"s driving me insane."

An hour and a half later, I"m cradling my very first nephew in my arms. He looks so much like my brother. He somehow even has thick, dark eyebrows and a scowl and I love him so much that my chest hurts. He"s completely perfect.

Mateo and Tony are in bed with Amber so she can rest between them. She didn"t want to give birth in a nest. She moved around their bedroom restlessly while she was laboring, I honestly didn"t know where she"d actually have the baby. At the end, she somehow settled on the edge of the small couch they have in front of the window and it was exactly what she needed. Vicente came quickly after she found her position.

"Here," I whisper, holding the baby out to Lucas. "Take him. I"m going to make sure you have everything you need and then we"re going to go."

"Will you be alright, D?"

That question gives me pause. I hold his gaze for a moment before I tilt my head, giving him a partial smile. "What do you mean?"

Lucas glances down at my stomach. "When you have your baby. Will you be okay? You"re going to be so far away from us."

I bend my head to gently run my nose across Vicente's hair, drawing in his warm scent, and place him into Lucas"s waiting arms. "I"ll be okay. I"ll have the twins and Seth. I"ll have Talia and her pack. I"ll be okay, Lucas." The peace that falls over me after my declaration is all the proof I need to know that the words are completely and utterly true. I will be okay in my new life.

That peace grows fuller when Talia calls a few weeks later. I"m not sure what kind of fires Corso put underneath the renovation crew he hired to work on the house, but they"re nearly finished. And it"s gorgeous. I never even considered living in a place like that.

The house from my earliest memories, my parents" house, was warm and strong and full. My brother"s house, the one I grew up in, was also warm and full of the kind of strength that comes from building up from the ashes of the life you once knew; which is what we had to do after we lost our parents. I have far more memories from Mateo"s house, but all I remember feeling in either of them is love and security. Those houses were wonderful and built my foundation, but they were small and no more than what they needed to be. The house on the phone screen the twins and I are crowded around is not small. Not by a long shot.

"It"s smaller than the manor," Talia gushes, "but not by much. And it"s got newer appliances! I"m going to invade your kitchen to do my baking. Let me show you the upstairs again. I need to know what you think about colors. Jasper made me promise to ask about a color scheme."

The upper level of the house is no less decadent than the lower level. All the bedrooms are upstairs. We each have our own room, but my room is the biggest. It"s actually huge. "The only things left to do are paint the wallsand bring in the furniture after we figure out what your preferences are. I"m glad you like that kind of thing, because I"m no help at all. I"d paint everything white and put quilts on the beds and call it done. Jasper and Corso want to dress the windows. You should get a grip on them before you end up living in one of those home décor magazines."

"I"ll call Jasper and give him a general idea." I probably sound as overwhelmed as I feel. This is going to be a huge change.

"What about the outside?" Michael asks.

Talia grins. "The mote is seventeen feet deep and you have piranhas instead of alligators."

"Talia," Seth sighs, not bothering to hide his smile as he rubs at his eyebrow when a gleam starts shining in Michael"s eye.

"Fine," Talia laughs. "I talked them out of the mote. But it was difficult after what happened at the manor. Nathan has it rigged up, though. There are so many cameras hidden across the entire property and watching both houses that I lost count. The outer system goes to a general feed that can be accessed from my house and yours; and the camera feed from inside your house is a closed system that is only accessible from your security room."

"I"d feel better if Nathan could access it, too," Seth suggests. "If something happens, he needs to see everything all at once."

Talia turns the camera around so we can see her face and nods. "I"ll get him to set it up. Can you think of anything else, security-wise?"

"What about an electric fence type thing?" Ben asks.

"Already in place. That was the compromise when I talked them out of the mote. It isn"t pretty, but there"s a fence around the entire property with a charge that will throw you back to the West Coast. Each individual plot has a secondary grid that is more aesthetically pleasing, but just as strong. It"s starting to look like Daniel"s compound around here with all the fences and inner-fences, but it"s safe. And there are no motes. Alex and Trent did rip down the climbing roses, though. It"s sad, they were beautiful. But they were too much of a risk. We have rose bushes now to make up for it. Everywhere."

"I like roses," Ben smiles at me.

