Page 54 of His Unicorn Alpha
Dread settled in the pit of my stomach. The panic which had been welling up in the face of my looming fatherhood was nothing in comparison to the fear of something going wrong. Of my babies needing medical intervention before they were even born.
I grasped Brandt’s hand and squeezed it. He squeezed back. Neither of us said a word.
“Like I said,” Eric resumed taking his measurements, “baby three is still within an acceptable size range for their twenty-weeks gestation. We don’t have to panic, but we do need to be aware that theremightbe complications, and it’s better to prepare for the worst-case scenarios early.”
I didn’t want to think the words ‘worst-case scenario' in relation to my children or my mate.
“Let’s hear the heartbeats,” Eric offered when neither of us responded to his attempt to reassure us. “I promise you; this little one is looking super strong.”
Thatdidactually make me feel a bit better. “Okay.”
Eric flipped a little switch on the machine and then pressed the transducer down on Brandt’s belly. Brandt bitched a little, reminding his brother that his bladder was full, but he stopped complaining as the fast, loudwhoosh-whoosh-whoosh-ing filled the air.
“See?” Eric grinned. “Baby three’s heartbeat is perfect.”
Tears spilled over Brandt’s cheeks, and I felt my own eyes mist over.
“Wanna know their sex?” Eric asked. “Three’s decided to be an exhibitionist.”
I let out a startled laugh and I looked to Brandt for his decision. “It might make deciding on names and stuff easier?” I suggested. “But I don’t mind if you want the surprise.”
He shook his head. “I would like to know.”
“Then we find out.”
“So, that’s a yes?” Eric confirmed, and we nodded. He smiled. “Three’s a girl, guys. Congratulations.”
I honestly hadn’t given a thought to what their biological sex would be, but finding out still hit me hard in the solar plexus. “Oh, wow,” I choked out. “That’s…wow.”
Brandt nodded, his Adam’s apple bobbing.
“Shall we see if One and Two are just as cooperative?” Eric offered.
“Please,” Brandt asked, his voice gravelly and strained with emotion.
I committed the image of our daughter to memory as best I could before the transducer moved back to the baby flexing their hand.
“Okay, number one is being a little shy right now, but…” Eric moved the wand, trying to view the baby from a different angle. He contorted himself around Brandt’s belly and then— “Ah ha! Gotcha!” He took a screenshot, then pointed at the screen. “Number One is also a girl.”
As elation filled me once more, I couldn’t help noticing the flicker of disappointment on Brandt’s face as I turned to smile widely at him. It was only there for a moment, blinked away and replaced by a blinding smile that looked and felt genuine, but it was there nonetheless.
“Sugar?” I whispered, not quite sure why I was bothering, considering I knew Eric’s shifter hearing would hear me anyway. “What’s wrong?”
Brandt shook his head and cleared his throat. “Number Two,” he demanded of his brother. “Please.”
Eric swung the wand back to the second baby and did his contortionist act again. He cast his brother a brief, concerned glance, asking, “Are you sure you want to know?” He smiled, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes. There was an understanding there which I didn’t get. I was out of the loop, and I didn’t like it. “Don’t want a wildcard?”
Brandt shook his head.
Eric nodded, then smiled again. The same dull smile as moments earlier, not completely genuine.
“Congrats, guys. Another girl. The complete trifecta.”
“Sweetheart, please talk to me.”
Brandt hadn’t spoken since the ultrasound. I couldn’t feel any spikes of emotion through the bond, but I knew he was unhappy. Some part of that hurt me, though I was careful not to tell him so.
I hadn’t been a complete potato since I had moved to Shifters Sanctuary. I had been reading up on kids and parenting, preparing myself for the changes that were heading my way. Part of that had included reading articles about gender disappointment, even though Brandt and I had both agreed we didn’t care what sex our kids were.
