“I know, but I had to check too,” she grinned. “Do you think you could talk to Luc about something for us?”
“Are you two an ‘us’ now?” I asked trying to sound as normal as possible.
“Friends,” she shrugged.
“Whatcha need?” I asked looking between her and Barric.
“Barric wants to stay here a while and learn from Gloria. He’s learned a lot from Luc and there’s more to learn, but he wants a change of scenery for a while. Besides, the three of us figure that you two could use some time alone.”
“You’re not skipping the tree trimming party, are you?” I asked her.
“No! We’ll be there for that. We’ll even do our best to come and visit when Gloria goes over to play midwife,” Zera said.
“It won’t be a problem,” Luc walked into the office shirtless. “Lots of apprentices learn from more than one teacher. That’s how I met Rosa Gilmore.”
“Good morning, Alpha,” I said and reached my hand out for him.
“Are you sure?” Barric asked.
“Go away. My Alpha,” my wolf growled, but I swallowed the sound before it bubbled over my lips.
“Positive,” Luc took my hand.
I stood up and motioned for him to sit in my chair. He did and I took up my spot on his lap. This morning I was fine leaving him to sleep in bed, but now I wanted him as close as possible. They chatted about what Barric might learn from Gloria and I slid his hands onto my baby bump.
I skipped breakfast and opted for loading some of my stuff into the car to take home. Then I sprinted back into the office to give my desktops at Montero Manor permission to access the server. Luc offered to help, but his brain was off in apprentice land.
“You’re not used to having other omegas around,” my wolf pointed out. “Outside of a few relatives, you’ve always been surrounded by Alphas. Now, life is changing. We know Gilmore magic. There’s nothing for Gloria to teach us. Zera is hanging out with Barric. He’s staying here in our house, but he’s not taking our place.”
“He’s right, mate. We can stay here a bit longer if you want,” Luc cut into my thoughts.
“No. We need to get the house ready for the baby.”
“The servants can do that.”
“This doesn’t feel like home anymore and I don’t mean that in a bad way. I love being here, but I feel yucky and ready to go home to where things smell like us,” I told him. “I don’t even dislike Barric. Not really. My hormones are just making weird changes harder to handle. Not to mention I feel like I’m getting left out of everything, because I can’t eat normal people food right now.”
“I’ll cook you up something when we get home.”
“I just hope I can eat it. I’m starving and nothing sounds good. I’m sitting in the car, because I can’t come inside. Whatever Gloria added to breakfast is trying to kill me and the baby.”
“She’s frying ham.”
“Uck!”
“I’m on my way. We’ll get you home and find something you want to eat,” Luc said.
“You don’t have to rush because of me.”
“Mate, I’ll always rush to be by your side. Barric’s okay here. Gloria and Zera never needed me,” he laughed.
A few minutes later, everyone came outside to say goodbye. I teared up a little that they all bundled up and left the warm house just to see me off.
“You and the baby are safe,” Zera whispered in my ear when we hugged.
“From the Book of Possibilities?” I asked unsure if I really wanted to know.
“I got you covered,” she said and kissed my cheek.
“Thanks.”
In the car Luc asked what she was talking about. I wasn’t really sure what she meant. Maybe she saw something in the book that she prevented.
“It might be a cultural thing. We don’t know much about how harpy society evolved in the Other World. Perhaps she meant you could summon her anytime.”
“Maybe,” I said.
Zera wasn’t usually cryptic when she spoke to me. Still, having my best friend on my side made me feel a little safer.
The next few days passed in a blur of preparing for the tree trimming party. My stomach played games with me. If the servants cooked it, I got sick. If we ordered in and Luc answered the door things were fifty-fifty. I didn’t even try cooking. If it made me sick from the other side of the house what would it do with me right over the stove? If Luc cooked it, I could eat it in mass.
“It’s probably something left over from our hunter gather days,” Luc explained as we ate alfredo chicken. “The true-mate bond assures whatever mechanism that refuses food for fear of poison or germs that food from a true-mate is more likely to be safe than others.”
