Page 18 of A Cobbled Conspiracy

“Your heat?” He began, his voice quiet. “Did you guys use… you know… protection?”

He all but whispered the last word.

The question hung between us. “I—I don’t think either of us really thought about it at the time,” I said quietly, suddenly embarrassed at the oversight.

“So…” He paused, choosing his words carefully. “There are other reasons an omega might experience persistent nausea and scent changes after spending their heat with an alpha.”

He chattered on in his usual Penny manner. “The stress of being away from your bondmate was the culprit early on, but now it could be disguising theotherreason, you know?”

The words I’d been avoiding thinking crystallized in my mind. “I can’t be,” I whispered.

“There’s only one way to know for sure.” Penny’s voice was gentle but firm. “And if you are, you need to know. You need to start taking care of yourself properly.”

I found myself nodding, still digesting the possibility that I might be…

When we reached my room, I sat on the bed, watching as Penny held up his phone. “I ordered food and some ‘omega hygiene products.’ Blake won’t think twice about an omega buying those kind of things, so I snuck a little something else in extra.”

Forty-five minutes later, Blake’s intercom buzzed. “Mr. Harrington, grocery delivery for Mr. Lee.”

“I’ll get it!” Penny jumped up from where he was perched at the foot of my bed, scrolling through his social media, and practically bounced to the door.

“I ordered way too much.” I heard him say from the hallway. “But I saw they had those artisanal crackers Leo loves and I got carried away.”

I swung my legs over the bed’s edge as I pushed myself upright, pausing to let the wave of nausea crest and recede. Once my stomach settled, I rose to my feet and trailed after him through the doorway.

When I reached the living room, he was sifting through a bunch of grocery bags on the massive island in Blake’s kitchen and chattering about various snacks. “Oh Leo! You have to try these ginger cookies—they’re supposed to be amazing for upset stomachs. And look, they had those fancy teas you mentioned wanting to try!”

Blake barely glanced up from his laptop as Penny distributed various food items around the kitchen. But when Penny caught my eye and nodded almost imperceptibly toward the bathroom, I understood.

I nodded and headed back toward the hallway. Penny snatched up a couple of bags and trailed behind me, being his usual chatty self as we walked. “I bought a couple of bubble baths, one’s unscented and the other’s soothing oatmeal. I think they’ll help ease the stressed bond symptoms.”

Ten minutes later, I found myself in Blake’s private executive bathroom with a small box that had been discreetly tucked in amongst the bubble baths and omega hygiene products. Penny waited outside, probably tracking back and forth across the guest room's hardwood floor.

Inside the marble-appointed bathroom, I stared at the pregnancy test with shaking hands. Three minutes that could change everything.

I followed the instructions with the careful precision I usually reserved for delicate shoe repairs, then set the test on the counter and waited.

The longest three minutes of my life.

When I looked down, two clear pink lines stared back at me.

Pregnant.

I was carrying Dominic’s child.

My hand instinctively went to my flat stomach, fingers splaying protectively across it as a storm of emotions crashed through me. My knees weakened as I tried to process my emotions—shock, of course. I wasn’t planning for this, didn’t think about the consequences of sleeping with a rutting alpha while in heat. It’s laughable that it never occurred to me, but with Dominic’s arrest, my mind just wasn’t in the right place.

I also felt fear… and anger. Anger that burned hot in my chest that Dominic wasn’t here, couldn’t see the two pink lines that had just altered our future.

Yet beneath it all, a tiny spark of wild, terrifying joy flickered to life. I was carrying my alpha’s child.

I opened the bathroom door on unsteady legs. Penny took one look at my face and knew.

“Positive?” he asked gently, his voice barely audible.

I held up the test with a trembling hand.

Penny’s expression shifted through several emotions—surprise, concern, protectiveness, and finally, fierce joy that he was obviously fighting to suppress. “In spite of everything, this is wonderful news, right?”