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Jude’s taxi pulled up into the England camp for the day. He was the first one to arrive. The beginning of the international window for the Nations League was in full swing. Which meant barely a moment of rest between fighting it out on the field for club before they were all sent to training camp, where they would fight alongside their club competition for country.
But things were different… today. Jude noticed when he stepped out of the car. Instead of Andy filming him, asking a few questions, or getting him to do something like roll a coin into a fork for a compilation for the team's socials. He instead greeted Jude with a simple ‘congrats.’
Slightly confused by this change in behaviour. Jude just thanked him, assuming it was about his goal during the latest game he scored for Real Madrid. The whole thing had been a spur-of-the-moment kick from a quarter down the field into the net. A shot that in the football world had apparently been worthy of the headlines. It must have been a slow news day in the sports world, as Jude personally had not seen it as anything really special. Though it did earn him some praise from his mate late into the night.
Jude just took his bag and continued inside. He thought Andy was being weird but brushed it off. It was not the weirdest interaction he had in his life. No, that went to the man standing outside his hotel window at 2 AM in the morning during the World Cup in nothing but a towel, proposing marriage. Now that interaction topped his list. Maybe the beta was just having an off day, he reasoned. To be fair, it was only the first day of a long month of seeing each other, and he was sure Andy would make up for it with some wacky trend he would need to do later in the week.
As he walked through the doors to the training centre, though, he caught the staff staring at him. Some looked sympathetic, others with the same kind of congratulatory smile similar to Andy’s moments before. It was again odd, but used to being looked at as Real Madrid’s and one of England’s top players, Jude just dismissed it all and continued on.
Settling into the locker room, Jude started to change into his training gear. Making sure to roll up the waist of his shorts, as he truly hated how long brands made them. Just as he was about to lace up his boots, Declan walked in, spotting Jude immediately.
“Jude!” Declan smiled. “You’re here early.”
“Woke this morning earlier than usual, and decided that I might as well head,” Jude shrugged.
“Well,” Declan chucked, “you better get used to having early mornings. Take it from me.”
“Yah...” Jude trailed off at the remark, giving him a curious glance back. It wasn't wrong of him to say, as Tuchel preferred early sessions in comparison to Southgate, but something about the remark seemed off to him.
Before he could say anything else, Declan had already turned around, getting himself ready for the day.
Next in was Rashford. Just like his explosive pace on the field, the forward, before the omega could spot him, would have Jude wrapped up in a hug whenever they saw each other. The alpha would make sure to playfully scent the omega, even though he knew it drove Jude’s made insane. But the hug today never came.
“Rashy!” Jude called, happy to see his friend, leaning in to wrap him in a friendly embrace, since he clearly wasn’t going to initiate the hug today. As he approached, though, the alpha took a big step back.
“Rashy?” Jude tilted his head in confusion.
“Oh… ah…” Rashford jumbled his words, trying to come up with an answer, just stood there, and continued to stumble over his words. After the winger had gotten himself together, the man reached out to offer a hand to shake.
Cautiously, giving the other a look that screamed What’s even up with you today? Jude took the hand and shook it. The second they made contact, Rashford pulled back, offering a quick smile, and for the second time today he heard another ‘Congrats.’
Bewildered by it all, Jude just smiled back in thanks, as the other scurried off to also change.
Jude just shook his head and mentally told himself to get back in it today. Pulling out his phone, he decided that scrolling through videos while waiting for the rest of the team would be better, as clearly, he must be losing it today. Maybe he should have slept in for a bit longer that morning.
He smiled down at the message his mate had left, cheering him on. Telling him he’d do great at practice today. While football was his life, he still couldn't help but be excited to go back home once training was over, even though the day had just started. Something about his alpha made Jude want to be by his side all the time.
“Jude!” Kane walked in, with surprise seeing the midfielder in the locker room. “What are you doing here?”
“I’m playing?” He befuddlingly responded
“Shouldn’t you be at home?” Kane awkwardly attempted to ask, treating the conversation delicately, like a child trying to remove the T-bone during a game of Operation “cause you know…”
“Know what?” Jude replied, equally confused about where the situation was headed.
“So… the medical staff signed you off?” The captain suddenly pivoted the conversation.
“Yeah?” His physical, as always, checked out, so what was with this line of questioning?
“For everything?” Kane continued incredulously
“What are you even on about?” Jude cut through the nonsense. “I’ve never been better!”
