Ethan rolled over and snuggled into the warmth of his mate. Corey always smelled and felt so good first thing in the morning. The sun peeked through the gap in the curtains, but Ethan didn't want to wake up. Instead, he curled in closer to Corey. Corey wrapped his arm around Ethan's back and pulled him in close, sleepily placing a soft kiss on Ethan's forehead.
"Go back to sleep, babe," Corey murmured.
"Hmm. Good idea."
Ethan kissed the warm skin under Corey's chin and settled in. He ran his hand up and down Corey's lightly furred chest.
The blankets twitched where they rested over Corey's groin, and Ethan had to hold back a grin.
"I thought we were going back to sleep?" Corey asked as he finally opened his eyes and stared down at Ethan.
Ethan glanced up at his mate with the most innocent expression on his face he could pull off. "What? I was just getting comfortable."
"Sure you were."
Before Ethan knew what was happening, he was on his back with Corey looming over the top of him, the blankets having fallen aside in the move.
Ethan's cock reacted to his mate's naked body pressed against his own and started to stir. He wiggled around, getting a little extra friction.
Corey growled above him, then leaned in to take his mouth in a hot and heavy kiss. Their lips slid over each other as their tongues dueled for dominance. Ethan happily gave in to his partner and let Corey lead.
Ethan loved feeling Corey inside him, it excited him to no end, and he seriously got off on it. Corey had turned the tables on him the other day, for Ethan's birthday, and they'd switched for the first time. It had been fucking hot. Feeling Corey's body wrapped around his dick as they made love had Ethan eager to experience it again.
Corey broke the kiss and leaned back a little, his expression weird. Ethan couldn't make it out. He reached up and placed his hand on Corey's cheek. "You okay?" he asked, more worried about his mate than what they had been doing.
Corey's expression pinched, and his skin paled.
"Corey?" he asked.
"I think I'm going to be sick." Corey scrambled back and off the bed before he bolted into the bathroom.
The door slammed before Ethan even registered what had happened. He hustled out of bed and raced after his mate. He opened the bathroom door to the sounds of Corey being violently ill over the toilet.
Ethan grabbed the hand towel hanging on the hook and rinsed it under cool water before making his way over to Corey. Ethan leaned over and gently rubbed Corey's back, wiping the cool, damp cloth over Corey's forehead as his mate continued to retch.
When Corey finally calmed down, he sat back on his haunches. Ethan handed him the cloth so Corey could wipe his face.
"You okay?" Ethan asked him, worry lacing his voice as he continued to rub soothing circles on Corey's back.
"I think the chicken we had for dinner must have been a little funky."
"Honey, I ate the chicken, and I'm fine. Plus if it were food poisoning, it would have hit you a lot sooner than now," Ethan said.
"Mmmm. You're probably right. Maybe it's just some twenty-four-hour bug thing."
Ethan chuckled as an idea struck him. It couldn't be that simple, could it? Feeling rather giddy at the prospect of why his mate would be throwing up first thing in the morning, Ethan gave his mate the once-over.
"When was the last time you or any other shifter has ever come down with a twenty-four-hour bug?" Ethan leaned down and helped Corey stand. His mate did seem wobbly on his feet after that. "Come on, let's rinse your mouth out, then get you back to bed. You need to rest."
Corey didn't protest as Ethan steered him to the sink, then back into their bedroom. Corey collapsed into bed and groaned, his hand going to his mouth like he wasn't sure if he wanted to throw up again or not.
"You okay?" Ethan asked. "I'll get a bucket for you in case you don't make it to the bathroom."
"Thanks, babe. Never felt like this before."
"I doubt you would have," Ethan said, trying to keep the grin off his face.
He leaned down and tenderly kissed Corey before he left the bedroom and headed for the laundry. Bucket in hand, he then made a stop in the kitchen for some dry crackers and a large glass of iced water.
"How you feeling?' Ethan placed the bucket on the floor by the bed and the water and crackers on the bedside table.
"Nauseous," Corey moaned.
Ethan sat on the bed beside Corey and stroked his hair. "Why don't you try and go back to sleep? You don't have anything urgent on your plate that can't wait a day or two. Plus, the guys are coming over for poker tonight."
Corey groaned. "Crap, I forgot it was Monday."
Ethan chuckled. "It'll be fine. I bet you're feeling better in no time. Get some rest, and I'll check on you throughout the day."
Corey rolled over and snuggled under the blankets, taking Ethan's hand with him. "Couldn't you stay with me?" he asked, his bottom lip jutting out.
Ethan kissed his mate tenderly. "I wish I could, but you know how busy Ben has been due to recent events. I'll be home as soon as I can."
"Okay."
The frown really was adorable. Ethan kissed his mate again, sat with him for a couple more minutes until Corey's breathing evened out, then stood and got ready for work. Ethan had one very important stop that he had to make on his way home tonight. He had a feeling his and Corey's lives had just changed forever.
Ethan left work early; he just couldn't stand to be there a minute longer. There was an answer he wanted, and he wouldn't get it while he was sitting at work. Twenty minutes later he walked through the door of their house.
"Corey?" he called out.
"In here." Corey's voice came from down the hall, in the direction of his office. Ethan headed that way, the paper bag with its contents clutched tightly in hand.
He walked inside and was pleased to see Corey looked much better than he had that morning. "How you feeling, babe?" he asked as he headed over and kissed his mate hello.
"Much better." Corey smiled up at him. "Don't know what it was, but thankfully it was gone by the time I woke up at lunch."
