Page 12 of Accidentally All Inclusive (Beartastic Summer of Love #5)

Jules

I settled into the den as if I had been born there.

It was shocking to me just how comfortable I felt within minutes of meeting Westley’s family.

I had feared that when we left our little bubble from the resort that we would drift apart or realize that our impromptu mating had been a mistake. It was anything but.

We fit together better than peanut butter and jelly. He was the other half of my soul, my missing piece. It was cliche, but it was exactly what I had always imagined on the nights I had dreamed of finding my mate.

Perhaps it was the honeymoon phase talking, but everything was absolute perfection.

I loved everything about the home he had created.

Every person in the den that I met had been kind.

The Alpha and his mate welcomed me with open arms and even invited me to attend the bi-monthly book club that the Omega Mate hosted.

Later he came to our home and gifted me a copy of the book they were all reading.

We exchanged numbers and became fast friends.

Westley went to work each day. He worked in one of the buildings owned by the den where he managed the den’s finances.

He wasn’t the only one who worked on their accounting.

If I understood it correctly, he managed a group of people.

I didn’t know a lot about how dens worked, but it seemed like it was a team effort.

His mom and sister owned the diner in town, and they asked me to work there while they were short staffed, waiting tables.

It allowed me to get familiar with the rest of the den.

It seemed as if everyone came in there at least a few times a week.

In the first two weeks I had been there, everyone had come in to introduce themselves, all hearing about how their Westley had found love while on vacation.

A few people had asked about the resort where we met so they could book their own little vacation.

I made sure to give them the information for the resort Westley had meant to book and not the one he actually went to.

We opted not to tell them all about me being a hired companion. We weren’t ashamed of how we met, but it was our personal story and we were keeping it to ourselves.

His little brother had grumbled about how he wanted to find his mate while on vacation.

Kip was an adorable omega who was tall and lanky.

Westley described him as not quite grown into his length yet.

He was the sweetest thing and didn’t shy away from anything.

He was another person I became fast friends with.

Westley had ruffled his hair and told him to book something—just not at the resort that we had gotten to.

His brother was training under his father to be an enforcer in the pack.

I hadn’t even known that was a position open to omegas. Here it was.

“Why don’t you take a break, dear, and drink some water?” Jean, Westley’s mom, said just as the breakfast rush finished at the diner. My shift had started at five this morning and it was now nine. During the week, our busiest time was between six and eight.

“Oh, I’m fine,” I said. “The enforcers just came in. I can manage.”

She smiled kindly at me. “You’ve been doing great, Jules. Sit down and drink something.”

I didn’t feel like I was thirsty or overworked at all, but in the short time I had been here, I’d learned not to argue with Westley’s mom. She was a mama bear if I ever met one—not that I was overly familiar with the concept, since I didn’t have an omega dad for very long.

I sat down at the table she indicated and drank the water she put in front of me.

I watched while she took the order for the enforcers. There were only five of them, one being her husband and his two close friends, then there was Braxton, an alpha, and Kip.

From an outsider’s perspective, Braxton seemed to have a crush on Kip, but I was hesitant to bring it up with Westley.

After she managed the table that came in, she sat down with me. I saw a lot of her in Westley, especially their eyes. Kind and caring and always watching. Westley got his caretaking nature from his mom.

“How are you feeling?” she asked.

“Great,” I said. “Why do you ask?”

“Well, you and my son have been mated for a little while now. I just wanted to make sure you were doing all right.”

My cheeks heated. “Three weeks, give or take,” I said. Three amazing weeks. The past two weeks we had spent settling into a routine and talking about our future.

“Right. And...” Her eyebrows raised, as if she was waiting for me to say something.

“And it’s great. I love your son very much.”

She wasn’t thinking that I was going to leave, was she? Because that couldn’t be further from the case. I would never dream of leaving Westley, and I couldn’t imagine us being anywhere but here.

We were quiet for a moment longer until she finally burst out, “Cubs, dear. I’m asking if you think you might be expecting.”

“Oh,” I said, my eyes going wide. “I—I mean, we’ve talked, but we haven’t... I’m not—”

She patted my hand. “We’ll pick up a test on our way home, and you can take it with Westley. The two of you should find out together.”

“Wouldn’t I feel something? Morning sickness or something, if I was pregnant?”

She shrugged. “Everybody’s different. But I can tell you that I didn’t have any morning sickness with my girls or my omega son.

But I had the worst morning sickness with Westley, my only alpha.

That was a miserable pregnancy. Now I love him dearly, and he was a great baby, but that pregnancy was hard.

Thank goodness we only have short pregnancies compared to humans. I don’t know how they manage.”

Bear pregnancies were six to eight months, rather than nine like human pregnancies.

Not quite as quick as wolf pregnancies. “I can’t wait to have cubs with Westley.

He’s going to be an amazing dad,” I said.

My voice grew wistful as I spoke, as it often did when I thought of Westley. He was just so perfect.

She smiled. “He really is. Both of my boys will be good dads. Though Kip has a little growing up to do.”

I smiled. “You did a great job with them.”

“Thank you, dear. I’m so happy that Westley has found you. His dad and I worried about him. He deserves all the best, and he has found that with you. You make his life whole.”

My throat grew thick with emotion, and I teared up. I couldn’t cough out the words that I really wanted to say. Instead, I got out of the booth and came to her side and hugged her, letting my affection speak for me. Tears pooled in my eyes.

“Oh, dear. I’m so happy that you are here. You need all the mothering you can get.”

I chuckled at that, because she wasn’t wrong.

I managed to get through the rest of the day without focusing too much on the fact that I could very well be expecting. Given that I had no symptoms, I wasn’t going to hold my breath, but if I counted the days correctly—and the fact that I had a heat—I should be able to know today.

Even though it was best to take pregnancy tests in the morning, I planned to take one as quickly as I could.

Westley was already home when I arrived, so I disappeared into the bathroom after a quick hello.

His mom had given me a discreet paper bag before I left the diner which meant I hadn’t had to buy the test myself.

Had I gone to the store on my own, Westley would have heard about it before I arrived home. Gotta love small towns.

Within minutes of me taking the test, two pink lines appeared.

Pregnant. Definitely pregnant.

I was pregnant with Westley’s baby.

My hands shook as I walked out of the bathroom and toward the kitchen where Westley was standing, staring at the open fridge. We had talked about kids. We both wanted cubs. I couldn’t wait to start this new adventure with Westley. He was going to be so happy.

He had the fridge open, looking inside when I approached.

“I was thinking steaks for dinner. We don’t have them thawed out, but they sound real good.

I can throw them on the grill frozen, or we could run to the store.

” He leaned over the fridge door. His tie had been loosened, and it hung around his check.

The top button of his blue shirt was undone.

I held up the stick to him, my hands shaking with the effort.

“What’s this?” He took it from me and looked at it. His face transformed to one of surprise and glee. “You’re sure?”

I nodded. “I took it just now.”

“Cubs. We’re going to have cubs?” His voice rose with the excitement, and he closed the fridge and stepped toward me.

“Whoa. Easy there, alpha. Probably just one cub.” I hoped. “We’re going to have a baby.”

His arm looped around my middle, and he swooped me into his arms, pressing his nose to my neck. “I’m so happy, Jules. A family. We’re going to start a family.”

I closed my eyes and savored his touch. The nerves that caused my hands to shake subsided, and I melted into his embrace. “I’m so happy too, Westley. This is going to be amazing.”

He pressed his lips to my skin. “You’re amazing.”