PREVIOUSLY-
"Sam, I swear if you ever pull shit like that again, I'll challenge you for alpha myself. Then I'll build you a damn doghouse in the back yard." Jared told him adamantly.
"It's not ever going to happen again." Sam replied. "And I almost thought you were going to challenge me today."
"The thought crossed my mind after I had to save your ass." Jared said in response.
"I know, I was in your head."
Jared sat down on his side of the bed and rested up against the headboard.
The next morning, I woke to hear them having a conversation.
"Have you noticed the change yet?" Sam asked him and I turned my head up to look at him in confusion.
"I thought I was starting to. You can tell?" Jared replied to him as I sat there, completely oblivious.
"Maybe it's because I've been separated from her for so long, but I can definitely tell. I noticed last night." Sam told him.
"Okay, will one of you please tell me what you're talking about?" I demanded.
"Your scent, Bella." Jared told me, but I still didn't understand. "It's starting to change."
"What does that mean? Is it because I've been staying in Jared's old room the past week?" I questioned them.
Sam chuckled. "No, honey. We won't know for sure for another week, but your scent starting to change means that you might be pregnant. It's a hormonal type of scent change."
My mouth formed an 'o' and I looked back and forth in between the two of them. "I might be pregnant?"
"Don't take our word for it just yet, babe. In a week if you're late then we'll get a test." Jared stated and I nodded.
I couldn't help the small surge of excitement that pulsed through me though, just at the thought. I felt that at this point, if I wasn't pregnant, I would be disappointed.
Over the course of the next week, things between the three of us slowly got back to normal and by the end of the week I felt like it had been dragging along. I was anxious about knowing.
Both Sam and Jared had mentioned once more (around me) that my scent was continuing to change but still insisted on waiting to find out for sure.
Finally the day came to find out. I was officially a day late and my boobs were starting to ache. I already knew inside what all of those things added up to, but I still wanted that last piece of proof.
I was making breakfast with Jared when Sam walked inside from his patrol, carrying a pink box.
"I stopped by Joy's store on the way home." He said, handing me the box.
I grabbed it and took a deep breath. "Now?" I asked them both.
"Definitely." Jared replied and Sam nodded agreeingly.
I opened the box and took out the test, still in its metallic wrapper, and went to the bathroom. When I was finished, I replaced the cap and brought it out, letting it sit on the counter until it was ready.
"Is it just me or is this officially the longest three minutes of our lives?" Jared asked, bouncing up and down on his toes. Sam and I both agreed.
When the timer went off, I lifted the test and looked at it.
Positive.
We'd all known inside that it would be, but that final confirmation made it all the more real.
"We're going to be parents." I mused, lowering my hand down to my stomach.
Sam walked over to me and lifted me by my thighs, wrapping my legs around him, kissing me excitedly.
Although we had gone over the doubts Sam had and had gotten over them, there was still a small part inside of me that was majorly relieved at his reaction to our news.
When he put me down, Jared came up to me with the biggest smile and kissed me passionately before kneeling down on his knees, lifting my shirt and kissing my stomach about a hundred times all over as I giggled.
"You know that we're going to have to tell Charlie soon." I mentioned.
Jared immediately put his finger on his nose to say 'not it' and looked over at Sam.
"Fair enough." Sam replied.
It was hard to believe that I now had a human growing inside me.
"We've gotta tell the guys." Jared said excitedly before kissing me again and running out the door to go get them.
I looked over at Sam and smiled at him. "We're having a baby."
"We are." He replied back with a wistful expression.
I knew that something other than my new pregnancy was on his mind though, so I walked up to him and grasped his arms. "You're worried about something, aren't you?"
"How'd you know?" he asked me, snaking his arms around my waist and pulling me closer to him.
"I always know." I replied honestly. "At least Victoria is one appendage down, so you have that advantage."
He looked like he was contemplating telling me something before eventually deciding on it. "Jacob has the fever. Billy told me this morning." He told me, making my eyebrows raise.
"So he's about to phase?" I questioned, although I already knew the answer.
"It should be any time now. It's been a week since we last saw Victoria. If she comes back soon it'll definitely trigger him. You know that Jared and I are going to be 10 times more protective of you now because you're pregnant, and I know that Jacob's a friend, but promise me you won't get too close to him until he can control his phasing? Embry is one thing, he learned control really quick and not much bothers him, but you've even told us that Jacob has had a crush on you since you moved back. If that's the case then I have a feeling he won't necessarily appreciate the lifestyle that you, Jared, and I share, despite our imprints. Now with you being pregnant, he might not take the news well." He confided in me, pleading for me to be cautious.
"I promise I'll keep my distance." I replied. I knew that Sam had said Jacob would be the next to phase but none of us knew when. Apparently it would be sooner than later.
Before Sam could say any more, Jared came back in with both Paul and Embry in tow.
"So is it true, B?" Paul asked me with an eyebrow raised.
