Oliver swallowed, and the alpha kept his head low as he cracked open his eyes. “There we are!” Michael said, clicking something on the computer. “It was a little tricky to find because you have an inverted uterus, but I found the little sweetie in the end.”
Oliver glowered up at the screen, his eyebrows pulling together as the rising dread made his whole body tense. When his expression didn’t change, Michael hummed and rested the ultrasound rod on his stomach. He got up and turned off the lights before returning to his station.
“See there?” He said, pressing the rod more firmly into Oliver’s pubic hair. “That little blob on the side. That’s your baby.” A sound of mournful disbelief left Oliver’s mouth. Michael chuckled. “And if you look here…” Oliver squinted. “Here, see?”
“N-No?” He said, quite convinced the sonographer was taking the piss.
“Here, I’ll zoom in.” The image distorted as Michael zoomed in, but as he did, Oliver could see—quite clearly—a little flashing dot. “That’s your baby’s heartbeat,” he said, like it was the most normal thing in the world. “Well, not a heartbeat exactly, it’s what we call the foetal pole. The heart won’t actually form for another couple of weeks.”
Oliver’s mouth hung open, and he could feel Lucas’ shaky breath against his hair in the darkness. When Michael turned on the lights, Oliver tore his gaze away from the screen and looked up at Lucas. Tears streaked the alpha’s face and he had that tragically beautiful look again.
“Oh, you poor thing,” Michael said, handing him a box of tissues. “But congratulations.”
Oliver swallowed, and he was sure he was in shock because all of his fingers and toes started to go numb. “Now let’s see… you’re a sigma, Mr Reed?”
“Yes,” he croaked, throat dry as he turned back to the sonographer.
Michael nodded and cocked his head. “Oh, and you’re from the countryside! How lovely. My Aunty Susanne’s from the countryside. Can’t say I’ve ever been myself.”
Oliver was about to say that‘being from the countryside’didn’t mean he was from an entirely different continent; but Lucas’ tear damp cheek pressing against his forehead drew his attention. “Reed…” Lucas whispered. “Oliver?—”
“It’s not going to be easy, mind you,” Michael continued. “You’ll need regular scans, and I’m talking bi-weekly for the rest of the pregnancy. Sigma prenatal care is much more involved than the other sexes, so prepare to be prodded and poked to within an inch of your life, Mr Reed!”
They were given a stack of paperwork when they left the clinic, but as they walked out onto the busy street the only thing Oliver cared about was the ultrasound picture clutched in his hand. Lucas was still dabbing a tissue under his eyes as they meandered in silence towards the end of the road.
“Well then,” Oliver muttered. “Can we go to the pub? I think I need a drink after all that.”
Lucas huffed out a laugh. “I hope you’re joking.”
Oliver wrinkled his nose. “You’re the one that asked for vodka at a pregnancy clinic.”
“Yes, but it was quite clear I was joking. You… I’m not so sure.”
The numbness in Oliver’s limbs began to thaw, and the realisation of what had occurred slowly started to sink in. He looked up at Lucas, who was staring down at him with wide,expectant eyes. “Are they quite sure they haven’t mixed me up with someone else?”
The alpha’s gaze softened as he pulled them both into a nearby shop porch. “Unless it was someone else’s belly, then I think it’s a safe bet that’s our baby in there.”
There’s ababyin there.
“Oh,” Oliver said, licking his rapidly drying lips. “Oh shit.” There was a buzzing sensation in his brain as he thought about the word. “Oh fuck.”
“Reed.”
“Fucking flying cocks. St Mary’s golden tits… this isn’t… we aren’t?—”
“Oliver.”
“Shitting—fucking—cunt flaps—” His chest heaved and his eyes watered as Lucas pulled him into his chest, the sound of the alpha’s racing heart doingnothingto calm him down. “What if we—what if I—what if the pregnancy fails, Lucas? What’ll happen? What if I can’t do this? What if I’m a shit dad? What if she hates me? What if she rejects me? What if we don’t even get that fucking far?”
But then it was all darkness as Lucas wrapped him up in a crushing embrace.
They did,in fact, go to the pub—but the pub was at the bottom of Davi and Colin’s garden. Oliver had orange juice, Lucas had whiskey, and the dads had tequila shots. Because, as it turned out,noneof them were prepared for Aliya’s reaction towards Oliver.
“Sooo,” she said, flexing as she rested her massive arm across Colin’s shoulders. “Did my brother knock you up before or after he gave you the bite?”
“Lily—” Davi hissed through clenched teeth. “Not appropriate, my love.”
Aliya was just as tall, but slimmer than Lucas. She had the same hazel eyes, dark hair, and enormous fangs. If Oliver hadn’t known she was two years older, he would have assumed they were twins.
