Page 56 of Vegas Baby!

“Is my omega happy?” I smoothed a thumb over her cheek.

“Fucking blissed.”

Life was weirdly good. It didn’t seem possible with how much had changed, but the nursery was coming together, the pack was settling into the new house, and I had given in to Bryce’s insistence that I buy anything I wanted for the omega suite.

Unlimited (not really, but it felt that way to me) funds were a perk I hadn’t anticipated. Andrew had kept me on a strict budget for the nursery, but it seemed like Bryce would buy mea diamond-encrusted crib if I really wanted one. I didn’t, not after Luke had purchased and put together one so sweetly. I’d never felt like a princess before, but Bryce was doing a damn good job of ensuring I wanted for nothing. The others were too, though they had definite differences when it came to their bank accounts.

I tried to consider all of it as pack money, like Bryce had told me. It wasn’t him giving me the money; it was him freely sharing what me and Jesse were entitled to as his bonded pack. I just liked it for the stress reduction. Not having to clip coupons or pinch pennies to get what I needed wasn’t something I was used to.

“Sweetness, we’re going to be late if we don’t leave now.” Jesse popped his head into the bathroom where I was braiding my hair and trying to decide if I needed makeup or not. “You ready to head to the class or do you need another few minutes?”

“I think I’m good. How fancy are these classes?”

“Uh, not fancy at all, to my knowledge. I would imagine everyone will be in athleisure.”

“Okay, good. I don’t want to feel self-conscious.”

He swept into the bathroom and wrapped his arms around me, looking at me over the top of my head in the mirror. “You look beautiful at every level of polish. All you need to do for the class is be comfortable.”

I had intended to get enrolled in a prenatal class once I moved to New York, but since that wasn’t happening, the pack had found a condensed class in Vegas that had an opening. The spot I was taking, though, had only enough space for two of my alphas to attend with me at a time.

Jesse and Micah would be going with me to the introductory class, and later Luke and Bryce would take me to the one that was more medical and focused on baby care. Jesse already knew most of what there was to know on the medical side, and Micahhad plenty of experience with childcare from his siblings, but Luke and Bryce were only children, so it seemed like the best option for dividing their time.

Jesse escorted me downstairs, where we collected Micah and departed for the class.

The instructor was a sweet older omega who had six children. While most of the class seemed to be geared toward getting me emotionally ready for the birth, they didn’t let the partners slack at all.

Micah pressed up against my back, cradling his hands beneath my belly, lifting gently to take the weight off my hips.

Fuck yes.

That feltamazingand he was never allowed to stop. I melted into bliss while I listened to the instructor explain coping strategies for pain during labor. I fully intended to get the epidural when it came down to it, and anything else they offered me.

“All right, pregnant patients, if you would like to adjust to your hands and knees, I can show your partners some effective ways to relieve the tension in your lower back and hips.”

My alphas helped me rearrange myself and the instructor came around to adjust everyone before she continued.

“Firm pressure, but not too deep. The birthing parents are always going to be the guide on how strong they want this.”

Micah found a particularly tender spot and I groaned against Jesse.

“Too much, angel?” Micah asked.

“Wee bit,” I whimpered.

He pulled back on the pressure and while he lovingly worked the tension from my body, the instructor impressed upon the partners in attendance the importance of support before, during, and after birth. All the omegas around me, myself included, were lulled into a comfortable half-asleep state, ouralphas massaging our muscle knots into submission while they learned all about how to best support us.

If keeping us relaxed was the name of the game, my men were doing a damn fine job.

“Doing okay, sweetness?” Jesse asked.

I blinked my eyes open to focus on him and simply shifted my hips further under his hands. I half listened to the class, trusting that my alphas were absorbing the information. I knew I would have to come up with a proper birth plan and make decisions on the care I wanted to receive. When I had been trying to figure out everything alone without Andrew, that had been overwhelming at best, but Jesse was taking meticulous notes, and Micah hadn’t flagged in his attention once since we got here. I knew that not only would they take care of me, but that they wanted to as well. And that, more than anything else, was exactly what I needed to get out of this experience.

Unfortunately, all those chill vibes evaporated when we got home and my phone rang, Mom’s number rolling across the screen. She’d been tenacious even after finding out I had a pack. The only one of them she knew was Luke, and she had wanted me to find someone who could financially take care of me. From what she knew of him from his youth, he couldn’t do that to her satisfaction. I hadn’t told her about Bryce’s wealth. I wanted her to accept my pack without that.

I ignored the call, and a second came through. I ignored that too. When the third came through, I caved, just in case something was wrong.

“Hey, Mom.”

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