Page 74 of Alpha's Redemption

“Yep! I want to find the babies some dinosaur plushies!”

“And other plushies, remember. And we’re mainly going to find cribs,” I tell him.

“What girl–” Macey starts to say.

“Shh!” I hiss at her, not wanting Valarian to have a meltdown in the car.

“Huh?” Valarian asks.

“Nothing. I was saying dinosaur plushies sound great. Taylor used to love dinosaurs.”

“She still does, but only T. rexes. She likes their little arms,” Valarian says.

When we reach the store, I can't believe how terrified I am of entering, knowing my son will find out the genders today. Alphas fear nothing, yet here I am, scared to tell my child I wrestled in a girl way because my pecker decided it was throwing girls this time around.

Valarian wanders around the store, finding stuff with Zoe and looking at crib blankets, while I find the cribs Everly showed me on the store's website. They’re white, and I checked to see if they had them in stock; they do, and for half price, too. Once I have them set aside, I wander around the aisles looking at baby clothes and blankets. Just as I pick up some pink stuff, Zoe and Valarian come over with some dinosaur plushies.

“Can I pick a mobile?” Valarian asks before his eyes go to the pink onesie in my hands. Macey wanders around the store with a cart that has a blue blanket over it.

“One’s a girl?” Valarian asks, and I chew my lip, about to put it back when Zoe leans down beside him.

“Girls aren’t so bad. You like Taylor and Casey,” Zoe tells him, and Valarian nods, looking at me.

“I found the bottle sterilizer Everly was looking at online, and the breast pump. Oh, and I found the breastfeeding pillow,” Macey says, showing us.

“I got blue plushies,” Valerian says happily.

“Aw, that’s great. They’ll love them.”

“Yeah, but now I need to find a pink one,” Valarian says.

“Why? Girls like blue,” Macey says, batting her lashes at him. She points to her eyes.

“See? Blue eyeshadow,” she says.

“Hmm, I guess you're right,” Valarian says. We buy a few more things—he picks out some colorful mobiles for their cribs—and the rest we’ll order. He seems to be taking the news of one girl alright, but I know we have to tell him there won't be a brother. Macey and Zoe want to see Everly, so we head home afterward. The store is delivering the cribs and the rest of the furniture tomorrow.

When we get home, Valarian is questioning names. We haven’t picked any names yet, though I have a couple in mind, and so does Everly, but deciding names is hard because the kid has to live with whatever we choose. The stress it’s causing me is shocking.

We show Everly the few things we have with us, and Macey and Everly start pulling out the sterilizer and bottles, wanting to try them out. Valarian watches with eager eyes, drinking it all in. He talks of wanting to help with bottles, and Everly explains she’s going to try breastfeeding, but he can help when she expresses milk, which launches us into a conversation about how she has milk. I think the boy will need counseling after that conversation—he seems to think she’s going to grow teats like a cow.

“So, are you going to pick the girl's name and dad picks the boys’ names?” he asks while testing the bottle brush viciously. Everly looks at me.

You didn’t tell him?she mouths. I smile at her awkwardly and hold my hands out apologetically.

“Well, you know how your father has to rub Auntie Macey’s feet because she won the bet?” Everly shoots me a look as she’s about to break the news to him and break his heart. He shudders.

“That is so gross,” Valarian chuckles.

“Hey! My feet aren’t gross,” Macey tells him.

I shudder at the thought.

“Yep. Dad won't tell me what the bet was, though,” Valarian pouts.

“Well, Auntie Macey bet that the babies would be three girls,” Everly tells him, and his brows furrow. He looks at me and I swear I feel the blood drain from my face.

“You said you would wrestle in a boy way!” he growls, stunning me. Astonished by the sound, I stare at Everly, who also seems startled by it.

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