Page 299 of The Omega Exchange: Omnibus

By the time I make it to the vehicle, Melody is pulling out the file folder with all the information and her lab results.

She spins around and her hands shake.

The way her shoulders hunch pisses me off. She’s got nothing to be ashamed of or feel guilty about. No birth control or pregnancy prevention is one hundred percent effective. If you’re going to fuck then you’ve got to be adult enough to recognize shit happens.

Ben stops three feet away and rocks on his heels. “All right, say what you need to say.”

Melody steps forward, shoving the file at Ben. This entire exchange is painful as fuck to watch. It takes a few long seconds of him staring and flipping through pages before the light bulb goes off.

“You’re fucking pregnant?” he hisses. His jaw is tight with tension, and I take a step closer to Mel.

“I am.” Her shoulders pull back and her chin tilts.

“Congratulations.” His eyes bug when he gets a look at the ultrasound. “Yeah, I mean, I’m happy for you. I told you we were done if you went to that place, and you did it anyway. Why exactly did you need to talk to me in person to tell me this?”

“The baby is yours,” Mel says slowly. She takes a step back until her ass hits the metal of the door.

Ben makes a strangled sound that I think might be disbelief.

My hands fist and unfurl.

I try real goddamn hard to put myself in his position. How would I feel if an ex came back a few months later to inform meshe was pregnant? Yeah, I’ve got no clue because I’ve never had a girlfriend until Mel.

They were together for almost a decade. That constitutes a different type of response than a bar hook up.

“Are you sure? How do you know it doesn’t belong to one of them? You’re bonded now, aren’t you?” He nods to her neck.

“I am bonded,” Melody says, giving me a soft smile. “But I was pregnant before I got to The Exchange. I didn’t know that at the time, but you can look at the estimated conception date. Dr. Jamison was kind enough to document all the information on one of those sheets. I did the tests at the North Carolina location when we were there. They gave me a pregnancy test then, and it was negative, but they said it was because it was too soon to pick up the HCG hormone. I got pregnant during the Christmas trip.”

“You were on birth control,” he says dubiously.

Mel’s shoulders slump as her eyes close. She opens her mouth, but I cut her off.

“Yeah, you’re right. It’s absolutely not your kid. It’s mine. We came all the way out here so Mel could lie to your face and try to trap you into giving a shit about a kid that isn’t yours. Do you think that makes any fucking sense?” I take a step toward him. “Don’t worry. You can bow out knowing Mel and the baby will be taken care of. The only reason we’re even here is because she wanted to do the right thing.” I jab a finger at Mel so he understands none of us give a shit if the baby isn’t biologically ours. I’m as attached to the baby as I am to Mel at this point.

I’d rather he wasn’t involved at all. If he is then he has the opportunity to continually hurt and disappoint Mel and eventually the baby.

“You’re fucking him now too?” Ben asks. “Really, Mel?”

His tone sends my hackles right up. I clench my fists, barely holding myself back. He’s a disrespectful shithead.

“Omegas aren’t meant for monogamy, you close-minded prick.” I take a step forward, but Melody grabs my arm.

“You’re not an alpha though, are you, man?” Ben taunts.

“Okay, that was unnecessary,” she says, glaring at her ex. “Listen, the point of this isn’t to fight. I’m making you aware of the situation, that’s all. I won’t keep you from the kid’s life if you want to be a part of it. If you don’t want to be active in the baby’s life then that’s fine too, but my conscience wouldn’t allow me to keep that information from you.” Mel wraps my arm around her lower back. “But what I’m not going to do is let you talk to either of us like crap.”

I grin, bringing my free hand to rest on the baby pooch. It’s not really a belly yet, but I love it.

“I don’t think you should have it.” Ben crosses his arms over his chest. “If we aren’t going to be together then that’s not fair to me.”

“My mom mentioned on the phone that she heard you’ve got a new girlfriend. You don’t want to be with me, and that goes both ways,” Mel says.

Our little omega hasn’t been openly sharing information because she never mentioned that either.

“I do have a girlfriend,” Ben says, giving Mel a cutting smile. “You know I spent two days in jail after that night I called and you had your boyfriend answer.”

“What?” Mel whispers.