Page 54 of In Plain Sight

“Let’s get on with this, shall we? Did my nurse discuss everything with you already?”

“Basically, it’s too early for a normal sonogram, so we have to get up close and personal with that magic wand thingy you’re about to stick up my hoo-hah,” I said, recapping what the nurse had told us.

Bran shook his head and might even have blushed a little, but Doc never missed a beat as he flipped on a monitor then placed my feet in the stirrups, gently nudged my legs apart until they fell slack, and began slathering up the magic wand.

“I’m not sure I’ve ever heard it described quite so eloquently,” Doc said as I tensed from the discomfort of the wand.

Almost immediately, what looked like static on an old TV flashed across the screen. He poked and prodded the wand awkwardly and then stopped and smiled.

I squinted to try to figure out what we were looking at. He pointed to a little dot on the screen, then hit some buttons to zoom in.

“And that’s a baby,” he finally announced.

I gasped and tears started falling down my cheeks. Bran squatted down close to me and stared in awe, squeezing my hand and kissing my forehead.

“Why does it look like a little tadpole? Where’s its legs? Oh my God, what’s wrong with our baby?” I asked, starting to freak out.

“Relax Ruby, your pup looks perfect. Right on time for approximately six weeks. Like a tadpole, the legs and other parts will develop over time. I promise you that little one is just fine. Now, let’s zoom in a little more and see if we get lucky.”

“You can tell what it is already?” I asked.

Doc laughed. “No, not for a few more months.” He flicked another switch and turned knob, and a very fast swooshing sound filled the room. “It’s really hard to see, but that little flicker and that noise you’re hearing is your baby’s heartbeat.

“Oh my God,” Bran said reverently as I cried a little more.

Too quickly the time passed, the monitor was shut off, and the wand removed. I was still in a daze as I dressed and left the clinic. Once in the truck, Bran and I just sat there staring at each other.

“A baby,” I said. “We’re really having a baby. I mean, in my heart I knew it, but this just makes it so much more real.”

He nodded and hugged me, but not fast enough for me to miss the flash of terror in his eyes. We hadn’t planned for this and I’d never even stopped to ask if he wanted this—not that it mattered, because I would do absolutely anything to protect this little pup now, even from its father if it came down to it.

When Bran broke our embrace, I felt no fear in him. He smiled down at me and kissed me. “I know you are going to be an amazing mother.” He reached out and placed his hand lovingly over my flat stomach. “Our baby.”

I cried a little more, surprised by how emotional I felt. I wasn’t much of a crier but this whole experience was overwhelming me, and I knew it was okay to break down in front of my mate. Bran was everything I could have ever hoped for, my perfect mate.

“If someone had told me this was going to happen two months ago, I would have laughed in their face, but I can’t imagine any other life or anyone else to go through this craziness with. I love you, Bran.”

“I love you, too, sweetheart.”

He hugged me again and this time there was a needy feel to it, like he was holding on tightly and would never let go, a promise of our life to come, and I couldn’t wait to live it.

There was no sense in trying to keep things secret. There really was no such thing in a wolf pack. So, we headed straight over to the Alpha house. All my family was there and waiting. I didn’t have to say a word, as we walked in and cheers went up. According to Thomas, my red nose combined with Bran’s perma-grin gave it away before we could make an announcement.

Lily hugged me. “I’m so excited for you. Are you happy?” she asked in a lowered voice.

I looked over at my mate laughing at something my father said. “Very,” I confessed.

Shelby walked over to hug me. “Do me a favor and call Maddie first. She still feels like the outsider of the family and blames herself for it, but it would really mean a lot to her.”

“I will, tonight. I promise,” I said.

I hadn’t exactly been “open arms, welcome back,” when my youngest sister resurfaced like the ghost of Christmas past. I still didn’t really understand her reasonings for being gone for so many years.

Madelyn had disappeared clear off the face of the Earth when she was only sixteen years old. I’d had a front row seat for most of it, and it had been a nightmare for my family. I honestly thought she was dead in a dumpster somewhere, and as we now knew, that was the way her story should have gone.

Instead, a human couple found her and raised her, as well as the child she went on to have as the result of a brutal rape. They really had just left her to die, too. Her son, Oscar, was a sweetheart and probably the biggest reason I softened to her return as quickly as I did.

As luck would have it, Liam, Lily’s twin brother, crossed paths with Madelyn and what do you know? He was her one true mate. She was now happily mated and living in Westin Pack with Liam, Oscar, and her new daughter, Sara.

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