Bram laid his cheek against Duke’s hand and smiled.
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
I didn’t even look where I was going as we walked out of the exam room. The doctor had printed off a couple of pictures of the babies from his ultrasound machine, and I couldn’t tear my eyes away from them. Two little heads, two sets of legs, two sets of arms. He said they looked healthy, if a little small.
Abel stood when we got to the waiting room. “Everything fine?”
Duke held up the pile of papers the doctor had given us. “Lots of reading, but so far, so good. He gave us a couple of prescriptions to fill, and we have to come back in a month.” He fished out his wallet. “I’ll go pay.”
Abel grinned. “Just the start of what they cost you.” But he didn’t seem to mind whatever his pups cost him. For sure, I’d seen him at Supplies often enough, either with Bax or alone, looking for clothing or toys or books. He didn’t mind that most of his pups weren’t actually his, but Bax’s by another alpha. Maybe Duke really didn’t mind that they weren’t biologically his. He seemed excited enough now.
It wasn’t until I had that thought that I realized how huge a worry that had been, running in the back of my mind, sucking the joy out of the day. Despite his assurances. I wanted Duke not to feel slighted, or put upon. And watching him walk back from the desk after he paid, his eyes still slightly muzzy with wonder, I thought maybe he really was okay with it.
Duke took my hand and smiled at me. “Ready to go get that hamburger?”
“You know it.” I squeezed his hand, a little too conscious of the eyes on us and the whispers filling the air to kiss him, though I wanted to. How sad was this, that I was completely and utterly in love with my mate, and my body was completely and utterly a slave to a man I hated? I couldn’t wait for my next heat—damn my finer feelings, I was going to ambush Duke, even if it was in the middle of the park. He must have seen something in my expression, because he pulled me close, then did his own furtive glance around the room.
“Let’s go,” he said.
We were going straight home as soon as we’d picked up some of the drugs the doctor recommended for my morning sickness, and with my future mealtimes shining like the full moon in front of me, I gobbled a couple of pills and begged for a hamburger. And chicken nuggets. And ice cream. My mouth watered just thinking about them.
Abel gave in to my pleading and pulled through the drive-thru of a small, blocky building that smelled of meat and fat. My stomach sat up and took ferocious notice. I thought for a moment it was going to leap straight out of my body to haul itself in through the little window we pulled up to and help itself to the entire contents of the restaurant.
Duke handed me back a bag, heavy and warm and smelling absolutely delicious. I dug through it, found two hamburgers and a small box of chicken nuggets with a tiny packet of sauce. The fries had all fallen out of their container and lay in a warm, greasy, tantalizing heap at the bottom of the bag. “Smells so good,” I moaned, and unwrapped one of the hamburgers to cram it into my mouth.
I managed two whole, wonderful, delicious bites before my stomach went into reverse like a skunk has just jumped out in front of it, tail up and ready to dance. The hamburger landed on the floor of the van and I doubled over with my hand over my mouth while I hunted for something to throw up in.
“Shit,” I heard Duke say, faintly, because the blood was pounding in my ears. “Pull over.”
But it was too late.
I ended up puking on my fries, which nearly made me cry, because they’d smelled so good, but at least I didn’t get it in the van. When my stomach finally gave up, I leaned against Duke and this time I did cry, because this was scary and I was—or had been—hungry, and now I was going to starve myself and my babies to death because all I could eat was dry toast and crackers. Even the human medicine couldn’t keep me from throwing up.
Duke gingerly handed the bag away to Abel, and wrapped his arms around me. “Hey, you can’t be the first one to have morning sickness like this. We’ll figure it out. We have vitamins, and more importantly, we have Bax and Holland, who grew up with this. They’ll know what to do. And maybe we needed to give the pills more time to work. We can get another hamburger once we’re closer to home.”
I tried to take comfort in it, but it was hard.
