Chapter Text
In the night, I spill the light
You cross the line
I want you
Fall in the sea, wander in solitude
A silent fight
I want you
The alarm clock went off and Rain snuggled closer to his mate. Now that he’d graduated and moved forward into truly being an adult and part of a mated pair, he and Phayu’s schedules had changed drastically.
In the year and a half since he walked across the stage and been bonded to Phayu, they had finished their home, which was in between his parent’s home and the Theerapanyakul family compound.
Rain’s parents, Tharn and Type, as well as Phayu’s parents, Vegas and Pete, were frequent visitors and Rain was also seen at the compound often, bouncing around and visiting his second family.
Everywhere he went, people smiled at the beautifully exotic young Enigma who had captivated one of their heirs.
Prapai and Sky, as well as Sig and Por had all settled into adult life as well, each of them finding their way and relishing in the giant group they called family.
Rain’s heats had finally settled.....somewhat. Every quarter or so, his body would go haywire and throw everyone and everything off kilter.
When that happened? Everyone had to be careful. Phayu because Rain was one of three things. 1. Absolutely insatiable (The conversation that Phayu had with his father and his uncle about chafing cream came back to haunt him). 2. A growling feral beast and his wolf legitimately wanted to bite everyone. (And had bitten quite a few people and didn't feel sorry about it either). Or 3. A sobbing mess. He would cry like his heart was broken and every wolf in his vicinity would mourn like the Pridelands did when Mufasa died.
During number 3, Phayu had to ban Rain from seeing anybody at the compound or his fathers until it was over, which of course made him cry even more because he missed his mama and his dad and his Pa Pete and his Daddy Vegas and he wasn't sure he would survive without any of their hugs and their cuddles.
The first time number 3 happened, he'd tried to let Rain nest at the compound and against every single instinct he had, allow others to see him during his heat.
It was a fucking disaster. Absolutely tragic. It was like trying to throw a deck chair off the Titanic and hoping that would keep it from sinking. Nope. It sunk. The pheromones his mate let out forced some of the Omegas in the vicinity to erupt into spontaneous heat, and some of the Alphas to erupt into spontaneous rut.
All of this while Rain cried like someone stole every Christmas present under the tree while begging to be knotted at the same time.
It was fucking chaos. There might have been a small fire set in the house, a couple of fights, Porsche, Kinn, Vegas and Pete were on damage control and had to lock a few Omegas and Alphas away, because even though they were all trained exquisitely, you couldn't battle science.
Before Rain inadvertently caused Armageddon, Tankhun was the only person that could handle him and ended up carrying him bodily up to the soundproof and scent proof room they had built all those years ago when Rain went into his first heat.
After that lesson was learned? Never again. It was just Phayu on his own.
Phayu's wolf wanted to hide during those times, but Rain's wolf absolutely 100% was not having that shit.
His mercurial moods had everyone either running for cover or trying to comfort him, which made for a very very interesting few days. Luckily it only happened about every 4 months.
During one such hormonal surge which indicated that his heat was on the horizon, Rain was sitting in his nest, sobbing like his life was ending.
His inner wolf sighed.
You know if you just got us pregnant, this would help even out our moods.
[You shut your mouth.]
With a massive eye roll the wolf replied, We DO know what we’re talking about.
[Are you kidding me?? A pup? Do we LOOK like we’re ready to be a parent?]
Then Rain got introspective. [But I have been thinking about it, just a little.]
We know.
[I don’t know, are we ready? To be parents?]
We don’t know about you, but we’re ready. Even though Rain had chosen his subgender as Omega, his wolf still referred to themselves as they/them; as they would also be an Enigma.
Rain knew that the natural order of things was to mate and have pups someday, but the reality of it had been pushed aside. It wasn’t that long ago that he had even shifted for the first time; after being stolen from his parents, given away and abused, and hidden his true nature for years.
He thought about the soft glances that he would see on the dad’s faces, each of them looking at him and Phayu, wondering when they would hear the patter of little paws once more. There hadn’t been pups in the compound for years, and the youngest, Kim and his Alpha mate Porchay, weren’t keen on having pups ever.
His own fathers were no better. Tharn and Type missed out on every single bit of Rain's baby years. He was a full grown adult when they finally got to hold him for the first time. They never put any pressure on Rain and Phayu either, but the fact that no baby pictures of Rain existed anywhere, was something that broke their hearts. Nobody was asking when, but he could sense their silent hopes.
He sniffled some more, rubbing his eyes with his fists. He’d gone home early from the office while Phayu was in a meeting and dove face first into his own hormonal sadness.
While he was wallowing and feeling melancholy, thinking about having pups, and thinking about the ripple effect having pups would have on everyone in his life, his wolf finally decided to say something else.
