Page 34 of Our Haunted Omegas (Moonscale Heirs Duet #1)

Cobalt

The plan was to go straight from the apartment to Moonscale Manor but Uncle Nicky’s confusion had me worried.

We’d been careful but were we careful enough?

There was once or twice we cuddled too long while I was still tucked inside of Odell after I finished.

Sure, he said he was close to ready to try if the feast went well for his anxiety but the thought of him pregnant when he didn’t want to be was like a punch to the gut that I barely managed to keep to myself.

So, I stopped at the petrol station ‘Moon Rocks’ and asked Odell to come inside with me for snacks.

If anyone thought it was strange that I wanted to buy snacks less than twenty miles from the party they didn’t say anything.

Not even Odie asked me anything until we were inside the store.

Then it was a questioning look as I grabbed one of those bright red carry-around baskets and started to load it up with all the sweets I wanted to take back to the cabin with me.

Sure, we could get them via drone, but I needed a good excuse to make a stop so close to Moonscale Manor.

After the basket was mostly full, I swung into the ‘pharmacy’ aisle and found exactly what I was looking for.

There was a little white box with a baby wrapped up in a blue blanket.

It was for eggs and embryos. It was one of those that detected stuff right away.

“I’m not pregnant,” Odell said over our link, his eyes growing bigger with each word he said. “Your uncle was just confused.”

“Can we make sure, please?” I asked

“Let’s be fast, though. I don’t want to be late the first time I meet your family.”

“It’s our feast. They can’t start until we’re there,” I reminded him.

“It’s just rude,” Odell said and bit his lip.

“Blame it on my need for snacks,” I shrugged and made my way to the counter. After paying for everything we swung into the alpha/omega neutral bathroom, and I locked the door behind us.

“You’re bloody lucky I’m not pee shy, or we’d be a lot more conspicuous,” Odell said, undoing his fly while I took the test out of the box.

“I’d just shut my eyes,” I shrugged, handing it off to him. “If you’re pregnant are you going to be mad at me?”

“Takes two to make a baby,” he let out a long sigh. “Now shush. I can’t pee and talk to you at the same time. I can’t pee while thinking about—”

A few seconds later, the test waited on the counter while Odell washed his hands and I set a timer on my phone. Three minutes was a damn eternity but I held onto my mate and waited for fate to issue what came next.

“If I am, it’s okay. I feel a lot better with Guardie around.”

“I’m surprised he waited in the truck,” I chuckled.

“I’m not. Moon Rocks is safe,” I said and kissed his neck.

“I’ll pee in front of you in a petrol station bathroom but I’m not fucking here, alright?” he laughed. “Nor am I fucking around at your grandparents’ house.”

“Why do you think we’re staying at the apartment tonight?” I teased him as the pixelated baby came into view on the test’s tiny window.

Fuck.

“I was careful and—”

“I wanted to cuddle. I was there. I made you stay cuddling me that second time we were together. I remember. I didn’t want to let you go. Let’s not tell them yet. Let Ambry be the center of attention—”

“Because you think he deserves it more or you don’t want it or---”

“I don’t know,” Odell laughed. “Because I want to process this all before I have to talk to your family about it. Tonight at the apartment, I’ll let your brother scan me or whatever, okay? Can we keep this between just us for now?”

“The other three probably already know,” I frowned at him.

“Of course they do,” Odell sighed. “It’s not that I’m mad or--- I need time to process this. More time than we have right now in the petrol station bathroom. I need to figure it out before I have to explain it to your family.”

“Mate, you don’t have to explain anything to anyone,” I stepped closer to him.

“Seriously. They’re not going to give you a pop quiz or demand to know how you got pregnant or why.

They just want to meet you because you’re family now.

Sure, my family is crazy. I’m pretty sure some of us are certifiably insane but you don’t have to prove anything to them.

Hell, they’ll just be happy that there is a next generation.

