Page 41 of Mating the Omega
At three o’clock, the judge called it quits for the day, saying he wanted some time to think about things and he’s see us back again at nine the next morning.
“I thought he might do that,” Laine commented as we filed slowly out of the courtroom, waiting as the crowd crept through the door. I hadn’t realized how many people had shown up for the afternoon session. The place was packed, but it heartened me to see that not everyone looked at us with disdain or fear. In fact, as we made our way out the door, someone—a stranger—put a hand on my arm, an older woman wearing an expression of curiosity.
Mac had been watching in the other direction, keeping track of some Montana Border wolves. He didn’t know what was happening until my steps slowed and then stopped. When he saw the woman with her hand wrapped around my forearm, he jerked me away and shoved me at Duke, who passed me to my father and began edging me toward the door.
“No!” I dug in my heels. “Hang on.” I squirmed until they had to stop. “She didn’t do anything.” Great, now we had a fucking audience. Little Mac kicked and my womb went hard as a rock. I bent over it, gasping for air.
Mac threw himself to his knees in front of me. “Is it time?” he whispered, his voice tight with worry.
The contraction died away. “I don’t know. I don’t think so. Maybe?” I looked up and saw the woman watching us with worried eyes. “I’m sorry. He’s a little over-protective right now.”
Mac stood up, but he kept me partially behind him. I scowled and poked him in the ribs. “I’m fine. Let her say what she wants to say, and then we can go.” Little Mac reminded me, by head-butting my bladder, that I’d been sitting in a room for a couple of hours with no food and no bathroom. “You can buy me supper. Something nice. I think Little Mac wants hamburgers.” I didn’t actually know if he did, but I did, and he could eat them and like it. And it gave Mac something else to think about. To add a little incentive, I bounced in place a couple of times and whispered, “I have to pee.” Okay, that wasn’t a lie.
He sniffed, and grudgingly let me out from behind him. I walked over to her, waving Mac off when he tried to follow me, and gave her my friendliest smile.
She smiled back. “I remember when I had my kids. I knew where every bathroom within five miles was.”
“Yeah, it’s the first thing I look for.”
“How far along are you? If you don’t mind me asking.”
She was being nice, and treating me like a human instead of a shifter. She could ask what she wanted. “My due date is supposed to be tomorrow, but the nurse says first-timers usually run late, so I’m hoping to be home again before Little Mac makes an appearance.”
“Is that what you’re naming him?”
I ran my hand over my belly. “Oh, we don’t know if it’s a boy or a girl, not for real. There’s no ultrasound at the enclave, and they won’t let us in any of the local hospitals. Whatever it is, we’ll be happy with it.”
“That doesn’t seem fair, that you can’t get medical care. You are citizens, you pay taxes.”
I shrugged. “There’s a hospital that accepts shifters about five hours away, but the curfew makes it tough. We have a good nurse, I’m feeling confident.”
She nodded. Her gaze went to Mac, looming behind me like a Norse wolf-god, then back to me. In a low voice, she asked, “Do you love him?”
I nodded and smiled sadly. After today, it might not matter.
The woman glanced back at Mac again. “And does he love you?”
I turned to smile at him. “Yeah. It looks like grumpy, but it’s really love.” I turned back to her. “I had morning sickness all day for a month. He waited on me hand and foot, took time off work, held me when I was so tired from throwing up I thought I was going to fall in. He’s a keeper.”
She put a hand on my arm again, friendly and almost maternal. I had a moment of missing my mother so badly it made my eyes tear, then she patted me and said, “Well, if you love each other, that’s all that matters. Look after that little one, whatever his or her name turns out to be.” Then she turned and left, as quietly as she’d come.
I walked back to Mac, who folded me into his arms and held me close.
“What was that about?”
“Not sure.” I rubbed my cheek against his chest and closed my eyes for a moment. “I think she wanted to tell me it would be all right.”
Mac kissed the top of my head. “Of course it will. Laine will make it work.”
“Yeah.” I didn’t know if I believed that, but somehow, I thought it would all work out.
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
Duke and Laine took us back to the hotel. We had two rooms, connecting, which I thought was pretty cool. I hadn’t stayed in a place this fancy ever, and I spent a good half hour running gleefully back and forth between them before a wave of fatigue hit and I flopped on the bed. Fucking pregnancy hormones.
Mac laughed and lay down beside me. “I was wondering when you’d slow down.”
“All I needed was to pee and then I was fine.” I raised my head and looked around to see who else was in this room. Duke and Dad were sitting at the little table—no sign of Laine or Garrick. “Is Garrick gone to get food?”
