Page 39 of Alpha's Redemption

I sigh, relieved; I don't think I could do it again by myself. The last time, I had Valarie; she was a godsend. But I would have if I had to.

“Come on,” he whispers, holding his hand out to Valarian, who waves to the girls, and we head to the doctor in Valen's car.

Nerves kick in as we pull up and Valarian asks why we’re here.

“Because Mom has to get a check-up, and then we get to see the baby,” Valen tells him.

“Will we find out if the boy wrestling worked?” Valarian asks.

“No, not for a while, and it will probably look like a jelly bean,” Valen laughs.

Valarian scrunches his face up, looking confused.

This time around, it’s different. My father isn’t here to demand I abort; there’s no judgment, no worry as I wait for the urine test to come back. Once it’s confirmed, the doc takes blood samples before leading us down the hall to where they do ultrasounds.

“You can lie down,” Doc says while motioning toward the gurney. I lie on it, lifting my shirt, and Valarian watches with avid fascination as the doctor squirts the jelly on my belly.

He fiddles with the device, and after a few minutes, we hear the heartbeat. I sigh, not realizing just how worried I was about the fetus until now. During the challenge, I was so concerned with protecting my stomach that I could hardly fight. I was making sure to pick my moves and keep my abdomen out of reach. I would hate to see a video replay, because not much action happened in it. Dad was worried about hurting me, and I was concerned about hurting myself, so it probably looked more like a synchronized dance than an actual fight.

Doc takes some measurements, then announces, “There we are.”

I peer up at the screen, then squint when he moves to the next view.

“Wait!” I gasp, and Doc chuckles.

“I wondered when you would notice the other one,” he laughs, and Valen looks between the doctor and me.

“What's wrong?” he asks, sounding frantic.

“Nothing, Alpha; both heartbeats are strong,” Doc says, and Valen sighs, leaning back.

“Wait! Both?” Valen suddenly shrieks, leaning forward to look at the screen and making Valarian fall off his lap.

“Yep, you're having twins,” Doc tells him, and his eyes widen. He looks horrified, and I laugh at his face. He looks like he’s calculating some math equations.

“Two. There are two in there? Are you sure?” he asks, looking at my stomach.

“Yep, definitely two,” Doc says, pointing at the screen to show him.

“That is so many diapers. We’re never gonna sleep again,” Valen whispers, shaking his head and trying to wrap his head around it.

“Twins? Mom is having twins?” Valarian gushes.

“Yep, you are going to have two–”

“Two brothers! This is awesome. Can they sleep in my room?” Valarian says, cutting me off. I laugh, and Doc chuckles.

“What if they’re girls?” Doc asks.

“Na, Mom and Dad promised to wrestle in the boy way, right, Dad?” Valarian says, tapping his father's shoulder, while Valen appears in shock.

“Uh, yeah, right, in the boy's way,” Valen mumbles, staring at the screen.

“See, I'm gonna have two brothers,” Valarian declares.

“If you say so,” Doc laughs.

ChapterNineteen

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