Page 16 of Embraced By the Alpha Pack

I’m pregnant.

How could I be so lost in the experience to not think of the repercussions?

What if they are like Hunter and only want a son?

What will I do if I have a girl again?

There’s five of them and only me. I’m fucked, and not in a good sense.

The crunch of the stones under the tires jolts me out of my inner monologue and I look around slowly when I sit up. Thankfully, no one is waiting on the porch for us. I don’t know what would be worse, them on the porch or gathered in the house. Opening the door, I slip out and reach back, grabbing my bucket of chicken.

Conrad and Barrett watch me warily as I move towards the house. I can’t help the growl that escapes my lips. I’m scared. Scared of what will happen if history repeats its self. Just as I reach for the doorknob, it flies open and Ethan pulls me against him.

The instant wave of calm that comes over me melts away all the stress from my body. I snuggle into his embrace and sigh, feeling safe and happy finally. “Are you alright Darlin? Barrett said you got sick again.” Ethan nuzzles the top of my head as he walks me into the house.

Slowly I pull back slightly to look up into Ethan’s eyes. “I think I might be pregnant.” Wincing, I hide my face against his chest.

Three more hands land on my back, rubbing it. “What do you want us to do, baby girl?” Griffin kisses my temple and I feel my daughter’s hand patting me on the top of the head.

“I don’t know.” I scream and pull away from everyone. “We have to get ready for Nicolai to get here. He’ll be here tomorrow.” My attempt at deflection seems to work. Griffin, Ethan, and Barrett finish moving the food and evil coffee into the kitchen.

Conrad is still standing there, leaning on the wall across from me. “Let’s go for a walk.” He closes the distance between us and takes my hand, not giving me time to answer. He walks me past the others and out the back door into the garden.

Since I’ve moved here, Barrett and I have added some of my favorite flowers to the garden beds. The blood red lilies and irises are in bloom, as well as the creeping myrtle. The stark contrast of color makes both stand out in their shared bed. Conrad guides me to the bench under the weeping willow tree that his grandfather had planted on the property over eighty years ago.

“Talk to me Grace. I know you’re scared. I know the fear of the past repeating itself is at the forefront of your thoughts.” Conrad holds both of my hands and smiles softly, waiting for me to talk.

“What if I don’t have a son? Will you hate me for it?” I feel my bottom lip quiver as all the strength in my voice fades. I sound weak and frail. The tightness in my chest makes it almost hard to breathe as fear of rejection overtakes me.

“Then you don’t have a son.” He shrugs his shoulders and smiles. “We’re your mates. We don’t need a specific gender to be happy. The dipshit ex. He wasn’t a mate. A rogue needs a son to form an alpha pack to stay sane. Hell, if your daughter is an alpha female, she would have been just as good as a son if the idiot waited.” Conrad shakes his head and laughs as he pulls out his phone. He fiddles with it for several moments before showing me a picture that Griffin sent him. Ashina is asleep on his chest with her hand on his face threaded through what little facial hair he has.

The cyclone of emotions in my chest slowly calms down. I look up and see Griffin holding Ethan back from getting to the door. I wave at my guys to get them to come out and join us. Ethan doesn’t hesitate and runs across the yard to sit next to me. Griffin, Barrett and apparently my Grams and their mother come out with Ashina’s pup hot on their heels.

Ruby has a small brown bag in her hand and I’m pretty sure I know what’s in there. “I’m sorry for the emotional rollercoaster, guys.” All at once, the guys tell me not to worry about it in their own way. “I think I’m pregnant, and the thought scares me. Hell, it still scares me.” I try to make eye contact with each of the guys and then Grams and Ruby.

“We’ve known for a while, child.” Ruby says as she reaches out and offers me the bag.

“How?” Now I’m really puzzled.

Ethan bumps my shoulder, then buries his nose between my neck and shoulder and breathes in deeply. “Your scent changed. It’s warmer and more comforting than before.” He nuzzles my throat then sits up, looking at me, smiling.

My eyes drop down to the bag in my hand, then over to Ruby. “Do I even need to do this?” I wave the bag a little.

“Only if you want confirmation, little one. It may make it more real for you to see it firsthand.” Ruby extends a hand out to me and I take it. She and my grandmother each put an arm around me, ushering me towards the house. The guys follow silently behind. Well, mostly silently. Barrett and Conrad are having a hard time catching Ashina’s pup.

Crinkling the bag in my hand, I step into the downstairs bathroom that’s close to the kitchen. I close the door behind me and pull the test out of the bag and sit the dreaded box on the sink counter. Double checking the directions on the box, I decide to use one of the paper cups in the dispenser to pee into. It takes several moments to pee enough into the cup. I rip through the packaging and take the test out and pop the tip off and dip it into the urine. I count to ten, then put the cap back on and place it in the box and close it.

I take several minutes to myself after I clean up the bathroom and then exit with the box in hand. Staring at the box, I know exactly who I’m going to hand it to. My plan is to give it to the person who doesn’t feel like they deserve to know. The one that feels they have failed the most. I stop in front of Griffin and then lead him to the couch and sit him down and hand him the box and climb into his lap.

“Are you sure, baby girl?” Griffin’s soft tone catches me off guard.

“I’m sure you look.” I press my face against his neck and cover my eyes.

Listening to the noises around me, I can hear the moment he fiddles with the cardboard box. His arms tighten around me as he works with the packaging. The sharp inhale tells me all I need to know. It’s positive.

“Baby girl.” He whispers near my ear as he rubs his cheek against mine.

“It’s positive, isn’t it?” I don’t bother pulling my face from against his neck. Tears well up and roll down my face. Fear engulfs me and I tremble in his arms as sobs wrack my body. My wolf understands my fear. She knows what I had gone through in the past because she saw my memories.

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