Chapter 54

Six months later...

ALEXIS

"He's so cute, Sasha," I cooed, rocking her baby back and forth. She smiled at me tiredly, "He better be. He takes after his mama."

I raised an eyebrow and studied the baby's face carefully, "Gee, I don't know. He definitely has Antonio's eyes and mouth. "

She huffed and stuffed another handful of chips into her mouth, "Fudge you, I just want to leave the hospital already."

I shook my head in amusement and just stared at the little one in my arms - I was definitely having baby fever. Hudson and I agreed to wait a while for pups, but I was starting to think that I was ready for one. After all, we had made that decision a few months ago. Things were bound to change.

"When do you have to go back again?" Sasha asked, scrolling through her phone rapidly.

I pursed my lips, "Tomorrow. I would have stayed longer, but I've got some stuff to take care of. There have been several people moving between packs so I have to keep track and account for all of them."

She nodded, "Well, thanks for coming down here for my delivery. I know I wasn't the easiest woman in labor to deal with."

"Well, you were in pain. Besides, I think Antonio had it worse. You yelled at the poor man five times because he kept telling you to relax."

"How can a woman relax when there's something bigger than a watermelon coming out of her hole? Just wait till you get pregnant. Speaking of which, why aren't you pregnant?" She glared at me accusingly.

I frowned and placed the baby back in the crib, "What do you mean by that?"

She rolled her eyes, "Are you telling me that Hudson is careful every single time? I highly doubt it. When Antonio and I first mated, we ended up sticking a sign above the bed that said 'USE A DAMN CONDOM' so we would remember to use protection."

I blinked, "That's a......creative way to remember."

"The point is," she said loudly, "I think you should be pregnant by now."

If only I was. Just the thought of having a pup and loving him or her made my heart warm. My wolf would be ecstatic, and I was sure Hudson's wolf would be too.

"I wish I was," I sighed, "But I started my period just this morning."

Sasha hummed in response but continued to study me like I was a specimen until my mom walked in, "How's our new mommy doing? Do you need anything?"

She shook her head, "Nothing at all, Mrs. Carter. I'm just eating some snacks. All that pushing has me famished."

My mom chuckled and checked on the baby, "What were you two ladies talking about?"

"Just about how Alexis should be pregnant," Sasha replied as if this was a normal conversation. I glared at her, causing her to smirk.

My mom stopped her examination of the baby and looked up at me weirdly. I shrugged and pretended to be occupied by organizing some of the medical equipment. I could feel their eyes on my back.

"Why don't you take a pregnancy test?" I heard Sasha ask.

I frowned and turned back around, "I'm on my period, Sasha. Taking a test would be a was–"

"No, I agree with her," My mom interrupted, "Take a test."

What part of 'I am bleeding from my vagina like I always do every month' did they not understand?

My mom must have noticed the confused and frustrated look on your face, "Sweetie, just take it. It wouldn't hurt."

"Yeah, I kept taking tests every week even though I figured I wasn't pregnant," Sasha said, nodding her head.

I heaved a sigh, "Fine. But I'm telling you it's going to be negative."

My mom smiled almost secretly before rushing out of the room to grab me a test. When she returned, I took the box from her hands and walked into the bathroom connected to Sasha's hospital room.

***

I didn't know why I was so nervous. If I got my period, there was no way I was pregnant. Yet, every second that passed as we waited for the timer to go off was nerve-wracking.

My mom and Sasha were exchanging looks as they watched me tap my fingers nervously.

When my phone lit up and started ringing, I got up and walked over to the bathroom with the two of them right behind me.

"I'm telling you," I said as I pushed the door open further, "it's–"

My voice got caught in my throat as I stared down at the two pink lines.

"Positive?" I squeaked, picking up the test and holding it up to my face to make sure I wasn't seeing things.

My mom, completely unaware of my shock, shrieked with happiness and wrapped her arms around me as she squeezed me excitedly, "Oh my gosh. I'm going to be a nana!"

She and Sasha were shrieking about some other things but their words didn't register in my head. I sat down on the toilet seat slowly, staring at the plastic stick that had just flipped my world upside down. My heart was nearly beating out of my chest as my mind slowly caught up to what this meant.

I was going to have a pup.

I was going to be a mom.

Hudson was going to be a dad.

Everything around me became blurry as tears flooded my eyes. I covered my mouth to hold back a sob and blinked repeatedly, trying to see if I was dreaming.

My wolf, on the other hand, was running around and howling with excitement.

"H-how?" I stuttered out, looking up at Sasha and my mom, "I–my period–"

My mom shook her head and smiled gently, "I'm guessing that you saw a few spots of blood and assumed it was your period. Spotting is very normal in your first weeks of pregnancy, sweetie."

I swallowed hard and looked back down at the test.

"If it makes you feel better, you can take some more tests to confirm the results," Sasha said, kneeling beside me, "I took at least ten because I was so shocked."

I nodded slowly and got up shakily, "I'll take some more."

***

I have never been more surprised in my life. I took six more tests and they all showed the same result.

Positive.

As I studied the seven tests repeatedly, my shock started to fade away and excitement started to replace the emotion.

How far along was I? Was the baby going to be a boy or girl? What should we name them?

I could feel the tears falling down my cheeks like mini waterfalls but I didn't bother to wipe them.

All I could concentrate on was how happy I felt and how happy Hudson would be when he found out we were going to have a mini version of us running around the house.

A pup that was a product of our love.

"See, I said you would be pregnant," Sasha said triumphantly, "I like to call it BFI or Best Friend Intuition."

I gave her a wide smile, "I just can't believe it. I seriously thought I was not."

My mom wiped her tears as she laughed, "You smelled a little different when you arrived, but I assumed it was because you were completely mated. It was such a small, faint change in your scent that I didn't think about it."

I shook my head and felt my cheeks ache as the smile wouldn't fall from my face.

There was nothing that matched the joy of finding out you were having a pup.

Absolutely nothing.