21. Oscar

Chapter 21

Oscar

After we made love and marked each other, I felt more complete than I ever had before. It was oddly amusing to realize that I had literally bitten my mate's ass. The whole experience was just perfection, a moment of pure connection that solidified our bond in a way that words could never fully describe. But as much as I wanted to savor the experience and hold onto it for a bit longer, reality was waiting for us, and the next day, we had to face it.

The next morning, Dax confessed to me that some of the names on the list had started to come back to him. He'd been writing them down, trying to piece together the puzzle that had been haunting us both.

We decided to call Willy and meet him for lunch. Over sandwiches and coffee, we told him everything we knew.

"I think you're right." Willy finally looked up. "You need to find these people. This is important. But…" He hesitated, glancing at his own phone as if expecting a call. "But you need to wait. Do this after the baby comes, after you've had time to plan. Going in full throttle without a strategy is only going to make things harder for you—exponentially so."

I hated how right he was.

"We will figure this out. I'm not asking you to give up hope of finding answers."

"No, we're not." I grabbed Daxton's knee under the table.

I understood all the reasons he wanted to jump on in, but it wasn't the time. But when it was, we'd be there.

Waiting was hard, but as my pregnancy progressed, I found myself agreeing with the plan.

Three months in and I hadn't spent a lot of time around pregnant people until I became one. And then suddenly, every time I turned around, a big belly was coming at me, ready to offer unsolicited advice and random suggestions. And grabby hands. What was that about? Who wanted to touch a random person's belly. It was eww to the nth degree.

But as weird as some of that was, being pregnant? It was actually pretty cool. And the best part was getting special treatment at work. At first they were nice to me because they felt bad for being dicks, or to save on potential litigation expenses. But now that they realized I wasn't some sort of litigation freak, things had gotten much better.

As soon as I started showing, everybody around me was so nice and thoughtful. They were quick to open doors, bring me snacks and drinks, and make sure I was always comfortable. It was really great. And now that I was officially halfway through my pregnancy, I was already starting to miss how much fun getting all that attention was.

One afternoon, Jack and his baby girl Jillian met me at the mall after work so he could help me put together a baby registry. Ray insisted I set one up for the shower they were throwing me at work, and I had no idea what to put on it.

"Sorry we're late. Jilly is the slowest eater ever. It took an hour for her to have her dinner, and I know she's gonna want to eat again in like twenty minutes."

"No worries." I peeked down into the stroller and gave her socked foot a little shake. "Hi, sweet girl. Are you making your daddy crazy today?"

She made some undignified noises and then grinned up at me. The angel.

Jack just laughed. "See what you have to look forward to?"

"Yeah." I sighed. "I can't wait to meet my little one, but I really love being pregnant. I kinda don't want this part to end either."

Jack barked out a laugh. "Oh, I wish I had that on video because in about two months, you're gonna be begging us to rip you open. You're still in the honeymoon phase of pregnancy. Cute and comfy and glowing." He lifted his shirt and pointed out a row of stretch marks. "As these babies are forming, it's not much fun."

I frowned as I placed my hand on my melon-sized bump. "That's okay. Daxton likes my body no matter what kind of marks are left behind." My hand instinctively went to my jeans and the little mark he left beneath them so long ago.

"Kinky." Jack waggled his eyebrows. "We're still taking things kinda slow, but I'm looking forward to the day when I get the all clear to go crazy." He cocked his head and tapped the edge of his chin. "I wonder if I could force a heat while I'm nursing."

I shrugged and shook my head. "I have no idea, but as soon as you find out, let me know because I'm counting on you to teach me everything I need to know as the guinea pig in this process."

"Well, I'll tell you this much. If you've been extra horny now, just wait for the next few months. You won't be able to get enough. Even when you can barely reach your own dick, you're gonna want your alpha's inside you at all times."

Just hearing those words made me get hard, and I smiled. "I've definitely been feeling the hormones lately. Are you saying that gets worse?"

"Not worse. Better. So much better. Like, you might not be able to walk straight, but you'll love every second of it kind of better."