Page 66 of Alpha’s Conquest

Standing on wobbly legs, I had to lean against Adam for support as we were led into the hallway. The nurse took my weight and showed us to a room. The cold tile. The paper sheet on the uncomfortable exam table. The last time I’d been in a room like this, I heard the worst news of my life.

Adam helped me sit on the table. I laid back and stared up at the ceiling. There was a kitten poster on it, held up by thumbtacks. I stared at it until spots formed over my eyes, and I blinked as the exam room door opened.

“Mr. West,” the doctor greeted. “I’m Doctor Hanna.” I couldn’t make myself sit up to talk to her. I wanted to fall into the floor cracks and disappear. “You must be his Alpha. I’ve seen you around town. The landscaper. Mr. Wilson, yes?”

“Yes,” Adam affirmed. He took my hand and gave it a small squeeze. “Casey’s a little nervous.”

“I understand. This is your first pregnancy?”

I couldn’t move, so Adam had to answer for me.

“Yes, it is. He has a history of infertility. We didn’t even think he could get pregnant.”

Chuckling, the doctor sat down and rolled her chair to a machine by the exam table. “Believe it or not, fertility can vary between partners, especially when you’re scent matches.” She had the same wide-eyed excitement as Marshall. “I almost couldn’t believe it when I saw that on your chart. There’s still not enough research on it, but we do know that fertility is higher between scent matches.”

I couldn’t even speak my thoughts aloud, that I was terrified we had all been fooled by a few lines on a pee stick. My ears rang in ‌panic as she lifted my shirt and coated my stomach with cold jelly. She put the wand on my belly, and one sound filled the room. A heartbeat.

My eyes flew to the machine. Right there on the screen was a tiny little bean. It jumped as we watched it, wiggling around inside me. “It…” My throat went painfully dry. “It’s real?”

“It is very real, Mr. West,” she confirmed with a smile.

“D-don’t we uhh…” I forgot how to speak for a moment. “Don’t we need a blood test or something?”

“Nope. We’ve got a heartbeat. I can see your fetus. You are pregnant, Mr. West.” The air left my lungs in a sudden burst of relief, of joy. “I’d say you’re about eight weeks along.”

Eight weeks lined up with my heat. He didn’t just sate me for the first time in my entire life, he also knocked me up in the process.

A laugh bubbled out of me, and I had to cover my mouth as I drifted between giggles and tears. The baby’s heartbeat filled my ears, and that small image on the screen became my entire world.

“This is really happening,” I whispered.

The doctor printed a screen capture without me having to ask, and handed it to me. “This is really happening.”

I squeezed Adam’s hand, and he squeezed right back. No words were needed as we gazed at the screen, watching our little bean. I didn’t realize tears were streaming down my cheeks until my gaze met his and I saw his eyes were as damp as my own. We both thought this day would never come, for completely different reasons, and now we were here. Together.

He leaned down and kissed me, his lips lingering for a little too long, given how close the doctor was. She cleared her throat to break us apart. Adam kissed my hand instead, over and over, his eyes dancing between me and the image of our baby.

“It’s cute,” he said, sniffing to hold back more tears.

I chuckled, and the image shook with every giggle. “It’s like an inch long. It’s not cute yet.”

“Everything you make is cute,” he insisted. “He’s going to look just like you.”

“Doubtful,” I muttered. “Your sons are a carbon copy of you, and you know it. Also, he?” I raised my eyebrow at him. “You and David have a bet going, don’t you?”

“Not yet.”

Doctor Hanna sat quietly during our banter, and waited until we’d calmed down before she continued. “I’m very happy for the two of you. Now. Down to the important details.” She lifted the wand, and the image went black. “I’m giving you a prescription for a prenatal, and AfterCare Plus. AfterCare helps with omega recovery after a rut, as I’m sure you know. Plus is for pregnant omegas. Sex is safe for the moment, but if your Alpha goes into rut, you need to take the pills during, and after. If you experience any abnormal bleeding, let us know straight away. And you, Mr. Wilson.” She swiveled towards him, a stern look in her eyes. “Nothing too rough when you’re in rut. I know it’s almost impossible to control yourself, but your mate and baby need to stay safe. Some Alphas lose their cycle when their mate is pregnant, but there’s no guarantee that will happen. If needed, I would suggest either taking a rut suppressant until the baby is born, or spending them in seclusion.”

It was obvious she made this speech often, and had pushback from other patients over it, but Adam just nodded and squeezed my hand again.

“They’ll be safe,” he told her.

I knew about AfterCare pills, I just never needed them until now. They were for omegas with particularly amorous partners who might not be so gentle in or out of their ruts. Just the thought of Adam going into rut made me ache with both fear and delight. He was intense on a good day. A rut might actually kill me.

“I’ll take the pills,” I added. God knows I would need them.

“Excellent.” The doctor quickly cleaned my belly and switched the machine off. “You need to see your normal OB every month going forward. Call your OB’s office when Mr. Wilson goes into rut so they can be on standby if you start bleeding.”