Duke was right. An hour into our return trip, we stopped to replace my wasted food, and this time I was able to keep it all down, though it was still a dicey situation. I didn’t care—it was delicious, and I hummed my contentment as I chewed, which made Duke laugh.
Duke stayed in the back of the van with me for the rest of the trip, even though I told him he could sit up front with Abel if he wanted. I was tired now that my stomach was full and the food was staying in, and I wasn’t going to be good company. But, instead of leaving me alone, he helped me lie down with my head in his lap, and covered me with his blue Christmas jacket so I’d be warm.
As I curled up with the scent of my mate all around me, I felt the safest and happiest I’d ever felt, despite the problems we were facing. Duke was right, we’d make it through.
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
Duke walked Bram to work one morning, shortly after their trip outside the city. Bram had somehow gotten hold of a couple of old picture frames and the ultrasound images were proudly displayed in them. He was taking them to work to show everyone, because no one ever got to see their babies before they were born. Duke supposed that someday they would have to get a machine of their own, but they’d done all right without one so far. But he kind of liked having the pictures, something no one else in the pack had. He knew that everyone thought their babies were special, but he thought that having the pictures maybe made them a little more special, even on top of being twins, which was almost unheard of in shifter culture.
They stopped in front of the door of the daycare. Bram was opening, because he was always too sick to work in the afternoon. He was still working all his old hours, but Duke wasn’t sure how much longer that would last. Becca was worried about him. He did look a little drawn, though he tackled everything he did with the same energy as ever.
Bram stood up on his tiptoes for his traditional kiss goodbye. “Should I walk down to meet you after my shift? You should be done by then.”
“I don’t think you should walk that far.”
“The doctor said I should exercise, remember? And he particularly recommended walking. And if I don’t start moving more than I am, I’m going to turn into a whale.”
“You’d have to eat for that to happen.”
“I do eat. And it’s better now that I have the pills.”
“I know. I just don’t want you wearing yourself out.”
“I’m fine.” Bram’s smile was like summer sunshine in winter. “But thank you. I should go in. I see Carlotta coming with her boys.” He made a face. “I hope she doesn’t grab for my stomach again. Like, they’re my babies, not hers, right? I never realized that getting pregnant made me public property.” He bumped his head on Duke’s chest as if he was banging it against a wall, then abruptly stood up straight and smiled past Duke’s shoulder. “Hi, Carlotta. I’m just unlocking. Hang on.” He insisted on another kiss that Duke was happy to give, then turned to the door, dodging Carlotta’s attempt to feel his belly and breezily ignoring her questions. Bram let her go inside the building first and, as Duke turned to leave, Bram threw him a glance with crossed eyes and tongue lolling out the side of his mouth, a small, laughing commentary on how he thought his day would be.
Duke grinned and waved as Bram disappeared back inside the daycare, and then he headed for work.
He got there just as the humans were unlocking the heavy silver-coated steel gate. The two sides rattled back out of the way and Duke watched as the humans clamped them in place out of the way and hurried back inside their guardhouse to stay warm. Their building was twice the size of the one the shifters had just inside the gate, but that was kind of par for the course.
They were expecting a truck later on, though, with February’s food orders and whatever other items had been picked up for the pack—lumber, wire, cloth. Bax had a load of books coming for the library, mostly second-hand, but all of them carefully chosen to fill in the gaps in the selection they had already. Duke wasn’t much of a reader, but Bram seemed to really be enjoying the novels he borrowed from Bax, and Duke assumed other people would be excited to see new books coming in too.
For now, there wasn’t much to do but keep an eye on the gate and the humans on the other side of it, and try to figure out how to get his hands on Justin Montana Border.
Justin had been in Mercy Hills to learn how to do wiring, up to and including the new solar panels that Abel—or rather, Bax—was trying to get funding to produce on a much larger scale. So there wasn’t much of a chance that he’d be at the summer meeting, but Duke would have been just as happy to get his hands on Orvin as Justin.