“I think you’re secretly adding something to the food to make it palatable,” I laughed and ran my toes up his calf under the table.
“The secret ingredient is the true-mate bond,” Luc said.
He stood up and moved his chair to the other side of the table next to me.
“Better?” He asked.
“How’d you know?”
“You get this look when you think I’m too far away from you.”
Chapter Thirty-Two
Luc
On Saturday morning, the day of our tree trimming party, I woke up before Aidan. He hadn’t slept in since his first bout of morning sickness. I lay next to him in the dark room unmoving and barely breathing because I didn’t want to disturb his rest. He was growing a baby who in all likelihood was growing quicker than his body liked. He was curled around my pillow he snatched sometime during the night. His belly was bigger than the day before. I fought the urge to touch it. Sleep smoothed away the traces of worry and anxiety from Aidan’s face. We spent the last few days both preparing for the party and the upcoming birth of our firstborn child. My magical servants worked harder than ever ensuring not one baby hazard was left behind. Aidan and I double checked their work. All the cabinets had safety locks. The stairs were equipped with baby gates. We changed out the ceiling fans for globe lights just in case our little one was born with wings. We went through the Montero collection of baby memorabilia and found a crib and a bassinet we both loved. Aidan decided to leave the Gilmore collection for Gloria to eventually use whenever she settled down. We painted the nursery with nature scenes and added a glow in the dark summer constellation design to the ceiling like Aidan had growing up. Baby blankets, cribs, and stuffies were charmed to keep away germs, nightmares, and general negativity. Onesies, footy pajamas, and other clothes were ordered. Aidan shopped as if our baby was definitely a boy and I didn’t rag him about it. Besides, even if the baby was a girl there was no reason, she couldn’t wear dragon footy pajamas. Before we left the Gilmore House Zera promised to help us alter the clothes if the baby indeed had wings.
I double checked the supply of diapers, formula, binkies, and other baby items the Montero clan was proud to always keep in stock for guests and household members alike. We ordered in a dragon made baby monitor that was delivered via drone.
Lying in bed curled around Aidan there was no doubt in my mind: I was the luckiest man alive. Aidan was ambitious and intelligent. Sexy as hell. He was an open book and would make a great partner for raising kids. I loved him more every day. I loved him almost as much as I loved the little stranger in his belly. The feeling that overtook me whenever I thought about the child our love made was unlike any other, I felt before. It was an ache to touch a face and hold a hand that didn’t technically exist yet. Truth be told, I was starting to think of our baby as Baby Edgar too.
Eventually, I snuck out of bed and crept downstairs. I double checked that everything was ready for the party and started cooking breakfast. Most of the time I lived alone I didn’t cook for myself. That’s what the servants were for. It wasn’t my favorite task, but something I’d gladly do for Aidan and our baby. That morning I made waffles and chicken a combination he’d become fond of since conceiving. I planned to serve him breakfast i
n bed, but the food woke him up and the shower turned on above my head.
“Good morning, Alpha,” he yawned over our mate link.
“Good morning, mate. How’s Baby Edgar?”
“Starving! Breakfast smells delicious!”
“It’s almost ready.”
“I’ll be down soon.”
“Take your time. I’ll keep it warm until you get down here.”
“Thanks.”
“My pleasure.”
We spent most of the day lounging around. Then we sat outside watching it snow while the servants cooked up the food for the party. Cooking for us was easy enough, but I wanted our guests to have a proper holiday feast. I needed them fed up nicely since I planned to question Harvey and Scott about their choice to give up their youngest baby. Max was with Barric at the Gilmore House, but his fate still weighed on my mind.
“Maybe Barric can raise him. He hasn’t called for help,” Aidan said picking up on my worries.
“It doesn’t make sense and that’s what bothers me about it all. They’re so many preventatives for pregnancy now. If they didn’t want him, they could’ve prevented it. I know accidents happen, but they didn’t mention anything to Barric throughout the whole pregnancy.”
