I pace around our bathroom waiting for the timer to go off. I have three pregnancy tests sitting on the counter right now, side by side. I bought three different kinds just in case one brand is better than the other. I figured the more tests I take, the more accurate it'll be so here I am. Brandon keeps trying to mindlink with me to see if I'm done yet, but I'm not responding. Aiden keeps at it as well to the point that I put up the block in my mind from everyone.
I just need a minute to myself to panic.
The timer rings out and I halt my steps and close my eyes. After several seconds and several deep breaths to try to push down my nerves I open my eyes and stare at the tests. I know I need to walk over there and look at them, but my feet are like stones at the bottom of a river. I can't bring myself to move. The buzzer continues to go off and I cringe at the sound. I know the boys can hear it from downstairs, so before they can try to bombard me with questions about the results I quickly move to shut it off. I sit on the edge of the tub and grab the first test.
Positive.
My heart sinks at the little pink plus sign that seems to haunt me. I grab the second test and my heart sinks even further when I see another plus sign. Closing my eyes, I grab the last one and look at it.
Three positive pregnancy tests.
I'm pregnant.
Mason and I are going to be handling a pregnancy while we get ready for the possibility of war against another pack. We've had two months of no attacks, no threats, nothing from Blue Bloods but two months isn't enough to give me any sort of peace that now is the right time. I numbly place the tests back in the boxes and carry them downstairs.
The boys are both in the living room pretending to watch TV, but as soon as I step through the door their eyes are on me. They don't ask anything, but I can see the questions in their eyes. This is probably exciting for them. As pack members, the birth of the Alpha's heir is a big deal. I just wish I could feel as excited right now. I want this baby, God knows how much I want this baby, but I just wish it would have happened at a better time. My nerves are more along the lines of I'm not sure how Mason will react to the news of becoming a father. I fight off my tears as I lower myself down onto the couch.
"Will one of you please call Mason and tell him to come home now," I whisper as I look at the three boxes in my hand. "I just really need him to come home." The two of them sit quietly as my tears slide down my cheeks.
"I take it from the look on your face and those tears that the tests were positive?" Brandon asks with a sad smile. I listen to him get up and move towards me, but I can't take my eyes off the boxes. He sits beside me and gently rubs his hand up and down my back soothingly as I nod my head.
"Why is that a bad thing?" Aiden asks, confusion clear in his voice. "You're going to be a mom, and you'll be giving the pack an heir. Don't you want to have pups with Alpha?" I flinch at the tone of his voice. Brandon growls lowly at him but I just shake my head.
"I want to start a family with him more than anything in this world," I state as I finally lift my eyes to meet his hazel ones. His eyes shine against his dark skin tone as he stares me down. My wolf growls at him for the disrespect he's showing us, but my mind is too preoccupied to reprimand him. "We were going to wait. I'm only eighteen and we have a war that is possibly brewing between us and my old pack! This is not the time to be pregnant!" I sigh and bury my fingers into my hair and tug.
Please let this be okay.
"The Alpha wants to know what's going on," Brandon says quietly. "What do you want me to tell him?" His words send me over the edge for some reason. I look up at him as the first sob breaks through. I can see the panic in his eyes before they glaze over. I lean forward and do my best to fold into myself as Brandon rubs my back. I need my mate. He will make this better.
***
Mason
'Alpha, Luna wants you to come home right away,' I hear Brandon's voice ring out in my head. I fur my eyebrows at this. Alaina is normally fine until I get home after I take care of my pack business. The only reason she would be asking Brandon to contact me is she either did something she knew she wasn't supposed to, or she's in trouble.
'What's wrong, Brandon? Is Alaina alright?' I ask and wait for a response. When it doesn't come straight away I start to get frustrated. My wolf begins pacing in the back of my mind. I look around the clearing at the pack fighters training to get ready for the battles that I have no doubt are coming. Alaina wants to believe that since we haven't heard anything in two months that it might be over… but I know better. Dylan isn't one to back down this easily, especially not after all the trouble he's already gone through. Two months of preparing for a war. He's waiting until we're vulnerable, which is why I've been working the pack harder than before. We will be ready for anything.
'She just started crying, Alpha. I really think it would be best if you heard this from her. I know she wants to be the one to tell you about it.' Tell me about what?
'Is she okay?' I ask, my Alpha tone leaking into my voice. I know even through the link that any pack member will have no choice but to bow down to it and answer. My wolf yips in agitation in my mind. He's pushing me to go home.
'Technically yes. She's fine, but Mason you need to get to the house now. I can't get her to calm down.'