"Oh!" Talia exclaims. "Desir"ee, Obi asked me to pass you his phone number. He said he has something to talk to you about."

"I"ll call him after we get off the phone, just text me his number." I"m not sure what Obi could want to talk to me about, but I want to talk to him about putting things in place for when I have the baby.

"Will do. Actually, I am going to go. Trent is cooking back at the manor. He does fine, but I get nervous when he starts pulling out metal spoons and the fancy equipment. I"ll keep you updated."

She ends the call and I open her text to get Obi"s number. "I"m going to talk to Obi about birth registry and things like that. Are you guys sticking around for the baby conversation or do you want me to catch you up after?"

"Sticking around," Ben answers. "We need to know all the baby stuff."

As it turns out, the conversation never gets around to baby stuff.

"A job?" I ask, almost in disbelief. "You"ve only witnessed one birth assist. I haven"t even submitted my resume and records."

"That one birth assist was my nephew. And after everything Talia has told me, it would be very silly of me not to try to get you on my team. We will obviously be doing a lot of work at the hospital, but there is another project in the works that will need my expertise and I"ll need people I can trust. Can I count you in? We"ll get you set up with registration and orientation when you get here, then you"ll be with my team as soon as you"re ready to work."

"What if she doesn"t want to go back to work?" Ben asks. "What if she wants to stay home?"

"Benjamin. I have worked too long and too hard to just stay home. I will be going back to work even if it"s in a part-time capacity. And you won"t give me a hard time about it."

Ben holds up his hands. "I didn"t mean it like that, Des. I just didn"t want you to feel like you had to. That"s all."

Seth runs his fingertips down my arm and tugs on the tip of my finger. "We won"t ever tell you that you can"t work if that"s what you want to do."

"We"ll just go with you," Michael adds.

I roll my eyes. "As far as I know right now, I"d love to join your team, Obi. I look forward to working with you and learning how things work in your territory. Thank you for the opportunity."

"It"s my pleasure and honor," Obi says. "I"ll be glad to have another level-headed person in the family to help deal with these lunatics. I"m very happy Seth found you. Do you have a timeline for when you"ll be arriving?"

"Not yet, but Talia just took us on a tour of the renovated house so it"s looking like it will be sooner than later. Do you have any questions for me?"

"I do actually, but not about the job." We haven"t told Talia"s pack that I"m pregnant yet. I"m honestly surprised she didn"t realize it when we were on the video call. I"m fairly confident that as soon as Obi knows Talia will know.

"What do you need?" Obi asks.

I bite the corner of my lip and look between Seth and the twins. They give me a nod and I push on. "I hope this won"t affect the job offer, but I need to know what the process is for registering at a birthing center in your territory, preferably yours. I"ll be due shortly after relocating."

There"s silence on the other line for a long, stressful string of moments and then Obi lets out a laugh. "Congratulations! I"ll walk you through everything. I can get some things set up before you get here so it won"t be as stressful for you. Of course you"ll be at my center. You"ll just have a start date when you"re ready to come back to work. How many weeks are you?"

"Eighteen."

Obi lets out a whistle. "Only twelve to go. How finished is the house?"

"It looks like all it needs is furniture," Seth answers.

"Good. I don"t want to rush you, Desir"ee, but I"d be a lot more comfortable if we could go ahead and get you over here. I don"t like the idea of you traveling when you"re much farther along. Is everything going well? No troubles?"

"We"ll do our best," I say, smiling at his worry. "And no troubles. Everything has gone smoothly."

Before he can say anything else, Seth"s phone rings. It"s Talia, and when he answers the call she immediately lets him have it. It doesn"t even need to be on speaker for me to hear her.

"You are an asshole, Seth Pratchett. You should have told me weeks ago. We"ll have to build a nursery before you can move in. Why didn"t you tell me?"

"Did you text Talia while we were talking?" I ask Obi.

"Informing people of your pregnancy is not my business, family or not. I did assume she knew, however. Why?"

I bite my lip again, this time to keep from smiling at Seth"s pinched expression as he holds the phone to his ear. "Talia just called Seth to let him know how unhappy she is that she isn"t the first to know."

"Ah," Obi chuckles. "Well, I"ll leave you to that. Good luck, and keep me posted."