“Oh nothing,” The forward quickly replied, “Uh, looking forward to playing with you this window.”
“Yah…” Jude eyed him sideways. “You too?”
Kane gave him a bit of a skeptical look, ignoring Jude’s looking right back at him. “Might be in denial,” he mumbled lowly, more so to himself, though Jude still picked it up audibly.
The rest of the team eventually filtered in. Most of them just said ‘morning’ and then turned towards their space to also get dressed for the day. Some offered Jude the weird ‘congrats’ echoing Andy and Rashford in their tone. At this point Jude just brushed it off with a smile and thanks, ready to move on from this song and dance.
Once they were all ready, they went down to the pitch; Tuchel was already waiting for them. Their manager looked in a serious mood, wanting to make sure their first game against Spain went off well. Facing the World Champions was not going to be an easy feat, but this was their chance to show what they could have done if they had beaten Argentina on that fateful day in Atlanta.
Tuchel gave them a breakdown of how the day was going to go, before shooing them all off to do three warm-up laps, before stretching. At his word, they all began to disperse.
“Bellingham!” Tuchel barked, calling for the omega to have a word with him, before he joined the others.
“Ya, boss?” Jude stood ready for orders.
“I have you for this window, right, Bellingham?” Tuchel remarked
“Don’t know why you wouldn’t.” He responded
“Good, we’ll have one last good month together.” Tuchel patted him on the shoulder.
Was Tuchel leaving them? Or was he being kicked from the squad? No, that could be. Shaking off the thought, the omega took the pat as dismissal and ran to catch up with the rest of the squad.
Jude gave it his all during practice. Making sure to push his limits. He really wanted to be a part of an English Squad that finally won something important. And he, just like the rest of the team, was not about to take their recent defeat in the World Cup lightly.
During their practice scrimmage, he went hard. Defence was something he wanted to improve on, so he was aiming to work on clean slide tackles for the day. Once he got the opportunity, he went down and won the ball for his side. But before he could even stand back up, two sets of hands were already hauling him to his feet.
“You alright?” Anderson asked, eyes full of concern.
“I’m fine mate!” Jude laughed, dusting the grass off his shorts. "You are acting like a mother hen!”
Anderson just gave him an awkward smile before heading back into the fray.
As the scrim continued, he noticed that he wasn’t being challenged like the others. Whenever he dribbled toward goal, defenders who would've shoulder-checked him any other day suddenly pulled out of tackles at the last second. Jude huffed; did they all of a sudden think he was porcelain because he was an omega???
Before he could continue that train of thought, Quansah mistimed his challenge and took Gordon’s feet out from under him. During a match might have landed him a yellow card. Here, though, it earned him his ear being chewed off by Tuchel, and an apology to Gordon. Which the other omega just swept the whole thing off with a smile. Okay, maybe it was just him imagining things again.
After that, it was just another grueling day of work. Lots of training and drills to run through. Tuchel had them learning new strategies for the upcoming games, and everyone was focused up, as they wanted to make their country proud.
By the time they were done for the day, every bone in the team's body was sore, with everyone slowly trudging their way back to get changed into their regular wear.
“Jordon!” Jude called out, spotting the older man’s form as he retreated from the field. He was the only one who seemed like they were acting normally all day. Maybe he had some answers for Jude.
“Hey,” Jude caught up to the other. “Is it just me, or has the entire team been acting bizarre?”
“Bizarre how?” Henderson responded back.
“I can’t really put my finger on it.” The omega was at a loss for descriptors now that he was being put on the spot. “But it feels like everyone’s behaviour has changed since I last saw them.”
“Well,” Henderson consoled the other, “Sometimes people change.”
“Everyone though?” Jude asked in disbelief. “Within the last two months since I last saw them?”
“Happens,” Henderson shrugged off.
“Maybe…” Jude couldn’t shake the feeling of the peculiarity of the day. His instinct disagreed with rational thought. He really could just be going crazy; he didn’t get much rest the night before thanks to a certain someone, so it was the lack of sleep talking.
“Get some rest tonight, Bellingham! Cause you won’t get any next year.” Henderson patted him on the back, effectively ending the conversation before walking ahead to the locker rooms. The older alpha chuckled at his comment as if he had just made an inside joke that clearly the whole team seemed to have running during the entire day, at Jude’s expense!
