Page 19

“A lot, actually—but seeing as I’m considered the foremost expert on Omegan Andrology and Paternal Health, there’s an exception in place. Not that I’m an expert, truly. So much still to learn. So, tell me, Nix: how long have you been throwing up?”

It’s the first in a long list of questions Nix hadn’t realized were hormone-related—like sleep, food issues, and an increase in sex drive.

That last one has Luca’s full attention, and just smelling his mocha scent shift to sweet chocolate has Nix’s dick hard in his pants.

“No. I’m serious, Luca, I will send you out. The tech willbe here…” Finn groans.

“Now?” a soft voice says from the doorway.“I can come back, though…”

“No!” Finn says. “Please come in, Sandrine. You don’t mind if we all watch? It’s our first pack baby and—”

“Not at all.” She sets her portable machine up with a professional smile. “Hello, Mr. Rena. When was the last time you had something to drink?”

Turns out Nix needs to finish a bottle of water before Sandrine can see anything, and then it takes another ten minutes to get everyone situated around the monitor.

She’s friendly, making small talk and answering questions with a quick sense of humor.

“Wow, I’ve never done this with such a large audience before. This must be how rockstars feel,” she says as she squeezes gel onto Nix’s bare stomach.

It’s cold, he’s got to pee, and his excitement at seeing his baby makes it even harder to keep still. The pack has pushed Rowan to the front of the group, so Nix can hold his hand.

It’s warm and firm, and when he catches his mate’s eye, it seems to settle his anxiety even further. Nix can feel all of his bonds warm and bright in his chest—even the tiny little gold ones darting in and out.

His baby is excited, too.

Sandrine uses her wand and presses it all over, coming back to certain spots on his belly.

“Hmm,”she says, repeating the patterns. “Do you want to hear them?”

“She means the heartbeat,” Finn clarifies.

“Please,” Grayson whispers.

The quiet alpha’s eyes are glued to the screen, his smooth fingers under the edge of Nix’s pant leg, setting his soulbond alight and calming his racing heart.

Sandrine turns the volume up, and there it is: a rapidba-dum-ba-dum-ba-dum.It doesn’t sound like any rhythmic heart rate Nix has ever heard. “It’s so fast!”

“That’s perfectly normal,” she says, moving her wand over to the other side of his belly, and Nix can hear it again, just as loud.

“Um, did the baby move over there?” Nix doesn’t know much about babies, though he knows this one is the size of an apple right now.

“Uh—” She freezes and looks at Finn, whose eyes have gone wide. “Dr. Merritt?”

“What?” Rowan asks. “Is there something wrong with it?”

“That’s just it, Rowan. It’sthem, not anitat all.”

“Look. I get that it’s a she, or a he, or whatever they decide is right for them. I just want them to be alright…and happy. I get how gender works. But this is not the time for a discussion on their pronouns, dammit.”

It hits Nix just before Jamie blurts it out.

“Twins,” Jamie whispers. “Oh, shit.”

Rowan looks at Sandrine and then at Nix, before falling into a stunned heap on the floor.

It’s a testament to her professionalism that she doesn’t even blink, despite the fact that Were twins must be incredibly rare.

“Congratulations, Mr. Rena. They’re fraternal. Look, two separate amniotic sacs. Baby A is slightly bigger, here.” She presses along the first section low on his belly. “And Baby B is over here. I’ll just print the 3D images and then get out of your hair.”