Chapter 188: Growing Together

Chapter 188: Growing Together
Sierra's POV

The pregnancy glow hit me at twelve weeks. I woke up one morning and my skin looked different. Brighter and softer. 

Adrian noticed immediately. He traced his finger down my cheek while we lay in bed. "You're glowing." 

I smiled. "It's the twins. They're making me beautiful." He kissed my nose. "You were always beautiful. Now you're just showing it off." 

This pregnancy felt different from Alexander's. Back then I was scared every day. Worried about Marcus, Evelyn, about the pack and everything. 

Now? 

Now I just felt peace.

I stood sideways in the mirror touching the bump. Adrian walked up behind me. His hands covered mine on my belly. "They're growing strong." I leaned back against him. "I can feel them moving already. Little flutters like butterflies." 

His eyes went wide. "Really? Can I feel?" 

I pressed his hand lower. We waited then a tiny kick. Adrian's face lit up like Christmas morning. "Was that...?" I nodded. "That was your babies saying hello."

The nursery became Adrian's project. He spent every free hour painting walls and building cribs. I sat in the rocking chair watching him work. 

"You know we have seven months left right?" 

He wiped paint from his forehead. "I want everything perfect. I want them to come home to a room that's ready and waiting." 

I stood up and walked over. My belly bumped against him. "They don't care about perfect Adrian. They just care about us." He put down the paintbrush and pulled me close. "I know. But I care. I want to give them everything."

Alexander didn't understand what was happening. He just knew Mama's belly was getting bigger. One afternoon I sat him on my lap. Well tried to. My belly got in the way. 

"Alexander baby. You're going to be a big brother." He tilted his head. His little face scrunched up. "Brudder?" I nodded. 

"Yes. Two babies are growing in Mama's tummy. A brother and a sister maybe or two brothers or two sisters. We don't know yet." He reached out and poked my stomach. Hard. "Baby?" I winced. "Gentle sweetheart. Yes baby. Two babies."

He didn't get it. Not really. How could he? He was only fifteen months old. But he started doing something sweet. 

Every morning he'd crawl over to me and kiss my belly. "Morning baby." His little voice saying those words made me cry every time. Adrian caught him doing it once. I heard him in the hallway talking to Maria. "He's going to be such a good big brother." Maria's voice was soft. "He learned from watching you Alpha. He learned love from his father."

The doctor appointments were easier now. No complications. No worries. Just healthy babies growing right on schedule. Dr. Hayes smiled every time she saw us. 

"You two are my favorite patients. Everything is textbook perfect." Adrian squeezed my hand. "When will we know what they are? Boy or girl?" 

She checked her chart. "Next appointment. Twenty weeks. Do you want to know?" 

We looked at each other. "Yes." We said it together. "We want to know."

Lena visited every week. She brought baby clothes and toys and more stuff than two babies could ever need. 

"You're spoiling them already." She grinned. "That's what aunts do. We spoil and then hand them back when they cry." 

The pack felt stable for the first time in years. No threats, no enemies, no drama. Just normal life. 

Adrian stopped working late. He didn't miss dinner anymore. He was there for bathtime, bedtime and morning cuddles. 

"You're different." I told him one night. We were lying in bed. His hand on my belly feeling the twins kick. 

"How?" I turned to look at him. 

"Lighter like you're not carrying the weight of the world anymore." 

He was quiet for a long moment. "That's because I'm not. I have you, Alexander and these two coming. This is my world now.”

At eighteen weeks my back started hurting. Two babies pressing on my spine felt like carrying bricks. 

Adrian noticed me wincing. "What's wrong?" I tried to stand up straight. "Just my back. It's nothing." He didn't accept that. Ten minutes later I was lying face down on our bed. Well as face down as a pregnant woman could get. His hands worked the knots in my lower back. 

"Better?" 

I groaned. "So much better. Where did you learn this?" He kissed my shoulder. "YouTube. I've been watching pregnancy massage videos."

The house hunting started seriously. We looked at five houses in two weeks. Too small, too far, too old. Nothing felt right. 

Then we found one. A big white house with a wraparound porch. Four bedrooms. A huge backyard. Windows that let in so much light the whole place glowed. 

"What do you think?" Adrian asked. I stood in what would be the nursery. "I think it's perfect." His smile could have lit the whole house. "Yeah?"

We made an offer that same day. Three days later it was accepted. We'd move in two months before the twins came. Before life got crazy again. I walked through our current house touching the walls. 

"We made so many memories here." Adrian wrapped his arms around me from behind. His hands rested on my belly. "And we'll make more in the new house. Better memories. Happier ones." I leaned back against him. "You really think we can do this? Two babies and a toddler?" He turned me around to face him. "I know we can. Because we're doing it together."

The twenty week appointment came faster than expected. We left Alexander with Maria. "We'll tell you what they are when we get back." She bounced him on her hip. "I'm hoping for one of each. A boy and a girl." Lena, who was visiting, shouted from the kitchen. "I'm hoping for two boys. More men in this pack." Patricia laughed. "Two girls would balance out all this testosterone." We left them arguing and drove to the clinic.

The technician smiled at us. 

"Ready to meet your babies?" I nodded. My throat was too tight to speak. She put the gel on my belly. Moved the wand around. The screen showed two little forms. Arms, legs, heads, and hearts beating strong. 

"Baby A is..." She moved the wand. "A boy." Adrian squeezed my hand. "And Baby B is..." Another movement. "A girl." I started crying. Happy tears. A boy and a girl. One of each. Perfect balance.

Adrian's eyes were wet too. "A son and a daughter." His voice cracked. "We're having a son and a daughter." 

The technician printed pictures. Two tiny humans on glossy paper. We stared at them the whole drive home. 

Maria cried when we told her. Lena screamed. Patricia hugged us both. Alexander just played with his trucks. He didn't understand that his whole world was about to change. That soon he'd have a baby brother and sister to share everything with.

Adrian picked him up. "You're going to be a big brother to a boy and a girl. You have to protect them okay?" Alexander grabbed Adrian's nose. "Okay Dada."