The omega’s eyes narrowed. Even Henderson was not immune to the spell that had befallen the team. Enough was enough, Jude decided. He had to get to the bottom of this.
After everyone had filed into the changed rooms, only once everyone was varying degrees of naked, did Jude knock loudly on the bench to grab everyone’s attention.
It worked, as quickly the room fell silent at the interruption. Their heads turned to face the sound of the noise, to find Jude waiting for them all, impatiently tapping his foot.
“Okay,” Jude started, crossing his arms. “What’s going on here?”
“What do you mean, Bells?” Saka spoke up.
“You all have been acting super weird around me today.” Jude pointed his finger at all of them in accusation. Only to get funny looks in return.
“Uh… We don’t know what you’re referring to,” Saka confusingly replied.
“Don’t play dumb with me,” Jude scoffed. “The weird remarks, the odd congratulations that I’m pretty sure at this point aren’t about my latest performance, and how you keep treating me like glass.”
“Hey mate,” Kane started off gently, trying to defuse the situation. “We’re just trying to keep your condition in mind”
“Again! What are you even on about? I’m fine! My arm’s in good condition.ndition; mentally here except for all of you trying to drive me crazy all day. I don’t understand what you're talking about!” Jude's voice rose even higher in frustration.
“Yah, but you're…” Kane trailed off, trying not to provoke the other any further
“I’m what!” Jude snapped, officially all out of patience
“You're pregnant,” the captain finished his sentence.
Out of all the things Jude thought would be said to him today. Being told he was pregnant was not on that list. He stood there blinking like an owl, trying to process what he just heard.
"...I beg your pardon?” Jude asked, surely the words that came out of his captain's mouth were just a mistake.
Kane looked almost apologetic as he repeated his last sentence, as if he was breaking bad news: "We did want to hurt you since you're pregnant."
“Hey… are you okay there?” Saka reached out to put a comforting arm on his friend, who otherwise was standing there frozen, trying to absorb the situation he was in. “We all just figured you wanted one last good play window before you take a break. But we just didn’t want you or the pup getting hurt.”
“Yeah,” Henderson chimed in. “We didn’t mean to offend you, bruv.”
“WHAT!” Jude exclaimed, having to get something out before this continued to spiral out of control.
“I’m not pregnant!” Jude denied, only to receive looks of sympathy, as if to say, “He’s in denial right now over what’s going to happen to his career.”
“I’m not!” Jude tried again as the looks of disbelief.
“Mate…” Kane tried again, as distressed omegan pheromones started to fill the room.
“Where do you even hear this!” Jude started to rant. “I thought you were above taking the word of The Sun or Piers Morgan as fact!?!?!?”
Sake gave Jude a nervous look, scared his next words might cause the omega to become more agitated. “Your mate texted us all a few days ago, telling us the good news. But based on your reaction, it seems like it might not be…”
The scent of distressed omega suddenly sharpened, as the cinnamon that Jude usually smelled like became spicier, causing a few of them to cough, choking on the scent.
“Erling,” Jude hissed, his eyes narrowing. Without another word, he haphazardly slung his bag over his shoulder and stomped out of the change room.
Finally, Jude had his answers. He was right about everyone being weird, and the one who started this mess, well… he was in for it.
Erling Haaland, in comparison to his mate, was having a wonderful day. Training had gone rather smashing. The new trick strike he had been working on now had a success rate of fifty-fifty, instead of his twenty percent rate that work alongside hoping and praying, once the ball left his boot.
By the time he left the training grounds, he was practically floating, knowing that he’d get to end the day with this omega in his arms. Norway looked great, he felt great, and when he got home, he’d make sure his mate felt great late into the night.
Humming a merry tune to himself, he opened the door to home, throwing his keys into the nearby dish on the hall side table with practiced ease.
“Jude, I’m home!” He called out cheerfully.
He turned his body, ready to catch his mate. His mate usually was home earlier and would always come careening around the corner within seconds and jump up into the alpha’s arms with a grin. Except this time the hug never came; the home was still dark, and eerily quiet.
“Jude?” Erling called out, “Are you home?”
With no car that Jude drove, he could never tell if his mate was home or not. Usually, the lights being on was his best clue. Taking his phone out of his pocket to see if his mate had messaged him that he would be late, he saw nothing. No notifications except the omega wishing him luck that morning back before either of their training had begun.
