Jason slapped him with the back of his hand and pushed him toward the door with a grin. “Be good. He didn’t have my advantages.”
Mac slipped past me with a nod and a smile.
“So, what’s up?” Jason asked.
Now that I had someone to ask, I realized I didn’t know quite how to describe this. “It’s my… line.” I blushed, saying it in the open, where the pups could hear.
“Itchy? It happened with Macy too.” His eyes fell to my swollen belly. “Have you gotten bigger again?”
“Yes.” I put my hand underneath it, relieving that painful tugging at my bellybutton. “But it’s more than itchy. It hurts.”
“Ligaments, Bram.”
I shook my head—he wasn’t taking me seriously. “I think—I’m not sure—” I was sure though, but now I was scared. “Does it normally start opening this early?”
He went still and his eyes widened. “What do you mean by opening?”
“I touched it this morning, there’s a sore spot.” My voice shook. “And I thought I felt a spot where the sides came apart.” The fingers of my free hand went to that spot, though I couldn’t feel it through my pants.
“Let’s go inside and I’ll have a look.” He put a hand on my arm and ushered me back into the building.
“What do you mean, look?” I asked.
“I mean, I need to see your line.”
“I can’t do it here!” I hissed at him, one eye on the pups in the room, still playing at their tables.
“We can both fit in the bathroom.”
“I can’t leave the pups.”
“Mac can keep an eye on them for a minute. It’ll do him good.” A spark of mischief lit Jason’s eyes, then he sobered. He glanced over my shoulder, and I heard Mac’s steady footsteps coming up the hall behind me. Jason patted my shoulder. “Hold on while I let him know he’s getting a crash course in siblings.”
I couldn’t help a smile at that, but it didn’t last long. I stood half in the door, watching the pups, until Jason came back.
“Come on.” He pulled me out into the hall and Mac slipped into the room behind me, though before he went he gave me a sympathetic nod.
We scurried into the bathroom and Jason locked the door behind us. When he turned around, I already had the front of my pants undone and had lowered the cloth so he could look.
“Shit,” Jason whispered, and stood up. “Pull your pants up. We’re going to see Adelaide.” He pulled out his phone while I dressed again. “Bax, can you meet Bram and I at the clinic?”
CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
Adelaide frowned at my omega line, pushing at the flesh beside it. “I can put a couple of stitches in it, but I don’t know how much it will help.” She sighed and met my eyes. “There isn’t much information on omega pregnancies.”
“Stitch it,” Bax said, coming in the door with Taden in a sling. He patted Jason’s shoulder as he slid past him. “And it’s bed rest for you, Bram.” He moved to the foot of the table and glanced at my belly, taking in the opening. “I’ve heard of worse.”
“Heard?”
He shrugged. “Omegas don’t travel, so unless it happens in your pack, you only hear stories. In the packs outside Mercy Hills, anyway.”
Adelaide shook her head and went to the cupboard. “I feel like I should have spent more time in other packs before I came home.”
“It wouldn’t have made much difference. The omegas look after the omegas. I can call Buffalo Gap and see if they have any suggestions for treatment, if you like. The omega pack,” his lips twitched in a smile, “here won’t know anything. But for certain it’s bed rest.” He came up to the head of the bed and took my hand. “Too much weight, too much pressure.”
“Will it happen with the next one?” I asked, wondering if these would be my only pups.
He shook his head. “You can’t tell. Probably. If you only have one next time, maybe not. But for now, you’re job is going to be to stay horizontal as much as you can. Eat good food, stay calm. You can work on making baby clothes.”
“But I can’t knit!” It was a stupid thing to be upset about, but the rest of it was so huge I couldn’t get words out past the fear.
Bax, however, seemed to understand. “Neither can I, but maybe it’s a good chance for the two of us to pick up a new skill.” He squeezed my fingers and I felt a bit better, between his smile and the warmth of his hand. Maybe it would be all right.
Adelaide brought over a tray of things, needles and other stuff. “You’re going to feel a few pinches while I freeze the area. Just breathe through them, okay?”
