Ashton's POV:
Sage is driving me insane right now.
We've been assisting in the set up of Zach and Owen's mating ceremony to get the venue done a bit quicker, but Sage is being so finicky right now. He's rarely like this and usually just tries to organize and get things done with a positive attitude, but right now he's on edge and frustrating everyone.
The poor ceremony planners are just trying to do their job and Sage is freaking out! Goddess, I'm debating taking my mate to the doctor because of his weird mood.
"No, that doesn't look right!" Sage growls, making Edwin, the lead ceremony planner, sigh and start to move one of the chairs to the left by two inches. "There. That looks good."
"Sage, love, why don't we go get some waters for Edwin and his team? We've all been doing a lot of work," I say, hugging him from behind and earning a grateful look from Edwin. "Angel, come on..."
Sage scoffs. "You can go get water. I'm making sure this goes well!" he growls, trying to push me off of him. "Zach and Owen deserve a good ceremony."
"Sage, Edwin and his team have put together almost every ceremony for the pack members here, correct?"
He mumbles an irritated "yes."
"Then they can handle this. You're being a bit of a control freak, Sage... just relax, it's going to look beautiful and Zach and Owen's ceremony is going to go well," I assure him, all of my words being murmured into his ear.
Sage sighs. "I'm sorry, Edwin," he says, leaning back into my hold. "That was pretty rude of me."
Edwin accepts his apology with a kind smile, but he doesn't deny his desire to send Sage away for a few minutes.
We get to the pack house and grab a bunch of cups and a tray to carry them all back. Sage leaves me in the kitchen and goes upstairs to use the restroom and change into a less sweaty shirt.
Hazel walks into the kitchen and smiles softly when she sees me, and she looks absolutely exhausted. "How is the ceremony set up going?" she asks, leaning back against the counter.
"Sage is driving everyone a bit insane," I answer honestly. "He's never like this, so I'm honestly a bit concerned. He's being crazy neurotic and trying to direct everything when we have people who know how to set up a ceremony."
Hazel raises an eyebrow. "That is weird," she agrees before she smiles softly. "That's how Alder got when he got pregnant with Sage. He was driving everyone insane with how finicky he was."
I raise an eyebrow. "What did you just say?" I ask, because I know that mood swings and personality changes are a big part of getting pregnant based on what Sage has told me but I didn't think that would apply to him right now!
"Honey, I'm not saying he's pregnant," Hazel says after seeing the shock on my face. "I'm saying that his father had similar mood swings so it could be something that's happening because of how Alder was... or he could be pregnant."
"... yeah, I'm just not going to tell him this," I say, before I hear someone clear their throat and turn to see my mate standing in the doorway to the kitchen. "Well, looks like I have to take that back. Sage, we're going to see the doctor."
"Sure, let's bring Edwin and his team the water first," he says, grabbing the tray. "Why weren't you going to tell me? And did you think I wouldn't eventually guess on my own?"
I bite my bottom lip nervously. "Well... I didn't want to add to your stress, Sage. You're already stressed as hell with the pack and I'm a little scared, honestly."
"This isn't stressful to me, Ashton," my mate insists. "Trust me, I can handle being an Alpha of a pack and carry our babies at the same time."
Regardless, I gently grab the tray of water from his hands and insist that he lets me carry it. Even though I know that Sage is plenty capable of carrying a tray full of glasses of water, my protective instinct is taking over now that the possibility that my mate is pregnant is living in my head. I'm always eager to defend and protect him, but now the instinct feels heightened even though I can't sense that he's pregnant yet and I need confirmation from the doctor.
"Thank you," Edwin says when we arrive with the drinks, and I know he's also thanking me personally for getting Sage out of his hair for a few minutes.
"We need to visit the doctor," I inform Edwin, and he raises an eyebrow. "Everything is alright, but we won't be around for a little while... possibly longer depending on the results."
Edwin pats my shoulder. "Got it. Hope it all goes well! We will be perfectly fine!"
I give my mate an "I-told-you-so" look and he scowls.
"It looks nice," Sage tells Edwin, smiling as he grips my hand much more harshly than necessary. "Come on, Ashton."
"You got it, love," I reply, playing along with his false enthusiasm, kissing his cheek.
Sage huffs and drags me along. "I know they can set up a ceremony," he grumbles. "They just weren't doing it right."
"Sage, they have done countless ceremonies... I'm sure that Zach and Owen will appreciate how much you're doing for their ceremony, but the planners know their job and you said that all of the ceremonies in your pack have been beautiful, right?"
He sighs and leans against me as we walk to the doctor's building, his eyelids appearing to look really heavy. Sage hasn't been sleeping very well lately, whether it be his stress over the pack, his worry for Charlie, or his grief over his father, I'm not sure.
I tried to ask about it a few days ago and Sage shut me down, saying he just wasn't ready to talk about it. I respect his privacy and need for personal privacy, but it's still hard watching my mate walk around exhausted and not want to share why he's struggling or ask anyone for help.
The doctor we've see the most, Evelyn, greets us when we enter the white room. She looks at Sage pityingly, earning a low growl from my mate.
"No offense... you look horrible, Alpha Sage," she says as I get Sage to sit on the bed.
"Thanks, Evelyn. You never cease to amaze me with how kind and supportive you are, even when I haven't been sleeping well," Sage quips, making me fight back a humored smile.
Evelyn gives us a hesitant smile, her cheeks pink. "Is that why you're here?" she asks, grabbing her tools to look at Sage's eyes and give him a general checkup.
