The confession also gave Branson the boost of courage he needed to tell his own parents this truth about himself.
Eventually.
FIFTEEN
By the endof the weekend, Tarius knew three things to be true.
One, Jeuel might be the kindest, sweetest omega he’d ever met, next to Emory. Jeuel refused to act like a guest, no matter whose home he was in, and he was eager to engage with everyone. He was so different rom the shy teen who’d first stepped off the train. Tarius wasn’t sure what had changed overnight, but he admired it.
Two, Trei was hiding something, and Tarius hated to speculate on exactly what, even with the evidence staring him in the face. Two mornings in a row, noise in the bathroom woke Tarius before his alarm. He’d always been an early riser and a light sleeper, and the sounds didn’t wake Branson. But Tarius recognized the signs of morning sickness.
And three, he was the luckiest beta in Sansbury to have met and fallen in love with Branson Cross. Tarius spent a lot of time gazing at his wedding band, surprised it had already been a week, and yet it felt like they’d been together forever. In the best ways possible, of course. Branson was protective of Jeuel without being obnoxious, and it probably helped that they’d been around family all weekend. Both Branson’s family and Tarius’s. Liam was especially taken with the pair of omegas.
Tarius was positive their new little family unit was going to work.
Sunlight from the living room windows woke Tarius before his work alarm, and as he stretched muscles left stiff by the sofa bed’s thin mattress, he heard it again. Retching in the bathroom. He carefully climbed out of bed so he didn’t disturb his sleeping (and lightly snoring) husband, and crept to the bathroom door.
Tarius wasn’t great at this part. At comforting a sick sibling, especially an omega. Layne had been infrequently ill as a child, and he hadn’t been living with Tarius during his own bouts with morning sickness. Khory, Aeron and Peyton had all been there to help Layne through it. Even when Liam had been pregnant with Linus, he’d mostly leaned on Dad and Demir, who’d both lived at home with him.
But Trei was in Tarius’s home, and even if it wasn’t morning sickness, something was wrong. No one vomited three days in a row for no reason.
The toilet flushed. Water ran in the sink for nearly a full minute before shutting off. When Trei opened the door, he was red-cheeked, and he didn’t look surprised to see Tarius waiting for him. “Does Jeuel know?” Tarius whispered.
Trei flushed a little redder as he nodded. Tilted his head toward the bedroom door. Tarius followed him inside and pushed the door mostly shut. Jeuel was sitting up in bed, and a brief flash of panic disappeared when Trei waved a hand at him.
“When was your last heat?” Tarius asked, as quietly as he could so they didn’t wake Branson.
“About seven weeks ago.” Trei sank down on the edge of the bed, both hands pressed over his lower abdomen. “Paul and I had trouble getting pregnant, so I never bothered taking a test after the heat ended. Things were stressful anyway, and I assumed that’s why I felt weird. The night before…the incident, Itook a home test on a lark, and it was positive.” Trei coughed and his eyes sparkled with tears. “I never told Paul before he died.”
“I’m so sorry.” Tarius sat beside him, thankful Trei allowed Tarius to wrap an arm around his shoulders. “Why didn’t you say something? You really should see a doctor.”
“I know.”
“He kept it a secret for me,” Jeuel said. He scooted across the bed and put a hand on Trei’s trembling shoulder, his face set. “I was scared that if Branson knew Trei was pregnant, he’d change his mind about my custody papers. That he wouldn’t want to take on two omegas and a future infant. I was terrified of staying in Sonora, in a halfway house that couldn’t protect me.”
Tarius bit back a brief flash of annoyance. “I know you’re both still getting to know Branson, but do you think he would have refused to seek custody if he knew Trei was pregnant? Do you think that now?”
“No, I don’t. I’m sorry.”
“You don’t have to apologize. You were protecting your family.”
Knocking on the door preceded it creaking open. Branson poked his head inside, eyebrows raised in curious twin arches. “Did you guys call a meeting I wasn’t invited to?” he asked.
“Something like that.” Tarius held out his hand; Branson approached and threaded his fingers through Tarius’s. “You’re usually a heavier sleeper.”
“I think I’ve gotten used to you sleeping next to me.” To Jeuel and Trei, he asked, “Are you guys okay? Did someone have a nightmare?”
“No, nothing like that,” Trei replied. He sat up straighter, his hands never straying from his belly. “I’m so sorry I wasn’t honest with you from the start, but Jeuel was nervous you’d change your mind about custody, since he wouldn’t come here without me.”
“Honest about what? Are you sick?”
“No, um, I’m pregnant. About seven weeks.”
Branson’s dark eyebrows shot into his hairline. “Pregnant?”
“Yes.” Trei looked briefly panicked, and Tarius squeezed his knee with his free hand. “My last heat ended about seven weeks ago, and I took a test before everything went to hell, and I never got to tell Paul before he died, and I’m so sorry I hid it from you, because you’ve been nothing but honest and generous with us.”
“Whoa.” Branson blinked hard several times before shaking his head. A bright smile lit up his entire face. “Is it okay to say congratulations? I’m so sorry your mate died before you could tell him. Goddess, wow. Wow.” He turned wide eyes onto Tarius. “I guess it’s a good thing we went for the three-bedroom apartment.”
