Briar
It was so dark when Briar opened his eyes that he didn’t realize at first that he was alone. It was only when a cold shiver ran through him that he knew Rohan was gone. He must have gone out to hunt. It was strange how quickly he’d become accustomed to the alpha’s body heat beside him. In fact, it felt like it was something he’d been missing his whole life. Memories from the night before surged in his mind as he slowly shed the sleepy haze.
He was pregnant.
He remembered the wash of shock the night before when he’d stared at the blue tincture in the moonlight, unable to believe it was true. But it was. He was pregnant.
Good moon how could this be happening? He put his face in his hands, grateful that Rohan wasn’t there so he could finally break down. He’d held it all in, unsure of whether he should tell his alpha yet. His body shook as he took in shallow breaths. What was he going to do? How would he tell Rohan? He was sure the alpha would be overwhelmed with guilt for getting Briar pregnant. Not that it was his fault. But Rohan would see it as failing to protect him somehow. Briar chewed his lip. If they were safe in the mountains, Rohan would be overjoyed when he found out that his omega was carrying his pup. But would it be wrong to keep this a secret from him until then, even if he were doing it for the alpha’s good?
Briar took a deep breath as he picked up Rohan’s scent, then heard footsteps coming toward him. Rohan appeared in a pool of light cast by a torch made from a branch with dried grass tied to it.
Briar sucked in a gasp as the torchlight illuminated the cavern revealing thousands of crystals growing from the walls. The light glinted off them, creating a sparkling glow more beautiful than anything Briar had ever seen.
“I might not have your crafting skills, but I do know one trick,” Rohan said, tossing a bundle of branches and dried leaves in the middle of the cave floor and setting to work lighting it with the torch. “And it’ll be enough to cook this.” He lay a freshly killed rabbit by the fire he was trying to light, making Briar’s stomach rumble. It’d been almost a day since he’d had a decent meal, and he could already tell pregnancy was making him more hungry than usual.
Another pang of guilt hit him. He knew he should tell Rohan. His alpha would want to take care of his pregnant mate… but what more could he do that he wasn’t doing already? Telling Rohan would only add more stress to his mind, maybe even making it harder for him to recover his full strength. Even in the soft firelight, Briar could tell Rohan hadn’t rested enough from the battle. His posture was stooped and his face looked hollow from lack of food.
“Maybe we should rest here for a day,” Briar suggested. “I don’t think either of us can keep running as hard as we have been, and you need to recover your strength if we run into another alpha.”
Rohan nodded. “That might be a good idea.”
Briar exhaled a sigh of relief. He hadn’t realized how much he’d needed a rest too. The pains in his abdomen had subsided—a sign that the pup had embedded itself within his belly and was now beginning to grow inside him—but a new exhaustion was hitting him as he began to provide for a new life. He pressed his hand to his stomach, finding it hard to resist a small smile. Despite the danger, the stress, the anxiety, he loved their baby already, and he couldn’t wait to tell Rohan so he could share in that joy.
“What are you so happy about?” Rohan looked up from his task of cooking the rabbit over the open flame.
“What do you think?” Briar shook his head. “I haven’t eaten in ages and that looks delicious.”
***
After they’d eaten, they lay out on the grass mat. Briar had gathered some more grass and moss while Rohan was cooking to create a somewhat comfortable bed, and the fire went a long way to making the dank cave a cozy resting place.
Briar’s anxiety felt somewhat soothed now that his hunger wasn’t gnawing at him. They’d made passionate love after their meal and now he cuddled into Rohan’s side and they watched the smoke trail up from the fire and drift slowly to the cave entrance by the small breeze blowing through the cavern.
“I can’t wait to have a safe, peaceful life with you,” Rohan murmured into Briar’s hair.
“Me either.” He grinned at the thought, putting a hand to his belly and wishing again that he could tell Rohan about their pup. It wasn’t time yet. They may be cozy and safe for now, but soon the stress of escape would catch up to them again and he couldn’t add to his alpha worries.
“Does it make you sad to think about what you lost when your pack was attacked?” Rohan ran a hand down Briar’s cheek. “I mean, do you wish you could go back?”
Briar shook his head. “The attack was the worst day of my life, and I wish it never happened, but I would never choose that life over a life with you. I know that fate chose for me to be with you.” But crushing sadness weighed down on him as he remembered the night of the auction. “I only wish the other omegas in my pack had better fates.”
Rohan hugged Briar tighter to him. “I know what it’s like to feel that survivor’s guilt. I felt the same way about the omegas when my pack was attacked.”
Briar sucked in a gasp. “I didn’t know.”
Rohan nodded. “When I was just a small pup my pack was attacked and absorbed into the Woodpine pack. I was adopted in by a childless couple and raised to be a fighter, but the omegas from my pack were treated even worse than the Woodpine omegas. I couldn’t stand seeing members from my pack—some of them my friends and family—being treated that way.” Rohan sighed. “I developed a lot of bitterness towards pack dynamics at an early age. Maybe that had something to do with why I lashed out and killed my pack master to defend the omega. Maybe deep down, I wanted to be exiled.”
“Was that why you saved me from the auction?” Briar asked.
Rohan hesitated and looked away. It was a long time before he spoke. “I don’t want you to get the wrong idea about me. I mean… I just don’t want you to be disappointed when you find out I’m not as good and honorable as you think I am.”
Briar stared into Rohan’s eyes. “Are you saying that you came to the auction for the same reasons that all the other alphas?”
“No. I’m not exactly saying that.” Rohan ran a hand through his hair. “What I’m saying is I’m a much better man because I met you. The moment I laid eyes on you, I knew I had to protect you.”
There was something dark brooding behind Rohan’s eyes, and Briar knew that there was more to Rohan’s story than he’d first realized. His alpha was hiding something from him.
“Is there something you need to tell me?” Briar asked.
“Desperately,” Rohan admitted. “But you’ll understand when we’re safe and living your happy life why I chose to wait to tell you.”
Briar chewed his lip. He wanted to press Rohan further, but how could he justify demanding to know Rohan’s secret when he was keeping one of his own? Something twisted in his gut, and he thought at first that it was just guilt, but it soon intensified into nausea that made him nearly double over. Could there have been something wrong with the rabbit Rohan had cooked?
No, of course not. He remembered how omegas from his pack had suffered nausea when they became pregnant. In the worst cases, it had left them bed bound, unable to even move lest they upset their churning stomachs.
Dread pooled in him, mixing with the nausea to make him completely and thoroughly sick. How did he think he could get away without telling Rohan about his pregnancy? The symptoms would be impossible to hide. Even if Rohan didn’t guess the cause of Briar’s sickness and exhaustion, he would worry about the omegas condition. Besides, an omega needed his alpha to care for them when they were with child. He’d been so stupid for trying to hide this.
He had to tell Rohan that he was carrying his child. He took deep breaths. He could do this. The alpha’s eyes looked into his, full of concern.
“What’s wrong?” He asked. “Did I upset you? I swear I’ll explain everything once we reach the mountains.”
Briar just shook his head. “It’s not that.” He wasn’t even thinking about what Rohan had said anymore.
“What?” The worry on Rohan’s face deepened. “What is it?”
He closed his eyes, not wanting to see the look of horror that would wash over the alpha’s face. Briar had meant for his voice to be strong, but it practically squeaked out of him as he said, “I’m pregnant.”