"No, but if you could give us some advice to make sure he sleeps better that would be great," I say, ruffling my mate's hair.
Evelyn hums. "Let's start with the reason why you're here," she says as she checks Sage's blood pressure.
"I think I might be pregnant," Sage says, grabbing my hand.
I notice my hands are shaking a bit, whether it be nerves or excitement, I don't know.
"How long ago was your heat or Ashton's rut?"
"My rut ended two and a half weeks ago," I say, rubbing my thumb over the back of Sage's hand. "And we've already gone through his heat together so it's a higher chance of pregnancy, right?"
Evelyn nods. "Yes, that's true. Sage, go pee in this cup for me so I can test the sample. Because werewolf pregnancies only last for six months, we will be able to tell today if you're pregnant or not. The first symptoms and proof of pregnancy usually hit in the first week so the fact that you're almost three weeks post rut so we will be able to find out."
Sage gets up and disappears to the bathroom, leaving me with Evelyn.
"How long has he not been sleeping?" she asks me, looking at her clipboard and pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose.
"I'm not sure... he's had trouble falling asleep since we returned from Bay's pack, but I think in the last couple of weeks he's been not sleeping at all. Maybe a couple of hours each night."
Evelyn frowns. "That's not good, especially if he is pregnant. We'll start with the simpler solutions, like herbal oils and natural agents to relax him, but if his sleep doesn't improve, we'll give him something stronger. Now that we have connections with the city and that city Alpha, we have had more access and ability to import stronger medication."
Sage returns, handing Evelyn the urine sample and sitting back on the parchment covered bed. He grabs my hand again closing his eyes tiredly and signing softly.
"Give me a few minutes to bring this to our lab to test it," Evelyn says, disappearing from the room.
I sit down next to my mate and wrap my arm around him to get him to rest his eyes a little bit. Thankfully, he doesn't put up any fight and cuddles against me.
"Evelyn is going to get you some natural supplements and herb oils or something to help you sleep, but if it doesn't work you're taking a stronger medication."
Sage looks up at me, scowling. "I don't need medication, Ashton. The herb oil will be enough."
"Love, if it isn't working, you're taking the stronger stuff. We need you strong, Sage. We all need you strong, and we can't have that if you're not taking care of yourself," I plead, and Sage's eyes drop to his thighs. "Angel, I just want you to be healthy and I know you want to protect our pack."
"Yeah..." Sage huffs irritably, but he doesn't try to fight back. "You're right, but I just don't like the idea of medication, especially if I'm pregnant."
"Then let's work together on your sleeping and improve it so you don't have to think about medication," I respond, kissing his cheek. "I love you and I'm sorry that I haven't paid you enough attention..."
Sage scowls. "It's not your fault. I... I've been keeping it from you a bit because I didn't want to worry you, but it's stupid of me to do that. I know you've noticed and I should have just told you because I trust you with everything I have, but I... I just didn't want you to worry."
"I know, Sage," I murmur, kissing him again and tilting his head back to capture his lips with my own. "We both have things we could've done better and I know you're stressed... I'm sorry, Sage. I know things have been really hard."
He smiles at me, the exhaustion heavy in his eyes. "I have you and I know that things will get better. This stroke of bad luck that we hit... it won't last forever. Right?"
I agree with him as Evelyn re-enters the room, a bright smile on her face.
"Congratulations. You're pregnant."
I feel a bit dizzy because now that I know that it's real... well, it's a lot. I notice that Sage doesn't seem overwhelmed at all; he's grinning from ear to ear.
"Why hasn't my scent changed yet?" Sage asks, because it's pretty common knowledge that pregnant wolves have a certain scent that's among the most alluring scents.
"It won't change until you're about a month into the pregnancy," Evelyn says. "Now, I want you to go home and get a lot of sleep, Sage. See me if you need a stronger medication, but for now rub some of this oil under your nose and on your scent glands. Ashton, you're going to want to scent him a lot, and you need to follow your instincts because it will be beneficial for both of you."
I nod, hugging Sage tight to my side. "Got it. How often do we need to come in and have you check up on him?"
"Every couple of weeks just for a checkup, so long as Sage is not experiencing pain or complications."
Sage tenses at the mention of complications, and I hug him a bit tighter.
"Now go home and rest, got it? You need to get plenty of rest for your pups, Sage!" Evelyn scolds and Sage nods frantically. "I'll see you two in a couple of weeks!"
I lift Sage up and carry him back toward the pack house. I don't give him a chance to move around; as soon as he's on the bed, I lay on top of him so he can't run off to start occupying himself with other things.
Sage gets this and closes his eyes, fully relaxing under me. "We're going to be dads," he murmurs. "Ash... how am I going to tell the pack?"
"What do you mean? Our pack loves and supports you... you'll just tell them, right?" I ask.
Sage shrugs. "I don't want to tell Charlie and Nolan. I'm worried it'll upset them... throwing it in their faces would be so mean."
"They'll find out eventually, but we can take as much time as you need. We should tell them before the scent becomes too prominent, though."
"Yeah... that's a good idea."
I kiss his neck and then his forehead. "Now go to sleep, angel. For the pups."
He finally goes to sleep after I say that and he's so tired that we get to lay together in silence for an hour until I fall asleep as well.
The only thing living in my mind is the knowledge that I'm going to be a dad and I'm going to protect my pups and my mate better than my parents did.
They'll always be safe as long as I live.