16
Ryu
The bustling energy at the Drunken Dragon continued after Mav and Henry left. Inspired by the wholesome scene in front of him, Nate ordered a round of drinks for everyone at the bar—and then groaned and complained about his wallet. Nonetheless, it was a good way to get everyone’s mind off the earlier commotion.
When the night began to wind down, I approached Scar somewhat nervously. After our fight, I wasn’t sure how he would react to my presence, even though Angel was safely back with us. That didn’t erase the fact that I was the one who caused her disappearance in the first place.
“So,” I began, “are you taking Angel back to your place?”
Scar shot me a confused glance. It instantly twisted into one of annoyance. “Oh my gods. You idiot.”
“What did I say?”
He flicked my arm, and Angel laughed.
“What’d you do that for?” I mumbled.
“For being such a dense moron. You’re not being very tough and alpha-y, grovelling to your omega mate, you know.”
My heart leapt.He called himself my mate!
“Does that mean we’re okay?” I asked.
Scar rolled his eyes, but he was smiling. “Yeah, duh.” Suddenly his expression turned serious. In a lower voice he added, “Iwasreally pissed at you. But I know that I couldn’t do this without you. I need you in my life, Ryu. Got that?”
My chest filled with joy. I nodded. “Got it.”
“Good.” He glanced down at Angel, who had fallen asleep after another long and arduous night. “Now let’s get this little girl home.”
Nate, who was the last customer to leave, waved to us. “Thanks for a fun night, you guys.”
“No, thank you,” I said, bowing to him. “You helped save Angel tonight. We’re both extremely grateful.”
Nate seemed embarrassed. “Aw, shucks. I was just at the right place at the right time. Or should I say, the rightsnakeat the right time?”
I laughed along with his bad pun to be polite, but Scar just groaned loudly and pointed at the door. “Go on, get out of here.”
After Nate left, Scar locked up the bar and we were headed home when a realization struck me. I quickly put my hand on Scar’s shoulder.
“The baby!” I cried. “Not Angel, I mean - ” I touched my belly. “This one.”
His eyes flashed. “Oh, I completely forgot. I meant to grab a pregnancy test.”
“There’s a 24 hour pharmacy near my place—we can get one right now.”
We hurried to the store, both of us nearly vibrating with excitement. Before making up with Scar, I hadn’t let myself be excited about the possibility of having a baby together. After our fight I assumed he might not ever want anything to do with me again. I had to consider the prospect that he would raise both children on his own.
But now that he’d forgiven me, a new and bright future loomed on the horizon. If Scar was pregnant, we would have not one, buttwobeautiful children.
Please, gods!
We grabbed the test kit and raced home. I made a big display of locking the front door this time. Scar rolled his eyes, placed Angel in her crib, and secluded himself in the bathroom with the pregnancy test.
“What, you don’t want me inside?” I asked outside the door.
“I’mnotletting you watch me piss on a stick,” he muttered.
I sighed. “Okay, okay.”
