Page 56 of Embracing Sky
Things were slowly but surely returning to normal. I had calmed down, my nervous system regulating now that the danger was over. Both of us were mostly healed and pain-free, but Adam told us last night we weren’t coming back to work for another week, just to be safe.
Secretly, I was relieved. I wasn’t quite ready to go back out in the world yet. I wanted to stay in my safe little bubble, with my two loving partners, and pretend reality didn’t exist.
I knew it did, though. I knew that sooner, rather than later, I had to come out of hiding and face the music. I couldn’t hide forever. I couldn’t let a single incident ruin my life.
I smiled at the thought. Huh. Maybe Madeline was finally rubbing off on me.
In that moment, I heard her voice, as if she was right beside me: “You’ve come so far. You should be proud of everything you’ve accomplished, but you’re right—you can’t let this bring you down. You have to keep marching forward, keep living yourlife and letting your light shine bright. At the end of the day, that’s all we can really do.”
That night, I curled myself around Fletcher, and with Adam’s protective warmth at my back, I fell asleep with certainty in my heart. This was where I was meant to be.
34
ADAM
“Maybe this isthe answer to our prayers.”
Fletcher’s words had stuck with me, resonating in my mind like an echo. I hadn’t been able to stop thinking about it—about the pregnancy, about stepping up and being a father, about claiming Sky as my own—since the doctor had pulled me aside to give me the news. The truth spun round and round in my mind, a merry-go-round tilted on its axis, because who knew how Sky would react?
The birds outside the bedroom window trilled their song, fluttering around in the bushes. Morning light peeked in through the blinds to paint the floorboards golden.
Sky slumbered between me and Fletcher, his body snuggled up against mine, the warmth of his back seeping into my chest. I curled myself around him. My hand settled on his flat tummy. My baby was there, slumbering in the womb of an Omega I’d never even marked.
My baby. The baby we were told we would never raise, because my mate was barren. The fates were twisted, but when I looked over at Fletcher, his green eyes were so bright, so hopeful.He pinched his bottom lip between his teeth and smiled at me, urging me on.
If this was the only way we could have our child, wasn’t it worth a shot? Fletcher wasn’t the only one who was fond of Sky, and Sky needed an Alpha in order to stay here in Greymercy. He needed an Alpha capable of keeping his wild Omega energies in control, and so far, his inner-beast had always submitted to me.
And Sky seemed happy here, with us…but would he still feel the same once I told him the truth? Or would he hit the panic button and shut down, triggered by memories of the past. Either way, I needed to tell him. He deserved to know, sooner rather than later.
Sky shifted, humming softly in his sleep as he stretched. I moved with him, nuzzling my nose at the nape of his neck and breathing him in, enjoying the little shiver he gave.
“Morning,” I murmured against his skin.
“Mmm,” he sighed in response.
“Sleep good?”
He turned his head to look at me. “Yeah.”
I took that chance to kiss him, capturing his lips with mine. Just a soft, simple kiss. Sky’s cheeks flushed pink, but a smile spread across his face. My chest gave a pang, because I knew that smile would disappear the minute I opened my mouth.
“Sky? We need to talk,” I said as gently as I could, keeping my tone light. And as expected, Sky’s face immediately fell, uncertainty filling his eyes in its stead. He sat up in bed, so I pushed myself up as well, grabbing his hands before he could scramble away.
“Before you panic, it’s nothing bad, I promise. It’s about a test result we got while you were in the hospital.”
His eyes widened, his brow puckering. “Please don’t take me back there…”
“Sky. Breathe,” I told him. “You’re not going back, okay? You’re safe here.” I tucked stray blond hairs behind one ear, then tugged him closer, so that he was practically sitting in my lap. Nerves lapped at my throat like bile, but I swallowed them down and forced myself to keep going. “Remember during your heat, we took care of you?”
“Yeah?” It was barely a whisper.
“Fletcher and I satisfied your needs? What if I said…perhaps we weren’t as careful as we should’ve been?”
“What do you mean?”
I took a deep breath, steadying myself. Then I gazed into his worried, mismatched eyes and said, “Sky, you’re pregnant.” I gave his hand a gentle squeeze.
Sky went completely still, but his expression was one-hundred percent deer-in-the-headlights. “I… You… How?” he finally eked out.
