“I got them from Doc Paula at the safari park.She said they’re the best for early detection.What makes you think she’s pregnant if you don’t mind me asking?”
“She’s got something called the jaguar flush, which looks like a sunburn with freckles.”
“Oh wow, that’s so exciting!I’ll keep it to myself, don’t worry.Good luck!”
He jogged away after thanking Tris, taking the stairs two at a time to get back to the bedroom.
After Fallon took the test, they sat on the bed talking for the few minutes it needed, and then they read it together.
Pregnant.
“Holy crap,” she said.
“You’re surprised?”
“Kind of?I wasn’t sure if I was seeing the flush right, and we’ve only been together for a week.But it does show up almost immediately, so there’s no doubt I am.Especially after the proof in the positive test.I’m so happy, Avi!We’re going to have a baby!”
She hugged him and he hugged her back, his eyes stinging with happiness.
“I’m so happy too, sweetheart.”
They tumbled to the bed, but instead of celebrating by driving each other wild, they talked for a long time—about the baby, the future, and how their lives were going to change.
He’d woken up thinking how lucky he was to have her in his life, and now she was pregnant.
He was feeling doubly blessed.
* * *
Fallon and Avi shared the news with her mom first, and then with the herd during breakfast.The cheers and hearty congratulations were a balm to his soul.
“This is so perfect,” Zara said.“Do you guys know about the stallion run for pregnancy announcements?”
They all shook their heads.
“Maybe it’s just something my herd did.But when a couple announced a pregnancy, the alpha would orchestrate a shift and run to celebrate.The couple would stand in the center of the clearing and the alpha would run in a wide circle around them, with stallions joining in.Females would bring flowers and gifts for the couple.Once all the stallions were running in a circle, the alpha would whinny really loud and then they’d take off for a run, and the male would kiss his mate and shift and join them.The females would hang out with her and open the gifts and press the flowers in a book so she could keep them as a memento.”
“That sounds so amazing,” Nancy said.“I’ve never heard of it, but it’s so sweet.”
“We can do that tomorrow night if you’d like,” Crew said.“We were all planning to shift and run after the joining ceremony, but adding this to it would be wonderful.”
“Are you able to shift now that you’re pregnant?”Tatum asked.
Fallon looked at her mom with a shrug.
“Yes, for the first month or two, then the jaguar kind of steps back and stops pushing for shifts to protect the baby,” she said.
Fallon put her hand over her mom’s and squeezed.“Can I still shift and run with the herd anyway, though?”
“Yes, we can totally make the ceremony whatever you two would like,” Crew said.“There aren’t any hard and fast rules when it comes to ceremonies for stallions.”
The herd talked a little while longer, and then they dispersed to get to what needed to be done for the day.
Fallon was going to spend the day with Tris, Zara, Nancy, and Tatum and plan the mating ceremony meal, and her mom was going to join them.
Grey clapped Avi on the shoulder.“Congratulations, man.This is what we’ve been hoping for—finding our soulmates and having families.”
“Thanks,” Avi said.“I couldn’t be happier.”
