Page 57 of Thrown into the Mob

The next day, Madd suggested we eat in the cafeteria. We'd been having meals in our room. It was partly for privacy and partly because I wasn't comfortable eating in a room full of wolves who watched me with wary curiosity. But Madd wanted normal, and that meant eating with his family.

The cafeteria was a large room on the ground floor with long tables and a kitchen at the back. The smell of garlic bread wafted over me as we walked in, and I begged my dragon to tamp down the nausea if he could.

Treyton was already there. Madd's brother was smaller than him and quieter. I liked him, and I understood how his manner was appreciated by omegas in labor. He was sitting with his mate Brock and their daughter Lua who was attempting to eat pasta with her hands.

We sat across from them, and Madd picked up his niece and kissed her. She giggled and offered him a piece of spaghetti.

Treyton passed me a plate. “You look tired. All of this must be weighing on you and Madd.”

I nodded. I picked up the plate and served myself because being faced with food was better than being checked over by a midwife.

"Madd said you've been off in the mornings." Treyton's voice was low enough that the others didn’t hear, especially as Madd was busy with Lua and Brock was retrieving pasta from the floor.

“It's stress.”

“Maybe.” He picked up his water.

I put down the fork.

“I’m not saying that's what this is.” Treyton lowered his voice further. “I’m saying that if it were what I think it is, it would look exactly like what you're describing.”

Those were a lot of words when he could have summed them up with two and said, “You’re pregnant.”

I looked around the cafeteria. Pack members were eating and kids were running between tables. Arnie was visible in the kitchen. Madd had Lua on his hip and was talking to Brock. Normal life was happening around me while something inside me was changing.

“I have some tests in my room. It takes five minutes.” He glanced over his shoulder at his brother. “No pressure.”

I sat with my untouched plate and thought about my omega father who'd died bringing me into the world. I'd been told my entire life that him laying an egg large enough for two babies had cost someone everything.

When Madd and I were living in that tiny apartment, he’d talked about when we’d have children. He'd said it as if he expected it to happen with no hiccups.

My future was unraveling, and my father's mate hadn't survived bringing twins into the world.

“After lunch," I told Treyton. “And don't tell Madd.”

He made a face. “You’re asking me to hide something from my brother. You should be sharing this moment with him.”

He didn’t understand, not that he could have. He’d had a happy childhood. Giving birth, or in my case, laying eggs, wasn’t something that had shattered his family. I had to be sure before I shared the news with my mate.

I needed time to understand what I was experiencing before I told someone else, even though I adored my mate. Treyton didn’t comment again. I guessed he’d had clients with complicated histories.

Madd sat beside me and put his hand on my thigh under the table. I leaned into it because he was my rock. But I couldn’t bridge that gap between confiding in him about my fears and keeping them bottled inside me. So I pushed the food around on my plate and took a few bites to convince my mate I was eating.

After lunch, Madd went to meet with Flint. He’d never had a debrief about what went wrong that day at the bar. It seemed pointless now, but I was glad he was gone.

Brock and Lua had gone to Hunter’s apartment to play with the other kids, and Treyton handed me a test as soon as he opened the door and told me it took five minutes. Eternity seemed shorter than the five minutes, though it was one minute more than the infamous four.

My dragon was complaining, saying we didn’t need a test. But Madd didn’t have a beast inside him who could tell him what was happening. And I needed evidence to show not only him but to convince myself if this was happening.

Treyton searched my face as I opened the bathroom door.

“Okay. That’s a go.”

I had to tell Madd, but all I was thinking of was what if we had twins and they were identical and they arrived in one egg? One of them could hatch before the other and it might be four minutes.

Treyton put a hand on my shoulder. “No matter if you lay an egg or have a live birth, I can be there if you want me.”

“Backtrack a minute. Live birth?”