Two months later, they headed out to meet with the traveling midwife Pyt had summoned for Sean. She was holding appointments in the local midwife-apprentice’s home.

“Hi. I’m Carlotta, a local mage midwife, and I specialize in working with omega pregnancies.” Sean and Mihai glanced at each other nervously.

“I also have experience with omega warlocks,” she said. “I delivered the twins of the local rulers of this area. You’ve met them, right? Martin had a difficult birth, but their children are now four years old. Gabriel and Aubry. They’re healthy and happy, and I know we can help make sure your baby is, too.” She paused. “Pyt tells me that you’ve had some dizzy spells recently. Is this true?”

Sean nodded. “Mostly when I stand up or sit down, but there have been other moments, too.”

“Okay. I’m going to perform a spell that will let us see the baby and make sure he or she is doing well. Would you like to know the baby’s gender?”

The alpha’s and omega’s shared glances this time were full of surprise. “I didn’t realize that was even possible before the baby was born,” Sean said. “This is a type of magic that I don’t know anything about.”

Carlotta smiled. “Yes, well, it’s very specialized.”

“I’d love to learn more about it.”

“I’ll be happy to share what I know with you,” Carlotta said. “As a matter of fact...” Her gaze turned thoughtful. “The longer Martin stays in control of this area, the more omegas we’re likely to have traveling through. Or even coming to stay permanently.” She turned her intense gaze back on Sean and spoke firmly. “I have an assistant midwife in the village, but he doesn’t know much magic, and he definitely doesn’t specialize in omega births. I could use another assistant focusing on the omegas in the area. If you think you might be interested, that is.”

Sean blinked at her. “Let me think about that.”

But he’d already made up his mind. He had no desire to simply be Mihai’s mate, living as if his only value were in his ability to bear children.

I am not a walking womb.

And he would be more.

But that was for a later date. Right now, he simply closed his eyes and leaned back on the examining table.

Carlotta began weaving her hands over his stomach in a complicated pattern. Even half-distracted as he was by the prospect of learning the gender of his baby, Sean recognized pieces of other spells that made this one up—one for communication, one for sight. And something else, too, though he wasn’t sure what.

Floating in the air above his stomach, an image took shape.

The colors were odd, tones of sepia and brown and black.

Then again, he supposed it was actually dark inside the womb. This was probably the spell’s approximation of that darkness.

But there were way too many ... things ... inside that darkness.

“What is all that?” Mihai asked.

But Sean thought he might know.

Carlotta began pointing out features. “This is one baby’s head. You can see the little nose and mouth here.”

“One baby?” Sean’s voice came out strangled.

The baby opened and closed a hand, as if reaching for its omega and alpha fathers.

“Beautiful,” he breathed to Mihai.

“And this,” crowed Carlotta, rotating the image and pointing between the baby’s legs, “is that baby’s penis. It’s a boy.”

Elation welled up in Sean, although until this point he would’ve said he preferred a girl, a sweet baby to dress in pinks and bows.

But if he hadn’t already known his own thoughts, he would’ve assumed from the joy he felt that a boy was what he wanted all along.

“So what’s that?” he asked, pointing at another blob.

“That’s a baby girl,” Carlotta said, grinning.

Looked like he would get his girl, after all.

“And that?” Mihai asked. “Is that another boy?”

Carlotta nodded, but she waved her hands again and muttered a few more words. “Oh my.”

The image above Sean’s belly shifted. Sean froze, terrified at what the midwife might be seeing. Mihai’s hand tightened on his omega’s.

Carlotta spun the image, peered at it, turned it again.

Finally, Sean could stand it no longer. “What’s wrong?”

Standing up straight, Carlotta clapped her hands once and laughed aloud. Delight and wonder suffused her face. “You are having an omega,” she announced. “Look—when I shift the spell to show internal organs, you can see his developing uterus. An omega! You know how rare that is, right?”

Suddenly, all the joy at the thought of having a baby boy drained out of Sean. He could feel his own expression stiffening as his head spun with the implications. “That’s awful.”

He hadn’t realized he had spoken out loud until Mihai and Carlotta both turned to stare at him, aghast.

“It’s wonderful,” Mihai said forcefully. “Our baby is going to be just like his omega father. I couldn’t be any prouder.”

Sean pulled his hands up to cover his face. When he spoke again, his voice came out muffled. “Don’t you see what this means? Our baby will grow up to be hunted across all the lands. Everyone will want him, but for all the wrong reasons. What if he can do magic? That would be even worse.”

Sean’s heart started beating faster.

Carlotta took one look at him and closed out the image with a gesture like snapping her fingers together. “That’s enough of that,” she said forcefully. “Your baby will be born in Pristat, and that means he will be a free omega. No one will hunt your child. He will grow up healthy and happy and full of life. Do you hear me?”

Mihai reached over and peeled Sean’s hands down off his face. “Did you hear that, sweetheart? No one will ever harm our baby. He will be protected.”

Carlotta nodded as Sean’s heart rate slowed.

“Anyway, it looks like he will have two brothers and a sister to stand with him,” Carlotta said. “Now I’m going to do a regular exam.” She moved down to the end of the table and propped Sean’s knees up. “Scoot down to the end of the table, please.”

He followed her instructions, his stomach clenching.

“Try to relax.” The midwife conjured a light and used an odd metal device, sliding it into his opening and using it to widen the passage so she could examine him.

Sean stared at the ceiling for a moment, then finally closed his eyes, accepting the intrusion of her hand as necessary to having the baby—or babies, actually—he wanted so badly.

Even if one of those babies is an omega.

“Your babies are doing well,” she said. “Werewolves often have multiples.” Carlotta’s smile faded. “But I have some concerns about you, Sean. You’re not a werewolf, and warlocks generally carry a single baby at a time.”

His heart clenched, but Mihai was the first to speak, his voice frantic. “What is it? What’s wrong with him?”

“It’s a combination of typical problems.” She wrapped one hand around Sean’s ankle and squeezed gently, then poked at his shin. “See how my fingerprint remains in his skin? That’s a sign of edema—a kind of swelling that indicates a potential problem.”

“I thought all pregnant omegas had swelling,” Mihai said.

“That’s true. But excessive swelling can suggest serious issues.”

“Like what?” Sean asked, trying to remain calm.

The midwife’s mouth twisted. “Possibly nothing. But I don’t want to take any chances.” She glanced at Sean’s pale face. “And I don’t want to scare you unnecessarily. But at worst, they can lead to serious complications like a stroke, or even death.”

Mihai paled, and Carlotta hastened to reassure him. “Those are the least likely outcomes. But I want you to know how seriously to take Sean’s care.”

“What can I do to avoid those issues?” Sean asked anxiously.

“Bed rest. It’s really the only answer at the moment.”

Everything he might need to do flashed through Sean’s mind. “But...”

Carlotta shook her head. “Sorry. You’re allowed to get out of bed to go to the privy. That’s all. Otherwise, you need to stay in your bed with your head and feet elevated.” She paused. “In fact, I’m going to arrange to have one of the local carts take you back to Pyt’s. I don’t want you walking that far.”

Mihai nodded earnestly. “I will make sure he stays in bed.”

Sean sighed, imagining his life, bed-bound for the next few months.

I hope Pyt has some interesting books in his home.

Then he remembered that elves had a written language he couldn’t read.

Mihai better find some way to entertain me.