I nodded and stared at the ceiling. Bax squeezed my hand. “You want to hold Taden?”
Adelaide poked me with the first of the needles and I sucked in a quick breath. “I don’t think that’s a good idea,” I said in a high, tight voice. I hated needles.
“You’re going to be fine,” Bax assured me.
Yeah, sure. I stared at the ceiling and crushed the hem of my t-shirt in my fists. Another pinch, and then another. I curled my toes inside my shoes so hard they started to cramp, and thought about that while Adelaide made her way around the gap in my omega line.
She patted my belly. “All done. We’ll give it another couple of minutes to numb everything up, then I’ll stitch it and we’ll arrange to get you home.”
“I called Duke,” Jason said. He was just stepping through the door—I hadn’t noticed him leave. “He’ll be here in a few minutes. He’s bringing the truck.”
“What? No!” I tried to sit up, but Adelaide pushed me back down onto the table.
“Take it easy. You don’t want to strain your stomach.”
“But I can’t…” I stopped suddenly. I didn’t want to worry him. But I needed him right now, so badly. I let my head fall back against the table and said, “Fine.” I hated this, as much as I hated needles.
“It won’t take long,” Adelaide assured me. I sighed and stared at the ceiling again, until the sound of heavy footsteps in the hallway broke the silence in the room.
“How is he?” Duke’s low voice was both reassuring and unwanted. I avoided his eyes—I hadn’t wanted to mess up his day off.
“It’ll be fine,” Bax reassured him. Bax put a hand on my shoulder and squeezed, and when I met his gaze, his smile said he understood all the things I was thinking. “Say something to him,” he murmured, hardly moving his lips at all.
Duke took my hand. “Are you all right?”
“I’m fine. You didn’t need to come,” I told him.
“Of course I did.” He glanced toward Adelaide, then turned to look at me, slightly green faced. “Bed rest, Jason said?”
“Yes,” Adelaide said, her head bent close enough to my belly I was starting to get embarrassed. I could feel her tugging at my skin, but there was no pain. “No housework, no going for walks, no running to the laundromat. The only time he’s allowed out of bed is to go to the bathroom, to have a shallow bath—no showers—or for someone to change his sheets.” She raised her head and stared severely at me. “I’m serious about this, Bram. This isn’t practice, this isn’t me just being careful. If you decide that I’m being over-protective, you’re going to lose these babies.” Her voice was grim, and there was something in her expression as she bent back to her work that made me realize how close I was to disaster. My heart sped up and I clutched at Duke, because he was big and comforting and I wanted someone to take over and make it all better, at least for a minute.
He squeezed my hand back. “No problem, Adelaide. I’ll duct tape him to the bedframe.”
I frowned at him and he smiled innocently back at me.
“Not funny,” I said.
“Who said I was joking?”
I nearly yelled at him, until I realized he was watching me just a little too closely. Oh. He’s trying to distract me. Doing a pretty good job too. “You realize you get to wait on me hand and foot?” Ha, take that!
“Naw,” he drawled, his eyes lighting up
. “I’ll just drop you off a few cans of spaghetti noodles and a bucket to pee in. Check on you in the evening.”
“Have fun with that,” I promised, implying all sorts of reprisals.
Duke grinned at me and opened his mouth, but Adelaide interrupted him. “Okay, we’re done here. Bram, you can walk out to the truck once I get something wrapped around you to take the pressure off that spot, but as soon as you get home, you go straight to bed.”
I nodded and Duke squeezed my hand again.
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
Duke wanted to carry Bram out to the truck. It seemed logical—Bram wasn’t supposed to be on his feet. But the look of appalled amusement on Bax’s face and Adelaide’s startled pause made him flush and just help Bram off the table.
Bram did lean on him as they walked out to the truck, which made him feel a little better. Not much, but some.
“It’ll be all right,” Duke said, hoping he was telling the truth.
“I’m sorry about all this,” Bram said, his eyes on the ground as they got to the passenger door.
