Logan just held him, rocking him side to side until Nick’s breathing evened out.
“You done fighting me?” Logan murmured.
Nick didn’t answer. Maybe he couldn’t. His fingers dug into Logan’s skin, desperate and helpless.
Logan pressed his mouth to Nick’s temple. “I got you, baby. Nothing’s gonna get through me to you.”
Nick turned his head, resting his cheek on Logan’s collarbone. Shame flickered through his expression. “I’m pathetic.”
Logan snorted. “You survived twenty-six years of hell and are currently incubating the world’s most stubborn baby. Pathetic is not the word I’d use.”
Nick huffed, but he didn’t move. If anything, he melted closer, boneless and spent.
Logan stroked the back of Nick’s neck, circling a thumb there. His mate’s tension eased, bit by bit. Each breath he pulled in tasted like home.
He almost didn’t hear the knock. Zeppelin didn’t wait for an answer. The alpha pushed the door open, his presence sucking the oxygen out of the room.
Nick froze in Logan’s lap.
Zeppelin took one look at the bed and raised a brow. “Look alive,” he told Logan. “Got a mate to manage.”
Nick’s gaze snapped to Zeppelin, terror raw in his face. He ducked in close behind Logan, using him as a shield. Primal move.
Logan bared his teeth. “Don’t push him,” he warned.
“You bite me, you fix your own mistakes.” Zeppelin ignored the warning and planted his bulk against the wall, his arms crossed. “Your mate’s a rare one. This pregnancy’s not dangerous for his bloodline.”
Logan kept Nick pressed close, refusing to let him break contact. He could feel every tremor shudder through his mate, could practically taste the cocktail of fear, guilt, and wild arousal tangling up inside him.
“Is he gonna keep passing out?” Logan asked.
“Probably,” Zeppelin said. “That’s the body’s way of handling overload during transition. You see this in wolves sometimes. Right now Nick’s hormones are out of control, but the cramping will stop. Your job is to keep him safe and stable.”
Nick peeked over Logan’s shoulder, his face white as paper. “He got me pregnant,” he whispered, horror clear as day.
“Sure did.” Zeppelin grinned, unbothered. “Congrats. You’ll be nesting in no time.”
Nick’s breathing shallow, his eyes wild. Logan cradled Nick’s head against his chest, letting him hide.
The alpha’s gaze landed on Logan, heavy and knowing. “This pregnancy needs stability. No stress. Keep him fed. Keep him happy. Don’t leave him alone. Not even for a second, unless another wolf’s watching him.”
Nick went stiff in Logan’s arms. The wolf inside Logan didn’t care. He liked the idea of never leaving his mate, not even for a bathroom break.
Zeppelin checked Nick again, his lips twitching. “You’re gonna be a dad, Logan. Try not to break your mate before the kid arrives.”
He patted the doorframe on the way out then left them alone.
The quiet roared louder than the alpha ever could.
Nick kept his face smashed into Logan’s shirt, breathing in like he was drowning and Logan was the only air left.
After a minute, he whispered, “You’re not mad? Not…disgusted? This is so messed up.”
Logan held him tighter. “I got you alive. I’d do it again.”
Nick’s body went limp, and then his hands started shaking. His scent spiked, not just with panic but something else. A wild, dizzying rush of hunger. Logan’s own pulse picked up, answering the call before his brain even caught up.
Nick shook, his breath catching in his chest, his hands clutching Logan’s shirt. His eyes flicked up, shocked and betrayed by his own body.
