Mackenzie wasn’t sure he believed him.Even if Dean had seen a healer, though, it was obvious that he wasn’t fine.Either he’d gotten worse, or he was hiding something, and Mackenzie disliked both of those thoughts.“Talk to me,” he said, hoping Dean would.
Dean pulled the pillow away from his face and stared at the ceiling, but he still didn’t tell Mackenzie what the fuck was going on.
“Dean?”Mackenzie pushed because he needed to know.What was Dean hiding?It looked like he knew what was wrong with him, so why wasn’t he telling Mackenzie?Was it that bad?
Dean finally looked at Mackenzie.Mackenzie looked back, waiting.He was relieved when Dean finally spoke.“I saw the skunk healer.Jasper insisted after I threw up on his shoes, but the healer said he couldn’t do anything for me.”
That didn’t make sense.“Why?Because you can’t keep telling me there’s nothing wrong with you.No one throws up as often as you do if there’s nothing wrong with them.”
Dean looked away.He wasdefinitelyhiding something.“Roman said that I could be pregnant, since we have shifters in our family line.I told him it was ridiculous because I’m human, and when he suggested I take a pregnancy test, I told him I wouldn’t.It’s ridiculous, isn’t it?”
Mackenzie didn’t know what to say, but it kind of made sense, didn’t it?He looked at Dean’s stomach.Was there a baby growing in there right now?The thought was weird and a little freaky, but if it was a possibility, Dean needed to find out.
“It’s not that ridiculous,” Mackenzie said.
“It is,” Dean snapped, struggling to sit up.“I can’t be pregnant.I’m human.”
“But our great-grandfather was a shifter.We have a shifter side of the family, and these are facts.You and I might not be able to shift, but what’s to say that we didn’t get something from shifters?I mean, they’re present in our DNA.They’re part of us, and while I understand it has to be scary for you, wouldn’t it be better if you knew what’s going on?At least that way, you’d know for sure.If you’re not pregnant, I’m dragging you to a doctor, because this isn’t normal.”
“There’s no way I’m pregnant.It’s just not possible.”
Dean was scared.That much was obvious, and Mackenzie understood it, but there was only one thing they could do right now.“Then it shouldn’t be a problem for you to take a pregnancy test, right?I mean, you can’t be pregnant.What’s it going to change if you pee on a stick?”
Dean narrowed his eyes.Mackenzie knew what he was doing.The only way to get Dean to do this was to goad him into it.He would push back if Mackenzie insisted, but now, Mackenzie was daring him, and Dean wouldn’t be able to let that go.
Mackenzie arched a brow at his brother.Dean huffed, pushed Mackenzie’s hand away from his leg, and got to his feet.“Fine.We’ll get a pregnancy test.”
Thankfully, they didn’t have to go far to find one.Mackenzie hadn’t been sure what to think of the town where Dean lived with the rest of his team, but he liked that everything he needed was close by.He especially liked that they were back at Dean’s apartment ten minutes later, even though Dean was staring at the pregnancy test as if the thing was about to jump out of the box and attack him.
“It’s not going to take itself,” Mackenzie pointed out as he bumped his shoulder against Dean’s.
Dean nodded, but he continued staring at the small box on the bathroom counter without moving.
Mackenzie couldn’t deny that the thought of his brother taking that test was odd and freaked him out.The implications of Dean possibly being pregnant made Mackenzie want to scream, but he didn’t want to worry too much yet.He’d have time to do that once they knew for sure.
“Just do it,” Mackenzie said, sighing.“Even if it’s positive, would it be a bad thing?I mean, I know you never thought you’d have kids, at least not this way, but it doesn’t have to be bad.”
Dean finally snatched the test from the counter.“You need to leave.”
“I’ll be right outside the door.”There was no way Mackenzie was leaving without knowing.
Dean rolled his eyes as Mackenzie left the bathroom.The door slammed behind him, and he leaned against the wall, telling himself not to freak out just yet.He wasn’t sure he could stop himself, though.
What if Dean was pregnant?Mackenzie would help him as much as he could and as much as Dean let him.He didn’t know Jasper well, but he’d seen how he and Dean were together.There was no way Jasper wouldn’t want Dean to have his baby, even if finding out about it shocked him.And Dean, well.Mackenzie would support him no matter what happened.
But what if Deanwaspregnant?What did it mean for Mackenzie?They shared the same parents and the same shifter DNA.It didn’t mean that Mackenzie might be able to get pregnant, too, but there was a chance that he could, and the thought was enough to make him want to scream.
When the bathroom door finally opened, Dean was on the phone.He ignored Mackenzie, which didn’t help.
“Yes?”he asked whoever was calling him.“At the apartment with my brother.Do you need me anywhere?”
Mackenzie wished he could hear the other side of the conversation, especially when Dean’s tone turned sharp.
“What do you mean?”he asked.“What?Is it Jasper?Is he all right?”
Mackenzie didn’t like the sound of that.He watched Dean with wide eyes when Dean hung up and started grabbing his stuff.Something had definitely happened, and it sounded like it involved Jasper.
Mackenzie bit his lower lip.He wanted to know if Jasper was okay, but he also wanted to know if Dean was—and if he was pregnant.“What happened?”he eventually asked.
