Page 43

Jensen

B ethany’s pregnancy was really starting to progress, and now there was a small, visible bump. At least there was when she wore tight clothing. Sadly, she had opted to wear a large, baggy sweater and yoga pants for our appointment.

“Hey, I’m ready when you are,” I said as I entered the kitchen, car keys in hand. She was standing at the counter, shoving a slice of toast covered in jam into her mouth.

Two weeks ago, I had put her on the pack’s health insurance, and our doctor wanted her to come in for a checkup. I was excited to see what the doctor said about bonding because I had a one-track mind when it came to Bethany, and I wanted her to be mine in every way possible.

Bethany quickly swallowed her mouthful. “Did Joey get to school okay?”

“Yeah, she seems to be in good spirits. She was going on about the plants they were growing in the greenhouse today.”

“That’s good. Do you think we should talk to her teachers? Is that going too far? My anger toward Lillian and her mother is bordering on irrational.”

Rubbing her back lightly, I kissed the top of her head. “I would hardly call it irrational. She hurt our girl.”

Bethany hummed in agreement, going up on tiptoes to kiss me on the cheek.

I didn’t like how pale she was looking. The stress of her family’s actions had been weighing heavily on her, and she had instructed Gideon to file a suit against her brother after he failed to respond to the initial legal letter.

We were all in agreement and stood by her every step of the way, but suing a member of your family would take it out of anyone. Once the decision had been made to file the lawsuit, Bethany had dropped the subject and was focusing on her life here.

“That sounds good. How long until our appointment? Do I have time for more toast?”

“You always have time for more toast.” I smirked, kissing the corner of her mouth as she beamed up at me.

Even the most ordinary and mundane things felt more fun with her.

We were five minutes late.

“Should have told me we needed to hurry up. Instead, you just had to show me that new fancy chocolate spread, and of course I had to try it.” Bethany groaned, rubbing her stomach.

“I may not be the most intelligent of men, but I know not to get between a pregnant woman and her food. Speaking of, do you want to go get some cake after this?” I asked as we pulled up at the doctor’s office.

Bethany glowered at me, but a smile tugged at the corner of her lips. “Don’t try and distract me with cake. That’s mean.” She went to get out of the car and paused, turning to me. “But, yes, we will go get cake after the appointment.”

Laughing, I followed the sassy little omega into the office.

We walked up to the reception and gave our names. There was some paperwork that needed filling out, but that was done pretty quickly. After the first few pieces of paper, Bethany tensed up. It wasn’t obvious; her shoulders were just a bit tighter, and she seemed less excited.

I silently prayed that there weren’t any prices on the paperwork, because our doctor’s office was rather expensive. Bethany was awesome, and she was pregnant with our child so she would only get the best care possible.

Knowing Bethany, she probably wouldn’t have been comfortable with that.

“Okay, if you guys would like to wait in there, Dr. Benson will be with you in a moment.” The receptionist pointed us toward a small waiting room.

As we took our seats, Bethany turned to me. “Out of curiosity, when did you put me on your insurance?”

“I made the initial inquiry probably two weeks ago. Why?”

Bethany shifted in her seat, her brow furrowed, eyes darting around. “Did you mention my pregnancy?”

I jerked my head in a nod. “Yeah, I wanted to set you up with the OB-GYN here.”

Bethany bit her lip, her eyes locked on the receptionist’s desk. “I spotted Jennifer Lowe in the back office. You know, the mother who told her child I was pregnant?”

That caught my attention. “Are you sure it’s her?”

Bethany nodded. “Do you think…”

I cursed under my breath. It was very much a possibility. If she worked at the doctor’s office or had access to someone who did, there was a good chance she’d seen the medical file.

It was a huge breach of patient confidentiality, if that was the case.

I wasn’t the most litigation-happy alpha—I left that to Gideon—but if Jennifer had used her position at the doctor’s office to cause problems in my family? I would happily sue her into oblivion.

“Mrs. Noble?” The receptionist beamed at us. “Dr. Benson is ready for you now.”

Bethany glanced at me. “Mrs. Noble?”

I shrugged. “Easiest way to get you on the insurance.”

“We’ll discuss that later,” she said, glowering at me almost playfully…so she wasn’t too mad.

“I’m prepared to apologize with foot rubs.” I smirked as we entered the exam room.

A tall, willowy brunette smiled at us as we entered. “Hello! You must be Bethany. I’m Dr. Eliana Benson. Why don’t you take a seat on the exam table, and we can have a chat.”

Bethany nodded and smiled back. I had hoped that a female OB-GYN would make her a bit more relaxed.

Their conversation covered a lot of the normal things, like family history and how her pregnancy had progressed so far.

“Would you like to see your baby today?” The doctor pulled a machine over to the table with a little doppler.

“Wait, I can see them?” Bethany asked excitedly. “I thought today was just a checkup.”

Dr. Benson nodded. “It is, but there’s no harm in a sonogram to see how the little one is growing.”

