Page 58 of The Beta: Part Three
Devon is on his side, so I grab his hand and put it over my stomach where I feel the movement. He doesn't wake immediately so I pinch him, just a little, and tell him to shh when he starts to talk. I put my hand over his and whisper, barely louder than a breath, for him to hand me my phone. When he hands it to me I blow up the group chat, telling everybody to get in here right now, but be quiet about it.
Devon is still confused, he might even think something is really wrong, then the baby moves again and he sucks in a breath. It actually does feel like a kick from the inside, I always thought that was bullshit. How could something feel like a kick from the inside, especially if it was so small? But it really does feel like he's kicking me. I look back at Devon to make sure he can feel it, too. He's looking back at me with this dopey grin and watery eyes. Then the other's start coming into the room, and we motion them over, emphasizing the need to be calm and quiet. They are all very concerned and confused, but then Corso notices mine and Devon's hands and he sits on the bed and spreads his hand beside ours. Jasper is next. It's just unfortunate that my stomach is still too small for everyone to touch at one time. It's okay, though, because the baby kicks again on the other side of my stomach this time, and Jasper claps a hand over his mouth to keep from shouting. Corso is openly crying when I meet his eyes, and I reach up to brush away his happy tears. Then they take turns trying to feel the baby moving around. I'm glad he's so active, it gave them all the chance to feel him moving around. The amount of pride and love flowing through my bond with all of them right now is overwhelming. I love it, but it's a lot.
I call Obi in the afternoon. After he finishes laughing at me, and Devon and the rest of them for getting implants put in just in time for me to get pregnant, he says he'll come by in the next few days to do a check up and a scan, and to bring by some equipment that will stay here until after the birth. He wants to know if I want a water birth. I would not. That sounds horrible and disgusting. I want to have my baby in the nest I'm building for us. It will be cozy and perfect. The main one will be in Corso's room where Jasper and I built our nest together; and I want to build another in Nathan's room where I like my own nest to be.
“I'll need to bring Jamie along for this, Talia. His baby sister is having a baby, after all. He gets to be an uncle again and you know how much he adores children.”
“Okay. I'm sorry I asked you to sneak around so much. I can't wait for you guys to find your omega so you can have a bunch of kids. Jamison is going to be the best dad. You all are.” And I mean that. My brother, Obi, Andrew, and Issac are all going to make wonderful fathers when the time comes.
“Does your mother know yet? Can I tell her? Oh my god, please let me tell her.”
I laugh, “she already knows, but you get to tell Jamison. And I'll let you tell Daniel and Bianca if you want. Mother can handle the rest of them.”
I thought he might wait until he got off the phone with me to tell him, but he goes straight to my brother and announces it. Whoops and whistles sound down the line as the entire pack gets the news.
“Congratulations, you hateful little brat. I feel sorry for the kid already with you as a mother.” Jamison is always shouting, and always giving me a hard time. Maybe it's because he's losing his hearing in his old age. He is a few years older than Corso and Alex, and he's been on the wrong end of more than a few explosions, so it's a possibility. I'll tell him my theory about his senility next time I see him.
I hear the distinct sound of a smack in the background, then Isaac, who isn't my biological brother but who has been part of my family as an alpha in my brother's pack since I was a little girl, is putting Jamison in his place. “Oh shut up, Jamie. Talia is going to be a wonderful mother. I'm just glad Corso finally got what he's been wanting. Congratulations, little sister. I'm so happy for you.”
“You always were my favorite, Isaac,” I say sweetly, “I'll take you over Jamison any day. Where's Andrew?”
“Right here,” he calls, “I'm so happy for you and your pack. I can't wait to start buying the most obnoxious toys the world has to offer.” I do believe that Andrew is happy for us, but I also know how sad he is about his own pack's situation. They've tried for years to find the right omega for them, but nobody has been the right fit.
Any omega would be lucky as fuck to be with them. I have a working theory that they put so much effort into trying to make themselves out to be a great option that they lose track of what already makes them great. Jamison is also, as I said, loud, abrasive, full of shit most of the time. And Andrew is the exact polar opposite. Most of the young omegas at the meet and greets don't really know what to do with my brother's pack. It's very unfortunate.
~
Obi comes by with my brother and Isaac a few days later, just like he said. He didn't bring the big monitors that will stay here until the baby's born, just a small portable doppler that will confirm a healthy heartbeat. The only one of them who isn't watery-eyed right now as we're listening to the swooshy thunks coming out of the little speaker is Kaleb. Corso is openly crying, and Jamie isn't much better off.
“Everything looks good. Heartbeat is good, you're doing very well, measuring a little ahead, but everybody carries differently. You say you're eating enough, but I'm going to ask you to up your caloric intake since you're over the half-way point.”
“Thank you, Obi. I'll try to eat more than I have been. When do you think you'll start bringing the other equipment in? How much room do I need to make?” I feel bad for taking over Corso's room, but I don't think he minds too much.
Obi shrugs a shoulder and starts putting his tools back into his bag. “Shouldn't need more than a corner. It's not all that much, and none of it will take up too much space. I'll be back in a few weeks with the larger machine to check the individual organs and things. Maybe try to see the sex of the baby if any of you are interested.”
“I'm interested.” Trent is staring at my stomach like it's a bomb.
It's hard not to laugh at him. He's so anxious. Intensely and comically anxious. “Trent, even if it's a girl, she'll be a tiny, small girl. There's nothing scary about that.”
His eyebrows come very close to touching his hairline. “Talia. That's not helpful.Youare a tiny small girl.”
Alex snorts and pulls the hair tie off the end of my braid. “Fair point, Lancaster.”
Chapter twenty-three
Trent
Nathan and I have been going to the nearest council building almost every day since Nathan got a line on those omegas. I'm tired of this shit. I'm tired of looking at computer monitors and asking questions and carrying boxes of disks and notebooks and whatever the hell else is in them. I want to be home. With Talia. I'm so jealous of Kaleb it isn't funny. He doesn't rub it in, or anything, but it's still hard not to resent him. Just a little.
I don't think I could take better care of Talia than he is, and fuck knows Jasper's all over her. I just feel like I should be home with her. I think we should all be there. Every second of the day. She'd hate that, though. She already feels like she's tripping over all of us half the time. She's patient with our questions and checking on her, and she's been very good about letting us help her do stuff. I just, I don't know, feel like I need to be there. And I miss Jasper, too. I miss going on a job every few weeks and being left alone most of the time otherwise. This shit of having to work with and look at these old fuckers everyday is getting tedious.
."You're sighing,” Nathan looks up from his current screen, “a lot.”
“Sorry. How much longer?”
Nathan looks back at the screen and drags his hand down his face. “Just a bit. You know how we thought Alpha Pratchett was in Alpha Crane's pocket? Well, if I'm understanding everything, Alpha Pratchett isn't very high up on the food chain. Jay and Derrick were obviously plants, soldiers even, but there's no family records for either of them, not real ones anyway. Look at this.”
Please, god, be actual words instead of lines and numbers. When I look at the screen, it's split between Derrick's and Jay's d-reg. Everybody has a designation form they have to submit to the council in order to register their designation and pack status. They typically have a chart that goes back several generations so the council can keep track of how packs and families align themselves. It's a fancy way to be able to pull rank, if you ask me. It also shows a criminal background that goes back a couple generations. The strange thing about Derrick's and Jay's registration is that it only goes back one generation, and their maternal lines are not listed on the registry at all. “Where are their mother's?”
