Page 49 of Her Second-Hand Mate

I laughed. The gray fog of the last weeks was starting to dissipate. I was going to have a pup. I felt my eyes and nose burn and I sniffed.

“No crying!” Lynn admonished. “What did Dominic say?”

“I, uh, still haven’t told him.”

Silence.

“Why not?” Grace asked gingerly like I was a doe she didn’t want to spook.

“I want to wait until I’m sure.”

“Oh come on, three weeks is almost 100% certain, what are you waiting for?”

“I don’t know,” I sighed. “Things have been weird again since we came back from the trial, and it’s putting me on edge.”

“Weird, how?” Charlotte asked.

“He’s been avoiding me and spending all his time at the office. When he’s home, he looks at me the same way he looks at the puzzle I got him for Christmas, like he’s trying to figure something out. It’s weird.”

“You gotta tell him,” Mira said gently.

“I will. Next week.”

???

“So, how long will you be gone?” I asked Vera, who invited us to lunch to say goodbye before she left on her top-secret assignment.

“Three months, probably.”

“Wow,” Sonya said, “that’s some job.”

“It is. I’m excited.”

“I’m happy to see it,” Florence said, “you haven’t been this excited about your work for a long time.”

“I think this change will be good for me,” Vera said and smiled at me like she was trying to tell me something.

After lunch, I decided to stop by Dominic’s office before going home and just tell him about the pregnancy. I knocked and when he gave permission, I entered to find him lost in reading some files. His desk was a mess, and his hair was ruffled. He looked exhausted. Between the nightmares and leaving the house at 7 am to avoid me, it was no wonder.

After not getting anything from him, I tentatively called, “Dominic?”

“What are you doing here? I thought you were having lunch with my mother?” he seemed confused.

“I was. We were saying goodbye to Vera. She’s leaving on assignment,” I said stupidly, like he, as the Alpha, wouldn’t have known about it already.

“Hm,” he hummed and continued reading his file.

I shifted from one foot to the other. This felt like being in Father’s office once upon a time, asking to be allowed to have a sleepover at Theresa’s house. I never was.

“Did you see the deck swing Grace and Elliot got us for Christmas?”

Stupid question. That thing was huge. Of course, he’d seen it. But I figured mentioning Grace was a good start – I’d segue into her going past her due date and then into my own pregnancy. It was too early for him to scent it, but my wolf now knew for sure.She was ecstatic, and honestly, when not standing in Dominic’s office, clearly disturbing him, so was I.

“Penelope,” he sighed impatiently, “can’t you see I’m working?”

I recoiled as if he’d struck me. He rubbed his eyes warily, and by the time he was done, I’d schooled my face back to neutral, I hoped. My mental defenses were always in place these days, I didn’t need to check.

“I’ll leave you to it, then,” I said, my voice miraculously steady, and turned to leave.

---