Chapter 43: Inseparable

Bella

It was like a referee blew a whistle. All play stopped, all the players were frozen on the field. Except for Byron, who somehow managed to slide off his chair and hit the floor with a dull thump. For the rest of my life I will never forget the expression on Wyatt’s face. Then Daphne burst out in a fit of slightly-drunk giggles, and made some attempt to pull Byron up off the floor. Louis sat back, his arms crossed over his chest, and a smug look on his face – not at all repentant for just setting off that bomb in front of the whole pack. And the pack... oh god the pack, they were hooting and cheering and whistling for all they were worth. The wave of happiness that washed through the link made my face burn. I covered my face with my hands to try and hide it, so I wasn’t looking when Wyatt suddenly scooped me up in his arms and started striding purposefully back toward the house.

“Wait, stop!” I protested, but his arms were like steel bands around my body. There was no negotiating this, he was not putting me down. “Wyatt! What are you doing?!”

“Taking you to the infirmary.”

“But! Oh stop! I’m not SICK, Wyatt!” I squirmed in his arms, but he only held me tighter.

He looked down at me, his ocean blue eyes burning with intensity. “We have to take a test Bella. We need to know for sure.”

Over his shoulder, I saw Byron stumbling after us, with Daphne at his side. I sent a pleading look to Byron to see if he would get me out of this situation but he waggled a finger at me. “Don’t you look at me like that, Bella! Wyatt is right. We need... I don’t know. Vitamins! Yes! Pregnant women need vitamins!”

Daphne chortled with laughter. She snorted and held her stomach. “You guys are killing me.”

“Daphne! Do something!” I hissed to her.

She flapped her hand at me, “Just go with it, Bella.”

Right. Well, Wyatt had a point. This was one way to know for sure. I relaxed back in his arms and let him carry me like child up the steps and through the halls. What was I protesting for anyway? What girl doesn’t want to be swept off her feet and carried around by a big, strong man. I smiled to myself and twined my arms around his neck.

He deposited me like a glass ornament on to the examination table in the infirmary. A few minutes later the doctor bustled in, slightly out of breath, still dressed in her formal evening gown from the ceremony, with diamonds winking in her earlobes. It was the same older lady doctor who had treated my wounds the first day I came, Dr. Irena. I barely recognized her without the white coat and stethoscope. She was grinning and rubbing her hands together like she had just won the lottery.

“So!” She rustled around in a cupboard and came out with a plastic specimen cup. “We’ll just need you to give us a little urine sample, dear. We’ll do a blood test too, but this is really the quickest way...”

Before I knew it, I had both brothers trying to join me in the bathroom. “No, and No.” I said firmly, “I can do this part by myself.” I pushed them back out the door, and locking it behind them just to make sure they stayed out. I sighed and leaned my forehead against the door. Could this day get any more nerve wracking?

We never talked about this part. The part where we made a family. I wasn’t even sure how they felt about kids. I mean, they were alphas, so of course they needed an heir, right? And I guess I knew we’d get to this someday... I just thought that someday would be a lot later... like years down the road, when I had a better grasp of the whole Luna thing before I had to figure out the motherhood thing. I squeezed my eyes shut. “Stop overthinking this,” I advised myself. “Just pee in the cup.”

Peeing in a cup in an fancy gown was no small feat. I pulled the long skirts up and tucked them under my chin, and somehow managed to fill the little cup without peeing on myself or the dress. I screwed on the cap just before the brothers started knocking on the door. “Bella? Are you alright? What’s taking so long? Do you need help?”

I rolled my eyes at myself in the mirror... and then laughed. I laughed at myself, and I laughed at my mates. I looked down at my still concave belly and smiled. “I sure hope you are a boy. If you are a girl, you will have no end of over-protective Daddies hovering over you.” I took my time washing my hands, and let the boys stew and pace a little longer outside the door. Finally, I opened the door, and was immediately wrapped up by Byron.

“Are you okay? Did you get it done?”

I laughed and pushed myself off from him. “Byron, look at me.” I took his face in my hands and forced him to stop and really look at me. Look in my eyes, look at my face. “I’m fine. Whether I’m pregnant or not, I’m fine.”

“You are? Are you sure?” His hands patted me, as though he were looking for some other mysterious injury or illness. “Why didn’t you tell us sooner?”

“Because I don’t know if it\'s true or not... you guys are freaking out just because a man, who only just met me tonight, thinks I’m “glowing” or something. You guys are getting so worked up, and it might just be a false alarm.”

“Or not!” the doctor said merrily, snapping on a pair of nitrile gloves and pulling out some little strip. She had already retrieved my cup from the bathroom. She dipped the strip in the cup and laid it out on the counter. We all held our breath as seconds ticked by.

“Well, would you like to look, dear? One line is negative. Two lines is positive.”

The brothers stood back and let me approach the counter alone, even though I knew it was killing them. I took a deep breath and leaned over the counter. One line was very dark. But there was a definitely a second, fainter pink line next to the first. I gripped the edge of the counter, and motioned with my head for the brothers to come and see for themselves. They came and stared over my shoulder, one over each side, and stared down at the little strip of paper.

“Oh my god, why aren’t you saying anything?” Daphne cried. I’d almost forgotten she was with us in the cramped little room. She elbowed her way between us to get at the counter. Then she squealed and jumped around, grabbing me by the shoulders. ”Yes! Yes! I’m going to be an auntie!” She gave me a big, smacking kiss on the cheek, and then grabbed each of her brothers in turn.

Wyatt put his hands on my shoulders. I could feel him trembling behind me. I turned slowly and looked up at him, a little frightened to see his expression. Would he be pleased? Wyatt was a thinker and a planner. What if having a baby wasn’t in his plans? But when I looked up at him, tears were shining in his eyes. “Bella, my love,” he whispered, reaching down to caress my midsection reverently. “We’re going to have a baby.”

Byron wasn’t going to be left out. He grabbed all of us up in a bear hug. Three of us were squished together awkwardly. “I’m going to be a daddy!”