“I miss you too.”
My chest surged with fire. My omega missed me. Best thing I’d heard in days. “Anything I can bring home?”
“Maybe some soup?”
“You got it. I’ll be there soon.”
I got off the phone and stopped by our favorite Chinese place. Brent loved their hot-and-sour soup, but I got a few containers of different kinds in case his stomach didn’t like the hot or the sour.
The next stop was the pharmacy. I picked up some nausea medication along with some hydration packs but, as I moved to the register, something else caught my attention.
Pregnancy tests.
I paused and stared at them. Brent and I had been together for a few months. There wasn’t a single time we’d used protection. We were shifters, so there was no chance of diseases, but we hadn’t taken precautions against pregnancy.
Two plopped into my basket, just in case.
We spent most of our time at my house, but Brent maintained his apartment. I didn’t push my omega on anything. He did things at his speed, and that was fine with me. Even if it took years for him to move in with me, I would be patient through it all. I’d made that promise to him and to myself.
When I got home, Brent was on the couch, a small trash can near him. He looked positively green, his favorite color, usually, but I would bet not today.
“You brought soup?” he asked, turning off the TV.
“I did. One of each kind. Do you want to try some?”
He nodded and came over but stopped himself from giving me my welcome home hug. I lived for those hugs. “I don’t want to get you sick.”
“Get over here, omega. I’ll take the chance.”
With a beaming smile, he came close, and I wrapped him in my embrace. He probably didn’t realize it, but every time I hugged him since he’d shifted, he made a little purring noise. His cat loved affection from me and made it known. “Mmm, you smell so good, dragon,” he said, speaking directly to my animal.
“Let’s get some soup into you.”
We walked to the kitchen where I began unpacking the bags. Brent took things from the bags and then paused, holding the bag up.
Shit!I’d forgotten to take the pregnancy test out.
“Are you upset with me?” I asked. My heart plunked right down into my stomach.
“Upset? No. Actually, it makes perfect sense. I can’t believe I didn’t think of it. We haven’t used a condom. Ever.” He took thetest out and looked at me. “If I am… If I am pregnant, will you be upset?”
I dropped everything, nearly spilling all the soup, and held him tight against me, the pregnancy test probably snapping in half in the process. “If you think I don’t want this, sweetheart, you’re wrong. I want you forever and a baby on top of that. You’d make me the happiest dragon. And if you’re not, I’m still the luckiest alpha in the world.”
We held each other for a while until he broke apart from me. “Let’s go face this, then, shall we?”
He went into the bathroom by himself but sat on my lap in the bedroom chair until the timer went off. He audibly swallowed and kissed me. “Will you check it, please? I’m a shaking mess.”
“Absolutely. Let’s check it together. Whatever happens, I love you and we’re in this together. No matter what, you hear me?”
He nodded. We went into the bathroom, and I picked up the stick. Brent grasped my hand so firmly, I thought he might pull it right off.
“It’s two lines, omega. You’re having our baby.”
I had to hold him as his knees gave out. “Are you serious?”
Nodding, I showed him the stick. “We’re going to be parents.”
Tears flowed down his face. “I never considered it, but I’m so damned happy. Are you?”
