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It was several hours and two IV bags before Joey opened his eyes again. When he did, I was right there at his side holding his hand. “Hi.”
His eyes filled with tears. “Andro. You're real.”
Mine welled up too. “I am.”
He let out a very long sigh and scooched closer to me.
That was a good sign. The doctor had removed his IV, but kept everything set up in case he needed another one. “How are you feeling?”
“Good. Hungry. Like I could use a shower. Do you think you might be up for talking?” he asked.
“Um, yeah, I suppose we probably should.” I thought I would be the one to broach the subject, but if he was ready to hash things out, I was more than willing to listen.
“I understand if I'm going to be punished. I'll accept whatever punishment you dole out. I shouldn't have left.”
“Why did you leave?” I curled both of my palms around his hand, holding it to my chest. “I thought we had a good thing. And you told me you love me.”
“I do. Very much.” A single tear slipped down his cheek, and his voice shook. “But you were going to send me away. Toss me aside and probably take another omega to your bed. I started to worry about our child and what would happen if I had an omega. Would you take them away from me? Or worse? Would you take an alpha child away from me? I didn't want to live like that. I didn't trade one prison for another.” He swallowed hard before continuing. “Although, I realized pretty quickly that it was a mistake to leave.”
“Sending you away?” I couldn’t believe that was the reason. The pieces were just starting to fall into place in my mind. “Did you…overhear my conversation with my dad?”
Joey nodded.
Fuck. This was all my fault. “I'm sure it sounded terrible, but you must not have overheard all of it, because then you wouldknow there are people out there making threats to our family. I planned to send you to a safe house so you would be safe. The people who threatened us know you’re pregnant, and that makes you more vulnerable. But there aren't many people who know that.”
His eyes narrowed as realization set in. “Someone inside the house leaked information?”
“Yes, and thanks to your friend Connor, we know it was one of the newer omegas. Once we learned just how much information filters through that group, it was easy to figure it out.”
Joey looked down at our joined hands. “So, you didn't want to get rid of me yet?”
I ran my fingers through his hair and cupped his cheek. “I don't want to get rid of you ever. It killed me when you left. I thought you didn't want me. I realized that we didn't talk about how circumstances had changed, and our relationship was no longer just an agreement like we had before. It's not a business agreement to me, Joey. I love you. And if I had to give up this whole family to choose you, I would.”
“I don't want that.” His eyes were glassy again. “But I’m happy to hear that you would.”
“And I meant what I said about our child. Alpha, omega, boy, or girl. I don't care. I just want a family with you.” I leaned forward and kissed Joey’s lips.
16
JOEY
“Do you think we're ready?”
“We’re more than ready,” Andro assured me as we lay naked in the bed.
Now that the nursery was completely put together and all business dealings had been dealt with, delegated, or postponed for at least the next three weeks, we were able to just relax. It would likely be the last time we could for a while.
I was due the next day, and the doctor said if the baby didn't come in the next twenty-four hours, they were going to induce me due to his size. He was a big guy.
The old wives’ tale about increased morning sickness for alphas must have been true because I had morning sickness throughout the entire pregnancy, and I was definitely having an alpha.
Andro didn't trust that it would be safe to take me to a hospital to give birth, so he arranged to have a whole birthing suite set up in the house. Two guest rooms in our wing had been converted with all the equipment we needed to deliver a baby brought in, as well as two nurses and a doctor on staff.
I thought it was overkill, but I wasn't going to complain. Nothing he did to protect me or our baby was too much, as far as he was concerned.
“Have we settled on a name?” Andro tossed his phone in the air and caught it.
“We have not. I personally still like Theodore a lot.”
