Chapter 7: Mason
I groaned and put a hand on my lower back. Two months into my pregnancy and my back was starting to really kill me. Well, two months into myfirstpregnancy. With the whole double heat thing, I wasn’t really sure what the hell was going on anymore. I hadn’t even gotten tested for the second baby, because how was I supposed to? I was pregnant in the first place, so any result would probably just be letting me know,Hey, dipshit, you’re clearly already pregnant!
Thankfully, work was slow today. The morning rush had already passed, so we were just waiting for the next wave of folks to come in. Maybe I should use the chance to sit down.
“You feeling okay?” Beth asked.
She and I had become close friends during the past few weeks. It was nice to have a friend I could talk to without feeling like an outsider, which is how I felt most of the time when I spoke to anyone who knew I wasn’t born here. I didn’t have many friends back at Scarlet Ridge, either. Friendships weren’t really a thing there, so the best I had were a few acquaintances.
I guess the closest thing I had to a friend was that weird alpha who unlocked my collar on the night of my escape. I realized I hadn’t given him much thought since I left. Who was he? And why did he set me free?
“Earth to Mason,” she said with a laugh, waving a hand in front of my face.
“Oh, yeah, sorry,” I said. “I was just thinking about stuff.”
“No worries,” she said. “Just making sure you weren’t about to faint again. It was scary enough the first time.”
“Yeah,” I agreed.
“So what happened after you went home? I know you didn’t come into work for a couple days,” she said, her brows knitted in sympathy.
I realized I hadn’t told her about the whole double heat thing. How was I supposed to? It was like having a weird, rare medical condition. I didn’t want her to gawk at me, but at the same time, she was my friend. If anyone would understand, it was Beth.
“Well…” I began. “You know Ken, that doctor that helped me?”
“Yeah?”
“He said I was basically fine and that I just had a fever and needed rest, but… there ended up being something else.”
“What?” Beth urged. “Are you dying? What is it?”
I laughed. “Geez, no. You’d think I would’ve been a bit more upset if I was dying.”
“Well, hurry up and spill it, then!” she exclaimed.
I looked around and made sure no one else was listening in on our conversation. I felt like I was about to tell her some huge secret, but honestly, I was just nervous. I already felt like an outsider, or at least I did when I first arrived here - I didn't want to make myself even more alien. Then again, Beth wasn’t originally from Indigo Mountain either. I reminded myself to ask about her past more when we weren’t already in the middle of a conversation.
“He said… I was going through something called a double heat. Have you ever heard of that?” I asked.
She tilted her head in thought. “No. Is that like a normal heat?” Then she paused. “Wait, you’re already pregnant. How can you go through another heat?”
“Exactly,” I said. “It’s like a medical condition or something.”
“So…” Her face scrunched up as she put the pieces together in her head. “You were pregnant, but then you had a heat, so you could be pregnant…twice?”
“Something like that, yeah,” I confirmed.
“That’s crazy!” she cried. Shock was written all over her face. Then she gasped and lowered her voice. “Wait, so are you…?”
“Double pregnant?” I asked, lifting a brow. “I mean… I guess so.”
Her jaw dropped and her eyes glittered. “Wait, with who!?” She grabbed my hands. “You have to tell me all the details! I can’t believe you didn’t already! What am I to you, burnt toast?”
Oh, right. I hadn’t told anybody aboutthateither.
“Yeah, about that… I kind of… mated with Jericho,” I muttered.
Beth stared at me, her jaw to the floor. Suddenly she squealed and squeezed my hands. “Oh my Moon! You’re not serious!”
