“You don’t have to agree with him when he’s insulting me, you know,” Nero said, raising an amused brow at me.
“I am not insulting you, my son,” Nautilus said. “It is merely who you are, and everything you are makes up your shark soul.”
“What about Nishiki? I’d like to hear you insult him, too.”
Nautilus raised his head and closed his eyes, his long whiskers dancing in the breeze. “You say Nishiki is a koi fish shifter. Then I presume he is vain, over-the-top, and perhaps a bit lacking when it comes to deep thinking.”
This time I couldn’t hold back a snort of laughter as Nero burst out laughing next to me.
“Okay, that totally makes up for the fact that you insulted me,” Nero said with a grin.
“Like I have previously stated, they are not insults, but realistic commentaries on what I know about my sons,” Nautilus said. “That being said, since I have only a small amount of knowledge about the two of you, it is possible that my predictions are inaccurate.”
Nero seem to be completely at ease now, no longer worked up but instead having a normal conversation with his father. It warmed my heart to see the two of them together, even if Nautilus wasn’t what Nero expected. It made me think about my own father. Would he have been proud that I’d found my fated mate? Would he have been excited to know that he might’ve been a grandfather?
That train of thought pulled me back to reality. I sucked in a sharp breath. “Sorry to interrupt, but Nautilus, could you please tell me if I’m pregnant or not?”
If what he said earlier was true, then it didn’t matter how recent our mating was. Nautilus would know either way. I assumed his power was a much stronger, more sensitive version than the one Dr. Pine possessed. And if she had the power to know in only a few weeks, then it made sense for Nautilus to know even sooner. Maybe even right away.
Plus, the fact that he was a mystical dragon-headed water spirit made me a lot more inclined to believe anything he had to say.
Nero’s eyes widened as he gazed at me, excitement flickering in their dark depths. His hand gripped mine tighter. “Dad, can you really tell us right now? You better not be messing with us right now.”
“I assure you, I am not messing with either of you,” Nautilus said, sounding almost annoyed that his son was doubting his abilities. “It is well within my range to deduce such a thing.”
My body went still as Nautilus floated towards me. He was much bigger up close, at least a head taller than Nero. I always thought Nero was quite tall, so to see his father towering over him was shocking. Then again, he was a water spirit—it made sense for him to be grand and physically imposing.
I wasn’t afraid Nautilus, but Nero moved closer to me anyway, as if he was ready to protect me from anything. I appreciated the effort, though he looked a little silly squaring up naked to his father.
“It’s okay, Nero,” I said, smiling at him.
“Yes, little shark,” Nautilus said. “If there is a tadpole of a baby growing in here, then it is my grandchild. I will do it no harm, and I will do no harm to your mate.”
Nero nodded, reassured by this. He watched closely as Nautilus stretched his human hands and hovered over my stomach without touching me. Nautilus shut his eyes, the same way that Dr. Pine did when she was exerting her powers. It made me smile thinking about how the pair of them had influenced each other.
I felt a tingling sensation, strange but not unpleasant. It was similar to the feeling of a soft breeze over water. From this distance, I could count each one of Nautilus’s iridescent scales. Even though the water spirit had the head of a dragon, his muscular abdomen was all man, and I definitely knew now where Nero got his good looks from.
A long silent moment passed before Nautilus hummed and opened his eyes. “It is done.”
“What does that mean?” I asked, looking to Nero for support. My mate held my hand tightly.
“It means,” Nautilus said with a smile, “that you are pregnant, omega wolf.”
The revelation hit me, a sudden shock. I stared at the water spirit with my mouth open. Nero seemed to be having the same stunned reaction. He whipped towards me, his expression excited and overjoyed, then threw his arms around me.
“Oh my God, Remmy!” Nero cried. “Did you hear that?”
“I heard it,” I said quietly, still surprised by the news. A slow happiness spread throughout my body, like a drop of ink in a cup of water. Tears welled in my eyes as I clutched Nero in return. “We’re going to be parents.”
Nero grinned ear-to-ear, the happiest I’d ever seen him. It solidified my belief that he wanted this as badly as I did, that we were always on the same page. That was something I’d never experienced with anyone before. Maybe it was just me being dramatic, but even among the pack, I felt like I didn’t truly belong. Not with Nero. He was home to me.
But maybe I was wrong about the pack, too. My mind shifted, like it hadn’t been aligned properly until I met my mate. I was starting to think that maybe I was wrong about being an outsider; I wasn’t alone. Maybe I never was.
Because no matter what happened, Nero would always be right here by my side.
14
Nero
