Page 3 of His Unicorn Alpha (Shifters Sanctuary #3)

I underestimated how draining pregnancy might be for a middle-aged shifter, and I quite literally had nobody to blame but myself. The alpha —who wasn’t an alpha yet— hadn’t even touched me. He’d donated his genetic material to science, and I’d abused his trust in us by implanting the resulting viable embryos in my womb. With my hormones running rampant, I struggled with nearly crippling guilt over that fact.

However, I was pregnant.

I was elated to be pregnant.

Me. A dragon omega. Pregnant .

Yes, there was a chance that the embryos I carried might take after their alpha parent and be born horse shifters instead of dragons, but even so, it meant that somewhere in their DNA, dragon genes would carry on. Maybe somewhere down the line, they might find mates also with recessive dragon genes and then spawn a new generation of dragon shifters after all.

But even if not, I was still fulfilling my dream of having children of my own.

I loved children. There was nothing more rewarding than watching them explore the world. They were innocent and enthusiastic about everything they discovered. Their wide-eyed joy never failed to make my own heart feel lighter.

Working in the clinic with Eric, and spending time with my new friends’ children, was bittersweet for me. It was always a joy to interact with the town’s small ones, but also left an ache in my heart for a future I desperately wanted and never thought I would have.

Until that fateful day in the lab.

I would be forever grateful to whichever fates saw me in charge of checking the results of our testing that day. I also counted myself lucky that Eric hadn’t stumbled in on me as I had performed the somewhat awkward and uncomfortable transfer of the embryo into my womb. I was luckier, still, that our lab had even had the requisite supplies on hand, though I’d needed to sneak into the clinic room with the ultrasound machine and I’d been terrified my brother would catch me in a compromising position (we do not need to think too long on just how I needed to get the catheter into the right location).

It was an anxious six weeks of waiting before I gave in and, when Eric was called away to the alpha’s house for a town meeting, used the ultrasound machine to confirm that all three embryos had implanted correctly. Of course, the other symptoms I had been experiencing suggested that they had, but as a man of science, I needed to be certain.

I had cried upon seeing them on that screen, though they were little more than tiny specks of matter inside my womb.

Courtesy of the hormonal imbalance that three growing fetuses would cause, I expected that I would spend a lot of time crying from that point on.

They certainly caused a lot of nausea, too.

And exhaustion.

And really sore nipples.

And did I mention the exhaustion?

It was hard to disguise these changes from those around me, most notably my brothers, but also Damon, who was the clinic’s main receptionist and who had become one of my closest friends since he had arrived to the town roughly eighteen months earlier. He’d been six months pregnant when he had arrived, seeking sanctuary and assistance, and the alpha he’d accidentally mated with (Rex) followed soon after.

Initially, Damon had been resentful of his pregnancy. As someone who longed for children of my own, I hadn’t quite understood why. But he had been scared, felt rejected by his potential mate, and he had not been enjoying the symptoms of his condition. But once he and Rex sorted things out, he seemed happier. Their son, tiny little Cam, was adorable, and I ended up spending a lot of time with Damon and the baby.

Because of the close friendship we had developed over time, it was difficult to keep my secret from him. I knew that, eventually, there would be no hiding it. But while miscarriage was still a risk and a concern —particularly given my age— I wanted to keep my babies to myself.

It was selfish for more than that reason, though. I also knew that Eric would not be happy with me. Even Damon might be disappointed in my lack of ethics. As would Beckett, the pack alpha.

After all, Eric and I had made promises to the alphas, both actual and potential, that we wouldn’t use their sperm to impregnate anyone without their consent.

Micah had not given his consent.

Did I mention I was wracked with guilt? Because I was. Truly.

But I stood by my decision. I would make it again, given half a chance.

This was a mistake , I thought to myself as I sat in Beck and Ollie’s living room.

I had volunteered to be one of the chaperones of the pack’s most vulnerable members: namely children who could not yet shift and pregnant betas and omegas. The pregnant shifters could technically shift but, apparently for those further along in their pregnancies, it was such a drain on their systems that they spent their time in shifted form curled up and sleeping.

I bounced Cam on my knee, the near-toddler giggling delightedly at the funny faces I pulled for him, while I listened to Lena and Ollie bantering on the couch about having more children. Lena was heavily pregnant with twins, while Ollie was just joining us on guard duty. He was not, as far as any of us were aware, expecting any more pups of his own just yet.