“Don’t worry so much, Alpha,” Aidan squeezed my hand. “We’ll figure it out while they’re here. Everyone’s spending the night, so we’ll have plenty of time.
***
Our guests arrived amidst a flurry of snowflakes. Zera wore a large cloak and tucked her wings in close but didn’t pass for wingless. Harvey and Scott eyed her nervously until Barric explained that she was more or less Aidan’s cousin. That wasn’t exactly true. Their last common ancestor died so long ago that they didn’t really share the same blood anymore. I didn’t correct him, though. At least he was speaking to his parents again. Scott snatched Baby Max from his eldest son as soon as he removed his jacket. He cooed over the baby. Max grinned big and wide happy to be back with his Daddy. Harvey stood off away from the pair. His eyes weren’t angry, but sad. His shoulders hung defeated like a man who couldn’t keep his family together. I decided to hold off on asking the hard questions until after we decorated the tree. That way Scott could have at least one happy memory with his little boy.
Aidan led the guests into the dining room where snacks and finger foods were set out just for them. Everyone dug in and talked about holiday shopping, the weather, and of course the upcoming birth of our first child. Gloria and Zera occupied Aidan’s time rubbing his belly and asking questions about how he was doing. Gloria promised to bring her portable ultrasound machine later in the week to see if we could determine the sex of the baby.
I kept an arm around my mate but didn’t take my eyes off the visiting family. Harvey carried his toddler daughters who’s names I couldn’t recall around on his hips like Super Dad. They laughed climbing up and down his tall frame and gnawing on him when they grew too restless.
Aidan and I opted to order a magically imported tree. Its roots were in a protected globe hidden under the tree skirt. Later, someone from the company would pick it up and replant it. It was the greenest solution to have a real tree inside. It came complete with an allergen charm to protect sufferers of winter allergies.
The toddlers padded back and forth decorating the lower branches of the trees after Gloria and I wrapped it in lights. I spared Barric the job and the possibility of losing another fight to holiday lights. Aidan watched the girls and laughed.
“Next year that will be our baby,” he whispered to me as I refilled his apple cider. “Pasteurized and baby safe.”
“The cider or the tree?” Aidan laughed.
“Can you pasteurize a tree?” I arched a brow.
“I’m sure someone out there has tried.”
Barric and Zera sat closer than I noticed before. They whispered to each other and looked nervously at his parents. Zera was sadder than the night I first met her. She cheered up around Aidan but worry marked her eyes. She wrung her hands when she thought no one was looking. Either the fate of Baby Max concerned her greatly or she was afraid of Barric’s parents discovering they were an item.
“Are they an item?” Aidan asked over our mate link.
“I’m not sure. Looks can be deceiving.”
As if she knew we spoke of her Zera grabbed her glass and Barric’s and circled the room to us. I filled her glasses and she whispered to Aidan that she had something important to tell him after things calmed down for the night. Aidan looked concerned but nodded anyway. For the rest of the night he watched Zera and Barric closely.
Slowly, but surely each decoration was hung with a careful hand on the massive tree. The snack table was nearly cleared when the time came to top the tree. Usually Monteros topped our trees with a bright star to represent the light that family and friends give off. This year, I special ordered something that only arrived yesterday morning.
“Where’s your topper?” Gloria asked looking around.
“We’ll get to that,” I grinned, “first, I have a gift for Aidan to open.”
“It’s not Yule yet,” he laughed.
“Don’t complain about a doting mate, little brother,” Gloria grinned and squeezed in on the sofa next to him.
The gift box was crimson with a silver ribbon and bow. I placed it gently in Aidan’s lap and he looked up at me expectantly. I stole a kiss and told him to open it.
Aidan untied the ribbon taking care not to damage it. He peeked inside the box before opening it fully. The smile that spread across his face from one ear to the other was worth the cash I spent to make it happen.
“Bellanoir!” He gasped lifting the handcrafted harpy Yule character from the box.