Well, maybe not quite as happy. But he held Orvin responsible for some of it too. If he hadn’t been such a spoiled whiny pup about Jason, he would never have gotten his pack stirred up to the point where a packmember thought it was acceptable to take revenge on a helpless omega. Or maybe Duke could find a way to get to Montana Border. It sucked that the place was so far away. It would be damn near impossible for him to sneak over there, quietly throttle Justin and drop him someplace he wouldn’t be noticed, then sneak off home again. Not that it wouldn’t be worth the effort, but he wasn’t risking getting caught, and everything it would mean for Bram. Nope, that idea was out. But he needed to go to the summer meeting, if only to get a feel for Montana Border, and to see if there were strings he could pull to… Oh. He had an idea. A wonderful, horrible idea.
But he’d need to get Quin on his side, without letting Quin know what he was up to.
He pulled out his phone and dialed. “Abel? Yeah, I know it’s early, but I wanted to run something by you. You said you wanted more trained technicians, right? And maybe to get some of those foreign omegas out of your hair?”
“They’re not my problem any more,” Abel said, his voice still thick with sleep.
“All right, Quin’s hair. But what if you offered places to different packs for young folk to come work here for a while. Offer training if they’ll work at something we need, maybe open up some more places for pups to go to school in the city. Introduce them to the omegas, see if we can make any matches. They can help build the new houses, get them done faster.”
There was a pause, then Abel said in a thoughtful voice. “That’s an idea. It’s not really my call.”
“I know that. But Quin’s your brother, and you used to be Alpha. And maybe, if we get some guys who already know what they’re doing to come too, you know—one new guy, one experienced one—they can train up some of our pups too while we’re building, so when they go, we’ll still have people who know how to do stuff.”
“It’ll cost.” But Abel didn’t sound as bothered by that as he was intrigued by the idea.
“Yeah, I know it’s not cheap. But we’re going to need help building, and I was just kind of sitting here thinking…”
“No, it’s an idea. I wasn’t too crazy about the idea of taking three years to fill that new section with housing, but we couldn’t do any better with the numbers we had. Let me talk to Quin and see what he has to say. Thanks, Duke.”
“Hey, no problem. Got nothing better to do out here, watching the humans shivering in their box.”
Abel laughed, then in the background Duke heard the low cries of a baby who had just woken up. “I better go. Once he starts, they all get up.”
He and Duke said their goodbyes, and Duke settled back in his chair, feeling entirely satisfied with himself. The only thing left was to figure out a way to get Justin here. And if he did, then Justin would find out firsthand what it felt like to be at someone else’s mercy.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
I woke at dawn, feeling itchy and cranky. Duke was still asleep, practically invisible beneath the covers. The room was cold—end of January, and we were trying to keep the heaters off, because our electricity was actually Abel’s and Bax’s and it was just awkward. Once the sun got over the wall, it would warm up—Abel had put solar panels for heat on the roof—but until then, we’d be chilly. I burrowed down back into the covers, selfishly stealing as much of Duke’s body heat as I could. He said he didn’t mind, and after all, I was keeping warm for three.
Speaking of the twins, they seemed to be taking off in terms of size. At least that’s how it felt in the morning, with a full bladder, and them putting all their weight on it. I stubbornly tried to ignore it, willing myself back to sleep for the hour I had left before I actually had to get up, but it was a lost cause. I was so focused on not wetting the bed that my body was a ball of knots—no sleeping in that condition. I snarled and threw myself out of bed, stomping off through the cold apartment to find that sweet, sweet bliss that comes with an empty bladder.
I came out of the bathroom to find Duke blinking sleepily from the doorway of the bedroom. “You all right?”
“Yeah. Just had to pee.” I slumped down on a chair at our kitchen table, then restlessly got up to make some tea. “I’m getting tired of this already, and I’m not even half way!”
He grinned and came over to give me a kiss. “We still have an hour before you have to get up. Come back and sleep a little more.”
