Page 20 of His Prodigal Alpha

My mind whirred, worried that Brandt had told Rex about my multiple pregnancy complaints, but I knew my new friend wasn’t the type to do that. Plus, he was a doctor; surely he believed in doctor-patient confidentiality. “What did he tell you?”

“He pointed out that gettin’ eaten by a dragon is far scarier than any baby ever will be.”

I blinked, struggling to process that sentence. “He…he threatenedto eatyou?”

“Yeah, and Eric backed him up. You maybe wanna warn a man that your town is filled with ornery dragons next time?”

I’d only been in Shifters Sanctuary a week, so I hadn’t seen any of the Weldman brothers shift. I had seen footage from the mess in New York the previous year, though, and if thatwas the kind of damage one dragon could manage on his own, I wasn’t going to push any of the dragons living in town to that kind of anger. The fact that Eric and Brandt had threatened to eat Rex as a way of defending my honor was sweet, though, in its weird-ass way. They barely knew me, but they’d told an alpha they’d eat him!

The giggle burst out of me without warning, followed by unstoppable laughter. Inside my belly, my son (ourson) seemed energized by my buoyed mood, kicking up a storm. I placed my hand to my belly, no longer finding the alien-like tapping from the inside quite as strange, and rubbed the spot his feet were abusing, trying to control my unruly amusement.

Rex’s gaze followed the movement of my hand. On his thigh, his fingers twitched. “I know I don’t have the right, but…may I?”

Giggles evaporating into quiet hiccups, I swallowed and nodded, pulling my hand away from its spot. My heart rate increased, and it was like the moment extended into slow motion as Rex tentatively reached out to splay his palm over the curve of my belly, right where my hand had been.

The kid inside me seemed to sense that the touch was coming from someone other than me, because he only seemed to kick harder, thetap-tap-tap-tapof his feet suddenly feeling less ticklish and bubbly and more like the tyke was trying to break down the wall of flesh separating him from the outside world.

“Sweet Jesus,” Rex breathed shakily, sounding awed and terrified all at once. He tore his gaze from my stomach to look me in the eye. “You really are…I mean, not that I thought you were lying, but…shit just gotreallyreal.”

My lips twitched and the giggles threatened to overwhelmme again, but I managed to smother them. “Yeah, I thought I was going to re-enact a scene fromAlienthe first time I felt him move. But I’m getting used to it now. It’s even kind of comforting sometimes.”

“Him?” There was a quiet reverence in Rex’s voice, his palm pressing just a bit more firmly on me, as if he was trying to get even closer to the kid inside my belly. “Did you say ‘him’? A boy?”

Realization dawned on me. He hadn’t known that.

Of course he didn’t know, I scolded myself.It’s not like you got a chance to tell him.

“Yeah,” I replied softly. “A boy. Well, unless he says differently when he’s old enough to tell me I was wrong. But, y’know, I’ll love and support him —them— no matter what. Alpha, beta, omega…girl, boy, genderfluid…None of that matters to me.”

“No, of course not, but,” Rex’s expression turned soft, “a son. Not that a daughter wouldn’t…I mean…shit, I’m messin’ this up.”

It was such a far cry from the utter panic and refusal I’d seen on his face earlier that I didn’t rush to reassure him at first. I was too dumbstruck by the perceived change in his attitude and how quickly that had happened. Were a few hours really all he’d needed to wrap his head around his, no —ourimpending fatherhood? Because I’d needed a hell of a lot longer than that.

“I’m sorry, kitten, I didn’t mean to imply that I’d be any less amazed if we were havin’ a girl, I just…”

That got my brain working again, my thoughts snagging on his use of the word ‘we’.

“Whoa, cowboy,” I held up a palm towards him, halting hisrambling. “What’s this ‘we’ business?”

Blue eyes blinked at me, a flash of hurt visible before it was hidden behind a more cautious expression. His big, warm palm left my cotton-covered flesh and I swear the kid inside me threw a tantrum about it going away, rolling and kicking up a storm. I rubbed at the spot, hoping to soothe my son and myself.

“Well,” Rex began slowly, as though he was weighing his words before he spoke them. “It is my baby, right? I mean, you didn’t come across any other alphas six months ago, did you?”

My heart started hammering again, but this time in fear. As an omega, I didn’t have the kind of social standing or rights that he did. “It’smybaby,” I barely refrained from wrapping my arms around myself protectively. “All you did was knot me. I’m the one growing him.I’mthe one…” Emotions clogged my throat as the words from my breakdown in the apple orchard threaten to overwhelm me again. Shaking my head, I tried to push them away. “It’s my baby,” I repeated fiercely. “And so help me, if you even think of trying to take him…”

The scowl that had taken up residence on his face shifted swiftly to shock and he held his hands up in surrender. “No, darlin’, no. I’m not gonna take him. I wouldn’t know the first thing about lookin’ after a baby, for one, and for another thing…you’re right. You are doing all the hard work right now. But,” the mattress beneath us shifted as he straightened his spine, “I’m no deadbeat, Damon. And I’ll be damned if my kid grows up not knowin’ me.”

The vehemence in his statement made me pause. Had a little chat with Brandt and theminorthreat of being eaten really caused such a turnaround in Rex’s attitude? And why the hell did I think it was so freaking hot? That had to be my constanthorniness kicking back in; not something I wanted to deal with at that moment.

“Okay,” I responded calmly, grabbing a pillow and hugging it to me. It had the benefit of hiding my growing arousal as well as providing comfort. “So, you’ve changed your mind, then? You want to be a dad?”

Rex let out a little growl of irritation and I hated that the sound went straight to my dick. “I never said I didn’t,” he huffed. “Sure, I didn’t exactly jump for joy when you turned up at Beck’s, but I was in shock! Still kinda’ am, if I’m bein’ completely honest.”

“I’d appreciate complete honesty.”

Instead of getting annoyed with my haughty response, my baby daddy —dear God, I wasnevergoing to think that phrase again— chuckled lightly and spread his arms wide. “That’s why I’m here, kitten. I’m tryin’ to do the right thing. We’re gonna have to get to know each other, ‘cause we’re gonna be in each other’s lives from here on out.”

“Don’t you have a life somewhere? A job? Friends? Family?” I didn’t have any of those things, but I didn’t imagine that he would also just be able to uproot himself and move to a tiny town in Iowa, of all places.

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