Sold as the Alpha King's Breeder-Chapter 1486 - 85 : Ultrasound

*Saoirse*

Butterflies flew around my stomach, making my pregnancy nausea even worse. I took a deep breath and swallowed, trying to keep it under control.

“And how far along are you?” the doctor asked, looking down at his clipboard with all of my information on it.

“Um, I’m not sure,” I told him, trying to control my voice from shaking. “At least a couple months, I would guess.”

“And is this your first prenatal checkup?” she asked, looking up at me in surprise.

“I-I wasn’t really able to go before, extenuating circumstances.” I didn’t want to bring up that I had an ancient soul take control of my body.

“Oh, alright, well then I would suggest we do an ultrasound today,” she continued, setting the clipboard down. “That will give us an idea of how far along you are and if everything is going alright.”

I nodded my consent, too nervous to open my mouth again. This was what I had been worried about. It was the whole reason I hadn’t come the day I got to the castle. It might have been an irrational fear, but what if there was something wrong with the baby? I had been through a lot, and maybe that had impacted the baby.

My hand rubbed my belly as the doctor walked away to roll the machine over. I had already grown so attached to the little life inside of me. I didn’t know what I would do something was wrong.

I should have brought Rhys with me. He would have comforted me. But if something was wrong, I didn’t want him to be there either. I could tell him myself. After all, it would have been my fault.

My body tensed as the cold gel squirted across my belly. I leaned my head back and stared up at the wall, too scared to watch the doctor as she moved the tool onto my belly. In the background, I could hear weird sounds. It was almost like listening to something underwater, but I didn’t know what I was listening for.

A heartbeat...

The breath I was holding let out as I could hear the fast little thrumming, which was the sound of an unmistakable heartbeat. That didn’t mean we were out of the clear, but it at least was a good start. She kept moving the tool around. I could hear clicks as she took pictures of everything on the screen.

“Huh,” the doctor said, moving the tool to the other side of my belly.

My eyes darted to her. “What is it? What’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong,” the doctor said. I saw that she was smiling. “I am picking up two heartbeats.”

“Two... heartbeats,” I repeated slowly.

“Yes, Your Highness.” The doctor’s smile grew. “You are having twins.”

I stared at the woman in shock. “Twins?”

“Would you like to see?” she asked, tilting the screen toward me.

I watched as she pointed out one little figure on the screen, pronouncing it as Baby A. She then moved the tool over so it was a clear picture of another figure on the screen, which she subsequently pronounced as Baby B. If she hadn’t pointed them out, I wouldn’t have even realized they were babies. The little figures moved, and I could see little flickers as the sounds of their heartbeats came across.

Rhys and I made twins.

“Oh my Goddess,” I uttered, still in shock as I looked at the screen.

“And they both look healthy and happy,” the doctor continued. “I would like for you to start some prenatal vitamins and want you to set up regular appointments with me to check on their progress. Other than that, you are doing a great job.”

“Th-thank you,” I stuttered, tears springing to my eyes at her words.

My fears were unfounded. My baby was fine. Correction, my babies were fine.

I had to tell Rhys.

After collecting the vitamins from her and setting up another appointment in four weeks, I hurried from the room. The excitement and joy were starting to sink in after the initial shock. I just had to find Rhys and tell him the wonderful news right away.

Luckily for me, I didn’t have to go far to find him. He happened to be walking down the hall toward me when I rounded a corner. Unable to control myself, I broke into a run.

“Saoirse?” Rhys called as I ran closer. “I was just looking for you, I–“

Before he could finish his sentence, I jumped on him, wrapping my arms around his neck. My jump had caught him by surprise, but he managed to swing us around instead of falling over. He squeezed me tightly. I pulled my face back so that I could look into his face. I could feel the grin that covered my own.

My excitement and joy seemed to bleed into Rhys as a smile grew bigger across his face as well. “Are you that excited to see me.”

“Well, yes,” I said, giving him a quick kiss. “But I have some exciting news as well.”

“Exciting news?” Rhys asked. He looked a little skeptical. “Like what?”

“I just came from the doctor. I had a prenatal appointment,” I told him.

He instantly looked relieved. “And everything is great with our little baby?”

“Babies,” I corrected, staring at him so he would get my message.

“Babies?” Rhys asked, looking at me in confusion.

“We are having twins,” I announced.

It was like the sun shone inside the castle walls as pure elated joy radiated from Rhys. He spun me around again, holding me close as he laughed like a little kid. He set me on my feet and gently placed his hands against my still-flat belly. It was like he could already connect to the twin lives we created that were growing inside my belly.

“Twins,” he repeated in a reverent tone. He affectionately rubbed my belly again.

“I got to see them,” I told him in the same tone. “Baby A and Baby B.”

Rhys laughed again and kissed my forehead. “That cannot be their names.”

“No,” I said, laughing as well. “It’s just what the doctor called them.”

“Well, what are we going to call them?” Rhys asked.