Seriously. Remember, my grandparents have four kids and two of them are under five.

If you need time, I’ll call a car to take us back to the apartment or something, though.

They’ll ask questions but I’ll handle them. ”

“No,” Odell shook his head and bit his lip.

His eyes misted over, and I hated myself for not being able to leave well enough alone.

Now, I was locked in a bathroom with my pregnant, crying mate and we hadn’t even tried for a baby.

In fact, we tried for just the opposite.

My dragon shifted his weight, and I let out a long, slow breath to settle him down.

There wasn’t anything my dragon could do about this.

“Are you sure?” I asked, holding his beautiful face in my hands. “I can handle them. Really. I can.”

“I know that and I know I’m overthinking this. I overthink everything.”

“That’s just part of your charm and how I know that when you commit to something you mean it because you’ve considered every what if on the planet and probably on a few other planets too.

I love you, Odell. I love you and I’m not going to let anyone bully you into anything.

You’re pregnant. We’re showing up at my grandparents’ home for our mating feast and you’re pregnant.

My brother’s mate is pregnant too. They’re going to be over the moon. ”

“Over the moon,” Odell repeated to himself and nodded. “Over the moon.”

“Is this a good thing? The baby?” I asked.

“The baby is the best thing. I just—How do I tell them I didn’t know? What if they ask what school the baby is going to or if we bought a crib or what we’ll name the baby or ---”

“I’ll tell them to shut their traps,” I grinned.

“And the first one is up to us. They’ll have suggestions later, but that’s all they are.

If they ask about a crib, it’s probably because they want don’t want to double buy anything, and the answer to the last one is we don’t know, unless you know already.

Don’t worry about their questions. Sure, they want the baby around but the party is for us.

It’s not about them and them having a say about the baby or your pregnancy. ”

“I’ve heard horror stories about in-laws and— I’m poor, Cobalt,” he said. I opened my mouth to speak but Odell put his hand over my mouth. “Don’t say it doesn’t matter because it does. It matters that I spent everything my parents left me already. It matters that I can’t work enough hours to---”

“It matters because it bothers you. Like I said, I don’t care if you ever work again.

If you do get a job, I’ll probably just follow you around.

They don’t care that you don’t have money and if they suddenly do, fuck them.

Actually, my carrier will probably pop someone in the nose because --- Well, never mind.

That’s their story but you’re family now.

Hell, you were family before now. You were family the moment we chose each other in the Other World.

You are everything I waited for. Everything I wanted.

You make me happy. You make the world make sense.

Before you I was spinning in circles, trying in vain to get my feet on solid ground but I couldn’t.

There was nothing to hold me in one place.

Nothing worth staying for. I was always off to look for the next best thing but there is no next unless it’s the next step with you.

Having our kids, building a life together and my family will see that. ”

Odell rose up on his tiptoes and pressed his lips to mine. I let out a long, slow breath when he pulled away. His scent was calmer. I’d do whatever it took to help him smell like that everyday all day.

“Ready to meet your family?” I whispered.

“I think so,” he nodded.

“Come on. Let’s get going before the others think we’re robbing the place,” I chuckled and unlocked the bathroom door.

“That bathroom was really clean for a petrol station,” Odell commented as I pushed the door open for him to a world of flashing cameras.

“Fucking hell,” I sighed under my breath and stepped back into the bathroom.

“Cobalt! Cobalt! Is it true you’re pregnant?” One of the parasites shouted through the door.

“What are we going to do?” Odell asked over our mating link.

“Don’t move. Stay in here. The others have to see this. They’ll call someone to send them away. Fucking clerk probably tipped someone off when we bought the test.”

“Yes, I’m pregnant you, bloody leech! I’m carrying six eggs!” I shouted back at the camera bugs on the other side of the door.

“Cobalt! We apologize for the bad phrasing but is your mate pregnant? Is your mate a grocery store worker? Was that him at the Unity Festival? Cobalt? What about Reve? Are you going to release the footage from his camera? The public has a right to know what happ---”

Bone crunched beyond the door.

