Page 49 of Briggs
Todd
Iwas nervous. I shouldn’t be. I knew my brother and sister. But they were meeting Briggs. My mate. My love. The most important person in my life. Yes, my siblings were important to me as well, but they were going to grow up and find their own mates someday. Briggs was it for me, and if they didn’t like him…if they wanted nothing to do with either of us now that we were mated and I was expecting twins, what would that mean? The entire hope was for them to eventually come live with us. They were my responsibility.
Briggs squeezed my hand, and when I looked up at him, there was nothing but love in his eyes. “It’ll be all right,” he whispered.
We couldn’t say more, though, because the door we were standing in front of suddenly opened. I smiled at the man standing there. It wasn’t that I disliked Alpha Babak. He was incredibly nice. But he intimidated me. That wasn’t because he was the created cheetah though. It was because he was a created anything. They all still had that effect on me.
“Welcome. Come in, come in,” Alpha Babak said. “Mina and Victoria are fussing in the kitchen. I insisted on helping, but neither would hear of it. Dane is covering the grill at the moment, and the children are out back with him. We are havingsuch nice weather, we thought we would eat on the covered deck?” Alpha Babak looked directly at me. “Is that all right with you? I should have thought to ask before assuming.”
I shook my head. “It’s fine. I’m feeling well, and I agree. It is a nice day.” I felt Briggs’s hand on my back as we walked past Alpha Babak. “Is there anything that we can do to help? I don’t want to impose.”
“You are no imposition at all,” Alpha Babak said. “Even if I were to suggest something, there is no way Mina would ever allow you to help. The children have basic chores, but that is all she allows them to help with as well.” Alpha Babak gestured for us to follow him. “Would you care for something to drink? The children are excited to see you again,” he added as we left the entryway hallway and suddenly found ourselves in his massive house.
“Water is good for me,” I said in response. “Unless you have tea.”
“I didn’t think to bring your tea with us,” Briggs told me as he moved up beside me. “Do you want me to run home and get it for you?”
I shook my head. “I’ll be okay, I think. I’ll drink a cup of it when we get home.”
“I have the tea,” Alpha Babak said. “Edison has ensured that each of us has tea in order to offer it to others if needed.” He smiled. “One never knows which one of us will next end up with a pregnant member of our pride or the like.”
“I appreciate it,” I said.
“It truly is no issue.” We’d made it to the kitchen area, where Alpha Mates Mina and Victoria were most certainly rushing around. They were laughing at something they were talking about, but whatever it was, it had been shared before we’d arrived.
“Welcome,” Alpha Mate Mina said when she noticed us. She immediately wiped her hands on a towel and came toward us with a huge smile on her face. When they trailed down to my rounded stomach, the smile widened. “How are you feeling? Is the pregnancy treating you better?”
I rubbed my stomach and returned her smile. “I’m well. Tired, but that’s to be expected, I’m told. The babies are happy and healthy.”
“Babies?” she asked quietly.
I looked over at Briggs. I had said babies. But we weren’t keeping the fact that I was having twins a secret, I didn’t think. “It was okay to share that, right? I didn’t even think about that.”
Briggs just smiled at me and ran his hand up and down my back. “Of course it’s all right. You’re pregnant, and everyone knows that.”
I turned back to Alpha Mate Mina, and Victoria had come up to stand right beside her. Alpha Babak was off to my left, and my siblings could be heard further in the back room, talking about some game or something.
“Yeah, we’re having twins,” I said. “Baby girls, actually.” There was a bit of a squeal from both, and their smiles grew impossibly large.
“Two,” Alpha Mate Mina said. She glanced at Alpha Mate Victoria, who nodded enthusiastically.
“You need to be sure to let us know if you need anything at all,” Alpha Mate Victoria said. “Anything,” she stressed.
“We’re good as far as I know. We’re deciding on details now, and I’ll be returning to work next week.” That seemed to surprise everyone but my mate.
“Meat is ready,” Alpha Dane said as he stuck his head into the house. “Oh, good,” he said when he saw us. “You arrived just in time.”
“We will celebrate not only the mating and pregnancy but the upcoming arrival of two precious little ones,” Alpha Babak said. “Please let’s go outside and enjoy a meal of celebration.” He gestured toward the back of the house, where Alpha Dane was. “I will bring the tea.”
“Oh, we have one ready just in case,” Alpha Mate Mina said. She quickly grabbed a mug and held it out. “We knew you were having pregnancy sickness and didn’t know if you would need tea or not. We figured it was safer to have it ready than not.”
“Thank you,” I told her as I took the mug from her.
“Todd!” I heard John shout from somewhere in the house. It only took a moment for him to come into view behind Alpha Babak. He stopped, though, before he reached us. He looked up at Briggs before he glanced down at my stomach and then looked back at me. “So it’s true?” he asked. “You’re actually pregnant?”
Briggs had his arm wrapped around me, and I felt not only his body stiffen but his irritation through our bond. I tilted my head and stared at my brother in disbelief.
“That’s what happens when people find their mate, John.” I looked at the others. “You’re shifting. You should know how things work at this point.” I was honestly confused. He knew I’d met my mate and that otherthingshad happened since.
