18. Cecil

Chapter 18

Iwas concerned, but my concern was nothing compared to the feelings that were coursing through Warwick. This whole "come and talk because we have news" mess was annoying. Just tell me over the phone already. I was the one carrying hellhound babies. Tell me what was going on.

"This is all really a bit ridiculous," I said to the room. Everyone froze and looked at me. "There should be three people in here. Me, my mate, and the doctor. Why is it that my pregnancy has suddenly become a spectator sport?" I asked.

Warwick wrapped his arm around my shoulder. "It's all right, Cecil."

I looked up at him and scowled. "No it's not. I understand that hellhound babies are a new thing. I get that. But why is it that so many need to be in here? Is my life in danger?" I asked. I looked around the room in question. My gaze landed on Grandpa Lev and Grandfather. "Do you know what is going on?"

Grandfather nodded slowly.

"Seriously? Everyone knows before us? Really? And it directly involves me?" I slid from the table.

"Cecil, please just sit. It's not bad news," Grandpa Lev said.

I looked at Warwick through my tears. "Please take me home."

Warwick reached for my face, and when he looked into my eyes, the moment his hands touched my cheeks, I felt the familiar flip of my stomach. When I looked around the area, I saw we were at home.

"It's only a matter of moments before they're all here," Warwick told me.

I sighed. "I understand that. But why? Can't we have one person tell us the news? Everyone already knows. This directly impacts us, but yet everyone else knows about what's going on with us and our babies. That's just…I'm tired of being treated like that, Warwick."

Warwick pulled me into his arms. "We can talk to them about it. You have to remember that Dr. King was going to ask Master Edison to reach out to the goddess. She doesn't talk to just anyone."

My shoulders slumped. "I understand that. I wouldn't ever expect her to come and talk to us about our babies. But did everyone need to be told?"

There was a knock on the door. I turned toward it, and after I looked up at Warwick, I went to the stairs and started climbing. I was throwing a tantrum, I understood that. But it was irritating that my grandparents knew more about my pregnancy than I did. I loved my grandparents, I truly did. But why couldn't I have been told before them? Why share it with others before us?

I heard Warwick talking to someone as I reached the top step. I didn't stop; I simply continued down the hallway. Instead of going into our room though, I instead went into the last room on the left. It was a bit larger than the one on the right and would be perfect for our twins to share. It was still empty, and we hadn't even started looking at baby things because we had months still. But already, I could envision how adorable we'd make the space.

I heard Warwick's voice but made no move to go to the door. I watched as he walked by, but he was quickly back. His massive form filled the doorway, and I just wanted to have him wrap me up in his arms and cry. I wanted to be held a little longer and keep everything in the outside world away.

"I know," I said.

Warwick came into the room. "Know what?"

I tried to calm myself, but I was still irritated. "I need to go downstairs and apologize to everyone."

"Well, Dr. King is here if you'd like to apologize to him. But I don't think he believes you owe him one."

I looked at Warwick. "Just Dr. King?'

"Yes. He would like to talk to us."

There was no getting around it. That much I already knew. I would have to go talk to not only Dr. King but the others as well.

I closed the distance between me and my mate, and when he opened his arms, I was quick to walk into his embrace. "I'm a bit emotional," I said.

"You are allowed to be. You are creating two little hellhounds, and they're causing your body to go through a whole lot of different changes."

I looked up at Warwick. "Have you been around a bunch of pregnant omegas that I know nothing about?" I asked. I had a smile on my face though. I already knew that Warwick hadn't been around many pregnant omegas.

"Just those that are mated to the other enforcers, but they don't hang out at the council building much."

I took a deep breath. "Okay, I'm ready to go talk to Dr. King. I do owe him an apology."

"If you insist. But he himself has already apologized."

I did feel bad. I wasn't trying to be an emotional pregnant omega. But that was exactly what I was. I wasn't sure I necessarily liked it, but I was going to work on how to deal with it a little better and hope for the best for the rest of this pregnancy as well as any others that we might have in the future.

Warwick and I went back down the stairs, something that I'd just done not long ago with my mate. Warwick led me to the back room, where Dr. King was standing at the back door, staring out at the snow-covered deck. He heard us approach and turned.

"I do wish to offer an apology," Dr. King said. "It wasn't intentional for everyone to be at the appointment."

I sighed. "I'm sorry as well. I threw a bit of a tantrum. I need to apologize to the others."

"They understand. I would like to talk to you about what was relayed to me with regards to your pregnancy," Dr. King said. I nodded. I would love to hear about what was going on.

"Would you like to talk here or go back to the clinic?" Warwick asked me.

"Oh." I looked over at Dr. King. "Are the others still there?"

"Only Constantine. He was consulted because a hellhound pregnancy—well, a pregnancy resulting in a hellhound baby—is new, and he was curious to know more about it if he should ever end up with a hellhound in the coven." Dr. King shrugged. "At least, that is what I was told. As far as I know, all of the hellhounds will end up as enforcers, so that doesn't exactly make sense."