However, the reason I was suddenly overcome by panic was Ollie’s declaration that Beck’s friend and former housemate would be coming to stay.

Micah.

The Micah.

The Micah whose children were currently gestating away inside me.

The Micah who I hadn’t ever met. Not even during Ollie and Beck’s lavish Christmas wedding a few months earlier.

Shit, shit, shit.

Catching Damon’s curious gaze as he and Ollie switched to bantering about Damon’s notorious dislike of my fellow dragon, Dexter, I attempted to re-engage in the conversation. I muttered something about Dexter going through his own issues —not that I knew what they were, exactly. He was Sage’s best friend, and Sage was also being curiously tightlipped— but I’m not sure I did a fantastic job of sounding put-together.

Because, and I might not have been clear about this, Micah Hawthorne was going to be living in the pack alpha’s home for an unknown amount of time.

I thought I would have much, much longer before facing him became an issue.

“Are you okay?” Ollie asked after Rex and Damon disappeared outside. Something was going on there, but I was too distracted to pay much attention. It took a moment to comprehend that he was talking to me.

I cleared my throat and nodded. “Of course. Why do you ask?”

Ollie also assisted us in the fertility lab, though he worked more closely with Eric on the research than he did with me in the lab proper. He cocked his head and narrowed his eyes. “You seem…off.”

“Off?” I repeated, playing dumb.

“Off,” he nodded decisively. “I can’t put my finger on it, but…you seem…distracted, maybe?”

Thinking quickly, I considered the conversation I was having with Damon before Lena walked in. “I’m just thinking about our research. Before you joined us, I was attempting to convince Damon to trial the omega birth control which we’ve developed.”

“Yeah, good luck with that,” he laughed and settled back against the couch cushions, shaking his head. “That man is one and done. Cam’s a cutie,” he waved at the baby I was still bouncing on my knee, “but not even that chubby cheeked smile is going to convince Day to open up shop again.”

Glad to have overthrown his suspicion, I looked over at his twin two-year-olds who were currently wrestling with a stuffed wolf toy between them. “And you?”

“And me what?”

“Have you…shut up shop? Or would you be amenable to trialing our birth control? You’ve seen the science yourself. It worked for the ovum collection.”

Lena grinned wickedly at him and rubbed her gravid belly. “What’s the worst that could happen, Oliver?”

“You” —I pointed my finger at her— “are not helping.”

She cackled while Ollie snorted and shook his head. Then he looked back over at his kids wistfully and sighed. “Like I said, I’m not completely opposed to having more,” my spirits lifted until he continued, “but I promised Beck no more unplanned pregnancies in our lifetime. Birth control failing counts as unplanned in my books.”

“Amen,” Lena agreed emphatically.

I snorted. “I told you, keeping up with your implant was your responsibility.”

She poked her tongue out at me, then winced and poked at her stomach. “Behave in there.”

“That doesn’t work,” Ollie told her wisely. “It doesn’t work on the outside, either.” He proved his point by looking at his still brawling children and saying, “Hey, you two. Behave!” They ignored him. “See?”

“Yes, you put a lot of effort into managing their behavior just now,” Lena sassed back.

“Having two at once is exhausting,” he complained. “Thank god I’ve got Beck and Sandy living here with me. I don’t even think I could handle one on my own.”

I looked down at Cam and smiled. “You’re not that difficult, are you?”

He responded with an assortment of babbled sounds that warmed my heart. Hormones going wild, I had to blink back tears at how cute he was. I couldn’t wait to hold my own and get the same sweet, gurgled replies.

“You get to hand that one back to his parents,” Ollie told me, seemingly oblivious to the unwelcomed emotional moment I was experiencing. “Be thankful you haven’t had an oops moment with an alpha, is all I’m saying.”

“Hey, the results of your oops moment are adorable,” Lena argued.

Rory chose that moment to let out an ear-piercing yowl and fling herself bodily at her brother, who burst into tears.

Ollie winced and pushed to his feet. “Yes,” he replied, deadpan, “so adorable.” Then he turned to his kids and swept one up under each arm. “Come on, monsters. It’s about time we get you ready for bed, anyway.”

Their cries only got louder at his declaration. He turned to Lena. “You sure you’re ready for this?”

With her nose scrunched up against the sound, Lena looked at her belly. “Nope.”

I bit my lip and worried it.

I was ready for it, though.

Wasn’t I?

“What’s this about you trying to land me with more kids?” Beckett asked me a few days after the monthly pack run.