I bit back a smile. There was nothing I wanted more than to see the baby. If Cullen and Gideon had known today was going to involve a sonogram, they would have insisted on coming with us.

“Can we get a video of the baby to show the rest of our pack?” I asked.

“Of course! Just write down your email, and my team will send it to you after our appointment. It’s actually a really common request.” As she spoke, she pulled out a small bottle of jelly for the doppler. “Can you lift your shirt, my dear?”

Bethany didn’t hesitate.

The first few minutes when the doctor was looking for the heartbeat were nerve-racking, but soon enough, the room was filled with that fast little thump thump that was music to my ears.

“It’s so fast,” Bethany marveled, her eyes never leaving the screen with the little white blob that was our baby.

“That’s totally normal,” I assured her, my hand reaching out to hold hers as I looked between her and the screen. Her amazement was a sight to behold.

“Have you had any other concerns?” the doctor asked gently.

Bethany shook her head. “According to what I’ve been reading, everything I’m experiencing is normal.”

“She did have pretty bad migraines,” I said. “Then again, you haven’t had one in a while…”

The doctor cocked her head to the side, still looking at the ultrasound. “That could be stress-related. If they return, let me know and we can look at it.”

Bethany sighed. “Well, I was working three jobs and studying, and now I hardly work, so that is probably it…”

“In that case, I would suggest you wait and see, and if they persist, come back in immediately. No need to subject you to tests if you’ve already resolved the issue. Now, your baby seems to be in fine health.”

“They’re so small,” she whispered, staring at the screen.

Dr. Benson chuckled. “I assure you, they won’t feel small when you’re giving birth. This little one seems to be perfectly sized, given you’re what, fifteen, sixteen weeks?”

“About that,” Bethany agreed with a nod before turning to me. “Are the others going to be jealous you got to see the baby?”

I grinned, probably a little smug, but I was too happy to care. “Absolutely. I’m sure Cullen will ensure I get no dessert for a week.”

“You’ll survive. As a doctor, you’re always talking about the dangers of sugar…”

I pouted. “Not fair! You can’t use my own words against me.”

She giggled, a lovely sound I wanted to hear every day. Bethany, Joey, and this baby, giggling in the kitchen at breakfast.

That sounded like fucking heaven to me.

“Oh!” Bethany turned to the doctor, a beautiful blush creeping onto her face. “I wanted to ask about bonding.”

“What about it?”

“Can we bond? I mean, me and my pack?”

The doctor cocked her head to the side. “Are you not bonded already?”

I shook my head. “We want to be, but things moved very fast with the baby, and we were unsure what the current recommendation is for bonding and pregnancy. I’ve read a number of medical journals on the topic, and I am utterly lost, so I thought it best I consult with the expert on the topic,” I said, gesturing lightly to her.

A laugh escaped her as she shook her head. “I swear, doctors make the worst patients. Has he been driving you bonkers?” she asked Bethany with a smile.

“Only occasionally.”

“Hey!” I cried, pouting at the cute omega.

“Unfortunately, to answer your question…It depends. You can bond during pregnancy, but it does pose a few risks. Now, the risks aren’t serious, but they’re there.

Personally, if nothing in your situation is going to change by not bonding until after pregnancy, I would recommend that.

But if it is required—because, let’s face it, sometimes it’s best to be legally bonded—then the risk is minimal. ”

I nodded along as she continued speaking, spelling out the specific risks. Although, like she’d said, they were minimal, it didn’t seem worth any risk at this stage. “That makes sense.” I turned to Bethany with a sad expression. “I suppose we’re going to have to wait.”

She groaned, throwing her head back. “In that case, you can tell the others!”

That night, once we were all home, I shot off an email to an old friend of mine from med school…one who just so happened to own the medical practice we went to.

“Hey, Gid, a word,” I muttered as the girls made pasta in the kitchen. Cullen was watching, desperate to help, but they were insistent they could manage.

“Yeah?” He followed me out to the hallway. Naturally, we meandered toward his office downstairs.

“I just wanted to let you know that I sent an email that may result in us suing someone.”

Gideon’s eyebrows rose. “Tell me everything.”

“You know the mother who told her daughter that Bethany was pregnant, and then they told Joey that she was going to be abandoned?”

He nodded, crossing his arms. “Yes, that shit is kind of hard to forget.”

“Well, she just so happened to be in the back office of the medical office we went to today. I don’t know if she works there or if she is with someone who works there, but is it a coincidence she told her daughter that Bethany was pregnant just days after I registered Bethany and her pregnancy at that very practice? ”

“Jesus, fuck, that’s a huge privacy violation.”

I nodded. “I emailed the practice owner, and I’ll wait and see what he says, but I have a feeling we may be putting in a formal complaint about Jennifer Lowe.”

A slow smile spread over Gideon’s face. “I haven’t had a good, vicious court case in a while. She upset our daughter. I say we do it.”

I smirked at him. “I’ll let you know as soon as I get a response.”

Gideon chuckled. “Who knew growing our family would result in so many lawsuits for me?”