When she reached her father, Pierce scooped her up. “Two dhampirs in one house… Are we going to be able to handle that?” he teased. He wiggled a finger in front of Lark’s face and she tried to bite it. Pierce chuckled.
“Two! That’s so many babies!” Theo cried.
“Are you upset that you’re not the baby of the family anymore?” Pierce asked him.
Theo pouted. “No. Well, maybe a little.”
“Don’t worry,” I assured him. “You still act like one.”
“Ha ha.” Theo rolled his eyes. “Well, don’t worry about adding a third baby, because unlike my big brothers, I know how to keep it in my pants around an omega.”
I playfully swatted him, but Theo ducked underneath it and laughed at me.
Ignoring us, Benji turned to Caleb and asked with sparkling eyes, “Have you two thought of names yet?”
“Yup,” Caleb said proudly. “But they’re gonna be a surprise to everyone except us.”
“You are such a - “ Benji cut himself off from swearing in front of Lark and settled on, “Butthead.”
“They’re cute, I promise,” Caleb said.
As the human brothers laughed, another voice said from the door, “Um… Sorry to interrupt.”
Everyone turned to see Maxwell, who immediately began sweating under the stress of being stared at by every person in the room.
“Um, maybe I should come back later,” Maxwell squeaked.
“No, please continue,” I said. Learning from Jordan that Maxwell had issues with anxiety, I wanted to encourage him as much as possible. “We’re all listening.”
Nobody spoke on top of him. Maxwell bit his lip, then built up the nerve to speak again.
“So…” He looked to Caleb. “I need to speak with you. It’s about the baby.”
Caleb looked like he’d been gutted. “What? Is something wrong?”
“No, no,” Maxwell said quickly. “Well, it could be an issue, but we won’t know for sure until I examine you.”
Theo cringed. “Max, your bedside manner…”
“What?” Maxwell said, apparently not realizing how badly he’d frightened Caleb. “Oh, I’m sorry. Just… come with me, please.”
Everyone was silent as Caleb and I hurried out of the room. Stress radiated off my mate in waves. I took his hand in mine, but it didn’t seem to help. The doctor’s words had truly scared him.
Caleb was a bundle of nerves by the time we arrived in Maxwell’s examination room. “What’s happening?”
A pile of papers and an overstuffed clipboard were strewn across the counter. Maxwell seemed distracted as he gestured to the bed. “If you could lay down, please.”
“Doctor,” I said firmly. “Could you please explain what the issue is?”
“Oh!” Maxwell said, like he had finally heard me. “Sorry. There’s no need to worry. Probably.”
“Maxwell!” Caleb snapped. Frightened tears rimmed his eyes. “Can you tell me what the hell is going on?”
“Yes.” Maxwell cleared his throat and took a seat next to Caleb on the bed. He held the overflowing clipboard in his hands. “I would like to take some ultrasounds.”
“That’s it?” Caleb almost yelled. “That’s… normal.”
“Well, I was concerned because of your previous condition,” Maxwell went on, a slightly grim look on his face. “The rubra putrida.”
