Page 66 of Manny's Surprise Baby
I frowned at his pitiable tone. “What?”
Pierce gave me a smug glance. “I’m not the crazy one, lover.”
“Well, neither am I.” I scowled.
“No one is nuts.” Colin stood and handed the baby to Riley, who kissed the child’s chubby cheeks. Then he moved to grab a towel and dried off his legs. When he straightened, he sighed and addressed Pierce. “How much have you told him?”
“The whole shebang. He thinks I’m off my rocker.”
“Naturally.” Sighing, Colin moved to me and put his arm around my shoulders. “Riley didn’t believe me at first either. I mean, the very idea of a guy getting pregnant is pretty out there.”
Riley nodded. “I thought he was just trying to push me away or something.”
“But I wasn’t.”
“Hold on a minute.” I shook off Colin’s arm and faced the three of them. “What are you saying?”
“Solar eclipse omegas are real. I’m one and so is Pierce.” Colin studied me intently.
I shook my head. “Men don’t get pregnant. That’s physically impossible.”
Riley held Garrett up. “This right here is proof that isn’t so.”
I widened my eyes, feeling light-headed with shock. “Garrett? Wait… you mean… Garrett…?”
“Yep.” Colin nodded. “We didn’t adopt him. That’s just the story we told because people can’t handle the truth.”
Pierce watched me warily. He didn’t speak, just watched me like I was a grenade missing my pin.
My brain still spouted reason after reason for why they had to be joking. “This isn’t possible.”
“It is though. And it’s happening. Pierce is pregnant with your child.” Riley spoke quietly. “You need to stand up and accept this. Because it’s real. Denying it will only hurt you, Pierce, and the baby.”
I took a step backward, blinking. “Please tell me someone is going to jump out and tell me this is just a big hoax.”
“It’s not a joke.” Pierce’s voice was flat. Emotionless.
Even though my brain couldn’t accept what they were telling me, the fact that it was all three of them saying it did hold some weight. I met Pierce’s wary gaze. “Why haven’t I ever heard about… your kind before?”
He swallowed. “The Ancients seem to think our species is safer with us being a secret. Just in case the sickness was intentional.”
“Why would it have been? Who would have tried to hurt us?”
“I guess better safe than sorry,” Colin replied.
“If this is true, why don’t I see pregnant guys everywhere?” I still held on to my logic, searching for why what they said had to be wrong.
“Solar eclipse omegas are rare. And when we get pregnant, we have the babies in the mountains at a special compound. Then if we want to come back to regular society, we make up some story about adopting a kid.” Colin sighed. “No one questions us. Gay couples adopt all the time.”
“The mountains.” I snapped my gaze to Pierce’s. “Are these the mountains you always act so tight-lipped about?”
He shrugged. “They need to remain a secret to most people.”
“This is too crazy,” I whispered.
“I know how you feel.” Riley nodded. “It took me a few days to actually accept that Colin was pregnant with my baby. It’s normal to deny this. It goes against everything we’ve believed our whole life.”
“Yes,” I said softly. “It can’t be real.”