Frowning, Erling took off his shoes and set his bag down before heading upstairs. Maybe Jude had gone to take a nap? He went to their bedroom only to find it still as they had left it that morning, sheets still rumpled from last night's ‘tumble about’. Pillows strewn all across the floor from rushing to get out that morning. Having to wash off the evidence of them before leaving, as they were both ignoring their manager's repeated lectures about getting sleep and not partaking in any ‘fun’ activities during periods of international play.
“Jude?” Erling tried again as he searched the top floor. He opened each door, expecting to find his mate, only to come up empty. Even making sure to check the closet, remembering the one time he thought he had somehow lost the other during heat, only to find him curled up in their walk-in, buried under all his clothing, deciding that it was where he was going to nest for that period.
Giving up, Erling headed downstairs, sure that his mate would arrive soon or at least call him. He headed into the living room, flicking on the light to see better, only to find his mate in the armchair, hands steeped like he was in deep thought.
“Jude!” Erling exclaimed, nearly losing his balance in surprise at seeing the other. “Why didn’t you reply to my calls?”
The alpha went to embrace his mate. Only to find himself on the other end of an icy glower that had him freezing in his tracks.
“What’s wrong…” the alpha asked cautiously, knowing better than to say or do something he might regret, lest he make his situation worse when his mate was in a mood like this.
“Erl, Darling, my sweetheart,” Jude began as he had the fakest smile plastered across his face. “Nothing’s wrong; in fact, I had a VERY interesting day today!”
“Oh…?” Erling prompted him to continue.
“Yes,” Jude continued, nodding his head in agreement. “Everyone was congratulating me today. And they were oddly considerate of my well-being.”
“Well, you did play amazingly last game?” Erling tried to add on, hoping compliments would assuage his mate’s anger. “And isn’t it great to have teammates that care about you?”
“Yes! And I even got some good advice from my teammates,” Jude cheerfully replied.
Suddenly the room dropped 30 degrees as Jude's eyes reduced into thin slits that stared the alpha down, his smile instantly disappearing from his face. His usually sweet cinnamon scent grew sharper, dominating the room.
“Except they weren’t congratulating me on the last game,” Jude hissed. “And the advice was for something that wasn’t an issue in the first place.”
“What were they congratulating you on…?” Erling weakly asked, already feeling like he knew what might be coming next.
“Funny you should ask me that,” Jude chucked murderously. The sound made the alpha inside Erling feel as if he was face to face with an even stronger apex predator.
“They were congratulating me on my pregnancy!!!” The omega spat out as he picked up the book on the side table beside him and hurled it at the alpha’s head.
With quick reflexes, Erling dodged, but the show of athleticism did not earn him any points. In fact, the air turned to acid.
“And you know what they said when I asked who told them that?” Jude snarled
“Who?” Erling meekly let out
“You,” Jude had now migrated out of the chair. And was now standing in front of the tall Viking, stabbing his finger into the other’s chest, like the alpha wasn’t any bigger than an ant to him.
“Why did you do that!!!” Jude exclaimed, letting out all his frustrations with the day finally out in the open
“I was… bored?” Erling tried as a flimsy excuse for his drunken text he vaguely remembered sending out a few days ago.
“Try again.” Jude gave him a scathing look, as he gave his mate one last opportunity to come clean.
“Okay!” Norwegian relented, confessing to his crime. “I saw the video of one of your teammates feeling you up, and I couldn’t help but need to remind them that you're mine! So... I might’ve DM’d them over Instagram that you're pregnant.”
“By telling them I’m pregnant!!” Jude fired back
“It was in the heat of the moment,” he tried to defend himself. “Do you know how annoying it is when you come back home smothered in all their scents? My instincts constantly scream at me to do something about it.”
“Well, do you know how hard it was to convince them that I wasn’t pregnant???” The shorter retorted, refusing to back down.
“I’m sorry,” Erling yielded, getting down on his knees, begging for forgiveness with his best puppy eyes. “I promise I won’t do it ever again! I was drunk, but I know that doesn’t excuse what I did.”
After looking up with the most pitiful eyes ever for a couple of minutes, Erling saw as the omega slightly softened, his shoulders lowering slightly as he gave in to his mate that he couldn’t ever stay mad at for too long.
“Fine,” Jude conceded.
“Really?” Erling stood up, stunned at how fast Jude had given in. Usually, he’d have to grovel for at least an hour.
