15. Warwick

Chapter 15

Idiscovered that many things changed once you were mated. For me, one of those things was how you viewed life in general and the people you associated with. Well, for me, at least. I couldn't say how it was for others.

I'd been mated for two weeks now, and it all was still sinking in. I'd never expected to have a mate. Not me. It wasn't something I ever saw happening to me. Cecil was…nothing short of amazing. He was happiness. He was a breath of fresh air, and he had shown me that it was all right to be quiet but also to speak up when I felt I needed to.

Two weeks ago, my only thoughts were being involved in the new assignment that was going to be happening in Italy. Now, my only thoughts were centered around taking care of Cecil. After his heat—and I was still saying he most certainly had a heat cycle—it took a few days for us to adjust to living with each other, something both of us wanted to work on and had made a priority.

Thinking about Cecil had me wondering where my mate had wandered off to. I left the kitchen, where I'd been looking for a snack, but didn't see him in the living room. I glanced toward the stairs, thinking he might have gone up to the bedroom, but I didn't sense him up there.

"Cecil?"

"I'm outside on the back deck."

I grinned. It took seconds to reach the back door, but I was surprised when I found Cecil in his bear form on our back deck instead of his human one.

"Did you want to go for a run?" I asked after I stepped out onto the deck with him.

"I can shift, Warwick."

I nodded. "Yes, I see that. And you're adorable in that form. I don't have a whole lot of experience with other polar bears, but the first time I saw you, I thought you were a teenager." I heard Cecil sigh through our bond. "What's wrong?"

I sat on the end of the lounge chair that we'd added to the deck. In fact, we'd made a lot of changes over the last week. Had it really only been a week?

"I can shift."

"Yes, you can shift. Do you want me to shift with you? We can go for a run." I looked out at all of the snow that had fallen in the last week. There was at least a foot on the ground, and the weather report said more was coming early next week. "Your bear is probably excited about the snow."

"I didn't catch, Warwick."

I reached for Cecil. He moved closer, allowing me to run my fingers through his dense fur. "I don't believe that, Cecil," I told him. "Your scent has changed."

"I don't know what to think anymore, Warwick. I wasn't supposed to have a heat, yet everything you showed me, that's what happened."

I ran my fingers through the fur, and when I got to his ears, I gave them a gentle rub. I loved to have my ears scratched when I was in my beast form, but I'd only ever been around one person who would do it. Not that I blamed anyone. I was a giant beast in my shifted form.

"How about this. We shift, go for a run, and then we'll go drop in and see Dr. King. He can do whatever it is that he needs to, and he can tell us yes or no if you are pregnant."

Cecil looked up at me with sad eyes. I leaned down and kissed his nose. "And if he says I'm not pregnant? What if I never have another heat cycle?"

"What if you are? What if you do? I'm still willing to look into adoption with you. We can fill the house with as many kids as you want. I'll need a lot of help because I don't think I'd be a good father, but I'm willing to ask for help because I care for you and want to do anything I can to make you happy." I ran my fingers through his fur again, wondering if he'd give in and go see his boss. I had noticed yesterday morning that his scent had changed, but Cecil had insisted that he didn't feel any different.

"You would be an amazing father. Look at how much you take care of me. I haven't cooked a single meal since we've lived here, nor have I done any laundry or other cleaning. You do it all."

I snorted. "You do realize that I use magic to do all of those things, right? It takes me seconds to do those, whereas it would take much longer if I did it the way you have to."

"Shh. Don't lessen what you do for me. It's amazing how you take care of me. Even if you are using magic, you're still thinking of helping me when you do those things. That means everything to me."

I kissed his nose again. "I'll continue doing all of those things for you. But right now, I'm going to shift, we're going to go for a short run, and then we're going to stop by the omega clinic."

I hated feeling Cecil's heartbreak through our bond. And that was what it was. He was incredibly sad because he felt he wasn't carrying a child. Well, he worked for a warlock doctor and saw pregnant omegas frequently. We would just take ourselves there and see what the doctor had to say. Surely there were tests that could be done.

I ran my fingers through Cecil's fur once more before I stood and walked down the three steps that would take me to the ground. I knelt, called for my beast, and then found myself looking at the world through the familiar flaming eyes of my beast. He watched as Cecil hesitantly came down the steps and wondered if it was because he was afraid of my beast or if it was something else.

"I will never hurt you."

Cecil stopped just in front of me and looked up. We were probably quite the sight. I was a massive beast, and he was the size of a juvenile polar bear cub. I leaned down and pressed my snout into Cecil's neck.

"I know. I'm just sad. I shouldn't be able to shift if I'm pregnant, Warwick."

"Is that why you're sad? Because you can shift while pregnant?" I was still going with the assumption that his changed scent was because he was pregnant. My beast was telling me that our mate was most certainly carrying our baby.

I allowed him the freedom to scent our mate everywhere, and when he moved down Cecil's body, he seemed especially focused on Cecil's stomach. I wasn't going to be hurt by Cecil not believing me that I thought he was pregnant. I knew he had a whole lot of what his life used to be turned upside down in the last couple of weeks, and I was going to go to the clinic and have someone else confirm what my beast was telling me. Cecil was pregnant. In this form, I could scent the baby.

