Page 28 of Matched in Mayhem

“Are you having sympathy morning sickness?” Slyvin asked, his voice level.

“No, I just don’t want to set it off again in Alby,” I explained.

“Eat outside then,” Slyvin said. “Just eat before you do something you’ll regret.”

“Fine,” I sighed.

“Thank you. I don’t want to pick bones from your teeth later today.”

I laughed despite how unfunny it all was. So, while Alby was still in the shower, I headed into the kitchen and made a sandwich. It was the least ‘scented’ food I could think of, but I still took it quickly onto the back porch to eat. Slyvin was right. I was ravenous. As a tiger, I’d never been the sort of guy who can skip breakfast.

“We could still eat the midwife. Nice crunchy midwife or even nice furry midwife. I don’t care. My Alby! My wolf!” my tiger paced inside his inner sanctum.

I took a bigger bite of my sandwich because eating the midwife shouldn’t sound like a good idea. It should sound like a horrible, horrible idea. It was the worst idea ever. The midwife was an omega. The midwife was a midwife. The midwife was invited here.

“The midwife is edible,” my tiger chimed into my thoughts. “Nice and crunchy. Nice and blood-filled! A shifter snack pack!”

“Bennie,” Alby said from the doorway, and I sucked in a deep breath. He and his wolf didn’t smell very impressed with our plans to eat the midwife.

“Yes, mate?” I asked, eating the last bite of my sandwich as I turned around.

“I think you should go hang out with Raziel or at the temple or something while the midwife is here or maybe just stay for the ultrasound and then go out for a bit,” he said, leaning against the doorframe. “And before you ask why, you were very loudly thinking about eating him. Don’t you think they have enough trouble without having to watch me tackle you and bite your ear?”

“Huh?” I blinked at him.

“I love you, but if you embarrass me in front of the midwife I’m not going to be happy. Happy mate and clean murder plate is not a thing. I think what you were looking for is ‘happy mate, life is great.’”

“Alby,” I said his name, not quite a groan and not quite a sigh.

“Don’t ‘Alby’ me! You are not eating the midwife! Seriously!”

“You smelled so unhappy about the exam and I don’t want you to be uncomfortable ever.”

“What? Are you going to eat our baby for giving me pregnancy sickness?” Alby asked.

“That’s some sort of illogical argument fallacy but I can’t remember which one when you look at me like that,” I groaned.

“Well, the midwife is here for the baby who just happens to be imprisoned inside of me,” Alby said. “So, yeah, I’m not thrilled about the exam but I’m also not thrilled about morning sickness. Plus, I think if anyone has the right to eat the midwife it’s me and I’m not in the mood to eat the midwife.”

“I’ll cook him for you,” I offered, only half sure I was joking, because this was my Alby we were talking about. If that was his pregnancy craving I’d make sure he had it.

“You really are impossible,” he said, but a smile was already curling up at the corners of his mouth.

“No, you’ve just never seen a tiger besotted before. Really, anything you want to eat, I will get it. I’ll bring you….”

“I just want to get the exam and see the baby without you eating anyone,” he said. “That’s why I thought the middle ground would be that you stayed for the ultrasound but left for the rest.”

“But you’re nervous,” I groaned.

“Are you one of those alphas who make doctor appointments into something weird? Like you think it’s sexual or something or…?”

“No!” I said, stepping closer. “I don’t think anyone gets a thrill out of a well omega exam, mate. It’s… You smell so uncomfortable and I was born to eradicate threats. I was born to eat them or feed them to you to feed our unborn children. I was made for this. I was made to protect you. Made to ensure you can have a leisurely pregnancy where you get chunky and get foot rubs and all of that.”

“Alpha,” Alby said, stepping close and wrapping his arms around my shoulders. “Thank you. Thank you for wanting to eat the midwife. Thank you for wanting to rub my feet and make me fat, but you can’t eat the midwife. You can’t feed the midwife to me or anyone else either. With how sick I’ve already been I have a feeling we’re going to see a lot of the midwife and maybe a lot of Grandpa too. For the well omega exam, I want it to be someone I’m not related to. It’s weird enough. So, please, if you stay don’t eat the midwife and know that if you do leave for it, I’m not going to hold it against you. Believe me, it’s not a spectator sport. Go hangout with Raziel or at the temple or go see Daisy even. Do whatever. Go to the gym or run or whatever it takes. I know you’re having a lot of primal feelings right now, but the only thing I need to be protected from is feeling sick. So, I need to see the midwife and I need him to be able to help me. So, by being a big, strong, merciful tiger you’re actually protecting me.”

“Okay,” I nodded and kissed him on the forehead. Logically, I knew he was right, but the primal part of me figured eating the midwife would still help. So, yep. I would be exiting stage left after the ultrasound.

“Thank you,” Alby grinned up at me. “And you can eat if you need to. Don’t be afraid of me being sick. Plus, next time you feel like eating someone who hasn’t done anything, come talk to me. We’re in this together. Wolves may be pack hunters but that doesn’t mean I haven’t wanted to crunch on someone’s leg bone before.”