I sighed. "I understand. It's new. We're having hellhound babies. So everyone is excited. But I've discovered that I'm an emotional omega when pregnant. I overreacted, and I owe everyone an apology."

"If you'd like to sit down, I will tell you what we've been told. I really recommend sitting down because it's truly interesting."

I moved to the couch and let myself fall backward onto it. Why did I need to sit? What was going to be so interesting that I needed to not be standing?

Warwick sat beside me, and Dr. King sat in a chair that suddenly appeared. "I'm not sure where to start, so I will start at the beginning of what I was told."

There was a knock on the back door. I jumped a bit, and when I looked over, I saw the others. I shook my head and rolled my eyes. Dr. King turned, hiding his face from us. "I've not gotten a chance yet," he called out.

I looked over at Warwick. "You might as well let them in. I can be a circus act for them, apparently." I glared toward the others.

Warwick used magic because the door suddenly opened, and the others all filed into our sanctuary. I tried to not be upset, but I couldn't help it. I wanted to go back upstairs and hide out in our bed, shutting out the rest of the world.

"We do apologize, Cecil," Master Edison said. "We do not wish to make you feel as if you are an exhibit somewhere."

I sighed. "I'm sorry too. I'm apparently emotional when pregnant. I just didn't really expect to have four additional people in the room when I had an exam." If they thought for one second that I was going to allow anyone other than Dr. King and Warwick in the room when I had the twins, no. It wasn't happening.

Grandpa Lev walked over toward us and knelt down. "I thought you and Warwick might need some support. We weren't going to stay for more than the news."

I nodded. "And what is the news?" I asked. I looked around, wondering who had it. Grandfather, perhaps? I moved my eyes to meet his.

It was Master Edison who spoke up though. "There is some interesting news with hellhounds that the goddess shared with us."

I met the created warlock's gaze, wondering if I was going to like this news or not. Absently, I reached for Warwick's hand, and when he grabbed mine and laced our fingers together, a sense of calm washed over me.

"Interesting how?" Warwick asked.

"Yes, that. So the goddess has decided that since there are only a few hellhounds, two of which are already mated to other alphas and cannot have children, those that find omega mates will have short pregnancies."

I glanced over at Warwick. "I wouldn't consider five months all that long," I told my mate.

"Not as long as others," he countered.

"You don't seem to understand," Master Edison said. I looked back to him and waited for him to continue. "Your pregnancy has been taken over by the hellhound side. Your pregnancy will be shortened to only six weeks when carrying a hellhound baby or babies."

My ears started ringing. I shook my head slowly. "I'm sorry, what?"

"Six weeks. You will carry the twins for six weeks before you will be due to give birth."

There was no way. Five months didn't become six weeks. "No. That's not possible. I'm a bear shifter. They carry babies for five months."

It was Dr. King who answered. "You are the first to carry hellhound babies. When I measured them before, they were developmentally larger and further along than they should have been. I know it's a huge shock, but your new due date is the sixteenth."

I could only blink at Dr. King and the others.

"No," I said again and looked around. "That's only two weeks from now. I can't be ready to give birth in just two more weeks. We don't have anything for the baby. We aren't ready for them yet."

I looked up at Warwick. I wasn't ready to share him yet. We were still falling more in love. He was amazing, and he was going to be a wonderful dad. But we needed more time.

"Why would she do that?" I blurted out. "That's just dumb. Let me carry them for the full allotted time."

"You will if you become pregnant with a polar bear cub," Master Edison said.

I leaned over into Warwick's side. This was definitely a whole lot. How did I even process all of this? I couldn't. At least not at the moment. The thought that I could go into labor as early as next week was impossible.

"What about my stomach?"

"What about it?" Master Edison asked.

"It's not really big. If I'm to give birth in a week or two, then shouldn't I be showing?"

"You would if you were shorter. You happen to be fairly tall, and that helps to hide a pregnant stomach." I sighed. I didn't think I was that tall. In fact, for a bear omega, I was actually really short and way too slender.

"Are you all right?" Grandpa Lev asked. I shook my head at his question.

"I don't think I am, actually. It's a lot to take in and in such a short timeframe." I paused, trying to figure out how I actually was feeling. "How are you? Are you upset about the babies coming so soon?"

Warwick shook his head. "No. Whether the babies come next week or several months from now, we are going to be the best parents we can. We just need to make sure we have everything for them a bit quicker than anticipated. They are going to be here no matter when, and we can't change that."

He was right. We couldn't change when the twins would arrive. I looked at Dr. King. "All right. What do we do, then?" I had two weeks. Two. Weeks. That wasn't very long. I was expecting months still. Almost four, to be exact. That was long gone. "Does anyone else have such short gestational periods?"