Not expecting anyone else in the lab, I just about jumped out of my skin. Spinning my chair around, I found the alpha grinning at me from the doorway, where he leaned against the door jam with his arms folded across his broad chest.

He was young, still in his early thirties, with olive-colored skin and dark hair. He kept a stubbled jawline, and he was tall, though not as tall as me. I’d heard more than one omega and beta swoon over him. But it was the electric alpha scent that really worked in his favor. Despite his generally easy-going nature, he was powerful.

But, to me, the pack alpha was a friend. I guessed there was something about rescuing a man from his abductors and flying him back to his laboring mate that formed an instant bond between people.

“Well?” he prompted with eyebrows raised. “You gonna explain yourself, Brandt?”

Snorting, I sat back in my chair and only just managed not to splay my hand across my abdomen. I’d taken to touching my belly more often, as if the touch would reassure the tiny fetuses that I was thinking about them.

“I was actually trying to prevent that, alpha ,” I responded drily.

“Uh huh,” he sounded amused. “By offering my mate untested medication?”

“How else are we supposed to test it if the only omegas with alpha mates refuse to use it?” Despite understanding Ollie and Damon’s misgivings, my frustration on the issue was building. I put that down to hormones, too. Trying not to pout, I added, “Besides, Oliver said that he wouldn’t be opposed to having more children.”

“Yeah, planned ones, preferably.”

“Does it make that much of a difference? Really?” I gestured around us. “When you weren’t financially secure and were newly mated, I understand. But you’ve got a spacious home, an entire pack at your disposal, endless resources funded by dragon hoards—”

“It’s not just about the financial strain. There’s an emotional one, too.” His answer was gentle, and he wandered into my little lab and sat down on the spare chair beside me. I casually closed the window I’d had open on my computer screen, not wanting him to see the records I was keeping of my own pregnancy. “Kids take a lot of energy and attention, too. There’s the sleepless nights, the diapers, the potty training…which I am not loving, by the way.” He scrubbed his hand over his face. “Plus being constantly worried that I’m giving them enough attention, enough love, that I’m not screwing them up for life…It’s a lot, Brandt.”

I hadn’t expected the brutal honesty, nor to hear about his self-doubt. I had to bite my lip to prevent it from wobbling. Clearing my throat, I averted my gaze. “I apologize,” I told him. “I suppose I’ve idealized the concept of having children. Many children. With our species on the brink of extinction…” My throat tightened and I clenched my hand into a fist to once again prevent it from wandering to my belly.

Unlike Eric, who was muscular and defined, and Sage, who was long and lean, I had a more average build. I am tall, and broad shouldered, but my stomach had never been flat or muscular. I was glad for the additional padding, the slight softness and roundness which had always existed, because it would allow me to hide my secret just a while longer.

Beck’s expression softened and he leaned forward, placing his hand over my own. “I get that. And, like I’ve told Ollie, I would love any kids we have together, even if they’re a surprise like Rory and Duke were. It does seem unfair that we have the luxury of choice where you don’t.” He gave my hand a squeeze and sat back again. “But I didn’t actually come here to make you feel bad about asking us — again — to be your guinea pigs.”

Still struggling against the tumultuous emotions inside me, I managed to croak, “You didn’t?”

“A couple of years ago, this badass dragon saved my life. I told him that I owed him. That I’d have his back. So…” he took a deep, steadying breath, “this is me saying that I trust your science, Brandt. Ollie and I talked about it, and we agreed that we can’t keep relying on condoms during his heats, anyway. The last one…” Beck’s cheeks flushed and he averted his gaze. “Let’s just say it was a close call and leave it at that, yeah?”

His sudden change in tune almost gave me whiplash. I sat up straighter. “You’re serious?”

“About being your guinea pigs?”

I nodded.

He sighed and scrubbed his hand over his face again. “Yeah. I am. Like I said, I trust you.”

Oof . I wasn’t feeling particularly worthy of that trust in that moment.

But, I did stand by the calculations and the research Eric and I had done.

I licked my lips and clapped my hands together. “Okay. In that case, bring Ollie down later and Eric and I will run through everything with you both. I promise, we believe it to be just as effective as The Pill for human and beta women. As long as he takes the medication like clockwork, it’s likely even more effective.”

Beck squinted a little and nodded slowly. “Alright,” he agreed slowly. Then he sighed and offered me a small smile, “If it fails, you and Eric are going to be our on-call babysitters for eternity.”

I grinned. “Deal.”