I must have fallen asleep sometime after sex, cradled in Riley’s arms because when I woke up again, it was still pitch black outside.

I was still cuddling under the warmth of Riley’s embrace. He was spooning me as we laid on our sides together. The only difference was, we were now in the lap of luxury and comfort in my recently purchased king sized bed.

It had been an epic nightmare trying to squeeze a mattress of that size into the tight quarters of my loft, but I wanted to make sure that any Alpha that came to my house might want to stay on account of my amazing bed and would think of it as a golden ticket into blissful sex.

So far, it had worked with Riley because even as he slept, I felt his giant cock poking me in the back.

I grinned, wondering if he was dreaming about me and our baby, or me naked. The thought sent shivers of delight up my spine. I glanced over at the digital clock on my bedside table.

The red numbers cast a small rosy colored glow across the bed, but it wasn’t a vibrant enough visual to disrupt our sleep to any degree.

I sighed contentedly and shifted my weight only slightly because I didn’t want to rouse Riley from his delicate slumber.

I burrowed further into his grasp, pushing my ass into him as his cock poked and protruded through the sheets to tap me on the back.

He didn’t awaken, remaining peacefully serene in his dreamlike state of mind. I couldn’t see him in the position we were laying, but I pictured the features on his face with vivid enhancement, getting turned on just by thinking about his dark eyes gazing through me, burning a hole into my soul.

Riley had an astounding effect on me. We were soul bonded now. That meant I would never have to be alone, ever again.

Riley and I would be together forever and the idea of that made my heart do somersaults inside my chest.

My belly flipped with desire and craving. I laid as silent and still as a mouse, quietly relishing in the pulsing sensation of Riley’s beating heart that vibrated against my back.

Soon, we would become parents to our own shifting pup. The idea thrilled me. I couldn’t wait to be a dad, and I knew that Riley would be an incredible father as well.

He had confessed his true intentions to me already. He had wanted a family for a while now, to learn what it was like to have a pack of his own.

I reached up to feel the mark of his teeth on my skin, just above my shoulder blades. The mark was a signature touch, proof that I would be his forever and we would be bound for eternity.

In the back of my mind, I still worried about the fact that my pack was still blissfully unaware of both the soul bonding that happened between me and Riley and the fact that I was pregnant, carrying his love child.

I glanced out the window of my bedroom. The blinds were partially pulled up and I could see the fresh coating of white snow that cloaked the world in a powder of white, winter wonderland.

Winter seemed to last an eternity in Alaska, and I always looked forward to springtime when the world would thaw and bring a bright new outlook on the warmer horizon. I didn’t necessarily enjoy the bleakness of neutral colors that winter brought. I always longed for the grey skies and the white ground to fade and melt into blue skies and green grass.

Now, it didn’t matter to me anymore. I was elated, in love and ready to start my life with Riley. I wanted to slow down time and make it last forever instead of trying to wish my life away.

I rubbed my belly that was not quite swollen enough in the pregnancy to obviously reveal a bump that concealed a baby inside of it.

I smiled, content to wonder what it would be like once my stomach popped out. I dreamed of a time that Riley and I could lay on the couch together, our hands on my watermelon of a pregnant baby while we giggled over the fits of kicks I was sure to receive and feel on both the inside and outside.

I grimaced internally when I felt the tug on my bladder a few minutes later. The sensation to urinate was becoming a nuisance and a frequent occurrence now that I was knocked up.

I laid there under the safety wing of Riley, trying to will myself to make the uncomfortable feeling in my bladder subside, but it only got stronger by the minute.

I knew I was going to have to get up and pee, there was no way around it. I’d never fall back asleep if I didn’t, and the clock read that it was only 3:30 in the morning. I needed a few more hours of sleep to be functional the next day.

Crawling out from under Riley’s arms, I used every muscle in my body to roll from the bed as quietly as I could.

Once I was finally out of the bed and standing on the floor beside him, I breathed a sigh of relief. Riley was apparently a heavy sleeper. He snorted and yawned, merely rolling over on his other side in response.

I walked over to the bathroom and winced as the bright lights hit my corneas. I had to stand there and give my eyes a few seconds to adjust to the light before heading over to the toilet to relieve my aching bladder.

