“My bear told me a few weeks ago when I would get up and get sick almost immediately, but I didn’t believe him. I’m tired all the time and nauseated. If I smell anything with eggs in it, my stomach revolts.”
He stepped back. I’d hurt him. I could feel it through the bond. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I didn’t believe him. I thought something else was happening.”
He closed his eyes and then grabbed me up in a bear hug. “Don’t keep things from me, omega. We’re in this together, good and bad. Please.”
“I won’t. I’m sorry.”
He kissed my lips. Thank goodness I’d brushed my teeth for the tenth time this morning. “Let’s move past it. You have a pregnancy test to take, and I brought all kinds of things the pharmacist suggested. There’s a whole section for prenatal care and one shelf dedicated to nausea. Apparently, that’s a common thing here.”
Auburn stayed with me in the bathroom while I peed on the stick. We read the directions over and over. We waited the two minutes and the whole time, he hugged me and kissed my head. He whispered all the things an omega wanted to hear. He loved me. Everything was going to be okay, no matter what the test said. He was so lucky to have me.
His bear poured calm and soothing emotions through the bond, not only to my bear but to me.
When the timer went off, I wasn’t ready to face it.
“Can you go check it, please? I-I can’t.”
“Of course.” He strolled into the bathroom and came out smiling. “You’re pregnant, Oakley.”
“Are you sure?” I asked, snatching the test with a little more force than necessary. “Two lines.”
“We’re going to have a baby, omega. Tell me what you’re feeling.”
I looked up at him. “Tell me how you’re feeling first.” I wouldn’t be happy if he didn’t want this. A thousand catastrophic endings came to mind.
“I’m ecstatic. Another dream come true. It’s all because of you. But how do you feel?”
I bent over and rested my hands on my knees. The relief almost made me collapse. “I thought you might not want this. We didn’t talk about it. About starting a family. We don’t even live together.”
“Hey.” He scooped me up and brought me to the living room and somehow managed to grab the bag from the drugstore. “Iwould never leave you. No matter what happens. I want this. I want you and being a papa and having a family. I want everything with you, Oakley.”
Tears spilled over. I couldn’t contain them anymore. “I’m so happy. I’m carrying our cub.”
“Yes, you are. The rest we will figure out. It’s all going to be fine. I promise. Trust me?”
“I do.” My hands went to my stomach and I laughed through the tears. “I’m your dad, little cub,” I spoke to my baby. “We already love you so much.”
Chapter Nineteen
Auburn
Our excitement about the coming baby was tempered by the fact that my mate was unable to keep anything down except a little water and a few crackers. And ginger ale, of course. But I didn’t see how he could live on that long term. We visited the local healer, Quinn, who assured us he was in perfect health, and we just had to keep him hydrated until we reached the second trimester, when he would likely get past this misery.
Still, I hated it. He woke up every morning to hang over the toilet having the dry heaves, and his voice held a harshness from all the vomiting. I had to do something, so I went online and read about a thousand people’s experiences with moderate to severe morning sickness. Most, like Oakley, could tolerate crackers and ginger ale, but it wasn’t good enough for my mate. I didn’t want him to feel sick morning and night as well, often, for three solid months if I could do anything about it at all. Ginger candies and tea were popular, but as summer dragged on and the heat never broke, as his trimester blended into the next with the nausea continuing, I had to act.
I didn’t have a lot of different skills, but I did know how to make ice cream, and I wondered if I could come up with a recipe that might help a little.
I figured I could boost the nutrition as well as using ingredients that were settling for his stomach. My omega was not doing well with dairy, but I thought he might do better with coconut milk. My research turned up that it had many nutrients recommended for pregnant omegas as well as being settling for the stomach and hydrating. Bingo. I saw warnings that it could be high in calories, but that was not a problem for us right now. It was a plus.
Oakley was lounging on the sofa with a bucket by his head when I had my first batch prepared. Not the first recipe. It had taken me a half dozen versions before I reached one that had the ingredients I wanted with the ones he’d want to eat. I tried it myself and thought it was tasty. Coconut-ginger with some other additions for nutrition.
He looked so pathetic, I wanted to cry. “Omega, I have a little scoop of ice cream here for you. Do you think you could eat a bite or two?”
“I’m not hungry.” He rolled to face the back of the sofa. “But thanks.”
“Love, I think you should give it a try. It’s a new flavor I’ve been working on and you know how I rely on your input.”