"Are you done sniffing me?"

I moved away from Cecil's stomach and licked up the side of his face.

"I'll never be done sniffing you, my mate. You smell delicious, and I can't seem to get enough of you."

"We are absolutely not doing anything while shifted. Except going for a run."

"Then let us go for our run. I wish to see your smiles and have you happy. I do not like you feeling down. It makes my beast worried, and that's not necessarily a good feeling." It wasn't as if my beast was going to go on a rampage or anything of the sort, but Cecil being so upset had the protective side of my beast coming out.

I started walking, and when Cecil fell into step beside me, my beast did a little prance. Our mate was with us, and we were in our fur forms, and we were going to go for a run together. I picked up my pace a little, bringing my much larger beast to a slow trot. Cecil was keeping up, and I noticed he had to run a bit faster than a trot in order to keep up with my pace. We wouldn't ever be going for a quick run together, it seemed, but that didn't concern me. I had a mate I could run with, and that alone made my beast extremely happy.

"Am I going too fast?"

"No. I can go faster if you'd like. I can't run full out for long distances though. You will have to get your sprints in with your pack."

I glanced at Cecil, who was loping along beside me. "You're pack too. We're together now, Cecil. You are part of the hellhound pack now."

Cecil snorted through our bond. "And you're now part of Grandfather's den. How's that for a change?"

I stumbled. I literally fell forward and rolled over myself in the snow. Cecil was suddenly above me, his tiny white face and black nose looking down at me. "Are you all right?"

"Yes." I rolled to my feet, shook my fur out, and sat. I hadn't thought about that. Cecil was obviously part of Alpha Vitomir's den. He was his great-grandson, and no matter where he moved, he would always be a member of the created polar bear's den. And by proxy, since I was now mated to Cecil, I was a member of his den as well. That was…different.

"Are you sure?"

I turned my head toward my mate, who was sitting to the side of me a bit.

"Yes. I'd not thought about the fact that you are part of your grandfather's den, and now I was as well. That's something different."

"Good or bad?"

"Just different. It's neither, really. I simply hadn't thought about that." I wasn't intimidated by the created polar bear. He was harsh and loud at times, but I was a hellhound, and it took a lot more than a cranky bear to send me running. "Are you ready to continue our run?"

"It's not much of a run for you, but yes. I'm enjoying being with you like this."

I stood, and after rubbing my snout against Cecil's neck again, I started trotting again. I was leading us to the council, only Cecil didn't seem to realize. We were going to get to the bottom of things first and foremost. I wanted Cecil to be reassured that, yes, he was pregnant and we were going to have a baby.

That there actually worried me. I wasn't sure how good of a father I was going to be, but I was going to do everything I could to be the best one possible. I had never been around babies. Sure, there were enforcers who had mates and babies, but it wasn't like I was invited over to hang out with them or babysit.

We were trotting along the pathway that went from mated enforcer housing to what was considered town center. The council building, the store, bakery, childcare center, and the omega clinic were all within sight of each other. There truly was a tiny little community here on top of the mountain.

"Such a short run?" Cecil asked when the council building's roof came into view. As we got closer, more of the building became visible.

"We will run again, but my beast wants you to be at ease. You won't until we confirm if you are pregnant or not. My beast can scent the baby, so I'm sticking with the fact that you're pregnant. Dr. King can do whatever test or whatever he needs to in order to confirm what my beast is telling me."

"Your beast can scent a baby?" Cecil slowed considerably.

"Yes. But we're going to confirm everything and get you checked out."

There were several others out and about when we approached the town center, and if some of them stopped and stared at me in my beast form and Cecil's smaller white polar bear sticking right to my side, I didn't pay them much notice. My beast, of course, took it all in. He was always on alert, and with our mate beside us, he was even more so now.

When I moved to go to the front of the omega clinic, Cecil passed by and went to the side. I followed, and when he rounded the back of the clinic and moved onto the small back patio area, I grinned. Cecil sat down behind the partial wall, and I shifted. When Cecil didn't shift, I became concerned.

"What's wrong?"

"I don't have clothes, Warwick. And although Dr. King has seen me in various stages of undress in the time I've been working here, I'm sure your possessive beast isn't going to like my boss seeing me naked, even if it's because I'm shifting."

I chuckled. "My beast is possessive, yes. But even he understands that others will see you naked while you undress to shift. But if you shift, I'll dress you, and it won't be an issue at all."

Cecil didn't respond except to shift from his fur to his human form. In an instant, I had my mate covered from head to toe. There was snow on the ground, and although I knew the cold wouldn't bother him for a little while, I still didn't want him out in the cold naked.

"Do we go in this door, or should we go around to the front?"

"I've always used this door after I've gone for a run. Just because I'm not at work today, I don't see why I couldn't use this door." Cecil looked down at the clothes I'd chosen for him. He was in a pair of jeans and a hoodie. I'd seen him wearing the hoodie more than once around the house, and I thought it was something that he enjoyed.