Ethan bit his bottom lip. He really wasn't sure how Corey would react to his suspicions. Ethan had always thought that if they had kids together, he would be the one to carry them. This was quite unexpected.
He held out the pharmacy bag to Corey and smiled shyly.
"What's going on?" Corey took the bag from Ethan.
"Just open it."
Ethan's stomach felt like butterflies were doing dive bombs in it. He hadn't felt this way since the first time he'd taken Corey on a date. Corey opened the bag and pulled out the box inside. He glanced down at his hand, and his face paled.
"Oh fuck," he whispered, then glanced up at Ethan, his eyes wide. "You think?"
Ethan shrugged. "Maybe. The dates line up, and it would explain this morning." Ethan bit his bottom lip, worried about how Corey would react to the news.
"I can't be…"
"Let's find out. Then we'll know one way or the other."
Corey stared down at the box, his hands shaking.
"It's going to be okay, babe."
Ethan once again helped Corey to stand, and they made their way to the bathroom. Corey opened the box and removed the stick from inside.
"So I just pee, and then we wait?" he asked Ethan. His poor mate seemed to be having trouble wrapping his head around things.
"Yep, it'll only take a couple of minutes."
Ethan stepped back and let Corey relieve himself. His insides were doing cartwheels as the interrupted flow of urine hit the water. Ethan couldn't remember ever being this excited and nervous before, not even when he met Corey. This was life-changing in a whole nother way.
Corey flushed, stick in hand, and smiled nervously at Ethan. Ethan leaned up and kissed his mate, wrapping his arms around Corey's neck and holding his man close.
"No matter what, know that I love you," Ethan whispered.
Corey tightened his hold on Ethan for a moment before they made their way into the bedroom. They sat on the foot of the bed as they waited to see if their family was about to expand or not.
* * * * *
The noise level rose exponentially with ten grown men and a young boy in the house. Joseph had turned one a couple of months ago, and the little guy was already running around and starting to chatter like his world depended on him reaching a word limit every day. The little boy looked more and more like Ben every time they saw him.
Not everyone played poker when they got together. The table just wasn't big enough. Tommy usually sat in Ben's lap, while Joseph moved between them all. Declan was in the kitchen, putting the finishing touches on the food for that night. Ethan had never been great at poker, so he sat beside Corey, happy to interact with the gang without joining in the game.
Kieran and Damon came out of the kitchen with their arms full of beer bottles and started passing them around.
"Thanks, man, this is just what I need today," Corey said as he took the beer and twisted the top off, saluting his friend before bringing the bottle to his lips.
Ethan reached out before he made it too far and plucked the bottle from his hand, replacing it with a bottle of water he had for just this occasion.
"Ethan!" Corey eyed him with annoyance.
Ethan stared back, arching an eyebrow. He saw the exact moment register with his mate, his eyes widening and his cheeks flushing pink.
"Oh yeah," he muttered.
They got several stares from their friends, but no one said anything. Ethan patted Corey's leg and leaned in to whisper in his ear. "Love you."
"Love you too." Corey kissed Ethan's cheek, then sat back.
"You should eat something," Ethan said fifteen minutes later. "How's your water going? Do you need another one?"
"I'm fine," Corey assured him.
"Seriously, you should eat something. Let me see what Declan has in the kitchen."
Ethan pushed his chair back and disappeared into the kitchen before Corey could stop him. He wanted to make sure his mate was taking care of himself.
Declan was just putting the finishing touches on the plates of food and was happy for the help to move it all to the dining room.
Ethan grabbed a plate and added a number of items to it before taking it back to the poker table and handing it to Corey. "Eat."
"In a minute," Corey said.
"No, now," Ethan argued.
Corey stared at him, his brows furrowed before he sighed and picked up a mini-quiche and took a bite out of it. "Happy?" he asked around a mouth full of food.
"Very." Ethan grinned at his mate.
"What the hell is going on here?" Ben asked.
"Yeah, since when do you not drink beer on Poker night?" Kieran added.
Corey flushed and glanced at Ethan, who smiled lovingly back at his mate. This was Corey's secret to tell.
He took a deep breath before turning to face his friends. Everyone was staring at the two of them.
"I'm pregnant," Corey said into the silence.
Jaws dropped and eyes widened. Ethan wanted to laugh at everyone's expressions but held back. He grabbed Corey's hand and gave it a gentle squeeze, giving his mate his undivided support.
"Holy shit," Liam said.
"Are you kidding me?" Bradley said.
"Congratulations guys," Kieran said.
"How was it?" Ben asked.
Everyone started talking all at once, which startled Joseph, who looked like he was about to start crying. Tommy climbed off Ben's lap and took possession of his son, reassuring him that the big loud wolves weren't really scary. Ethan took careful note.
Ethan turned back to Corey as he addressed his friends. "I know. No, I'm not kidding. Thanks, man. And it was fucking incredible."
Corey blushed again, and Ethan thought his mate looked utterly adorable.
"It was the best birthday present I've ever received. And now we have even more to look forward to."
"I'm happy for you both. You need anything at all, just let me know. Tommy and I are here if you have any questions." Ben clapped Corey on the shoulder.
"Thanks, we'll probably be taking you up on that offer quite often in the near future," Ethan said.
Corey wrapped his arm around Ethan's shoulders and pulled Ethan up against his chest. Ethan snuggled in, his hand immediately going to Corey's flat belly that now housed their child. Corey placed his hand over Ethan's, then kissed his forehead.
"Love you," Corey said softly.
"Love you too," Ethan replied. He couldn't wait for this next chapter of their lives to start.