"Foxes are the closest, but they aren't quite as short," Dr. King said.

Of course not. Even foxes had longer gestations than I did.

"How is it even possible?" Warwick asked. "How does a baby develop in such a short amount of time?"

"The goddess did answer that one for me," Master Edison said. "She said that she wanted the mates of hellhounds to have a positive pregnancy experience. Since there is no previous anything with regards to pregnancies for hellhounds, she decided that she would make the pregnancies short. The babies use their own magic to develop quickly. Once they're born, their magic will become inaccessible to them again until puberty."

"All right. Thank you for the information. It's a lot and quite overwhelming." I looked up at Warwick, who was still sitting with his arm looped around my shoulders. He looked like I felt: terrified. "Are you all right?" I asked.

"I will be."

"It's a lot to spring on you both," Master Edison said. "But we needed to let you know before you went into labor and didn't realize that it wasn't premature labor."

"I appreciate it. I do," I told him. That would have really flipped me out.

"Yes," Warwick said. "Thank you for sharing the news."

"We have so much to do. How will we ever be ready in time? We only have two or so weeks left with just the two of us." That wasn't enough time. I had just gotten Warwick, and now we were going to be thrown into parenthood. I sighed.

"Wait," I said suddenly. "If we have another baby later and it's a polar bear shifter, will I have the expected five-month gestation?" I asked.

"That was the implication, yes," Master Edison said. "The only time you will have a shorter gestational period is when you are carrying a hellhound baby."

"And what if he becomes pregnant with one of each?" Warwick asked.

Master Edison suddenly looked like a deer caught in headlights. "I cannot answer that question. I'll try to reach out to the goddess again and ask her. I apologize. I did not think to ask her if you were to have multiples of different species. That is a good question to ask though."

"Cecil?"

I looked toward my grandparents and tried to offer them a smile. They'd done nothing wrong during all of this. In fact, they'd been amazing. "It's a lot, Grandpa. I've always wanted babies but thought I wouldn't have them. Now, I'm suddenly going to be responsible for two in just a week or two." It was sinking in. "I'm not sure I'm going to be ready."

Grandpa Lev smiled. "If you want, I can be here to help you with anything you need." Grandpa Lev glanced at Warwick. "But I think your mate will be able to handle a lot of things quicker than I could."

I looked up at Warwick. "You might be on laundry duty," I told him. Warwick grinned, and others in the room chuckled.

"I don't mind laundry duty. Or bottle duty."

My eyes widened. Oh yeah. We were going to need bottles. I was suddenly freaking out again.

"We need bottles. And clothes. And diapers. We don't have anything." I looked over at Dr. King. "Is there a checklist of everything we need in that book?"

It was Constantine who answered. "There is a list of recommended items, as well as a list of must needs. There are also some highly recommended stores with websites for online purchases."

I could only nod. It was a lot. Too much, actually.

"Cecil, if you don't mind, could Constantine and I do another exam? We can do it up in your bedroom if you would like privacy for it. But it would be helpful to check out the twins and see how they are developing."

I nodded again. I simply couldn't do more. I was having babies. Soon. I truly expected to have more time for everything. I was pulled to my feet, and when I looked up, I saw Warwick's worried face. I shook my head. It was just too much to process all at once.

Warwick swept me up into his arms, and I heard him talking to someone. When I was placed on our bed, I looked up at my mate and smiled.

"How are we going to do this?" I asked. "Why would she make it so short?"

"We do this one day at a time," Warwick told me. "As for why such a short gestation, I'm not sure. I would think having it similar to that of a wolf shifter would have made more sense. Or why not simply keep it the same as the carrier's species?" Warwick sat on the side of the bed beside me. "But no matter if the twins come in a couple of weeks, or a few months from now, we'll take it one day at a time."

"As a parent of triplets, I can say with experience that one day at a time is truly all you can do when you are dealing with children, no matter how old they are."

Well, I guess there was that. I looked back to Warwick. "It will be all right. We're a team, and we will be all right."

I sighed. I wished I had his confidence. I was absolutely terrified.

"How about we let the two of you see your babies again? That might go a long way with helping Cecil feel a bit calmer about the short gestational length," Constantine said. I wasn't so sure, but I wouldn't say no to seeing the babies again. The last time, they had been so incredibly small, and in all honesty, you could hardly tell they were babies.

But when the room went suddenly dark and then an image was projected in the air in front of us, I gasped at what I was seeing.

"Is that them?" I asked.

"That is. You have two very healthy boys there," Dr. King said.

I could only stare at the image in front of me. They were moving a little, and although they didn't look like they were ready to be born, they certainly looked a whole lot more developed than they had last time.

"Are you still worried?" Warwick asked.

I looked up at my mate. "A little. It's a whole lot of changes in such a short time." I glanced at the babies again. Seeing them like that, though, made it seem so much more real. We were having babies. Soon.