“But you owe me big time,” Jude huffed.
“Of course,” Erling nodded back enthusiastically. Blessing whatever made his mate so docile enough to forgive so easily.
“Now… can I get my afternoon hug…” he dared to tentatively ask.
Rolling his eyes, Jude leaned in and let his alpha’s strong arms wrap around him. He leaned into the warmth, nuzzling his face into the calming scent that was his alpha.
“I’m still mad at you,” His voice muffled by the alpha’s hold.
“I’ll make it up to you,” Erling quickly replied, ready to do anything for the man he loved.
“So….” Erling began after a moment, “What about we make it, so I wasn’t lying…”
“Erling!” The comment earned the alpha a pointed smack to the chest.
One month later…
“Let’s just not tell Erling,” Jude declared, resting his tired head on the side of the porcelain toilet. Two pregnancy tests sat next to him on the sink counter, both confirming that he was indeed two months pregnant. The technological accuracy of at-home pregnancy tests had astounded Jude.
“You can’t just NOT tell your mate,” Anthony Gordon was kneeling beside him, rubbing his back in an attempt to help soothe the pain. The ginger omega had brought the star player home after they had been out to dinner together. It was a spur-of-the-moment get-together, while Barcelona was in town after their face-off against Real Madrid.
It was a nice dinner, and Jude had a fun time catching up with his fellow teammate. They conversed over how each other’s lives were going. It was just nice to connect and talk about things in general that only another omega in professional soccer could truly understand. Midway through the meal, though, Jude had suddenly gotten up and sprinted towards the loo. Anthony had chased after with deep concern, only to find Jude expelling all the food he had just consumed into the toilet.
Deciding that night was then and there, Anthony paid for the bill, disregarding the weak protests of Jude that he could pay instead. Who still lacked colour in his face and was putting most of his weight on the other omega to remain standing up.
On the way back, they dropped by the chemists to grab some medicine to calm Jude’s stomach. For whatever reason, Anthony grabbed two pregnancy tests too when they walked past the aisle on the way to the checkout.
Jude had hissed under his breath for the other to put them back, trying not to be too loud, lest they be spotted by the media. But Anthony had just shrugged, declaring it was better safe than sorry. To which Jude gave in, too nauseous to argue, and pretty sure that Erling’s texts last month still had his English teammates on the edge of delusion.
When they had gotten home, Gordon had forced Jude to take the test, shoving him towards the bathroom. Even though he was just going to throw them in the back of his cabinet never to be seen again, Anthony’s claims of him smelling milkier than usual and asking when he last heat even was gave him pause.
Begrudgingly, Jude had taken the tests. And then promptly proceeded to find himself back on the floor, similar to the restaurant, throwing up again, as another wave of sickness came over him before the tests could show their results.
So here they were now, Jude planning all the ways he was going to murder his mate, having seen the message on the sticks, and Anthony trying his best to comfort the other.
“He's going to notice at some point.” The Barcelona omega tried to reason with the other, who was convinced he didn’t need to inform his other half.
“Well, he hasn’t noticed yet!” Jude declared, only to double over again, moaning in pain as his stomach cramped again.
“Yah, and somehow he’ll just never notice the morning sickness,” the other mocked, “and you inflating like a balloon in the later stages.”
Jude glared over at Gordon, resenting the description. But it only did so much, looking more like an angry doe than a fierce lion.
“I refuse to reward bad behaviour.” Jude harrumphed, his mind already made up.
“It’s been a month since the incident, and you still haven’t forgiven him?” Anthony queried in disbelief
“He deserves to grovel more,” Jude grumbled out. Having forgiven his mate weeks ago, but he enjoyed the extra pampering his mate had been doing in an attempt to apologize still.
“Well…” Gordon began, as if what he was about to say would redeem the alpha, “he wasn’t exactly lying that day.”
“Not helping.” Jude rested his feverish head on the cold seat as his stomach continued to churn. “Ugh, I fuckin hate everything, especially stupid alphas who can’t control themselves and get poor unsuspecting omegas pregnant.”
Before he could continue to plot how he was going to do this to his mate, the front door clicked open.
“Jude?” The familiar voice of his alpha called out, as it always did when the other arrived home.
Jude snapped up in horror. His mate was home. However, his head had come up too fast, and he was once again leaning over the porcelain, at this point only able to bring up bile.
