The Alpha's Birthday Gift (Dog Hills Pack #1.5)

By Meg Bawden

Happily mated for four years, Colby Thorne and Remy Lovell have almost everything going for them. Almost. They’ve been trying to expand their family for the last three years and found nothing but failure and disappointment at every turn. Reaching their breaking point, the couple are too defeated to keep trying. It comes out of nowhere when Remy finds out that he’s finally fallen pregnant.

With Colby’s birthday coming up, Remy knows that the news of the pregnancy will be the best gift his Alpha Mate could ever receive, but he doesn’t want to stop there. A surprise party will enable them to share their happiness with their nearest and dearest. When Colby’s mother pushes her way into the organisation of the party, Remy can’t help but bristle at the intrusion. Determined to make this the best birthday his mate has ever had, he tolerates Meredith Thorne’s impossible standards and does his best to meet them. Everyone has their breaking point, however, and she pushes Remy right over his. Will Remy’s mother-in-law ruin what should be the happiest moment of their lives, or will Remy bow to her ridiculous demands?

**The Alpha's Birthday Gift is a gay romance novel set in an omegaverse with alpha, beta, and omega dynamics. This world also features wolf shifters, knotting, and themes of male pregnancy (mpreg). This second chance love story is part of a series, but has a HFN ending with no cheating.**

• Language: English
• Publisher: Meg Bawden
• Release date: Oct 30, 2018
• ISBN: 9780463331453

Meg Bawden

Blood. Gore. Criminals. Romance.M.D. Gregory loves it all. She believes everyone deserves to find love, even those characters with questionable motives. As an alternative pen name of M/M romance author Meg Bawden, M.D. Gregory writes bloodier romances with more violence, kink, and bad boys. Her characters are not good guys. They live for danger and thrive on pain and retribution. But even those sorts of men fall in love, right?She writes in various genres, from contemporary to fantasy, so no matter what your dark taste craves, you'll find it here.

Book preview

It wasn’t hard to tell Colby was disappointed. He pretended he wasn’t, but Remy knew him well enough. They’d tried so hard to get pregnant for two years, and those years of trying felt like a waste. Colby still smiled, but it didn’t quite meet his eyes. Remy felt like a failure. His mate didn’t blame him, of course, but that didn’t mean it hurt any less. Colby had talked about having kids since his maturity party, and his mate, the one he chose to spend the rest of his life with, couldn’t give them to him.

Remy knew the exact moment when Colby had stopped trying to get him pregnant. He didn’t stay inside of Remy longer than his knot required him, not the way he used to. He did it all the time once, said that he wanted to make sure his cum stayed inside to create little Colbys. It wasn’t like Remy had minded. He loved having his mate on top of him, inside of him. He felt whole when Colby was around.

Then things changed. Two years had yielded no baby, and Colby had stopped trying. He still pleasured Remy like a good mate would, and they still lay beside each other, reveling in the afterglow. It felt different, though, not as passionate as it once was. It scared Remy.

He wanted to do something—anything—to show Colby how much he loved him, seeing as he failed at what a good omega was supposed to do: give him pups. Colby was a hard person to figure out. He was smart, handsome, and a leader to his pack. He cared about people as only a Head Alpha should. And just like everyone else, he had his hobbies. He liked miniature train figurines, which he kept in a display cabinet, and he loved playing his Xbox. A couple of years ago, Remy mentioned getting a Playstation, and Colby had gaped at him and told him that a Playstation wasn’t coming anywhere near their house. It’d been funny at the time, and as revenge, Colby had tickled him until Remy had tapped out—three times, as usual.

Colby did everything for everyone else and rarely anything for himself. It was what a good alpha should do, but Remy didn’t agree with that. He believed that Colby deserved happiness as well. He just had to decide what Colby needed but would never ask for.

That morning, as Colby cracked some eggs and dropped them into the frying pan, Remy padded up to him. He wrapped his arms around Colby’s waist and rested his head on his shoulder.

Morning, Rem. Colby attempted to twist his head to kiss Remy, but it was awkward, and his lips only scraped across Remy’s temple.

Mmm. Morning. What are you making? Remy had just woken up and he blinked blearily at the stovetop. He’d been sick for the last week and had stayed in bed most of those days. It was a good thing he’d been on holidays from work, but today it was back to the everyday grind. The good news was that he woke up feeling healthier, but still not a hundred percent.

Eggs on toast. How are you feeling, babe? Colby picked up his spatula and turned the eggs.

Better than yesterday. Remy smiled timidly. He released his hold on Colby and collapsed on one of the chairs at the kitchen table. It was only a small kitchen, but there was no reason for them to get a bigger house. Not when Remy couldn’t fall pregnant. The thought made him feel ill again. Ugh. He let his forehead bang on the table.

Don’t do that. You’ll hurt yourself, Colby chided, pulling the popped toast out of the toaster. Colby always made breakfast, and he was damned good at it, too. It was like he could read Remy’s mind and knew exactly what he needed on that day.

Your mother rang last night. After you went to bed, Remy said. The thought of her left a sour taste in his mouth. Ugh. If anyone made him feel guilty about the whole pregnancy thing, it was Meredith Thorne. She’d hated Remy as soon as she met him. According to his dear mother-in-law, there were better omegas out there for her perfect son. She was only right about one thing, and that was how perfect Colby was.

Their dog, Mozzie, came roaring down the stairs, skidding on the ground near the table. His tongue lolled out of his mouth and Colby laughed, throwing him a piece of egg, which he caught in his mouth.

Colby sighed as he threw Mozzie another piece. What did she say to you?

Nothing I care to remember. But he remembered it very well. "Not pregnant yet, are you? Why don’t you let Colby find a fertile mate? He deserves children." Ugh. He almost let his head fall on the table again, but Colby knew him well and pressed his palm over Remy’s forehead, stopping him from doing it. He leaned over and pressed a kiss on Remy’s lips as he dropped the plate on the table.

Don’t let her upset you.

It’s easy for you to say, Remy grumbled. He stared at the food miserably. It looked delicious, as usual, but he didn’t know if his stomach could handle it. It clenched and unclenched, before he finally couldn’t take it anymore. He sprung from the chair and sprinted past Mozzie and toward the bathroom, emptying his stomach into the toilet once he reached it. Remy didn’t have to look to know his mate hovered behind him, so