After I was finished, I shuffled my way back to my bed, fully expecting my stride to turn into a waddle before this pregnancy was over with.

I was so tired, that after crawling back into bed, my body sagged into the pillows and I drifted off to sleep in a matter of minutes.

* * *

When I next peeled open my eyes, I groaned. I had a throbbing headache and waves of nausea were flipping my stomach as if they were dancing in an unruly sea.

“Shit,” I said and held onto my head.

“What is it?” Riley had been displaying a ruggedly handsome smile, but as soon as he saw my condition, his face fell to instant concern.

My vision blurred, and I broke out in a cold sweat. “I think I’m…going to be sick,” I stammered.

I ran to the bathroom as fast as my legs would carry me, but they felt sluggish and jelly-like.

I slammed the door shut and raced to the toilet. I held onto the sides and heaved up the contents of my stomach from the night before. I was retching and coughing, mortified for what Riley must be thinking on the other side of the bathroom door.

After I was finished, I flushed the vomit and shakily drew up from my knees. I walked over to the sink and splashed cold water on my face, feeling instantly better, but I didn’t know how long it would last.

I knew this was coming and had been expecting the hell of hormones rushing through my body to wreak their havoc as soon as I had first found out about the pregnancy.

I leaned against the marble sink and tried to catch my breath.

“Are you okay in there, Kyle?” Riley’s voice sounded full of panic.

“I’m fine,” I croaked, trying to ward him off for a few more seconds. “Be right out.”

I took a deep breath and patted my mouth dry on a hand towel, then I made sure to rinse my sour mouth out with mouth wash.

I composed myself and splashed on a smile that I thought might be convincing to Riley, then I threw open the door and burst from the bathroom with potentially over the top enthusiasm.

To my chagrin, Riley wasn’t buying my façade.

“Holy shit,” he said, and he turned white upon laying eyes on me. “You look terrible, Kyle.”

I chuckled. “I’m okay, really.” I tried to reassure him and patted his back as we got dressed. “It’s normal.”

“What’s normal?”

My Alpha bonded partner looked positively freaked out.

“The hormones,” I explained. “They are making me a little sick. It’s common for Omegas to experience this type of discomfort in early pregnancy.”

“Oh,” Riley said and I noticed a slight sense of relief flush his facial expression.

“Come on.” I grinned at him. “I’ll make you breakfast.” I wasn’t sure who I was trying to convince more of the fact that I felt fine…myself or Riley. In reality, I could feel the edge of nausea creeping back up, rising to my belly once again.

“Sounds great.” Riley pepped back up to his usual, unperturbed self. “I’m starving from all that fucking we did last night.”

Riley cast me a sexy wink and I blushed under his handsome, brooding stare. “I know what you mean,” I whispered softly even though I wasn’t feeling the slightest bit seductive or sultry at the moment.

We walked hand in hand to the kitchen. I grabbed the eggs out of the fridge along with the bacon slices and some bread from the pantry for toast.

“Maybe it will make me feel better to eat something,” I mentioned curiously.

“I hope so,” Riley said with a tone of apprehension and concern. His eyes mirrored the worry in his voice, but I assured him the baby and I would be just fine.

I crouched down to grab a pan from the cabinet below the stove and placed it on the electric range.

“How do you like your eggs?” I inquired of Riley with a weak smile. I realized I didn’t ask the last time I made them for him.

His eyes narrowed in on me. “Are you sure you are up to this?”

“Mmm-hmm.” I nodded, afraid to look him in the eye because I knew the lie inside my brain would reveal itself in powerful colors.

“Okay…” Riley said reluctantly, apparently unconvinced. “In that case, I guess my favorite way to have eggs is scrambled.”

“Coming right up.” I grinned and fought back the urge to dry-heave.

Riley sat across from me at the barstool and stared at me while I cracked the eggs and put the slices of bacon on an oven safe baking sheet.

“I could get used to this,” he teased.

I shrugged. “I love to cook for friends and family.”

“We are family now,” Riley reminded me.

I glanced up at him and we locked eyes in an intense gaze. “Right.” I nodded and grabbed a spatula. “We are bonded family.”

“How is your scar this morning?” he asked.

I touched the sensitive area where the bite mark was still indented in my skin. “Healing.”

“That’s good to know,” he said with approval.

