Page 6 of His Unicorn Alpha
But even if not, I was still fulfilling my dream of having children of my own.
I loved children. There was nothing more rewarding than watching them explore the world. They were innocent and enthusiastic about everything they discovered. Their wide-eyed joy never failed to make my own heart feel lighter.
Working in the clinic with Eric, and spending time with my new friends’ children, was bittersweet for me. It was always a joy to interact with the town’s small ones, but also left an ache in my heart for a future I desperately wanted and never thought I would have.
Until that fateful day in the lab.
I would be forever grateful to whichever fates saw me in charge of checking the results of our testing that day. I also counted myself lucky that Eric hadn’t stumbled in on me as I had performed the somewhat awkward and uncomfortable transfer of the embryo into my womb. I was luckier, still, that our lab had even had the requisite supplies on hand, though I’d needed to sneak into the clinic room with the ultrasound machine and I’d been terrified my brother would catch me in a compromising position (we do not need to think too long on justhowI needed to get the catheter into the right location).
It was an anxious six weeks of waiting before I gave in and, when Eric was called away to the alpha’s house for a town meeting, used the ultrasound machine to confirm that all three embryos had implanted correctly. Of course, the other symptoms I had been experiencing suggested that they had, but as a man of science, I needed to be certain.
I had cried upon seeing them on that screen, though they were little more than tiny specks of matter inside my womb.
Courtesy of the hormonal imbalance that three growing fetuses would cause, I expected that I would spend a lot of time crying from that point on.
They certainly caused a lot of nausea, too.
And exhaustion.
And really sore nipples.
And did I mention the exhaustion?
It was hard to disguise these changes from those around me, most notably my brothers, but also Damon, who was the clinic’s main receptionist and who had become one of my closest friends since he had arrived to the town roughly eighteen months earlier. He’d been six months pregnant when he had arrived, seeking sanctuary and assistance, and the alpha he’d accidentally mated with (Rex) followed soon after.
Initially, Damon had been resentful of his pregnancy. As someone who longed for children of my own, I hadn’t quite understood why. But he had been scared, felt rejected by his potential mate, and he had not been enjoying the symptoms of his condition. But once he and Rex sorted things out, he seemed happier. Their son, tiny little Cam, was adorable, and I ended up spending a lot of time with Damon and the baby.
Because of the close friendship we had developed over time, it was difficult to keep my secret from him. I knew that, eventually, there would be no hiding it. But while miscarriage was still a risk and a concern —particularly given my age— I wanted to keep my babies to myself.
It was selfish for more than that reason, though. I also knew that Eric would not be happy with me. Even Damon might be disappointed in my lack of ethics. As would Beckett, the pack alpha.
After all, Eric and I had made promises to the alphas, both actual and potential, that we wouldn’t use their sperm to impregnate anyone without their consent.
Micah had not given his consent.
Did I mention I was wracked with guilt? Because I was. Truly.
But I stood by my decision. I would make it again, given half a chance.
This was a mistake, I thought to myself as I sat in Beck and Ollie’s living room.
I had volunteered to be one of the chaperones of the pack’s most vulnerable members: namely children who could not yet shift and pregnant betas and omegas. The pregnant shifters could technically shift but, apparently for those further along in their pregnancies, it was such a drain on their systems that they spent their time in shifted form curled up and sleeping.
I bounced Cam on my knee, the near-toddler giggling delightedly at the funny faces I pulled for him, while I listened to Lena and Ollie bantering on the couch about having more children. Lena was heavily pregnant with twins, while Ollie was just joining us on guard duty. He was not, as far as any of us were aware, expecting any more pups of his own just yet.
However, the reason I was suddenly overcome by panic was Ollie’s declaration that Beck’s friend and former housemate would be coming to stay.
Micah.
TheMicah.
The Micah whose children were currently gestating away inside me.
The Micah who I hadn’t ever met. Not even during Ollie and Beck’s lavish Christmas wedding a few months earlier.
Shit, shit, shit.
Catching Damon’s curious gaze as he and Ollie switched to bantering about Damon’s notorious dislike of my fellow dragon, Dexter, I attempted to re-engage in the conversation. I muttered something about Dexter going through his own issues —not that I knew what they were, exactly. He was Sage’s best friend, and Sage was also being curiously tightlipped— but I’m not sure I did a fantastic job of sounding put-together.