As soon as the words finish in my head, I jump into the air and shift into my wolf and run for the house. I need to get to Alaina and find out what's wrong. She's been feeling under the weather lately, which is unusual, and she thinks I haven't noticed her trying to hide it from me. I have no doubt she thinks she's saving me the stress, but she's wrong. Whatever has made her cry is dead as soon as I get to her. If Brandon can't get her to calm down, then it must be something important. I push my wolf harder, paws thundering against the ground, as I hurry towards the house.
It doesn't take me long at all to reach the house. I shift on the porch and grab one of the pairs of shorts I have stashed there if I destroy my clothes when I shift. I pull them up and run into the house. I follow their scents into the living room and find the three of them sitting around. Brandon has a hand lightly pressed against my mate's back while Aiden looks at her sympathetically. I don't like the fact that he's touching my mate, friend or not. My wolf is in more control right now as I growl and storm into the living room. Aiden jumps to attention and bows his head and Brandon quickly pulls his arm away and stands from the couch. He looks awful, and I want to be sympathetic towards him right now, but I can't. I pull Alaina off the couch and into my arms as I glare at Brandon. She burrows into my chest and clings to me.
"Mine," I announce to everyone in the room as I hold my crying mate against me. She shakes from her sobs so I quickly lift her into my arms and move to sit down on the couch. Brandon and Aiden both move to the other side of the room, giving us space, no doubt feeling how close to the surface my wolf is right now. I cradle her head against my neck and inhale her scent. There's a slight change to it, has been for a while now, but I've never really noticed it until now. "Alaina, what's wrong? What happened?" I ask softly as I thread my fingers through her red strands. It normally calms her down, but it isn't helping. I can feel her fear through the bond, but I can also feel her block up. Why would she be blocking me?
I turn my attention to Brandon and Aiden and take in the worry in their eyes. "What happened?" I ask them seriously. They look at each other but don't say anything. I growl, louder this time causing them both to bow their heads in submission. "Tell me!" I yell.
"Mason," Alaina whimpers in my arms. I turn to see her pull her face free from my neck. Those blue eyes are brighter than ever due to the redness surrounding them. "Please don't yell at them. This isn't their fault. They are just doing what I asked them to." I glance back at her guards and sigh. As glad as I am to see Brandon around her again doing his duty, I need them both out of my sight.
"You two can go, I'll let you know if you'll be needed later," I tell them and nod my head towards the door. Aiden heads towards the front door and Brandon heads up the stairs to his room without a word. I can see the hesitation in his eyes, but he follows orders. I sigh and hold Alaina closer to me as her face again presses against the side of my neck.
"What happened, Red? Are you hurt?" I ask as I inspect the rest of her with my eyes. There doesn't seem to be anything wrong. Maybe her being sick has gotten worse. I hate that I've had to act like I haven't noticed, but I know there are some things she wishes not to be coddled over. She shakes her head against my neck but doesn't say anything. "You have to talk to me. I'm here now, so just tell me what's going on that was so important I had to leave my duties this morning." She flinches slightly and I scold myself.
She manages to pull out of my hold and slide off my lap. I reach to pull her back, but she moves quickly enough that there is a space between us. I watch her closely as she reaches to grab three small boxes from the ground, never once meeting my eyes. I hate this. The feeling that she can't talk to me. She seems almost scared and she's never been like this before. My wolf doesn't like it either. We can both sense something different about our mate that isn't normal. He doesn't seem as concerned about it as I am, but I push that to the back of my mind.
"Alaina, please."
"Please don't be mad. I know we said we were going to wait, but Brandon mentioned it and I thought it was crazy," she stops and takes a deep breath before continuing, "but then I took the tests anyway…" What is she talking about? "Just please don't be mad, Mason."
"I won't be mad, just tell me what's going on." She closes her eyes for a second before handing me the boxes. I look at her confused but she won't look at me. I take the boxes and watch as she twists her fingers together in her lap anxiously. I look down at the boxes and realize what it is. I hadn't paid attention before when she picked them up because I was more worried about her.
Pregnancy tests.
I look back up at her with wide eyes before opening the boxes one by one and pulling out the small sticks. All three of them have little pink plus signs on them. I look up at her with wide eyes. Does this mean what I think it means? I glance back down at my hand in shock. We've talked about this so many times, but I never assumed it would be happening so soon. Not with everything going on.
"I'm pregnant, Mason," she utters softly, glancing up at me. I look at her and then back at the tests in my hand. I don't know how long I sit there staring at the little sticks, but eventually a smile breaks out on my face. She's pregnant! We're going to be parents! This isn't something to be worried about, this is amazing news!
I drop the tests and quickly move to wrap my arms around her. I lift her off her feet and twirl her around. She gasps at my actions but squeezes me back nonetheless. I can tell she's worried about this, but there is no reason to be. I set her back down on her feet and press my forehead against hers as I smile at her.
"We're going to have a baby," I whisper as I lift a hand to rest against her neck. She covers my hand with her own and sighs as she finally looks up at me.
