20. Daxton

Chapter 20

Daxton

I'd been excited for Oscar's special dinner all afternoon. He was pretty handy in the kitchen, and I'd mentioned that I'd been craving surf and turf, so I had a feeling he'd have a steak and maybe some fish waiting for me when I got home.

But what I found was a box of pizza and my omega staring at it like it held the answers to the universe on it. He looked up with puffy eyes, and my heart broke.

"Hey, cutie. What's wrong?" I kneeled at his side and pulled his hands up to my chest. "Are you okay?"

He nodded and swallowed hard before making eye contact with me. "I'm sorry I didn't cook dinner."

"That's okay." If that was all he was worried about, we were good because I loved pizza. "This smells delicious."

"I wanted to celebrate getting my job back." He spoke softly, like he wasn't fully present.

"What? You got your job back?" I pulled him into my arms and ended up rocking back so I was sitting on the floor with him in my lap. "That's great news. I'm so happy for you."

"Yeah, it was a misunderstanding. Someone was stealing, and they thought it was me." The corner of his lips tugged up slightly. "I mean, it kinda was me too but just for a little light bulb. He stole tens of thousands of dollars in equipment and resold it.

"Damn." I leaned back on one hand so I could look right into his face. "That's a lot of scopes."

"Not that many. Some are pretty expensive." Oscar shrugged. "Anyway, that's not everything."

"It's not?" I cupped the side of his face in my palm and held him so he was looking right at me. "What else?"

Oscar pulled in a deep breath and then blew it out. "When I was at the store, I ran into somebody I knew from school. I was feeling a little nauseous, and he asked me how far along I am."

Oscar's pause drove home the impact of what he was saying, but I didn't want to get my hopes up by putting words in his mouth. "Okay."

"Well, he suggested I take a pregnancy test, so I did."

I bit my lip and nodded, doing my best to stay stoic until he finished sharing whatever he needed to share.

"And I'm pregnant." His eyes darted away before they locked with mine again, and I could feel so much emotion pouring out of him. "Is that okay?"

"Of course it's okay." I pulled him to my chest, burying my nose in the crook of his neck as I breathed him in. "So fucking okay."

Oscar's whole body relaxed, and he chuckled. "I was afraid you'd be mad. The timing couldn't be worse, but Jack said it just happens this way sometimes."

"Jack?" I pulled back and looked down at Oscar.

"Yeah, my friend in the store. He's very pregnant and seems to be some kind of an expert on the subject."

I leaned forward and kissed his soft lips, licking the seam until he opened up and sucked me into his mouth the way he never hesitated to do. When I needed a breath, I pulled back and pressed my head to his. "I love you, Oscar. You and our baby. No matter what it is."

"What?" Oscar retreated with big eyes and fear etched across his face. "Like, a shifter?"

My smile dropped as I cradled his face in both of my hands. "Well, yeah. Willy's baby is like him, with lots of beasts they're still discovering. I'm assuming ours will be too."

Oscar turned away for a moment, processing that information.

My heart started beating fast as I worried he would be upset by this revelation.

But then he turned back to me with a big grin on his face. "That's so awesome. I'd love to have a baby panda."

I laughed as I pulled him to my chest, ruffling his hair. "We'll have to see about that, but first things first, I'd like you to see Doc. He's been Willy's doctor forever and will know how to keep you and the baby healthy."

"I like him too." I wouldn't want to trust just anyone with our baby's health, but Doc? I might only have met him once, but I trusted him completely.

"Thank you, alpha. I love you."

"Of course, omega. You're my family. I'll always do anything to protect you and ours."

"What should we do to celebrate?" He pulled his finger across his lower lip, making me harder by the second.

"Whatever my sexy mate wants."

He thought about it long and hard. "I want for you to bite me, mark me, make me yours."

We'd already discussed what that meant and why, for us, it would have to be hidden. I hated that for us. I wanted the world to see his sexy mark, the one that announced to the world that he was mine.

"Are you sure?"

"Yep, and I already know where I'm going to bite you." He scrunched up his nose the way he did when he was in a playful mood like this.

"Where's that?" There literally were no wrong answers.

"On that sexy ass of yours, of course."

Like I could say no to that.

The two of us made love, but when it was time to climax, we took turns biting each other. I hated that I couldn't knot him while we completed the bond, but the feeling of finally being connected, the way we dreamed…it was everything.