I woke up to find the other side of the bed already cold and empty. I pouted, but after our first week at our new home, this had become the norm. I sighed as I slipped out of the bed and headed for the bathroom, scratching my hair as I let out a yawn.

John was busy, and after our short honeymoon, he’d gone back to his usual schedule. He was always up earlier than I could stand, but I was slowly growing used to staying up a little later so we could have dinner together. There were nights we made love, and there were nights where we were both wiped out, so we just fell asleep in each other’s arms.

Life had somewhat fallen into place in the month since I’d left home, and while I missed my old pack, I couldn’t say I was still homesick. This was my home now, and more than just settling for it, I loved it. John was treating me better and better, and while he hadn't said he loved me, I knew he cared for me, and it was enough for now.

After my shower, I left the bathroom with a towel wrapped around me. I picked out a change of clothes as I wiped myself down, pausing a little to look at the marks left on me. I healed fast as long as it was little things, so a lot of evidence from our nightly activities was gone when I woke up in the morning. Last night, though…my face flushed and I tugged on my clothes quickly.

I wasn’t quite sure what came over me, but I had been especially…needy last night. Actually, it wasn’t only last night, and John had indulged me as he always did. Frankly, I was worried he’d just spoil me like my pack did, but it wasn’t the kind of spoiling I hated, so it was fine. It was like my hormones were out of whack, and I had noticed it for a few days now, but I didn’t know who to ask about it. I did have a few ideas…but I wasn’t sure. I would have to wait for my heat, that should be due soon, and we would see then.

John didn’t know about any of my suspicions. He was at the base most of the day for work, and I didn’t want to distract him. From what he’d told me about his job as a combat specialist, he essentially trained new recruits and ran drills with the veterans at the base, and it was a daily thing, unless something happened. He had Sundays free, but not always, and when he was free he used the time to relax.

Once I was dressed, I left the bedroom and headed down the stairs. In the kitchen, there was a covered plate on the dining table with a yellow sticky note stuck on top of it. I pulled off the note, then uncovered the plate. My mouth watered. It was full off eggs and bacon and sausages and chicken strips, basically a lot of meat. I took the plate to the microwave to warm as I looked at the note.

Take it easy today. Call me if you need anything.

I blinked. Did he notice there was something off with me, too? My face flushed with warmth and I smiled, because the note showed me that he was attentive toward my needs. John had lived on his own for a while and had never had an Omega of his own, but he seemed like a natural caretaker, and always made sure I was comfortable.

When the microwave beeped, I pulled out my breakfast and sat down to eat. Today’s portion was a bit more than yesterday’s, and I wondered if John was trying to fatten me up. He had slowly been getting me to eat more and more each day. I ate pretty comfortably when I was at home, but this was a little different. I felt completely ravenous, though, so I cleaned up my plate in no time at all, and was tempted to lick the juices on the plate.

After washing up, I went to get my things so I could leave the house.

John was so busy every day, and he didn’t have the time to attend to me when he had work, but he didn’t plan on keeping me locked up at home, either. After the first couple weeks, he managed to buy me a small car. When I was with my pack, I had at least been allowed to take a driver’s test, even if I didn’t drive much, but I had a license at least. The car was a dark blue and looked even smaller next to his big, black SUV, but it fit me just right and I loved it.

I did feel a little embarrassed, though, that he was providing everything and there was hardly anything I could do for him. I have never had a job before, and I didn’t know where to start looking, and in the end talked to John about it.

While I couldn’t quite call it a job, I could say I had taken up a new hobby to fill up the time so I wasn’t just at home doing nothing all day. I hadn't known in the beginning, until John drove me there after I talked to him about me looking for something I could do, but we were pretty close to the Alaskan Shifters Council. I had only ever heard of them before, and John’s was only one of several packs that surrounded them.

There was plenty of work to be found for shifters at the council’s compound, with or without experience. After taking me around, John had left me with someone that could help me find what I needed.

So, I now volunteered at the council compound. I couldn’t call it a job since it didn’t bring me any money, but because John and I were together now, I was part of his pack, so my volunteering was treated as the pack’s contribution to the council. I hadn't met that many shifters in John’s pack, he didn’t seem to be all that close to them, but this at least meant that none of them would harbor any dislike for me, because I was useful.

I went out of the house, locked up and skipped over to my car. I wasn’t going out to the compound today. I volunteered for the council, but I could do the projects I was given anywhere, I didn’t necessarily have to stay there. Currently, I was in the middle of a project with Riley, an Alpha I’d met that volunteered just like me. We were running low on stocks in the kitchen, so I planned to pass by the supermarket, then go pick Riley up so he would follow me back home in his car.

Jumping in the car, I started it up and turned on the radio, patted my pocket to make sure I had my wallet with me, and I drove off. All the money I had came from John, and he’d even given me a credit card for when I needed it. Because there wasn’t much else I could do, I was determined to be the best househusband, and mostly looked after the home in John’s absence.

In the time since I’d come, I had done a bit of remodeling in a few areas, and helped John fill up his study and arrange it. I was leaving the extra rooms alone for the moment, not sure if I should turn one into a guest room or not, but we would definitely need a nursery for when the pups came.

