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“Damn it, you’re not supposed to be running, Ciara!” I vaguely heard Wiz shout after me, but I ignored him.
My feet tangled halfway down the hallway, sending me careening to my knees with a loud thump!
A sob, half because of my skinned knees and half because of who was back in that hotel room, ripped out of me as his hand gently gripped my elbow and started to pick me up off of the ground.
The comforting scent of cloves filled my nose as Wiz hovered over me, his worry palpable even with our bonds still closed off.
“You can’t run like that, Ciara, you’re pregnant,” Wiz said as he helped me to my feet and began to use his sleeve to wipe away my tears.
“She’s what?” Three shocked voices echoed loudly down the thankfully empty hallway.
I shot them a watery look and I don’t know what came over me, but I did Orla’s famous jazz-hands move as Wiz ended up picking me up entirely and carrying me back toward the room.
“Surprise,” I told them hoarsely, not looking any of them in the eyes as we passed them.
Wiz deposited me on the bed and climbed in behind me, almost protectively as the rest of our pack stood in front of us, their jaws still hanging open with shock.
Then it all seemed to wear off at the same time and they were rapid-fire asking me questions.
“How far along are you?”
“Whose baby do you think it is?”
“When did you find out?”
Wiz held up a hand to stop them and I leaned back against him, glad that I had him for what was about to come.
I answered their questions one-by-one. “I’m sixteen weeks pregnant give or take a couple of days. We found out a day or so after we got here and I’m pretty sure it’s Artie’s.”
The omega stood up a little bit straighter, his lips flashing into a quick smile before it melted back into a neutral expression. “How do you know?”
“You came in me quite a bit during your heat, and apparently, omegas are hyper-fertile during a heat, meaning that my usual birth control didn’t stand a chance.”
“Holy shit, that’s a thing?” Enzo blurted, drawing my attention to him.
I thought I looked like shit after throwing up for nearly three weeks straight, but Enzo looked downright awful. Deep purple smudges were under each eye and his cheeks looked hollowed out like he hadn’t been eating.
My heart gave a little squeeze and I had to remind myself that he’d spewed awful words at me the last time we’d seen each other.
Even if my heart, my vagina, and my inner alpha were happy to see the man, my brain was telling me that he had hurt me—and badly.
“It is,” Wiz confirmed and gently lifted my oversized sweatshirt to reveal the gentle swell of my belly.
Enzo and Leith’s eyes looked as if they were about to bug out of their heads, but it was clear Artie couldn’t see.
“It’s all a blur to me, what does it look like?” he asked, leaning in a bit closer and squinting as if it would help.
With a sigh, I gently reached out and grabbed the omega’s hand. Ignoring the way it made my heart flutter in my chest, I pressed his palm flat to the curve of what was now very clearly a pregnant person’s belly.
Artie’s eyes widened in the same way that the rest of the packs had as he splayed his fingers wide.
“That’s why you threw up that day in the hospital,” Leith said as he seemed to be connecting the dots.
I shot him a wry look. “And pretty much every day since.”
“My mum was sick for almost every day of her pregnancy with me,” Artie remarked dazedly, his hand still on my stomach.
The moment was so nice, that of course Enzo had to ruin it. “You’ve got to come back to the states with us ASAP so we can get you set up with an OBGYN there.”