I shook my head. “I’m cranky today. You don’t need cranky in your bed.”
“I’ve enjoyed cranky in my bed all month,” he told me solemnly, and pretend-winced when I punched his arm.
“I think I’m going to try to eat something,” I told him. “You may not want to be around for that.” My morning sickness had switched over to actually showing up in the morning, but the rest of the day I ate like the Beast of Gevauden. Still better than it had been for most of January.
“I have a raincoat around here somewhere.”
“Ha!” I gave him a dirty look, but my mouth betrayed me and the corners turned up in a smile. And he liked to call me a brat—he was just as big a one, only he waited until there were no witnesses. “Seriously. You don’t need to stay up. You shouldn’t be getting up at all—I know what time you got off work last night.” Late. Very late. Like three and a half hours after a shift that was supposed to finish at ten. But something had happened right before he was off and he’d been four hours sorting out the mess before he could leave. “I’m just going to sit here and slowly trick my stomach into letting me eat a full meal.” I had to take my pills first, and drink my tea, and then I could try something solid. “Do you want me to tuck you in?”
He grinned and I went pink when I realized how that could be taken. Then again, we were developing a rhythm. I still didn’t enjoy it physically, which I knew bothered him, but I really enjoyed performing my mated duties in the bedroom and making sure Duke wasn’t getting shortchanged. To the point where I’d borrowed some of Bax’s novels and began reading them, not just for entertainment, but for ideas. And boy, were there some good ones.
I couldn’t wait to shake Justin’s hold on me. If it ever happened.
Nope. Wasn’t going to think about that. Bax had fallen in love with Abel after being mated and he had no problems in the bedroom. I knew because I’d asked. That had been an interesting conversation. And I had a suspicion that there was more going on between Holland and Quin than just the two of them shooting each other heated looks when they thought the other one wasn’t looking. And if Holland was giving
Quin those kinds of looks, it only followed that he was interested in Quin in a physical way.
Oh my lady of wolves, wouldn’t I love to see that combo in action.
Oops, there went my brain again, wandering off on its own. Some days, I wondered if I’d be able to find my way home again, but there it was. Pregnancy brain. I could look forward to another four months of being an idiot, which would be an absolute joy. I glanced up at Duke, who was watching me with that smile on his face again, the one he only wore when he was wondering how safe it was to tell me how cute I was being.
Ugh.
“If you want, I’ll come back to bed with you.” I walked over and wrapped my arms around his waist, trying to look as seductive as possible with a bowling ball in between us.
He leaned down to kiss me briefly. “Naw. Tonight though? I’d rather you ate. I’ll make you something.”
I patted his chest, enjoying the solid feel of him, and pleased that he hadn’t argued about my offer to molest him. “It’s probably going to be a slow process. You go to sleep. Want me to wake you up before I leave?”
“Yeah. I’m going to work on the cradles again today, and I have a commission for a new table. Your parents have been good for business.” He kissed me again, grinning against my lips, then patted my ass possessively and wandered yawning back to bed.
I bit my lip and watched him go, so happy I could burst.
It took me the better part of an hour and a half to eat the same amount as I could have before this nausea hit. Even with the medicine from the human doctor, meals were hit or miss. I was taking protein supplements now because half the time, the smell of cooking meat sent me running for the bathroom faster than lightning struck, and I never knew when it would hit. But I tried as hard as I could to eat real food, and Duke and—surprisingly—Quin, were completely on board with getting in anything I could tolerate. So breakfast that morning was grapes and bananas and some dry toast and a little bit of jerky because that was the only meat I seemed to be able to manage on a regular basis. I topped it off by mixing some protein powder—chocolate flavor—with some milk and sipping at it while I cleaned and figured out which of my clothes fit today.
Duke's Baby Deal (MM Mpreg Shifter Romance) (Mercy Hills Pack Book 3) Page 16