“That would be Teal,” I sighed, still keeping Odell behind me in case someone made it through the locked door.

“He’s been running short on patience for days.

Likes everyone to think he’s level-headed but that’s Indigo.

Teal loves his fists. Probably didn’t help that we grew up two wing flaps from a gym that taught boxing. Nem and Adrian would be proud.”

“Who are they?” Odell asked.

“Nem is my Uncle Cedar’s husband. Adrian is a family friend. They run the gym back home,” I explained as another fist met another face.

“EVERYONE OUT!” A roar cut through the chaos. “ONE MORE FLASH OF THAT CAMERA AND WHOEVER CLICKED IT WILL EAT IT BACKWARDS!”

“That’s my sire,” I smirked over my shoulder at Odell. “He doesn’t take kindly to people trapping his kids places or fighting them. He might really force a camera up someone’s ass before the day is over.”

“I don’t want to watch that,” Odell said and leaned his head against my shoulder.

“You don’t have to,” I shook my head and unlocked the door.

Stepping forward, I peeked out to see journalists and would-be paparazzi shuffling out of the store, clutching their cameras or what was left of them to their chests. My brothers and Uncle Nicky all wore sheepish expressions, and the clerk was making a point to stay out of arm’s reach of my father.

“Cobalt?” Dad called out. “Are you and Odell okay to come out of there or do you need a minute?”

I glanced over my shoulder at my mate who nodded.

“I don’t want to spend all day in the loo,” he whispered.

I pushed the door open and held it for him. The store was empty now except for the clerk and my family.

“Where’s Ambry?” Odell asked.

“Right here!” he called, walking up from the back of the store with an arm full of those little ice cream pints. “Sorry, I think I have a craving. What?” he blinked at Indigo and the others. “Cade was here. They were leaving. The fight was over.”

“Pregnant people fighting,” Dad said, narrowing his eyes on Uncle Nicky.

“We tried to stop them outside but they went right in,” Uncle Nicky shrugged. “I told them not to. I told them that I spoke with the authority of a lot of magic users and that you were around. I told them Medwin was expecting his grandchildren and they still went in.”

“Who broke the one guy’s nose?” Dad asked.

“I did,” Indigo lied but Dad let it go.

Teal was up to enough without being in the spotlight for breaking noses. Everyone would forgive levelheaded Indigo for punching someone while his mate was pregnant for the first time.

“Everyone into the limo,” Dad said.

“I gotta pay for the ice cream,” Ambry said.

“He can put it on the tab and be grateful that I’m not putting him on the tab,” Dad said. “Limo now, please!”

“What about the truck?” Teal asked.

“One of the guards can drive it back,” Dad said. “Can we please go before I break my promise to your carrier and actually punch someone?”

“Where’s Guardie?” Odell asked.

He looked at me and his eyes went huge. Then we were both out the door with my brothers on our heels.

Dad and Uncle Nicky groaned but I shoved everyone back inside as soon as the first stream of fire shot into the air.

While everyone still called such establishments as Moon Rocks ‘petrol stations’ we hadn’t used petrol in a long time to run our cars.

They were all charged by magic now. That minimized not only pollution but also explosions because dragon fire and petrol were star crossed lovers that always came together in the worst ways.

“What the hell?” Uncle Nicky tried to push through us to see outside, but I pushed him back toward Teal who dragged him even further back as the next explosion went off.

I pulled Odell along with me, away from the building’s front wall and down onto the floor.

Soon, the only person still standing upright was Dad as he watched in bemused horror at the charging tanks shooting sky high.

Someone had really pissed off Guardie. Someone had gotten themselves blown up.

“What about the driver and guards?” Odell hissed in my ear.

“I’m not sure, babe,” I said.

If this was as bad as it looked it was past time to cleanse and release Guardie.