Josephine's Secret

38. We're Going Back

The first thing she does is look at me, but I don't really have much to say about the situation. 'Go ahead.' I tell her, knowing that if she tells her brothers, then it'll mean that she's ready to move along with telling everyone else.

'You say it.'

'They're your brothers.'

'But what if they aren't happy?' the tone in her voice as she mind-links me makes my heart break. It makes me wonder how much anxiety she felt about me finding out from her scent that one day. She had prepared herself to be absolutely crushed, fearing that I wouldn't want this to happen for us. 'They're going to think it's the wrong time. We just got our family back and-'

'And they'll be happy for you because they're your brothers.' I finish for her. I can't lie to her and promise that they're going to be ecstatic about the news, but I can assure her that no matter what, they'll be supportive. It's one of the biggest things I've noticed in their relationship; no matter what, they support each other. More specifically, they do everything they can to make up for what happened to her these past three years.

"Well?" Nate reminds us that they're still waiting on an answer. "Has something happened?"

"I'm pregnant."

It takes a few seconds for the two men to comprehend the words that just came out of Josephine's mouth. Her gaze drops to the ground when Eric shakes his head and mutters, "No."

"No. No. No. No. No. You're joking, you're joking." shock begins to take over his features and he looks at me for confirmation, his jaw dropping when I nod. "You're pregnant, you're really pregnant! I'm gonna be an uncle!"

Josephine giggles when he rushes towards her and lifts her off her feet just like I did when I found out. He pats me on the shoulder and gives me a nod in acknowledgement after he sets her down, everyone now looking at Nate. "Please say something." Josephine pleads, now solely focused on her eldest brother. I've learned that although she grew up being closest to Eric and continues to be close to him now, the sibling she looks up to the most is Nate. His opinion and approval matters more to her than any of her other siblings.

"I'm happy for you," he says, sounding sincere. "Both of you. And as your brother and Elite guard, I'll make it my duty to protect you and this pup."

"And I'll make it my duty to become the pup's favorite uncle." Eric raises his right hand as if swearing allegiance, mocking Nate's formality.

"I'm going to be the favorite uncle." once again, the two of them begin bickering, but are stopped when Josephine steps in the pull them into a group hug.

"Sei la mia sorellina, è difficile per me vederti crescere così in fretta." he says, kissing the crown of her head. (You're my baby sister, it's hard for me to watch you grow up so fast.)

"Ma sarai sempre il mio fratello maggiore, che non cambierà mai." Josephine replies, happy with her brothers' reactions to the news. (But you'll always be my big brother, that'll never change.)

"How far along are you?" Nate asks, not able to tell by looking at her stomach.

"We're thinking three weeks." I answer. Josephine and I have tried to backtrack to the exact date she could've gotten pregnant, but since we've first completed the mating process, it's been hard for either of us to keep our hands off each other. So the earliest the pup could have been conceived is three weeks ago.

"You're thinking three weeks??" Eric questions.

"I mean..." Josephine looks away from her brothers, feeling awkward talking to them about sex. "It's hard to know exactly which day."