––––––––
Four weeks later, Troy jerked awake as the sun just breached the horizon. He clutched his stomach and groaned. He had been more tired than usual, which he chalked up to heartbreak. But the last few weeks had been accompanied by terrible stomach aches in the morning. He was nauseous each day when he awoke.
Dragging himself to the bathroom to heave and retch over the toilet was becoming his morning routine. He hoped it would go away soon, but he was starting to doubt it was something as simple as the flu or exhaustion. He would need to go to the doctor.
After he brushed his teeth, Troy padded downstairs. The house was quiet. Only Bekah sat at the breakfast table.
The one relief Troy received was that after Blake left him, so did his brother, father, and fiance. Brandon and his father left on the annual hunt with other strong members of the pack. Troy did not want to go. Two months in the woods catching as many deer as possible with his father, brother, and a bunch of meatheads did not sound appealing while he nursed his broken heart.
Kylie had returned to be with her family. She had kissed Troy on the cheek and explained that, while she loved his quaint, little home, her sister really needed her over the next few weeks to help manage all the bridesmaids. She had pulled a face when she said this and Troy smiled sympathetically. Her parents were insisting that all of her unruly cousins participate in the wedding. Kylie’s sister told her if she didn’t come back soon, they would hijack her bridesmaid dresses. Troy had understood.
That left sweet Bekah to watch over him. Troy had felt more affection toward her than usual after their altercation with Brandon. In fact, when Troy showed up at their house two days after Blake left, hungry, dirty, and tearstained, Bekah was the one to usher him into the house and make him take a shower. Troy’s father and brother basically ignored him now, but not Bekah. She watched him with the wary eye of a hunter. None of Troy’s moves were lost on her. He found it almost comforting.
This is why, when Bekah asked him why he had been throwing up all week, he was unsurprised.
“Oh.” Troy said, picking at the scrambled eggs she put before him and wrinkling his nose, “you noticed that? I think I’m just getting sick.”
Bekah raised an eyebrow and placed her hand on his forehead.
“You don’t feel warm.”
Troy batted her away.
“You’re not a thermometer.”
“I don’t think you’re paying enough attention to your body,” Bekah said. “You’ve hardly touched your breakfast and there are bags under your eyes.”
“You haven’t been looking so great lately, either,” Troy said. Bekah raised her eyebrow. This was a lie, of course, Bekah was thriving. Her eyes flashed with the confidence and intelligence only an eighteen-year-old could possess. Her hair was shiny and busy, always tied into a high ponytail that fell effortlessly between her shoulders. She was beautiful.
Troy, on the other hand, had felt puffy and tired for the last few weeks. She was right, he had not looked great. In fact, as he picked at the eggs, he felt another nauseous spell come over him.
Troy pushed himself away from the table and darted to the bathroom. He didn’t bother closing the door behind him. He just heaved into the toilet, body shaking and wishing whatever bug he caught would just go away.
“I think I know what you have.”
Troy wiped his mouth and looked over his shoulder. Bekah leaned on the bathroom doorframe, arms crossed, serious look in her eye.
“Please,” Troy said, “tell me. I want it to be over.”
“Oh,” said Bekah, “it’s curable. It just takes nine months.”
Troy rolled his eyes. “Stop making things up, you don’t have any idea what I have. No illness takes nine months to overcome.”
“You’re not ill,” Bekah said. “You’re pregnant.”
Troy laughed but Bekah remained serious.
“Bekah,” Troy said, “I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I’m a man. Men can’t get pregnant.”
“Humor me,” Bekah said. She reached into the cabinet and pulled out a pregnancy test.
“Take this and we will see what it says.”
Troy took the box and blanched. “Why do we even have this?”
Bekah shrugged. “I wanted to be prepared in case I got into trouble.”
“Gross,” Troy said, pushing himself to his feet. “You don’t want to know that stuff about your little sister.”
Bekah rolled her eyes. “And I don’t want to have the birds and the bees talk with my older brother. Take the pregnancy test so I can prove that you’re not sick and we can figure this out.”
Troy relented and shooed his sister out of the room. He felt stupid peeing on the stick, but he did it. Then he waited. And waited. And after a few minutes, he picked up the stick.
His heart stopped.
“Bekah!” Troy called, his voice wavering. “Bekah, get in here!”
Bekah peered into the bathroom.
“I’m... pregnant...” Troy said.
Bekah nodded. “I knew it.”
“But... how... what...”
Troy turned and plopped down on the toilet seat, putting his head in his hands. Bekah crouched beside him so they were eye to eye.
“Do you really not know?” Bekah asked. Her voice was soft and understanding.
Troy shook his head, words escaping him. Pregnant?
Bekah sighed. “This is why we need better sex ed. Look, usually, men can’t get pregnant. Everyone knows that. But, with shifters, things are a little different. Men cannot get pregnant if they are an alpha or a beta. But, omegas can sometimes get pregnant. They can only get pregnant when they mate with a male alpha of exceptional quality and genetics.”
Troy frowned.
“I am not an omega,” he said.
Bekah looked kindly at him.
“Oh Troy,” she said. “It’s okay, no one minds that you’re an omega. There is nothing wrong with being an omega.”
Troy shook his head.
“Our family is a family of alphas. I am an alpha.”
Bekah took his hand.
“You’re pregnant. You’re not an alpha.”
“This is so fucked up,” said Troy.
Bekah smiled, “Well, I’ve always wanted to be an aunt.”
Troy couldn’t help but laugh at the ridiculousness of it all.
“I should have used a condom,” Troy said.
“That’s for sure,” said Bekah.
Troy said, “I wonder if Bl-”
He stopped, remembering suddenly that he was alone in this. He started to shake. Bekah put her hand on his leg.
“Does Kylie know you’ve been... making new friends?”
Troy shook his head. “She must suspect but we haven’t... we haven’t talked about it.”
“And the guy... is he... in the picture?”
Tears welled in Troy’s eyes. Fuck, the hormones.
Bekah stood and wrapped her arms around her older brother.
“It’s okay,” she said. “I will help you. We will get through this.”
Troy leaned into the hug. He hoped she was right. He could cope with being a father. He just couldn’t imagine tracking Blake down to tell him they were parents.
“This is so fucked up,” Troy repeated.
“I won’t tell dad,” Bekah said. “But, come on, you have to tell me a little about the father of your child. What’s his name.”
Troy smiled slightly. “Blake.”