announced it yet, but I’m pregnant too,” Ruari said when the applause died down.
The pack alpha looked a little sheepish. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to spoil your announcement… I knew somehow, could sense the new life inside you. Congratulations on this sibling for Jax. Did Bray know?”
“I told him before he left. He was ecstatic.”
Lidon walked over to Ruari and put a hand on his shoulder, dwarfing the small omega. “Your mate will come home safely. I promise.”
“Thank you, alpha. I place my trust in you.”
Lidon gave a little squeeze, then let go. His eyes searched the barn until they landed on another omega. “The earth and moon are smiling down upon us, blessing us with abundant new life.”
Gia rose to his feet, flanked by Sean and Felix. “We’re expecting our first child,” the omega said, and his radiant face matched the expression of his beaming mates.
Deep inside Sando, his omega called out. It wanted this. He wanted this. Mates. A pack. A family. He wanted a baby and embrace who he was. Maz had been right in what he’d said months ago. Sando could have it all. He could be a scientist and still be an omega. He could do important research and have a baby. And he didn’t want to wait. As soon as his hormone levels were normal, he wanted to get pregnant.
Should he tell them? No. Now wasn’t the time, but soon. He wasn’t going anywhere…and neither would they. No matter what would happen, they’d come home safe. Lidon Hayes had promised.
“That takes care of the childcare, then,” Palani said with a grin.
“Who’s with me? Who will go on one of these missions?” Lidon asked. Sando wasn’t surprised when every hand went up, including his. He’d probably be more of a hindrance than an asset—though he’d noticed he was ten times more coordinated in wolf form than he was as a human—but he would answer Lidon’s call. How could he not?
“Find your team leader,” Lidon said. “We leave at sundown.”
Which team should he join? Probably the humanitarian one. It would be safer for him with Maz and Lucan with him, and he liked the idea of staying together. But he would also be fairly useless on the other teams. He had zero fighting skills and wasn’t good at talking to strangers or gathering information. Plus, he’d helped in the clinic enough times to feel comfortable around sick people.
Then it hit him. “My grandfather. Who’s staying with him?”
Maz and Lucan glanced at each other. “I’m assuming Yitro, since he’s doing the brunt of the shifts with him. He attended the meeting just now, but he’ll be going back right after,” Maz said.
“But he’s a nurse, right?”
“A nurse’s aide, I think, but he does have a ton of clinical experience, yes. Why?”
“He should go on the mission. He’d be way more valuable to the team than I would be.”
“Sando, no…” Lucan gripped his hands. “You can’t go back to your grandfather.”
Sando shook his head. “I’m not going back. Never again. But he is still my grandfather, and he’s also part of this pack. If taking care of him can free up a valuable resource for the mission, then it’s the right call.”
“I don’t like this at all,” Lucan said.
Maz studied Sando. “Kitten, this is your call. All I’m asking is that you take a moment to examine your motives. If you feel pressured in any way, even emotionally or guilt-pressured…”
“I don’t. This is my choice, Maz. I owe this to the pack, not to him.”
“Okay. We’ll still have to ask Yitro, though.”
The omega was sitting on his own at the far end of the barn, looking forlorn. As they approached, he jumped up from his chair. “I was about to head back to your grandfather. I would never leave him alone for that long.”
“Do you want to go on the mission?” Sando didn’t see any reason for small talk. He’d met Yitro a few times, and they’d exchanged pleasantries, but who had the time for that now?
“Not if there’s no one else to take care of him.”
“If someone else could watch him, would you want to go?”
“I’d love to. The suffering was already bad when we escaped the city. I can’t even imagine what it must be like now.”
“So go,” Sando said, and peace washed over him, even as what he was about to do settled heavily in his chest. He’d be confronting the man who had hurt him more than anyone else…and yet he was doing the