"Would Jared be so excited if it wasn't?" I laughed although it was the complete truth.
Paul looked over at Embry and did a fist pump. "See, I fucking told you that's what had the three of them holed up in here a couple weeks ago! Even though Sam and J wouldn't say anything, I fucking knew that's what it was."
I looked at Sam and Jared. "So how does that work with the pack mind? I mean, how would they not know?" I questioned.
Jared was about to respond when Paul cut him off. "Those two have somehow learned how to keep a tight lid on what goes on behind the scenes with you guys. I don't know how they manage it, but we don't see a thing. Sam was fucked up for a whole damn week and neither of us could figure out why. We knew it was some sort of fight between the two of you but that's it."
I rose my eyebrow in interest. "Thank the spirits for small miracles." I muttered before looking between Sam and Jared with curiosity. "I thought you two said that you both—"
"He didn't say we didn't share with each other; we just don't share our thoughts with the rest of the pack." Sam interrupted.
"Yeah babe, when it's just me and Sam, our minds are open to any and everything Bella related." Jared winked at me.
"I guess congrats are due. Better you three than me." Paul laughed. "So did you guys have this planned?"
Sam cleared his throat and looked out the window while Jared chuckled.
"Um- well I guess you can say that we really didn't not have it planned?" I attempted with my cheeks turning red as Paul raised an eyebrow.
Jared stood behind me and snaked his arms around my waist. "Appointments were missed, a couple weeks went by, pheromones hit us all on full blast, we chose to go with it, and now here we are." He summarized. "We've talked about having kids before so it wasn't really a new concept. We're all adults and we're married, bro. Having kids is the next step."
Paul was about to say something else but Sam cut him off. "And yes, all three of us understand the degree of danger there is with Victoria still out there. Jacob Black is about to phase within the next few days. We'll have five wolves and she's already down a hand."
"Black won't know what hit him." Paul stated with a chuckle.
"Yeah, Jake's in for a surprise for sure." Embry laughed. I knew Embry would be glad to have his best friend back though.
As the guys talked for a while, I began to get nauseous. I tried to just deal with it but there was no way around it. Right in the middle of their conversation, I stood up quickly and ran as fast as I could to the nearest bathroom, throwing up immediately.
I felt a hand on my back as I heaved into the toilet, eventually finishing and flushing it down. I leaned back and knew it was Jared holding onto me.
"I really hoped I would be one of the lucky ones…" I whined into his chest as I saw Sam handing down a small glass of water to me.
"I'm sorry, babe. Is there anything we can do to help?" Jared asked me as I took a sip of the water.
"Sam, can you go grab me my toothbrush?" I asked and he nodded, walking out the door. I then looked up at Jared. "Do you know of any teas that might help the nausea? I know I can't take any medicine for it."
"I think Joy Ateara might have some at her store. I'll go here in a little bit and check it out." He replied before helping me off the floor. Sam brought down my toothbrush and I brushed my teeth.
Apparently my little episode had cleared out the house so it was now just us three again.
"I'm going to go run out and check on Jacob. Hell, even just seeing me might set him off. I don't know if it will but I'd rather him phase in front of me than accidentally in front of Billy or Quil. It's worth a shot." Sam told us as we made our way back out to the living room.
"Can you run by Joy's again on the way back and see if she has any teas for Bella to help with the nausea?" Jared asked him and he nodded.
He walked up to me and kissed me. "I love you." He smiled before heading off down the door.
Jared came back up to me after that and pulled me with him to the couch where I sat snuggled into him comfortably.
"We're going to have a baby." Jared stated happily, as though still in disbelief.
"Yeah we are." I replied with a smile. "How do you feel now that it's confirmed?"
He played with my hair as he answered. "Completely scared shitless, no doubt, but so excited at the same time."
"I'm excited too. You know, I never thought about having kids until I had the two of you." I mentioned to him.
"Me either. Now I can't imagine a future without them." He responded, pressing a kiss to the side of my head. "I love you."
I smiled happily back up at him. "I love you too."
We sat there for a short while just talking until I heard the sound of two separate howls.
"Andddd there goes Jake. Sam must've provoked him." Jared said as he sat up, immediately alerted at the sound as if it had triggered his own wolf.
A/N- I'm so sorry it's taken me so long to update.
Since I posted last my life has gone in a steep downward spiral. On top of my worsening health issues, I now have to deal with a separation/divorce after 11 years of being married and having 3 children. I'm really struggling and I'm not processing things well. My mind hasn't been in a writing mood since I found out that I will be forced to move out in January. I'm trying to get back to writing because I've wanted to soo bad, if only to just keep my mind off of things for a while. With being neurodivergent ADHD, my mind is splintered off in a million directions at once and it's hard keeping focused on one thing long enough to get anything done, especially now.
If anyone has any suggestions on how to deal with things mentally/emotionally, I'd truly appreciate the advice.