Looking To Belong (A Runt's Story)

Chapter 43

I rolled over and gently poked Will's chest. My voice was sleepy as I mumbled "Why exactly did you set your alarm clock so early this morning?"

"I have a meeting with the Alpha before he has to leave." He groaned, still barely awake enough to talk.

"Well, your alarm has been going off for ten minutes now."

"What?! Why didn't you wake me sooner?" He quickly got out of bed and grabbed his clothes.

I sat up and stretched while watching him drowsily. "It was your alarm clock. How was I supposed to know why you set it so early? Even I don't get up this early if I have any say in the matter."

Will swiftly left the room to shower. I shook my head in amusement and got out of bed. Will had been kind enough to place my clothes on the dresser for me. I grabbed my pants and shook them out. Something clattered on the floor. I looked down, the pregnancy test had come out of the toilet paper and both were now lying on the floor. I sighed and bent over to grab them.

I glanced at the object in my hand and froze. Where did the second line come from? I frowned in confusion, there had only been one line last night. Maybe it had been defective? I hadn't looked at the instructions, did I do something wrong? I had never had to use one of these things before. I shook my head and quickly got dressed. I headed to the washroom on this floor and checked under the counter. Most pack houses had first aid supplies and pregnancy tests in every bathroom.

The same brand was in this bathroom as well. I picked up the box to read the instructions. My eyes widened as I realized that this brand needed at least 15 minutes to develop the results. I had only waited as long as it took me to wash my hands.

I read further; the one line appeared immediately to show that the test is working. The second line would indicate pregnancy and took time to react. This brand tested for a certain hormone, and it would only show positive if that hormone was present.

I tried another test just to double check, carefully watching the clock on the wall. I stuck both tests in my pocket before retreating to the bedroom. My mind was whirling. No wonder I had seemed more tired the last few days; it was an early indicator that my energy was going elsewhere. I was pregnant.

This was not how I had planned to start my morning.

~

       I was peeling potatoes in the kitchen, but my mind kept drifting back to the three pregnancy tests hidden upstairs. I had used a different brand just to double check the results, carefully following the instructions. It also told me that Will and I would need more than one bedroom before the year was out.

I focused my senses within myself, with a lot of concentration and searching, I finally located the light in my body that was not mine. Barely weeks old, the light flickered very faintly and was almost invisible within the glow of my own body. I almost dropped the peeler and took a long drink of water as I focused my senses more intensely to take a closer look. Two flickers. Twins.

I put the now-empty glass down and continued slowly peeling potatoes. Luckily, I was the only one here at the moment, so there wasn't anyone to notice my distraction. My mother had once told me that twins were common in the maternal line on her side of the family tree. It looked like my runt gene had not overridden that hereditary legacy. I sighed; I was surprised that the tests had even picked them up this early on.

It would be at least three more weeks before my scent shifted enough for others to start noticing. Possibly more, since my personal scent was normally weak. I lowered my nose to my shoulder and took a deep breath. I could just barely pick up the faintest trace, even at that close distance when I knew exactly what scent I was searching for.

Ruby might be able to pick it up in a week or so if she was paying attention. Considering how she always tracked my scent to see if I had been up to any new rogue tricks, she stood the best chance out of anyone. Luckily, she wasn't the type to say anything to anyone else.

How was I going to break the news to Will? I knew that he would be thrilled. Kids were rare in an Enforcer family. Tony had already mentioned that the day he found out I was pregnant, he was moving to a different pack for a year.

He had shown me the records for the Alpha with the runt mate when she had been expecting. Both the Alpha and his mate had to leave the pack for several months since the protective tendency with both the runt gene and pregnancy sent the male's mate bond way overboard. That was putting it mildly. 

I wondered if yesterday's episode with Will had anything to do with my newly discovered condition. Even if the male was unaware, the mate bond would alter his behavior as the delivery time came closer. I shook my head as I dismissed the unlikely thought. He had thought that I was stuck in a tunnel deep underground. Besides, knowledge of the pregnancy seemed to trigger the overprotective tendencies more than the subconscious awareness.

The moment he knew I was pregnant would likely be the turning point, and he would likely try to restrict my actions and movements as well as becoming even more overprotective just out of concern for my safety and wellbeing.

There went my days of squeezing down rabbit burrows for the next while. I silently grinned, with twins, I likely wouldn't even be able to fit into a rabbit burrow in a couple of months.

~

       I finished the last of the potatoes and grabbed a banana before heading out for a run in the nearby forest. I decided to enjoy my freedom while it lasted. As always, Ruby seemed to know the moment I left the pack house, and she came to find me. I suspected that one of the Omegas mindlinked her whenever I left the pack house.

At least Will's current protective measures were usually pretty subtle. I was pretty sure he had spoken to the Omegas and Ruby quite some time ago to set up this arrangement. I knew the scouts and patrols continued to scour the forest for large predators and chased them outside of the borders, but that wouldn't stop Will from worrying.

I grinned at Ruby and darted under a bramble bush before taking off full tilt in an attempt to lose her. She attempted to pick up my scent while I used my Omega abilities to try and stay several steps ahead of her. It gave me an unfair advantage that she still wasn't aware of.

I made sure to stretch my legs as I gracefully bounded over obstacles. Within months, I would be reduced to a walk if Will had any say in the matter...