I put the bacon in the oven and set the timer, then went to work on the eggs while I tried to ward off a fresh batch of nausea. I tried to breathe through my nose, but it wasn’t helping to relieve any of my suffering.

The smell and appearance of the eggs was too much for my sensitive belly to handle. I whisked them together to scramble them in the pan, but in a gut wrenching instant, was overcome with a powerful new wave of nausea that hit me like a freight train.

“I’m going to be sick,” I warned.

I didn’t have time to get to the bathroom, so I raced to the first outlet I could find to become violently sick in…which just so happened to be the sink.

Riley watched in horror as I vomited again. I choked and gasped for air. When I was finally finished expelling more sickness, I grabbed a paper towel off the rack on the counter and wiped my mouth with it.

“I’m sorry,” I apologized profusely through mortification that turned my cheeks a profound crimson color.

“It’s okay,” Riley said and came over to my side where he rubbed my back and soothed me. “I’m sorry you are feeling so bad,” he empathized.

“Thank you.” I chuckled feebly and relished in the way he ran his hands through my hair. I glanced over at the range. “I’m burning the eggs.” I laughed at the irony.

“Screw the eggs, we can order in,” Riley joked.

I laughed. “You can order in,” I reminded him. “I will probably spend the rest of the day hugging the porcelain throne.”

“Well in that case, you can count on me to remain right by your side to take care of you.”

“Don’t worry about it,” I shook my head defiantly. “I’m already humiliated enough that you saw me throw up.”

“I think it’s adorable.” Riley smirked with a gleam in his eye, leaning against the kitchen counter. “It’s a good sign that the pregnancy is viable and healthy.”

“You are probably right.” I nodded in agreement. “At least, that’s what my doctor tells me.”

“You are too laid back and nice to admit that you need help, but I’m honestly happy to offer and oblige,” Riley stated.

I glanced at him and gave him a smile. “That means a lot to me.”

Riley took the burnt eggs off the heat of the cook top and turned off the stove. Then he took the half cooked bacon out of the oven. “We don’t have to eat right now. We can wait until your stomach feels a little better.”

“Thanks,’ I sighed with relief.

Riley scooped me up in his massively muscular arms and carried me over to the couch where he gently laid me down.

“Do you need a cold rag on your head or anything?” he asked with love.

“No,” I shook my head. “I’m feeling a little better now.”

“Okay,” Riley said and sat beside me, stroking my hair. His face was fraying with concern and I recognized the look of alarm as his eyebrows furrowed as if they were a freshly knit sweater.

“What is it?” I said and propped myself up on my elbows.

Riley glanced at me and licked his lips. “What happens now? I mean…as it stands with your fake engagement?”

“I don’t know.” I shrugged. It was a burning question that had been gnawing at my conscious ever since I found out I was pregnant.

“How do you think this will affect it? You can’t hide your symptoms or your growing belly for long,” Riley confessed, although I already knew it was a pressing issue.

I was beginning to feel queasy again, but the pregnancy hormones weren’t the underlying cause this time. Panic erupted a cold sweat that formed over my skin. I glanced up at Riley with a sea of dread drowning in my eyes.

“I’m…afraid.”

Riley tried to read my features. He gripped my hand and cupped it, squeezing it against his.

“What are you afraid of?” he whispered softly.

I was in agony. I knew my pack was going to be furious once they learned of my pregnancy.

“I’m afraid that…they’ll make me either get rid of the pregnancy by termination or they’ll make me give up the baby for adoption.”

My eyes pooled with tears that stung my eyes and blurred my vision with pain at the mere thought of losing my baby in any capacity.

“Hey,” Riley said and stroked my cheek. “Nobody is giving up our child. I’d die before I let that happen.”

I gave him a pathetic attempt at a smile because I knew he was only trying to help my emotions as they teetered on the brink of collapse.

“Maybe we should just run away together or hide the pregnancy. I can wear baggy clothes or something.”

It was a weak suggestion, but it was all I could brainstorm in the moment. Maybe Riley had a better plan of action brewing in his own mind.

“No,” he said firmly. His eyes flickered with a force that made me cower. “We are not running from this situation. I want a pack of my own. I’m a proud Alpha, and I have no reason to hide from anyone.”