Once I got to the supermarket, I found a parking space and stepped out. I pulled out a phone from my pocket that John had also bought for me, and I sent a quick text to Riley, letting him know where I was. I wasn’t sure where he stayed, or where we were supposed to meet up, but it was about time. Riley texted back that he would just come to the supermarket and we could meet up there instead. I sent back a text to let him know to wait for me outside when he got there.

I had a list of the stuff we needed at home, and I hummed to myself as I strolled down the aisles, picking out what I had on the list. By the time I was done, Riley was already outside waiting for me. When he saw me come out, he hurried over to me.

“Hey,” he said, grinning down at me.

Riley was the typical Alpha; tall, with broad shoulder, a wide chest, muscled build, and good-looking. Had it been the me from before, I would have shied away from him. Riley was a lot like John, however, meaning he treated me with a lot of respect, so I could only smile back up at him.

I had no idea if he was mated of nor, but I’d never asked and he never said.

“Hey, Riley. Sorry if I made you wait too long.”

“It was nothing, I just got here a few minutes ago. Here, let me help you with those.”

“Uh, you don’t have to.”

“It’s fine I need to know where you’re parked, anyway.”

Thinking of it like that, I let him carry some of the groceries for me so we could leave the cart by the entrance. I hadn't parked the car that far, and I unlocked it so we could unload in the back seat. I stood aside and waited for Riley to finish, then closed the car door.

“I’m parked that way,” he said, pointing to his far left. “Can you wait a bit while I bring my car around first?”

I shrugged my shoulders. “I don’t mind. Just don’t take too long, okay?”

He was already running off, and he waved at me over his shoulder. I sat in the car and waited, and a minute or so later I saw his car coming slowly toward me, then stopping. I started up the car and pulled out of my parking space, then led the way back to the house with Riley’s car trailing me.

I parked in the drive way, leaving enough space for him to park his own car, then he hurried over to help me bring in the groceries to the kitchen.

“Did you manage to get the information we need?” I asked as we worked.

Riley hummed. “I found quite a bit, but I can't help but think the info is incomplete. The file I found it all in seemed like it was missing a few pages.”

“Is it something we’re not allowed to know maybe?” I wondered.

When we had everything in the kitchen, Riley moved to stand by the island as I put everything away.

“I don’t think so,” Riley said with a shake of his head. “If it was confidential or something, then I wouldn’t have even been allowed to touch those documents. More likely the pages really are missing. I could search for the original files, but I need special permission to access those, and it’s still pending. We won’t know by tomorrow, but I figured if we can look over what we have so far, then we can just finalize once we get the full documents.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

I moved to the living room and waited while Riley came back with the files he’d managed to acquire. I had my own part done as well, bringing out some documents from my back pack and sitting down on the couch. Riley walked in, and we compared notes. We needed to write a full report on our research findings, and we were more than half way done. We’d been on this project for the past week already, and it was also the first huge project I was given. If I could complete it well, it could only mean good things for me in the future.

Also, I was lucky I got myself paired up with Riley. He knew about my lack of experience, and didn’t mind guiding me where he thought I needed it, and he was never impatient with me. Actually, I was meant to be more like his helper in this project rather than having such a big part in it, but Riley thought it would be good for me to build up experience.

I compiled the data and crosschecked what I had to his, as he had his computer on the table finished up another section of the report.

“Only a little bit left,” Riley said, grinning. “Then we’re done. Will you be taking some time off after this, or will you ask for another project?”

I sighed, rubbing my stomach that felt a bit uneasy. “I’m not sure? Now that I’m doing it, I kinda like working, but at the same time, I’m learning just how tiring it can be.”

Riley just chuckled at me.

I was seated on the floor in front of the table to be closer to the documents, and once I was done with my task, I got up, thinking about starting up lunch. There was probably still some time before lunch, but I was starting to get hungry again.

At least, that was what I thought, until I went to stand and almost dropped back down because I suddenly felt dizzy. I managed to stay standing, pressing down on the table with my hands to keep myself up. The typing immediately stopped.

“Dominick? Are you okay?”

Riley’s voice sounded so far away, though he was sitting right beside me. I had this faint ringing in my ear, and suddenly, a bout of nausea almost knocked me back down. I took a deep breath and swallowed a few times, but it wasn’t going down. Instead, I was growing increasingly nauseated, and I pushed away from the table, rushing for the downstairs bathroom.

I made it inside and dropped on my knees in front of the toilet bowl, just in time to vomit everything in my stomach into the bowl. I was pretty sure most of my breakfast just went out of my mouth, then after a few dry heaves, I felt well enough to move away. With trembling hands, I flushed the toilet, and then crawled over to the sink to wash my hand and wipe my mouth. I didn’t try to stand, because I didn’t think my legs could hold me up.

The thought had been going through my mind, but it wasn’t conclusive, so I’d tried not to say the words, even to myself.

Right then, though, I had to admit to myself that I was probably pregnant, and needed to get a test.