“I do,” he murmured. “I realized that if anything happened to you, I’d miss you so much. You’re so special to me and I…” His voice took on a hushed tone. “I love you. I want you in my life, forever and ever, and I don’t care how much of a sappy Omega that makes me sound. I love you, Ollie.”
My breath caught, my lungs suddenly void of air as I stared at him. He was so damn gorgeous, so loving and kind, and if these past few months were any sort of indication, I would be happy with Brin in my life for a very long time. Maybe even forever.
I hugged him. “Let’s make a baby.”
“W-What?”
“Yeah,” I said, excited now. “Let’s do it. Go all in, you and me. I want this. I want it with you, so what do you say?”
But he didn’t have to say anything. His soft sob of happiness told me everything I needed to know, and as I crushed him to my chest, we kissed on it.
Guess I’d be getting my happily-ever-after, after all.
Epilogue: Oliver
“Um… Ollie?” Brinden’s voice was eerily calm. I glanced up to see my very-pregnant fiancésort of hunched over his belly, his hands gripping at the rounded swell of it. If it weren’t for the fact that his fingers looked like claws, hooked into the fabric of his sweatshirt, I wouldn’t have realized that he was on the verge of a breakdown.
I jumped to my feet and went to his side, steadying him with one hand. “Brin? Is everything okay?”
He gulped, his dark eyes wide and worried. “I think my water just broke.” His gaze darted out the window, to the snowflakes pouring from the sky in big, fluffy bucketsful. Great. If I wasn’t panicking yet, I would be here soon.
“Shit. We really didn’t plan this pregnancy very well, huh?”Stay calm. Breathe in slow and deep, just like they showed you. You got this, Ollie.“Which one of us decided on a winter baby?”
That made him giggle, then hiccup on a soft cry. “I’m scared.”
Me too!I wanted to yelp, but I was the Alpha in this relationship. I needed to act like one. Right now, Brinden needed me to stay in control. I cupped his fuzzy cheeks in myhand and kissed him gently on the lips. “I’m gonna go grab your overnight bag, and then we’ll go.”
“Sh-Shouldn’t we call Mac? He said he’d drive,” he squeaked, his voice rising in pitch.
“He and Nathaniel aren’t back in town yet,” I told him, thinking of our friends, who’d escaped for a weekend getaway.
He gaped at me. “But they said?—”
“Brin, baby. You aren’t even due for another two weeks.”
“But it’s snowing!” he wailed, hugging himself around the middle. “And it hurts!”
“Shh, shh. It’s okay, we’ll get there, I promise. You arenothaving this baby in the middle of the living room,” I assured him, then sprinted down the hall. Luckily, when Brin started nesting, he’d thought to pack a bag of essentials he’d need when our little one decided to show up.
Oh god, I was going to be a father.
I snatched the bag, then helped Brinden get into his winter coat. He was too big to zip it up, but I didn’t want him overheating anyway. He curled in on himself, whimpering out loud as another contraction hit. I talked him through it, until his face relaxed once more. Jesus Christ, I was gonna end up having a heart attack before this baby was ever born!
“I hate this. Why does it have to hurt?”
“Because. Your body has created a tiny human out of practically nothing but stardust. Of course it’s gonna hurt, because that baby wants out. He wants to meet his daddy.” I took both his hands in mine and kissed his knuckles. “I love you. Keep breathing, it’s gonna be okay.”
“But the?—”
“Fuck the snow! Jack Frost can kiss my ass. We’re having a baby,” I exclaimed.
He smiled in awe. “We are.”
I don’t exactly know how I pulled it off. I was petrified of driving in the snow. Every time the car fishtailed or the back wheels slipped, my heart beat mercilessly in my chest, but I gripped the steering wheel with both hands and got us to Destiny Central.
From there, I let the nurses take over. They helped Brinden sit down in the wheelchair and wheeled him away, leaving me to catch my breath and have a mini-freakout without my poor Omega to witness it.
I called Mac and Nathaniel first. Jillian and Reed next. And finally, my father. He picked up on the second ring, wheezing into the phone like he’d just sprinted across the kitchen just to reach it. “Hello?”
