Dean flipped him off and continued eating.When he went to flop onto the couch, Mackenzie followed.He watched as Jasper made sure that Dean was settled and had everything he wanted, including a pillow for his back and a blanket.
Was this how he was with Nico?He’d like to think so.He wanted to take care of his boyfriend and their child, and he did so in any way he could.He was pretty sure that sometimes, he did a little too much and made Nico want to strangle him, but he didn’t think anyone would blame him for that, not even Nico.
“So, what is it?”Dean asked.“Are you finally ready to come clean about your relationship?”
“You already know about Nico.What do you have to complain about?”
“I didn’t know about Nico,” Jasper said.“Are we talking about Nico Wiley?The bobcat heir?
“We are,” Mackenzie confirmed.“He and I have been dating.We’ve kept it a secret considering everything, but the cat is out of the bag.”
“Thebobcatis out of the bag,” Dean pointed out as he snickered.“What changed?Not that I’m not happy for you.”
Mackenzie sucked in a breath.He hadn’t told anyone about the baby, but it was time.It felt safer to tell Dean first.Dean knew exactly what this was like.He was living it.“He finally talked to his father.I’ll be moving in with the bobcats.”
Dean blinked.“That quickly?I thought you’d just met.”
“Things have been moving quickly for you and Jasper, too.”
“Yeah, but Jasper and I were friends before we got together, and I’m pregnant.We wanted things to be settled before the baby’s born.What reason doyouhave to go so fast?”
“The same as you.We want to be settled before the baby’s born.”
Jasper was already smiling, but Dean was gaping at Mackenzie.He stared and blinked, doing nothing more as Jasper leaned forward and quickly squeezed Mackenzie’s arm.“Congratulations,” he said.
“Thank you.It’s been a bit overwhelming, but we’re doing fine.”
“I know how it can be.You and Nico will make wonderful fathers, though.”
“We’ll certainly try.The baby was a bit of a surprise, but we’ve decided we’ll deal with whatever gets thrown at us.”
“Sometimes, it’s the only way to do things.”
“Wait,” Dean blurted out.“What do you mean, the baby?”
“Exactly what I said.Nico’s pregnant.It wasn’t planned, but we’re happy, and we’ll be moving in together.”
“But he’s a future alpha.”
“That doesn’t make him any less of a carrier.Unfortunately, we found that out the hard way.”
“And you’re okay with it?”
“I’m overwhelmed, and sometimes, if I allow myself to think too hard about things, I freak out, but yeah.I’m happy.”Especially now that he felt that Nico was safer.Silas was still on the run, but he’d been wounded, and everyone seemed to think that meant he wouldn’t come after people anymore.He was still out there, but things were finally looking up.
Dean leaned forward.Mackenzie grinned when his brother hugged him, the feeling of Dean’s stomach against him reminding him of Nico.He wasn’t showing yet, but this would be Nico soon, and Mackenzie couldn’t wait.
This was nothing like what he’d imagined his life would be.He could never have thought in his wildest dreams that he’d move into one of the forests where shifters lived.He certainly couldn’t have imagined that he’d fall in love with one of them and that they’d have a child.He liked it, though.This might not be the life he’d imagined, but it was the life he had, and he couldn’t wait to see what happened next.
Chapter Thirteen
––––––––
MACKENZIE COULDN’Tremember the last time he’d been so happy.He whistled as he left the house, carrying a box he pushed into the trunk of his car.It was full, which meant he could drive over to bobcat territory.
He and Nico had been lucky—or maybe it was just that Nico was the alpha’s son and Dan knew about all the empty houses in their territory.Whatever the case, Mackenzie and Nico had found a home, and they’d started moving in.It was easier for Nico, who lived just five minutes on foot from their new home, but Mackenzie didn’t mind driving back and forth.He was glad he hadn’t had time to unpack when he’d moved in with the foxes because it meant that it was less work for him.
He closed the trunk and went back up the porch steps to close his front door.He had his phone and everything he’d need in his car already, so he moved toward it as he wondered if he could stay at the new house tonight.It wasn’t quite ready yet because Dan wanted the place to be as comfortable as possible for Nico and had several people working on it, but Mackenzie didn’t care much about the dust or anything like that.As long as he had a functioning bathroom, he’d love to spend the night.