"Mason," she starts with a shake of her head, "this isn't the right time for me to be pregnant. You said that Dylan isn't going to just back down, which means sooner or later something is heading our way. I'm going to be pregnant with our child when they attack and it's going to make me and you more vulnerable during a fight." She sniffles and I watch as more tears well up in her eyes. "I'm so scared, Mason. This should be the happiest moment of our lives and I am so scared that I can't even breathe."
I wrap my arms around her and cradle her head against my chest before speaking again. "I know you're scared, but I will not let anything happen to you or our pup. I promise you that everything will be okay," I assure her. She pulls back so she can look up at me through watery eyes. My wolf whimpers at her worry.
"You promise?" I nod my head and kiss her lips softly. She wipes her eyes and looks down at her stomach. I watch her gently rest her hand against the bottom of her stomach before smiling softly. The happiness I feel right now is overwhelming. Knowing that our mate is carrying our pup fills both me and my wolf with pride. "I can't believe we're going to be parents," she whispers as she moves back to sit on the couch. I move with her and drop to my knees in front of her as I stare at her stomach. I lean forward and press my lips to her belly before nuzzling there. My baby is growing inside her right now.
Our baby.
"Have you seen the pack doctor about this yet?" I ask.
"Do you think you'd just now be finding out about this if I had been to the pack doctor? I may be his Alpha too, but he's more scared of you than me. Even if I had told him not to tell you, I feel like he still would have." I chuckle softly because she's right. "I wanted to make sure I was pregnant before I did anything. I wanted to be the one to tell you. Plus, there was a chance this was a false alarm and I didn't want to get anyone's hopes up if it was." She shrugs and starts running her fingers through my hair. I lift my head and smile at her. "I'm almost too scared to be happy about this, Mason. I want this, more than anything you know that, but I'm so worried something happened to the baby because of this stupid war." I sigh and reach up to trace her cheek.
"You are allowed to be as happy as you want about this baby. I'm happy about this and I know you are too beneath your worry. This baby is our future and I know you're going to be a terrific parent to it. I will do everything in my power to keep the two of you safe. This war will not harm you in any way. I don't want you to worry about it anymore. Focus on our pup and let me take care of the rest."
"You know, just because I'm pregnant doesn't mean I'm going to be helpless," she retorts as a smile spreads across her lips. Good, I'll take her teasing and smiles over her tears any day of the week. I lean forward and press a hard kiss against her mouth. I feel her hand press against the back of my head as she holds me there. I pull away and smile at her before moving back down to her belly.
"Hi, little one," I whisper softly as Alaina runs her fingers through my hair again. "I'm sure you probably can't hear me yet, but just in case you can I want you to know that you are already loved so much by so many people around you. I can't wait for you to get here. I will always protect you and your mother," I promise as I press another kiss to our unborn child.
I look up to see Alaina smiling down at me happily, tears again in her eyes. I sigh in relief that these tears are at least not sad tears. "I think everything is going to be just fine. I have you by my side and that's all I will ever need, Mason. I'm going to give you a beautiful healthy baby and everything will be perfect."
"Everything will be perfect," I assure her again. "Our mothers are going to be thrilled. And the pack as well. If you thought they were excited when I officially introduced you to them, can you imagine what it's going to be like when we announce that you're pregnant with their next Alpha? It's going to be crazy."
"Do we have to tell them right away?"
"We have to tell them because them knowing will offer more protection for you and the baby if anything were to happen. The pack's instincts are to protect you anyway because of who you are, but with our pup inside you, they will be even more diligent." She rolls her eyes. "I know you hate that I have guards for you, but I'm going to be putting more guards around the house until we are sure this issue with Blue Bloods is resolved. I'm not taking any chances with you."
"Mason," she groans out. I can't help but smile at her. I know she hates it, but it keeps her safe, and I have a feeling that the added protection for our unborn baby isn't something she will fight me on.
"I know, I know. I'll make it to where only Aiden and Brandon can actually come inside the house with you, I promise. I just want you as safe as I can make you when I'm not with you." She sighs but nods her head anyway. "How is he? Brandon, I mean."
"I hate that today was the day I had a breakdown, but it was so good to be around him again. I know he has a long way to go, but interacting with him again was reassuring. I know it's never going to be the same until we find Mary, but having even part of my best friend back was great today."
"We will find her," I say and I hope that I'm telling the truth. She's been gone for two months now and her trail has gone cold. I refuse to give up on a member of my pack, but even I have to admit that the likelihood of finding her at this point is very slim. Alaina reads the look on my face and frowns slightly as she sighs. "I love you, Alaina."
She smiles sadly up at me and frames my face in her hands. "As I love you," she whispers before leaning forward and pressing her lips against mine in a passionate kiss.