Chapter 9
The black sky was illuminated by stars and the light of a thick half-moon. The trip to the center island, which I’d grown to dread recently, seemed to take forever. But this time, I wasn’t going to be the cause of any problems. I was going to fix what I’d broken.
Ramsay and Eric each held one of my hands, which made me feel tethered and grounded. I wasn’t going to spiral into my negative thoughts or be plagued by doubt anymore--not with my mates backing me up.
“Don’t worry so much, babe,” Ramsay murmured as we stepped on to the sandy shore. “Just try to relax.”
I nodded. Knowing what I knew now, that was easier to accomplish.
Even though only two weeks had passed since the last Moon Meeting, it easily felt like twice as long with all the drama. I was glad to patch things up with Eric, definitely, but I still wasn’t any closer to understanding magic--and I hadn’t seen Colton since he left.
The thought made my heart race. What if he wasn’t here tonight? What if his mother didn’t let him come? Hell, what if North Pack didn’t show up at all? After the guarded and angry energy coming off Gabrielle the last time I saw her, maybe she would decide her own family was more important than her responsibility to show up at the truce.
I let out a deep sigh of relief when I saw Gabrielle and Victor across the bonfire, sitting primly on a fallen log. Next to them were Ramsay’s parents, and Mom and Dad.
My brow furrowed in slight concern. I didn’t see Noro or Colton.
I searched desperately for them, but neither of them were to be found.
“Matheson!”
Mom called me over, smiling and waving. I bit my tongue. I had to deal with this first. I could search for Colton and Noro later.
If my nerves would settle down long enough.
My parents gave me a quick hug while Ramsay greeted Dan and Linda. Crystal stood silently behind her leader, almost melting into the shadows. Eric waited patiently along with the North Pack leaders.
I tried to meet Gabrielle’s eyes, but found she deliberately avoided me. My heart sank.
“Let’s begin,” Mom announced with a firm nod. “We agreed to meet at the half-moon to discuss the situation. East Pack’s guards have undergone training in preparation for an attack by the gryphons, whether or not that comes to pass.”
This sentiment was quickly echoed by the others, who didn’t want to seem weak in comparison.
Mom caught my eye. She stood straight and looked proudly at me. “Now I’d like to hear from my son.”
Gabrielle glanced in my direction, her eyes glowing with some negative emotion I couldn’t read. I tried to ignore it.
As my nerves crept up on me again, I felt Ramsay and Eric squeeze my hands a little tighter. They were here, backing me up no matter what. I found my voice and spoke.
“Well, I have some good news to share,” I began. “I confirmed with a test that Iampregnant.”
There was a slight pause of shock, then--to my surprise--some congratulatory applause. I blushed at the sudden attention.
Well, that went over better than me announcing I knew I was expecting via magic knowledge,I thought.
“Oh, son, I’m so happy for you,” Dad said, coming over to give me another hug. Embarrassment flooded me, but I let him have a moment. It wasn’t every day you found out your son was pregnant.
Thankfully, Mom seemed to want to wait until after the Meeting was over. “Then it’s confirmed,” she said with a smile. “Mathesonispregnant. There’s a pregnant omega in the Lake of Four Directions!”
Suddenly, the air around the island seemed to change. It went from a tense dread to a slow, tentative hope. I wasn’t just an omega anymore--I was a pregnant omega. The reality of my status and biology became intensely real. For the first time in one hundred years, a male shifter was capable of bearing a child.
If I didn’t feel special before, I sure as hell felt special now.
“That doesn’t explain whose child it is,” Gabrielle said, her cold voice cutting through the upbeat atmosphere like a knife.
This time I steadily met her gaze. “I told you. Just like I knew I was pregnant, I know this baby is sired by three alphas: Ramsay, Eric, andyourson.”
Gabrielle narrowed her icy eyes. “I don’t believe you. You have no way of proving it.”
