"What? What is that?"
"She is pregnant!" Gamgam broke the ice.
"What?" Someone shouted, and apparently it was me. "What do you mean I am pregnant?"
Richard was standing like a statue, unmoving. "Yes, Luna, it says you are pregnant." She repeated again.
What? I touched my stomach, trying to feel any signs of life, but I didn't hear any heartbeat. "Are you sure?"
"Yes, Luna. The blood test says so."
"Lemme see." I grabbed the result from her hand and read through the result. There it was written boldly: "Pregnancy—positive."
"Wow!" I exclaimed. I didn't know what else to say; my tongue felt as if it was tied. For goodness sake, I'm just 23; I don't think I am ready for a child now. Yes, Richard and I have had plenty of unprotected sex, but it has never crossed my mind that pregnancy may be the result. I had simply just ignored it.
"Are you sure? Let me see." Richard grabbed the result from my hands and smoothed it to read it, his eyes running from spot to spot till he found what he was looking for. From the corner of my eyes, I saw Gamgam leave the room, trying to give us space to talk.
"Keep this between us a secret. Don't tell anyone, and relay the message to the other intern." Richard warned Gamgam.
"Yes, Alpha. Congratulations, Alpha and Luna!" She said before hurrying out and slamming the door, and that jolted me from the state I was in.
"I'm pregnant." I spoke with a shaky voice as my eyes met his. "Richard, I-I'm pregnant."
"I know baby, calm down." He took me in his hands and started stroking my hair. "I apologize because it is my fault. We haven't had time to talk about it.
You are still young, so you may not want to have a kid now. It is your body, so it is your choice. You can remove it if you are not ready." Richard kept rambling like a broken record.
"Richard, I am not aborting it."
"It is your choice, so you have the right to do whatever you want."
"Richard!"
"What?"
"You are not listening. I said that I would not be terminating it." I said, holding his hands as I looked at those beautiful brown orbs of his. I reached out to straighten the wrinkles on his face.
He still looked unsure, as if he didn't believe me. "Are you sure?"
"Yes, I am Richard. I am very sure I am not aborting our child. It was bound to happen sooner or later. So stop wearing that long face and help me up.
"We are having a baby," Richard said, as if he was trying to confirm it, and I nodded. "We are having a baby!" He repeats with a growing smile. He picked me up and spun me around, making me giggle. I felt a light pain on my wrist, and I looked down; in his excitement, he had forgotten I was still attached to the drip bag.
"Richard!" I called out. He looked at me in puzzlement, and I looked pointedly at the needles that were on the floor from the force he used to pick me up.
He smiled sheepishly, removing the hair from his face, "sorry!" Then he repositioned me on the bed, but I just waved it off. There is no need to ruin his excitement. He took my lips into his and kissed me. "Thank you." He spoke as he rested his forehead on mine.
I didn't say anything; I simply pulled him by his shirt and pressed my lips to his, deepening our kiss. He groaned into my mouth as he wrapped his arms around mine, responding to the kiss without hesitation.
I fell back onto the bed as he climbed on top of me, kissing me slowly. We laughed through the kiss before he pulled away, the smile on his lips refusing to go.
"I can't believe it." I told him as he squeezed his large frame on the small bed with me.
"Same here."
"How do we cope? What do we do? I have never had a child before or taken care of any before."
"We would learn. Don't worry, I will be with you every step of the way. You have Ava and my mom. You can ask them anything you find confusing about pregnancy." As he kissed my temples, he said.
A knock on the door interrupted our quiet time, and Richard came down and straightened himself. "Come in!"
It was the young intern who had bolted before. She was holding a paper bag in her hand. "I came to give Luna her medications." She explained as she noticed all eyes were on her.
She handed me the paper bag, and I peeped inside, seeing different types of medicine in there. "Inside there are your medications; you are to take them religiously. You have another appointment in two weeks' time. Please make sure you eat well and can afford strenuous work. You are carrying an Alpha, so the pregnancy may be difficult. I trust that the Alpha will help you."
"Yes, I will. Thank you, Katherine." The girl blushed as Richard said her name, before she bowed her head and left the room. "Alright, let us get you home."
"But it is still working hours. I have to go back to the hospital and help out."
"The hospital can still run without you. And as your Alpha and mate, I am telling you that you have closed for today." He scooped me up and carried me, bridal style, outside.
"Richard! Put me down; I can walk; people are watching." I tried to bargain with him. But as the thick-headed man that he was, he didn't listen. So I had to stay still in embarrassment as we passed my co-workers.
They didn't say anything, because they knew how mates, especially Alpha, can be quite possessive. They simply cleared the way and greeted us before hurrying off to their respective destinations.
There was no car parked outside because he had run from his office to this place in his panic. He had no choice but to carry me all the way home. And when I insisted he keep me down, so I could walk, he refused. Bluntly stating that he wouldn't want to stress his pregnant mate anymore.
That day, I learned that Richard could be stubborn when he wanted to be, and there was no changing his mind. So I had to bear it all as he carried me through the pack, everyone watching us with amused faces.
"Richard!" I slapped his arms as soon as he dropped me on the bed in our room. "What was that for?"
"I don't want to harm you and our unborn child." The urge to roll my eyes was too much.
"It is not yet a human. It is just blood and tissue now." He gasped and rushed to cover my stomach, looking at me with scandalous eyes.
"Don't say that in his hearing. He will be hurt." I removed his hands from me and dragged myself to the bathroom to pee.
I don't know how Richard did it, but a plate of Irish potatoes and shredded chicken was waiting for me. I swallowed, almost drooling as the scent rushed to my nose.
"Gamgam told me you haven't eaten. So I got this on the way."
"Thank you." I moaned as I bit into the soft flesh and sighed as the taste filled my mouth. I cleared the plate in seconds, patting my stomach when I was satisfied.
Richard refused to go back to work. Instead, he stayed with me through the whole day, spending his time researching pregnancy and child care. It was almost cute seeing him trying to learn more about it.
Whenever he saw something interesting, he would call my attention to it, shouting about it excitedly as he explained it to me. At the end of the day, he had over 20 Ebooks on pregnancy and childbirth.
***
I woke the next day the usual time I do wake up, trying to prepared for work. But this time Richard was still in bed, snoring, with his huge arms wrapped around me. I managed to free myself from his chokehold and tiptoed around, trying not to wake him, until I felt nausea swirl inside me.
I rushed to the toilet, almost missing the bowl as I hurled out everything in my stomach. The scent of citrus enveloped me, and Richard was beside me, helping me to hold my braids, rubbing circles on my back.
When I was through, he brought water and helped me clean up. He carried me back to the bed and laid me down. "I've read about it. It is one of the symptoms of pregnancy, so don't be alarmed. It will go soon."
"But I wanted to go to work today?" Richard looked at me like I had gone crazy. I didn't say anything after that, just letting it slide.
"What about you? Aren't you going to work?" I asked when I noticed he was still in his sleepwear.
"No. Someone needs to take care of you."
"I am not an invalid, Richard. I am just about a month pregnant. I can take care of myself."
It was a hassle trying to convince Richard that his pregnant mate would be safe all alone if he went to work. But I was able to do that.
Well, not after he called Ava to come stay with me. It was a fair compromise, so I agree. Besides, it has been long I saw her. It will give me an opportunity to catch up with her.