Page 15 of Unable Omega (One Wild Alpha #3)
Rob
My omega was the bright star in my life.
I might never understand what he saw in me or why Fate had been so kind, but I vowed I would never forget how lucky I was to have him.
When he’d run away, so sure he was a danger to the sleuth, I could have lost him forever.
Not to mention the fact that he’d been a prisoner in the labs to start with.
Something I preferred not to dwell on because it still made my bear homicidal. And while Sage had done damage to those who harmed him, there were still plenty of them there who still deserved to be wiped from the face of the earth.
One day, we’d find a way to shut that place down, but it would have to be done with a clear plan and not by one rogue bear.
For now, I planned to enjoy our time getting to know one another.
We had plenty to keep busy with at the sanctuary during the day and the nights.
Bunnies had nothing on fated bear mates.
One night after a sleuth run, we headed back to the cabin, which Sage had fixed up to be far nicer than the utilitarian setup I’d had.
Curtains at the windows, flowers in a vase on the table, new bed linens.
It was amazing how a few touches like that made the cabin a home.
We were currently braiding a rag rug together out of strips of old clothing.
“Want something to drink?” I asked, heading for the kitchenette. We never cooked in there, or almost never, since I did that job for the sleuth in general, but we kept some drinks and snacks handy. “I’m parched.”
“Sure. Some water maybe?” He grimaced and wrinkled his nose. “I ate too much at dinner again.”
“Water coming up.” I filled two glasses before what he said sank in. “Again? Have you been feeling sick lately and didn’t tell me?”
“Not really sick. Just off. Overly full, maybe a little nauseated. Can I help it if my mate is the best cook anywhere?”
“I appreciate the compliment, but I am concerned if this is an ongoing situation. Maybe we should go tomorrow and speak to Markus. He’ll know if there are other cases of whatever you’ve got going around.”
“You think it’s a bug?” He shrugged. “That would be a good explanation. If so, I just have to wait it out.”
The next morning, we set out to chat with the healer before breakfast, but he was not in, seeing a patient somewhere, and his omega suggested we come back after lunch.
Dandling their baby, he yawned. “And our little Cody kept me up most of the night. You two are lucky to still be in the honeymoon phase with no baby yet.”
Baby? I turned to my mate and arched a brow. Could that be why his stomach was upset? We’d never discussed trying, but we’d been doing all the right things. “Sam, do you suppose Markus has a pregnancy test we can take?”
“Really?” He bounced, and the baby giggled. “Do you think you might be…”
Sage looked so stunned. “I-I don’t know.”
Sam opened a cabinet and pulled out a box. “These are OTC, so I don’t feel bad about giving it to you without getting permission.” He held the package out. “But I expect to be the first to know after the two of you.”
We hurried home, and Sage took the box into the bathroom and then came out again. “Now we wait.”
“You don’t look very happy at the prospect of being pregnant.”
“Are you? I mean happy.”
I hesitated, considering my words carefully. “I would love to have a family with you, but if you aren’t pregnant, and if you never get pregnant, that’s all right, too. I want to be with you, and I don’t see you only as a means to a family. We are already a family.”
He sniffed, wiping at his eyes. “It’s not that I don’t want children, it’s that I don’t have any way of knowing for sure what I was injected with, what those pills were they gave me.
And the machines… What if I can’t carry a child all the way or if they suffer horribly their whole life because I took a chance. ”
“I’ll tell you this. If you are not and you decide you don’t want to be, for those reasons, we’ll use a suppressor and make our play safer. But you know I’m in the same boat, right?” I led him to the couch and pulled him to sit next to me. “I was in there, too.”
“You never talk about it, and I figured that was your preference.”
“In general, yes, but I told you I’d tell you all about it and then we just never got back to it.
I was also the subject of cruel medical experiments, but unlike you, I didn’t break out in a blaze of glory.
I was assisted by someone in a mask who strapped me to a table and rolled me all the way out the gate late at night.
We know there’s someone in there on our side, but we’ve never been able to figure out who. ”
“I’m so glad you got out all right.”
“That’s the point. I’m not all right. Not any more than you are. I don’t feel great some of the time and until you showed up, I was a real grouch. I don’t know what happened to my genes or any other part of me.”
“Oh no, now I feel worse. What do we do?”
“Well, that’s the thing. Little Cody and baby Elise are also product of dads just like us.
They didn’t know either what might have happened to them.
And those babies are great. If you’re pregnant, Markus will monitor you throughout.
There is no guarantee that our baby will not be affected, but I’ll be damned if I’ll let those white coats steal our lives. ”
He flung his arms around me and kissed me on the lips. “For a guy with a reputation as a grouch, you sure lift my spirits.” He bounced to his feet and darted toward the bathroom.
I held my breath.
A few seconds later, he came out holding up the stick. I couldn’t tell from his expression at first, then a smile, the biggest I’d ever see him wear, told me the answer.
We had no guarantees, but what we did have was a positive pregnancy test. And if Fate was kind, a healthy baby.
But no matter if the baby had challenges, they would be born into a family that understood challenges.
Their dads and all the rest of the sleuth.
For now, I was going to be very grateful for the changes my life had taken since I’d escaped from that place.