“Not your fault.” Duke gave him a hand in, his eyes automatically going to the swell of his mate’s belly. If he could just get his hands on Justin… Tomorrow, after he’d gotten Bram settled and they knew things weren’t going to go south on them, he’d have to come back and get the full story from Adelaide. Why this happened, what he could do to help, how not to have it happen again. Bram had mentioned having pups together, more pups. He’d be devastated if he couldn’t have more.
Duke closed the door of the truck and went around to the driver’s side. Bram was quiet all the way home, his hands on his belly, his eyes on the road ahead, but he himself was…somewhere.
They pulled up in front of the little apartment. Bram smiled weakly at him. “I’m okay here. You can go back to whatever you guys were doing.”
Duke thought about what he was going to say as he came around the truck, only to find out that Bram had already gotten out. “Hey, you should be waiting for me to help you. The truck is high.”
“I’m fine, really.” He looked tired, but he took Duke’s arm as they walked inside. “I’m going to grab something to eat then go to bed like Adelaide said. I’ll leave you a plate in the fridge?”
“No, you won’t.” Duke pointed him toward the bedroom and pushed gently. “What do you want to eat? I’ll get it for you. And you’re not supposed to be up and cooking at all, so if I come home and find a plate in the fridge, we’re going to have words.”
“It’d be too late to stop me then.” The cheekiness was back, though faded and strained.
“Bram…” They stopped by the bed and Duke turned Bram around. He took Bram’s chin in his hand, or tried too—Bram wasn’t in the mood to be manhandled. Duke suppressed a growl. “Do you want to lose them? And I’m not saying that because I’m angry, I’m asking if you’ve changed your mind. No one needs to know.” He hated the thought that the babies might not make it. At the same time, he couldn’t imagine having to carry two babies that had been forced on you, and then having to look after them for the next eighteen years, a constant reminder of someone else’s conviction that they were the only one who mattered. Bram was careful never to say he didn’t want them, but did he really mean it? Maybe this was what Bram really wanted, only was afraid to say. Duke couldn’t blame him if he did.
Bram’s eyes went wide and he wrapped his arms around his swollen belly. “No!” He backed away from Duke, until the backs of his knees hit the edge of the bed and he sat down with a muffled thump. “No, they’re mine! And fuck Justin and Montana Border. I’m going to raise them not to be assholes, and if Justin ever asks, I’ll tell him it was you first, and he got the sloppy seconds.” His face distorted with disgust and he laid down on the bed, rolling over to put his back to Duke.
I wish it had been me. But there was no going back in time to fix this. Duke sat on the edge of the bed, one hip supporting his entire weight. He felt as physically off-balance as he was emotionally, but Bram needed someone. “Then you will, that’s fine. I just…this is a legitimate way out, if you want to take it.” His heart hurt, saying the words.
After a moment, Bram asked in a small voice, “Do you really not want the babies? I can’t blame you for not wanting another man’s pups in your house.”
“Who said that? I do want these babies, and they’re damn well my pups and fuck Justin from me too! But I don’t want you to suffer for it, either. I—” He braced his arms on his knees, suddenly light-headed and sick to his stomach. This must be what he feels when he’s sick. It was a stupid thought, but it kept rolling around in his head until Bram spoke.
“You what?” Bram rolled onto his back, then sat up. “What, Duke?”
Duke shook his head. “Get some rest. What do you want to eat?” He didn’t know what he felt now.
“Duke, you want these babies, don’t you?” Bram asked quietly.
“Yes!” It burst out of him, no need to think about it at all. “Bram, they’re yours. And they’re mine. I know that I wasn’t there to start them in you, but I’ve been around for the rest of it. I think that gives me a better claim than the assturd.”
Bram had opened his mouth to say something, but that last word made him freeze in startled bafflement. Then, he began to laugh. “Oh, Duke, I love you. That’s the funniest thing I’ve heard ever.” He crawled over to wrap himself around Duke and hugged him close, laughing. Duke held him until Bram’s giggles finally faded and he allowed himself to be tucked into bed. Duke left him there to rest, planning to make some supper. He stopped in the door and looked back to check on him, then stepped back in to drop a kiss on his hair. Bram looked lost in the middle of the bed, lonely.
