Page 38 of The Pregnant Wolf Omega Next Door
“In any case, I had a very good night,” Zenith said, nuzzling Emre’s hair. He froze though, setting careful fingers on Emre’s hip. “Did I... Was I too rough on you?”
He pulled out completely, sitting up.
Emre whined. “I’m fine! Come back!”
“Let me make sure.” Zenith drew the sheets off Emre, exposing his entire body. Then he inhaled quickly.
When Emre looked down, he found Zenith staring at his hip—four finger-shaped bruises sat neatly in a row. His heart skipped.
Zenith caught that stutter, looking up with a frown. “I should’ve been more careful—”
“No, no!” Emre flapped his hands. “It’s fine. It doesn’t hurt.”
“Are you sure?” Zenith carefully prodded one bruise.
How did you tell an almost-stranger that you liked his finger bruises because they felt like a claim? That seemed too soon.
“They don’t hurt.” Emre jabbed his finger into one bruise. It ached slightly, but that wasn’t ‘hurt’.
“Fine,” Zenith said, watching him closely. He trailed his palm over Emre’s thigh and up his belly, rubbing it all over. “No pain here?”
Emre shook his head. “Pup’s fine. I felt a push or two earlier.”
Zenith relaxed, watching Emre’s belly for a while. He broke into a tiny smile. “Yeah, the pup’s heartbeat is fine. I was counting on and off all day yesterday to get a baseline.”
No one had done that for Emre’s pups before.
But Zenith began to frown again. “That isn’t creepy, is it? I just... I want to be aware in case of an emergency.”
Emre’s heart swelled. “No, go ahead and listen. There hasn’t been an alpha who cared that much before.”
Zenith scowled. “There should be. It sounds like you’ve only met assholes who don’t know how to take care of an omega.”
How was he even real? Emre gaped, then shook himself so he could get his thoughts together. “This is way beyond ‘taking care of an omega’, Zenith. You care about my pups—even the unborn one. The... The only other alpha who would do that, was my papa.”
Zenith puffed out his chest indignantly. “Just one alpha? What about the rest of your pack?”
Emre shrugged. “My pack wasn’t great, even if we were extended family.”
Impossibly, Zenith stiffened even further. His eyes flashed; they seemed to flicker red for a second. “Well, I’m going to care.”
He cupped Emre’s belly and nudged it slightly. When there wasn’t any movement, Zenith pressed his lips to Emre’s belly and spoke, his voice rumbling through Emre’s body. “Hey, pup. Just making sure you’re doing okay in there. We’ll keep an ear on you, yeah? Your dad says you might be coming out soon. See you then. Be good.”
Zenith was sticking around for the birth?
The pup answered by pushing back. Emre stared.Fuck.Zenith really was something else.
Zenith lit up. “The pup heard me?”
“Sure did.” Emre grinned.
“Now, your turn,” the alpha said, petting Emre’s ass.
“My turn?”
“Up, on all fours. Let me check that you’re okay.”
His cheeks prickling with heat, Emre clumsily rolled onto his hands and knees. Zenith settled behind him and helped, keeping Emre steady as he shuffled his legs open.
