Chapter Twenty

Oren

We’re having a baby. A baby!

From the time we got together, I always felt like we were on this path. Obviously, we’d never done anything to not be. But to hear those words and to see the look on our omega’s face as his hands reached for his belly for the first time, understanding that he was carrying our child—it was everything.

I sobbed as he fell into our arms, the happiness overwhelming me. And that feeling stayed with me every day—whether I was watching him sleep, making him something to eat, or listening to him laugh. He was growing our child, and there was no greater joy in this world.

This morning, I woke up first. Heath was snuggled between us, and I watched them both sleeping so peacefully, wondering—not for the first time—how I ever thought I was happy before this. Maybe I was getting by. Maybe my life was even good. But now, this—us—it was so much more. It was everything.

I kissed them both on the top of the head and climbed out of bed quietly, heading into the bathroom to take a shower. I was happy to see they were still sound asleep when I came back out. My goal was to surprise them with a lovely breakfast.

I had the ingredients to make some muffins with local blueberries we’d picked up at a roadside stand. They were absolutely delicious, and we planned to plant some in our yard after tasting how delightful they were. So much better than the ones in the plastic boxes at the grocer.

The muffins were in the oven, the eggs scrambled for the omelets I was planning, and the bacon cooking when Archer came out.

“What’s the occasion?” he asked sleepily.

“Just Sunday.” I shrugged. “I thought it would be nice to have breakfast waiting for you when you two got up.”

“Well, if this is because it’s Sunday, I wouldn’t be sad for it to be Sunday every day.” Heath walked around and straight into the kitchen. I thought he was coming to give me a hug, but no—he snatched a piece of bacon and popped it into his mouth. “Crispy, just the way I like it.”

That had been the goal. I wanted everything perfect for the two of them. “Do we want to eat inside or outside today?”

We agreed on outside, since it was unusually warm, and ten minutes later, we were carrying food out to our small table, getting ready to enjoy our meal and begin our day.

“You know, you don’t have to cook fancy for me just because I’m pregnant,” Heath said, grabbing another piece of bacon. “I’m not complaining, but it’s definitely not necessary.”

“I think it is.” It was weird, but cooking was one way I liked to show my love. And since they both seemed to enjoy it, it was a win-win.

“Well, if you think it is, I’m not going to argue,” Archer said, popping the rest of his muffin into his mouth. “Especially if you keep cooking like this.”

“I’m just glad my stomach’s been doing okay now. I’ve heard horror stories.”

I was glad too. I’d worked with an omega who spent the first part of their pregnancy running back and forth to the bathroom. It was no fun. Heath had some nausea, of course—it was bound to happen—but nothing too severe and nothing daily.

“I was thinking we could add maybe a screened-in room. Not a gazebo because those are funny-shaped but a screened-in room out here. So like a gazebo but rectangular.” It was an idea that had been brewing in my mind but not enough to research it or mention it until now. The mornings were getting crisp, and having a bit of shelter would for sure extend the number of days we could enjoy being out here.

“Oh, I like that idea.” Archer took out his phone and typed away, and, when he turned it around, he had a picture of exactly what I’d been talking about on his screen. “And if we use windows instead of full screening, we could add storm windows and make it a three-season room. It would be great to have a bit of outdoors without the bugs.”

We didn’t have a ton, but during the pockets of time when mosquitoes were bad, there were enough to be annoying. I hadn’t been here long enough to find out if black flies hit this area, but I was crossing my fingers they didn’t. If they did, a screened room would help that as well.

Heath got up and pulled off his shirt. Hardly the reaction I’d been expecting.

“Are you hot?” I asked. It wasn’t particularly warm. If anything, it was still chilly, but he was pregnant and that did funny things to temperature regulation. At least that’s what my old coworker had said. Maybe it was just a him thing.

“No, my fox needs to come out,” he said. “The healer said it was fine, but I’ve been keeping him in. Maybe I shouldn’t have.”

I hadn’t realized he’d been intentionally avoiding shifting. It hadn’t crossed my mind. Pretty much every subtle change in him I attributed to his pregnancy, and that might not be the best idea for the future. Especially not given I “guessed” wrong twice in less than five minutes.

“Looking for company?” Archer pulled off his shirt.

“Please.” He unbuttoned his pants, and Archer and I got fully undressed.

Less than a minute later, we took our animal forms and bounded off into the woods behind our home. First, we ran together and watched our fox mate hunt, then, we took off toward the stream for a cold drink, and finally napped in the backyard as the sun hit its highest point in the sky.

What a sight we must have been—a wolf, a fox, and a deer snuggled up, enjoying the day. The world might have seen an oddity, but I saw perfection. Because this—this was exactly where, and how, we were meant to be.