Page 48 of The Pregnant Wolf Omega Next Door

“Be careful,” Emre whispered.

“He will be,” Zenith said. He gathered Emre into his arms and gave him a big sideways hug. “Things will turn out fine.”

Emre wanted to believe Zenith, but he had been burned too many times to place his faith in the unknown. All the same, he didn’t want his cynicism to infect Zenith. “For all I know, it’s just some college kid waiting for their friend.”

“Possibly,” Zenith said, rubbing Emre’s back. “C’mon, there’s no point in us guarding the window when Hux has an eye on him. Let’s sit down and wait for news.”

He gave Emre a quick squeeze, then led him over to the couch. Emre was secretly glad to sit down; his feet were starting to ache.

“You okay?” Zenith asked when Emre sighed.

“My feet hurt,” Emre said, making a face. “I know you rubbed them not too long ago, but...”

“Here, let me rub them again.”

Emre hesitated. “Are you sure? Or do you have a thing about feet?”

Then he choked, because that wasnotwhat you said to someone who was offering you foot rubs!

“I just put my foot in my mouth again,” Emre whimpered.

Zenith’s lips twitched. “Maybeyou’rethe one who has a thing about feet.”

“Oh gods,” Emre whined. “My life probably smells like dirty socks.”

He hiccupped, and a large, iridescent bubble floated out of his mouth.

A bubble.

From his mouth.

For a long moment, both of them stared at the gently floating bubble. It was starting to drift away; Abbie pushed her snout over the edge of the couch, staring at it too.

Then she raised her paw to bat at it, but the bubble popped before she could.

Emre exchanged a look with Zenith. “I didn’t hallucinate that, right?”

“If you did, then it means we’re sharing the same hallucination,” Zenith said dazedly. “Has this happened before?”

“No!” Emre sighed. “Fuck. What if this is because of the unborn pup?”

Zenith paled. “I haven’t even finished prepping for the wolf part of the new pup!”

Emre gaped. “You’ve been preparing?”

Zenith’s face suffused with pink. “I told you I’d help, didn’t I?”

Emre tried to wrap his mind around the fact that Zenith had been putting effort into welcomingEmre’sbaby. It wasn’t even Zenith’s.

He opened and closed his mouth several times. Finally, he found his voice.

“Thanks,” Emre said shakily.

Zenith beamed. “You’re welcome.” He began typing into his phone. “Is the bubble the only odd thing to happen during this pregnancy?”

Emre nodded. “I’ve been craving raw meat, but that’s typical of wolf pregnancies.”

“What about when you were pregnant with Abbie?”