Bram nodded at him, then laid back and closed his eyes, releasing Duke from whatever spell of love or manners held him there. He went back to the living room and stared around, the once familiar furnishings changed now into something he no longer recognized. A plan was what he needed now.
Duke stepped outside, far enough away that he though Bram wouldn’t be able to hear him, and pulled out his phone to call Mac. It was lucky he’d been working all those extra shifts lately.
Mac didn’t bother with hello. “How is he?”
“On bed rest right until the end.”
“Shit. How’s that going to work?”
“Unless it’s to go to the bathroom or have a bath, he’s not allowed up. So if he wants anything, someone has to bring it to him.”
A pause on the other end, then, “You need to talk to Quin.”
“I can do night shifts while he’s sleeping.”
“And when will you sleep?”
“I’ll nap during the day, once I know he’s got everything he needs.”
“No, that’s ridiculous. You’re not alone in this. Leave it with me—we’ll figure something out.”
CHAPTER FORTY
When Duke went back inside, he found Bram asleep, wrapped around his belly like he was trying to protect it from all the monstrousness of the world. Duke unfolded the blanket that covered the foot of the bed and laid it carefully over the young man before he snuck back out of the room and closed the door.
He was rummaging through the cupboards, trying to figure out what he could make that Bram would like, something that would tempt his still iffy appetite and not upset his stomach, when someone knocked on the door.
Bax was waiting on the step, Taden in his arms. “How is he?” he asked in a low voice.
“Sad,” Duke said, and stepped back to let him in. “Scared too, I think. Right now, he’s asleep.”
“I don’t blame him.” Bax followed him into the apartment. “I’m going to talk to the rest of the omegas—it would be good for the younger ones to have something more to do. They’re starting to get into trouble.” Bax smiled fondly. “They’re not used to the freedom. I’d like to give them some responsibility, and it’ll take some of the weight off you.”
“I can look after him,” Duke said firmly. “I
t’s not that bad.”
“And if he falls when you’re not here?” Bax shook his head and took a seat at their kitchen table. He sat Taden on his knee, bouncing him casually, and the sight tugged at Duke’s heart. No, the pups weren’t his line, but they were his, all the same.
Duke shook his head. Stay on topic. “He’s supposed to stay in bed.”
“It’s Bram we’re talking about,” Bax said with a wry smile. “What do you think is going to happen?”
Duke sighed and glanced toward the bedroom door. “He’s been getting better. More grown up. You can’t tell he still isn’t eighteen.”
“But he is. And this isn’t an easy thing, for either of you. Accept the help that’s being offered, Duke.” Bax, speaking now as Alpha’s Mate, even though Abel had given that position up. “I’ll gather the crew and make them a schedule.”
“You’re not the boss of me,” Duke told him, making his voice as whiny as possible.
Bax laughed, and Duke joined him, though their laughter held an undertone of strain and disappointment.
“I don’t mean to be bossy,” Bax said when the chuckles finally died away. “Maybe it’s different when you’re not an omega, but we tend to pull together to help each other out. More than packs do, anyway.” He reached out to lay a hand on top of one of Duke’s. “Three months is a long time when you’re trying to do everything. And you’ll be covering the pack credits for both of you until Bram is back to work. Let us help you—it’s what pack is for.”
Duke found some pasta in the cupboard, high protein, and filled a pot of water to cook it. “I appreciate the help. I do. I’m just…” He stood in front of the stove, his mind blank. “He’s mine. I need to look after him.”’
Bax was silent for a moment. Duke went to the refrigerator and found some cheese and a chunk of cheap steak left over from yesterday’s attempt at supper for Bram. He began to slice the steak into tiny pieces that would go down easily and hopefully stay down. Then Bax spoke.
Duke's Baby Deal (MM Mpreg Shifter Romance) (Mercy Hills Pack Book 3) Page 18
