Page 59 of Thrown into the Mob

But my mate was having our baby.

I put my hands to my head wanting everything to make sense. An hour ago, I’d been with Flint talking about a blown cover that didn't matter anymore.

My first reaction after confusion was joy. My wolf howled inside me. He was ecstatic and raving about a little one with dragon and wolf shifter parents. He was already talking about a baby dragon who possessed wolf characteristics.

My instinct was to envelop my mate in my arms and sob with happiness.

But then I thought about the timing. An hour ago. Not only had I not been there, but he’d had this information for sixty minutes without telling me.

“You didn’t come and get me straightaway. You kept it to yourself, and Treyton hid it from me as well.” That wasn’t entirely fair because it wasn’t my brother’s duty to tell me, and a midwife understood about confidentiality.

“You and your brother-in-law did this behind my back.” I tried to haul back my strident tone, but I wanted to cry and pummel someone’s chest, preferably my mate’s.

His eyes glazed over. “No, Madd, it wasn’t like that.”

I sagged onto the bed because this news was destroying what we’d built in the weeks since we’d mated.

“We talked about this, and we had an argument about it. I was hurt that you made decisions alone and did things without telling me. And I specifically said you have to share with me every time, Conrad.”

He stayed where he was with his hands behind him. “This was different.”

“You’re right,” I shrieked. “It's worse. This is our baby, and you took a test and had the result for an hour without me. I’m the dad too and your mate. We’re partners.”

His eyelashes fluttered as he blinked away his tears, but I couldn’t hold him until we’d talked or maybe yelled this through.

But screaming wasn’t helping, and I lowered my voice. “Why?”

I was aware of the compound again. There were footsteps in the corridor, and someone laughed downstairs.

“You know my father’s mate, my omega dad, laid one egg. It was oversized because there were two of us inside it.”

“And that killed him.” I finished what he was about to say. But that didn’t excuse my mate’s methods. We had access to the best possible medical advice. A lot of medical advancements had happened in thirty-one years.

“I needed to know if it was real.” Conrad hadn’t moved toward me, but there was a tremor in his voice. “If I'd been with you when the test came back positive, you would have been happy. And I would have been terrified. You would have seen that and then it would have become about managing my fear.”

I put a hand to my head, wishing we could skip over the pain and get to the joy.

“Instead of you getting to be happy, you would have been looking after me.” His voice cracked on the last word. “I wanted to get past the fear before I brought it to you. So you could experience joy and nothing else.”

My gods, this man. He had the ability to almost break me, and then his words also put me back together. I flung myself across the room and took his face in my hands. His skin was warmer than usual, and up close, the scent change was unmistakable. There was something woven through it, and I wished I could capture it.

“You listen to me.” I tried to keep my churning emotions at arm’s length. “Your story is not your dad’s.” Please gods let that be true. “What happened to him is not going to happen to you.”

We both knew there were no guarantees when it came to giving birth or laying eggs. Heck, life was one uncharted adventure.

“You can't know that.” I took his hand and cupped my cheeks. “But Treyton is pretty sure I don’t have eggs.”

I’d still be worried, though.

“We’ll get you the best possible medical care, and Treyton will be at the end of the phone during the pregnancy. He delivered Lua in the car in a parking lot.” I pulled him against my chest. “You’re not doing this alone.”

His hands came up and covered mine, and his fingers were still trembling.

“I’m sorry I didn't tell you first, and you should have been there with me when I did the test.”

“I get why you didn’t.”

He hadn't shut me out from secrecy or habit. It was love. His idea of absorbing the shock first before presenting the pretty version to me was understandable based on his history. I loved him for it, but we couldn’t keep doing this.