“Um, I hadn’t thought that far.”

It was true. I had been so worried about the health of the life inside of me that I hadn’t wanted to come up with any names and get too attached. It wouldn’t have made a difference to the pain I felt, but it was a nice way to pretend I could distance myself.

But now I had two healthy lives growing inside of me and no ideas about names.

“We better start thinking because now we have twice the work in naming two,” Rhys said, echoing my thoughts.

“Do you have any ideas?” I asked, pulling his hands off of my belly and into my own. “What should our kids’ names be?”

Rhys’ smile grew. “Our kids. I love the sound of that. Our kids, making our family complete.”

“So you only want the two?” I teased. I hadn’t actually thought about having more kids before. We hadn’t even planned on these two. It was fun to tease him anyway.

“I will take as many as you’ll give me,” Rhys said lowly, curling one arm around me to pull me in for a deep kiss.

Just like always, I was breathless by the time we split. “You can’t make another one now.”

“We could practice for the future,” he said, leaning back in for another kiss.

He was much better at the teasing than I was. The heat that flooded my body was proof of that.

I cleared my throat. “We haven’t even named these two, and you want to make more?”

Rhys laughed, but he still pulled away, looking at me thoughtfully.

“We could name them something that might honor both of our heritages,” I said.

“Yes, we could try, but it isn’t us who has the final say anyway,” Rhys said.

“What?” I asked, looking at him in confusion. I was confused about why we couldn’t name our children.

“Legally, any heirs to the throne receive names bestowed to them by the reigning monarch,” Rhys explained. “That would be my father.”

I stared at him in surprise. Now that he said it, I was sure I had heard of the law before. I guess I had just never applied it to myself or my future. Who would have ever thought that I, a country girl from the hills, would ever be married to the prince or have his babies?

“We could talk to him if you’d like,” Rhys said, squeezing my hand.

The butterflies came back to my stomach. I had gotten over my conversation with the queen, but I had still not had a conversation with King Xander following my return from the recent chaos. Unlike the queen, I found King Xander much more imposing and intimidating and was not looking forward to that conversation one bit.

However, I knew it had to happen. I had already accepted that I would stop hiding and embrace my role as princess and future queen, which meant I would have to have a relationship with the current king as well.

Perhaps the prospect of introducing the babies’ names could make for the perfect introductory conversation to bridge the awkwardness. The king was sure to be happy in welcoming news of even more heirs, which would put him in a good mood. Plus, a meeting with him would signify my willingness to embrace and reengage in public royal duties.

I took a bracing breath.

“You’re right. Let’s request a formal family dinner with King Xander and Queen Lena. We can give them the news of the twins and broach the subject of baby names,” I told Rhys.

“They will be so excited,” Rhys said supportively, leading me to our bedroom.

With his parents’ acceptance of our request, we began to get ready for dinner. I put on one of the nicer dresses in the closet, trying to prove that I could fit the role of royalty. Queen Lena being there was putting me a little at ease, but it didn’t get rid of my nerves completely. Despite their relationship, the king and queen could have different opinions, including about me.

By the time we reached dinner, I was emotionally on edge. With Rhys lovingly by my side, I managed to handle myself calmly. Under the dazzling chandelier, I partook in the cordial conversation expected of a recent bride and her in-laws.

It wasn’t until dinner was served and the staff left the room that I cleared my throat. His parents looked at me, his father’s face serious. I almost lost my nerve, but Rhys gave my leg a light squeeze, giving me the reassurance I needed.

“We asked you here tonight because we have an announcement,” I told them. I couldn’t help the smile that crossed my face even through the nerves. “Rhys and I are having twins.”

King Xander’s grave face split into a broad grin, and I felt myself relax just a hair.

“Twins?” he bellowed in excitement. “Two heirs? What marvelous news. Congratulations, you two.”

“Thank you,” Rhys and I answered in unison.

“Do you happen to know the sex?” the king continued. “Are they both boys? Or at least one boy?”

Rhys looked at me. He didn’t know either. He hadn’t thought to ask.

“We don’t know yet,” I told him in the same clear voice. “It is too early to tell.”

“As long as they are happy, healthy babies, that is all that matters,” Queen Lena said with a smile, wiping away the tears in her eyes. “Two grandbabies? I am so lucky.”

We continued with our meal, eating dinner and talking about the changes we would have to make to accommodate twins. The queen was asking about the nursery and already planning ways she could redesign it to better fit two babies.

Over dessert, the conversation turned to baby names. I was relieved to hear that the king and queen were both open to names we might suggest, along with suggesting a few of their own. By the end of the meal, I was sure that we had plenty of names to consider, along with laughing at all the bad ideas.

I smiled warmly. As we got up from the table, Rhys wrapped his arm around my waist. I felt warm as love spread through my body. Even in my own family, I had never felt so accepted and included as I did in Rhys’.

It was clear to me that this was my family, and I would do anything to protect it.