Her dress was sewn from real velvet and her body crafted from the finest porcelain money could buy. Her long black hair hung in waves down her back and framing her shoulders. A belt of souls hung around her slender waist. Her red wings extended nearly six inches out from either side of her body.
“She’s beautiful!” Gloria gasped next to him.
Zera came around for a better look. Her eyes lit up and some of her sadness disappeared.
“Baby doll!” One of the toddlers cheered.
“Do we get baby dolls, Daddy?” The other looked up at Harvey.
“I bet Santa Clause brings you all sorts of baby dolls,” he scooped the little girl up and sat her on his knee.
“Help me up the ladder?” Aidan stood up.
“Of course.”
I didn’t take my hand off Aidan’s back as he took the few steps up the ladder and placed Bellanoir on top of the tree. Then I lifted him by the hips and set him back down on his own two feet and wrapped my arms around him. We shared a quick kid friendly kiss and looked up at the tree. No matter what the future brought our way our lives were perfect in this moment. Yule meant family and friends again. Yule meant holding the man of my dreams close and feeling the first kick of our unborn child.
“Someone wanted to say hello to his daddy,” Aidan laughed and stole another kiss.
Chapter Thirty-Three
Aidan
Zera disappeared into her guestroom before I had a chance to talk to her. Whatever she wanted to tell me would have to wait until morning. The house was quiet as I lay awake staring at the ceiling in the bedroom. Luc slept easily next to me. Curiosity burnt me alive. Her news was likely that she and Barric were an item. It was hot news, but not super interesting. I mean, if Zera was happy, I was happy for her, but something was off about my best friend at the party. My stomach growled. The baby was hungry again. I thought about waking Luc up, but he was sleeping so well that I couldn’t bring myself to do it. Besides, we’d both lose a lot of sleep when the baby came. So, I let Luc sleep while he could. So, I padded downstairs by myself. Someone sobbed in the kitchen. I strained my ears listening closer to figure out who it was. It wasn’t Zera and Gloria. Whoever cried in the kitchen was a man. I tiptoed through the house and peeked inside. Scott sat at the table with Baby Max
pressed close to his chest.
“I’m so sorry, baby. I’m so sorry. This is for the best. It really is. I know you don’t understand. Maybe you will when you’re older. I hope you will, but for now this is for the best. You can grow up far away from here and be safe. I love you so much. I know you’re so young. You might not even remember me later, but I love you. Please, remember no matter what happens that I love you and always will.”
“Scott, please tell me what’s going on so I can help you guys,” I sniffed away tears as I stepped into the kitchen.
He pulled the baby a little closer to his chest and half turned away from me.
“Scott, please. I’m trying to help. I really want to help. Max is such a sweet baby and he deserves the chance to stay with his parents. You obviously don’t want to give him up. I don’t know what’s going on, but if you’re in some sort of trouble I’ll help. Me and Luc. Gloria and Zera. Barric. Hell, we’ll call in every witch and mage we know. Screw it, we’ll even call in the dragons Luc knows. No one’s going to hurt your baby.”
“I can’t tell you,” he shook his head. “I can’t tell anyone.”
“Why not?” I sat down at the table across from him.
“You wouldn’t believe me even if I did,” Scott sighed and wiped his eyes.
“Try me,” I leaned forward and flashed him a sympathetic smile.
“The night after Max was born Barric was in bed. He was out cold because the girls ran him ragged. Harvey and I were watching television on the sofa with the baby. Max was out cold too. You know how babies are. They sleep so much. If you don’t know now you will soon.” He sniffled. “Then someone knocked on the door. We’d been attached at the hip since Max was born. I was so tired and didn’t want to be away from Harvey. So, together we went to answer the door.
A cloaked figure stood there with glowing red eyes. The cloak stretched out at odd angles like whatever or whoever under it was broken and twisted at strange angles. In the dark it looked like a beast had risen from the earth to swallow us whole. Then they spoke.
Mated for the Holidays: A Holiday Mpreg Romance in the Hemlock Mpreg Universe Page 16