“Jude?” Erling's voice softly rang out as he pushed the door to the washroom open, concerned by the retching noises he had heard on his way up.
“Um… Hi?” Anthony gave an awkward little wave at the sight of the alpha.
Erling ignored him completely, rushing to his mate’s side, releasing comforting pheromones in response to Jude’s distress ones.
“What happened?” His large hand found purchase on Jude’s warm forehead. “Are you ill? Did you eat something bad when you were out? I told you, you should have just stayed home and eaten some of the organic produce we have at home instead. You know I would’ve stayed home and cooked for you and Anthony.”
“I’m doing fine.” Jude rebuked, feebly attempting to swat the hand on his forehead away to no avail.
“You are literally hugging our toilet.” Erling gave the other a flat look.
“We, it’s just a bit of stomach bug then,” Jude reassured him. “I’ll be fine in the morning”
“You’ve been looking pale all week,” Erling disputed. Too used to his mate underestimating his need for rest. “You sure it’s just a stomach bug?”
“Yah,” A voice scoffed, interrupting the moment. “A bug that’s going to be there for 7ish more months.”
The couple turned their heads at the sound of the third voice. Only to see Anthony being unimpressed by the sickening display of love. Clearly both had completely forgotten about him even being there.
As the alpha turned his attention to the third party, he spotted the two blue pregnancy tests on the bathroom counter. Slowly he got up, picking them up, as he stared in disbelief at the words on them. Pregnant 7 weeks.
“Kjære?” Erling’s voice cracked with hope.
“You know…” Anthony gestured towards the exit, his feet already backing him towards the door. “I suddenly remembered that I have to get back to the team before my club leaves tomorrow. Lots of things to do, and all that.”
Jude shot him a look that promised revenge.
“Congrats!” the Barcelona player blurted out before he tucked his tail and ran, refusing to be stuck in the mess for any longer.
Coward. The sound of the front door slamming shut rang through the houses, as the bathroom fell silent. With the hasty escape of the ginger, all the attention in the room turned back to the moaning mess that was Jude on the bathroom floor.
“Kjære,” Erling inquired gently, “What’s this?”
“Um... those are Anthony’s; I was just helping him figure things out.” Jude fumbled for an excuse. “You know, just some omega-to-omega bonding moments.”
“Jude,” The alpha chided
“Okay, okay,” Jude relented, puffing his cheeks out in a huff. Pouting at the situation they both got him into. “I’m pregnant.”
Softly crouching back down, slowly as if approaching a deer that could be spooked easily, Erling reached his hand out and left the large appendage frame the omega’s flat stomach.
“A child,” He choked back his emotions of joy.
As the feeling of his mate’s hands, Jude felt himself released from anxiety he didn’t even know he was holding onto. From what? He didn’t know. Maybe his worries about how his mate would react to the news, or fear of having to put his career on pause for now. Either way, it didn’t matter, as he melted into the comforting hold.
“Are you crying?” Jude couldn’t help teasing at the sight of tears forming in his gentle giant's eyes.
“No.” Erling buried his face into Jude’s hair, hiding his face from view.
Jude just scoffed, giving his alpha a pat on the back.
“You know, you’re going to be a great father,” He remarked.
Erling looked back at him, his blue eyes still glistening. “And you, Kjære, will be an even better parent.”
Jude reached up, wiping away a stray tear that had begun to fall with his thumb. "I love you."
“And I love you so much,” Erling admitted softly, “that it makes me do foolish things.”
“I know.” Jude smiled, leaning back into his alpha. “Believe me, I know.”
Jude was confident that with Erling by his side, they could tackle anything life threw at them. Silence settled over them again, this time, though, it was one of reassurance and contentment.
“So…” Erling trailed off. Jude immediately narrowed his eyes. “Technically, I wasn’t wrong.”
Without a word, Jude reached his arm out, fumbling to grab the nearest object, a toilet roll, and smacked Erling squarely on the head. “Do you want to raise this pup by yourself?”
Erling wisely decided that, no, he very much did not want that and quickly surrendered. Something he could continue to do over the next several months, as he saw a whole different side to just how demanding his already stubborn mate could be when pregnant. The alpha lost every argument for the next year, not that he won any on the regular in the first place. And faced his toughest opponent yet, Jude’s pregnancy cravings.
But the alpha had no complaints through it all. After all, he loved Jude on his best days, his worst days, and every moment in between.