"Did I choose wrong for your clothes?"

Cecil looked up at me. "What? No. They're great. And these are even my favorite shoes."

I moved closer, leaned down, and kissed Cecil. He moaned, and I knew that was my cue to pull away. We had things to do before we could get tangled up in each other again. "I do pay attention. You've worn that hoodie twice this week, and those shoes haven't been put away in the closet with the others." I shrugged. "The jeans were a random pick. You don't seem to have a favorite pair of those that I've noticed."

Cecil smiled. "I do, but these are just as comfortable."

I was going to have to pay attention, then, because as far as I could tell, Cecil had worn the same two pairs of jeans all week. But maybe not. Perhaps he had several that looked so similar I couldn't tell them apart. I would certainly be more observant.

Cecil walked to the door, punched in the code on the keypad, and then opened it when it clicked. I followed and immediately heard talking coming from down the hallway.

"Is that Dr. King?"

"No. I'm not sure who it is. But Dr. King is going to need someone to replace me for the time being, so maybe that's who it is."

I followed Cecil down the hallway, and as we got closer, a string of colorful words came from the unknown speaker. When we exited the hallway, it was to find someone sitting behind the desk and glaring at the computer screen in front of them. They looked our way at our appearance, and when their eyes widened, I wasn't sure what the next reaction would be. It wasn't happiness though.

"Cecil!" The other man was out of his chair and coming toward us with his arms outstretched. He had his arms around my mate in seconds, and when he pulled away, I noticed his eyes were wet. "Please help. I think I deleted the entire appointment book. Dr. King has been nothing but kind and patient with me, and I really need to not mess up this opportunity. I know it's only temporary, but we're trying to see where I can possibly work."

"Calm down, Todd. I'll see if I can figure it out." Cecil sat down, and I watched, completely fascinated, as my mate started clicking. Three clicks later, the screen went from mostly white to being filled with columns and words. "There. It's back."

"What did you do? I've been freaking out for close to twenty minutes now. I'm not sure what happened, but right after Dr. King went back with…shoot. I can't remember who he had his current appointment with."

Cecil smiled as he stood. "It's all right." Cecil looked at the computer screen. "He's seeing Phineas."

That name was very familiar. I tried to place it but couldn't quite figure out where I'd heard that name before.

"How did you fix the schedule? What if I mess up again and I can't undo it like you just did?"

Cecil smiled. "You were on a different month, is all." Cecil pointed to the bottom of the screen with his finger. "See down there where it says October? Yours said February. It was for next February, and Dr. King doesn't have anything scheduled that far out yet."

Todd let out a deep sigh. "Thank you. I've been messing up since I got here last week. When are you coming back?" Todd looked at Cecil expectantly.

Cecil laughed. "I'm not sure." Cecil looked at the monitor, and after typing on the keyboard, he stood back up. "By the way, I've just checked myself in for the next appointment, which happened to be empty."

Todd looked from Cecil to me, then back at my mate. "Oh. That's your mate."

"Yes. This is Warwick. He's an enforcer with the council."

Todd sighed. "I would love to find a mate, but I have too much going on to even think about any of that. But it would be nice to have help with my siblings. But then again, not many want an omega that comes with younger siblings that they're responsible for."

I was listening absently, but Todd's words caught my attention. "Your mate is your mate, Todd. If he's your fated mate, then he should accept you—siblings included. If not, then that's on him, and he needs someone to talk some sense into him. But I don't know of any enforcer that wouldn't accept you as their mate simply because you are responsible for your younger siblings."

Todd looked at me with wide eyes. Thankfully, I was rescued by the sound of people coming from down the hallway that Cecil and I had come from not long ago.

"Todd, could you schedule—Cecil. I didn't expect you to be here."

"Hi, Dr. King. I have some questions that I should probably ask you," Cecil said. I looked at Ramsey and his mate. Phineas. That was where I'd heard the name.

"Ramsey," I said.

"Warwick. It's good to see you. Congratulations," he said.

"Ramsey?" Cecil said loudly before he looked at me. "Is he the Ramsey that said you shouldn't ever smile?" Cecil started glaring at the gargoyle.

I looked to Dr. King for help. "Second door on the left, Warwick. I'll be with the two of you in just a moment."

I nodded, picked up Cecil, and carried him down the hallway. "No, Warwick. I want to tell that jackass off. How dare he say you shouldn't smile. Your smile is amazing, just like you are."

"Shh," I said as I entered the door that Dr. King had indicated. I gently pushed it shut with a bit of magic behind me before I placed Cecil on the exam table. "It's not important. You and I are here, we're together, and that's all there is to it. Don't worry about Ramsey or what he says. He's in trouble more often than not with Chief Daegal."

Cecil stared up at me but finally seemed to relent when Dr. King knocked on the door and then peeked his head in. Hopefully, we were about to get some solid answers, and Cecil would finally believe me when I said he was pregnant.