Page 124 of Omega Tricked

I stood beside Dylan, holding his hand. His grip was so tight, my fingers felt like they were about to crack under the pressure. “You’re doing great,” I said softly.

He nodded, looking nervous. “At least the pain is gone.”

I smiled. “Now we just let Dr. Peters do his thing.”

“It’s so weird being on this side of it all.” He sighed. “I’m glad you’re here with me.”

“Me too.”

“Sometimes the alphas prefer to stay outside.” He held my gaze. “You… you can do that if you want.”

I scowled. “No. I want to be here with you.”

Tension seemed to leave his face. “I didn’t want you to feel obligated.”

“Stop.” I kissed his forehead. “No place I’d rather be.”

He sighed. “We’re having a baby, Lex.”

“Yep.” I smiled, excitement buzzing inside of me.

Dr. Peters was calm and precise as he made his incision. I looked away during a lot of it because, while I wasn’t a squeamish type, I didn’t like the idea of anything slicing into Dylan. I spent most of my time talking to Dylan, and soon there was the squawk of a newborn baby, and Dr. Peters held up a wiggling child.

“Congratulations, you have a beautiful baby boy.” He grinned.

I met Dylan’s tearful gaze, my eyes stinging. I kissed him and he laughed against my lips.

“We did it,” he said.

I nodded because the lump in my throat made it hard to talk.

“Lex, you want to cut the umbilical cord?” Dr. Peters looked at me expectantly.

“Sure.” I moved down to where the baby was. He was pink and chubby, and his eyes were a soft blue. I fell in love the second I saw him. I snipped the cord, finding it way tougher to cut through than expected.

Priscilla took the baby, weighed him, and wiped him clean. Then she swaddled him in a blue blanket, and she brought him over to us. He was still fussing but not actively crying. The expression on Dylan’s face almost made me start crying. I’d never seen such love as when he looked at our son. He kissed the baby’s little head, and he sniffed.

“He’s so perfect,” he whispered.

I nodded. “He is.”

“I already love him.” He met my eyes, and there was a flash of guilt and confusion. I knew instantly he was thinking of Ayden, and my heart almost broke.

I leaned down and said against his ear, “Loving him doesn’t take away from how much you loved Ayden.”

Tears spilled onto his cheeks, but he nodded. “I’ll do better this time. I’ll protect him.”

I almost started to cry too because his pain was so raw. “Webothwill always protect him. I’ll never hurt him, and I’ll never hurt you.”

He kissed the baby’s bald head. “I know you’ll protect us. This time I got it right.”

“You never got it wrong. Jacob did.”

He sighed, gazing down at our son. “After all you and I went through together, Lex, how is it possible this is where we ended up?”

“True love?” I smiled.

“You don’t believe in true love. Remember? It’s too fantastical.”