The Orphaned Queen (By Brandi Ray) novel Chapter 62

Zions’ P.O.V.

After Rain announced our pregnancy to our crew by saying it was morning sickness, the ladies got it automatically, while the guys were confused. Ryker thought their confusion was hysterical. I plainly explained that we were pregnant to the guys, and they finally got it. Unfortunately, we hadn’t thought about how Odett would feel about it.

“What’s wrong, sweetie?” I ask her as I pick her up, and we sit on the couch.

“Does this mean you’ll send me back to the orphanage now that y’all have your own baby?” She says, almost whispering. I feel like an absolute failure for not thinking about how she would feel and quickly think of what to say to make her understand that she’s ours.

“No! You are our child. The new pup won’t change that you are part of our family. We’re just giving you a sibling.” I try to explain.

“You were the one who made me a mother and Zion a father, regardless of if you are our biological child or not. You’re still our little princess. And you’re not going anywhere, sweetie.” Rain says, making her eyes light up, and she smiles.

“You promise?” She asks us.

“Always and Forever, baby girl!” Rain says, making Jessica and Odett giggle simultaneously.

“We are a family. That will never change, and there’s no way we could ever replace you.” I tell her.

“Are you hoping for a little brother or a little sister?” Jessica asks her.

“Brother! I want a brother. Oh, or maybe a sister so I can play with her hair.” She says with big bright eyes full of wonder and excitement.

“How did we get so lucky?” Ryker asks me.

“I have no clue, but we’ll thank the Goddess’ for the rest of our life,” I tell him, and he agrees. I hear Rains’ stomach growl and look at her with a smile. “Looks like mamma wolf is ready to eat.”

“Well, I did just empty my stomach.” She says with a laugh before looking at Odett and then at everyone else. “For now, we need to keep this just between us. At least until after I go to the hospital to see the doctor and get a few more tests done.”

They all nod in understanding. I turn to Lady Ezmerelda, telling her that the doctor needs to speak with her to get more insight into how Rains’ pregnancy might go. I tell her they can use my office, She nods before turning to the doctor, and they make their way to my office.

“Will you still be up for movie night?” I ask Rain.

“Of course, it’s not like I’ll be doing strenuous activities.” She says with a laugh. “But now I’m concerned about training.”

“We might have to postpone it till after you give birth,” I say, and she pouts.

“I’ll still be training, right?” Jessica asks.

“Yes, if you are comfortable with training without Rain,” I answer her.

“Well, now I need training to protect three or more.” She says with a laugh. Rain jerks her head up to look at me.

“I think she just realized she could have more than one pup at a time.” Ryker cackles in my head. Judging by the panic in her eyes, I have to agree with him.

“What’s wrong, my love?” I ask.

“I could have more than one pup in my belly?” She asks, and I nod.

“Holy Hell!” She whispers, making everyone laugh.

We talk a bit about training and getting an extra nanny so we don’t take Stephanie away from Odett while we wait for her mom and Doctor Jameson to finish their conversation. Mia sends me a mind link letting me know that everything is ready for the buffet to start. I tell her that we’ll all be down soon. When Doctor Jameson and Lady Ezmerelda come out of my office, they seem to be in good spirits about their conversation. I stand up from the couch, asking if everyone is ready to eat. Everyone nods as I hear Rains’ stomach growl again at the mention of food, so we leave our suite and head to the banquet hall.

“Okay.” Rain says as she walks to the bed. I help her climb up and lay down on her back as the doctor rolls the machine over to the bed. He pulls out a squeeze bottle of gel before squirting some onto her belly and placing some kind of paddle in it, gliding it around her belly until we hear what sounds like heartbeats, and my breath hitches. The doctor, who has been looking at the screen on the machine, gives a light-hearted laugh.

“Everything okay, Doctor?” I ask, and he nods.

“It looks like you’re expecting twins.” He says, looking between me and Rain.

“Holy Hell.” She says, making him laugh again.

“Are you sure?” I ask him. He turns the screen around to show us the two small blimps. It looks like small beans.

“This is pup one.” He says while pointing to one before pointing at the second one. “And this is pup two.”

“Holy Hell,” Ryker and I say in unison.

“The heartbeats are strong. And they look to be growing on track with a normal wolf pup.” He says. “I’ll need you to come into the hospital in about a week for your next checkup to be sure, but I think you should expect a five-month pregnancy.”

“Thank you, doctor,” I say, and he nods with a smile on his face.

“I’ll print these off for you. I can also make a CD for you of the video and audio together if you would like.” He says.

“Yes, please.” Rain says, now smiling at the fact that we’re having twins.

“Okay, I’ll be back in a few minutes with both.” He says after cleaning the gel off of Rains’ belly. He walks out of the room, and I help Rain sit up on the edge of the bed.