We know what you’re thinking. And there could be a way.
[Oh?]
Yes, Prapai and Sky cannot have a pup of their own naturally, but another could carry one for them.
[Us????]
No you ninny. Do you really think that our Alpha would not lose his mind if we carried a pup for another?
Rain’s eyes widened at the thought and he shook his head vehemently. Phayu loved him desperately but even he had limits. As much as he adored Prapai and Sky? Carrying a pup for them MIGHT be a bit much.
[I mean, if there were no other option he would agree.]
You are correct. But it’s not. There is another that cannot have pups of their own, but they do have a womb.
[Wait a minute, is that even scientifically possible??]
We believe it is. We have heard tales whispered across the veil that a true Enigma may not conceive themselves, but they can carry for another.
Rain’s mind started to spiral. [Really??]
Yes. We think that our friend doctor would know more.
I run towards you
Once more, once more I ran to you
This distance between us
I'm feeling a galaxy
I miss you
Gentle ripples in the wake of the rhythm
Hide the starlight in my heart
He made it through his heat and now that the idea was in Rain's head, there was no getting it out. Phayu noticed something different about his mate. He was distracted and talking to himself and Phayu was slightly concerned. His wolf, however, wasn’t so much.
Quit worrying about our mate. They have things they are thinking about.
[And I’m not supposed to know?]
We don’t need to know EVERYTHING until it’s time.
[Well hell. I don’t like that. When will we know it’s time???]
When we do. Don’t ask questions.
Well THAT didn’t go according to Phayu’s plan, but what could he do? Nothing. He tried to get information out of Rain, but it wasn't happening. He felt like he did when Rain was back in architecture school, his little mate was constantly reading something, taking notes, and would randomly get struck by a thought of something and hyperfocus on it to the exclusion of everything else.
Rain threw himself into researching everything he could, looking up anything that mentioned Enigmas and pregnancy. He did NOT want to approach Prapai and Sky, or the other Enigma he knew better than anyone else, before he knew there was even a possibility. He made a secret appointment with Dr. Tul, who by now, after being mated with Big, was a permanent fixture around the compound.
Phayu was out on a job site and Rain was in the office, so he left early and went to see the doctor. Dr. Tul was in his university office, but he also had an office at the compound.
Even though the threat of who took Rain had been squashed, the Theerapanyakul’s still had enemies and sometimes there were altercations that required medical attention.
The young doctor looked up when Rain entered. “Well hello Rain, to what do I owe this visit?”
Sitting down, Rain said, “So, my wolf has been talking to me. A lot.”
Dr. Tul smiled. “Well, I can see how that would take getting used to after going so long without hearing from them at all. Are they just chatting or is there a purpose?”
“Well, they have very strong opinions….”
Dr. Tul’s wolf woke up and greeted Rain’s. Rain’s wolf was still hidden unless, of course, they wanted to be seen. The only people that could communicate with them on a regular bases were those that he had determined were their pack, and the young doctor was pack.
Rain sighed. “So my heats have regulated mostly, but about every 3-4 months, as you know, they go absolutely bananas. Wonky as hell.”
Dr. Tul nodded. “That’s to be expected. When you think about it, you’ve only had regular heats for less than a third of what you should have been having. For everyone else, it would have been much different.”
Rain nodded. “Yes. So…anyway, my big mouthed wolf seems to think that having a pup will settle things.”
We do not have a big mouth. Well unless we are biting or licking someone. You are not nice.
Dr. Tul laughed. “Your wolf isn’t wrong. Just like our animal counterparts, going into a heat and having pups can settle things. Some Omegas can have hormonal imbalances and pregnancy helps.”
Rain nodded. That was something else he’d found when he did some research. “My other question, I know this is a little more out of the box but I want, no I need to know. I already know that an Alpha and a Beta pair cannot conceive a pup.”
Dr. Tul nodded. “Yes.”
“But, can an Enigma or another Omega carry one for them?”
Dr. Tul’s brows shot up. “You mean as a surrogate?”
“Well, with an Omega it is a much easier answer of yes, biologically that is possible. With an Enigma it’s not nearly as clear cut. An Enigma still has a womb and if they haven’t chosen a particular subgender, many of them go into heat AND rut, but it’s not as severe. There are very few of those that we know of however, but more now thanks to Khun Tankhun. From what we are able to gather, they’re infertile. Their sperm cannot fertilize an egg and their eggs cannot be fertilized."
"In a normal Omega's biology, it takes their first heat to occur before eggs can be fertilized, and in a normal Alpha's, it takes their first rut before their sperm can fertilize an egg. If the Enigma has had both and not chosen? At least from what we have found in our research, pregnancy cannot happen.”
He frowned, “However, that research was done with naturally occurring mating. Now, if we are taking in vitro? That’s another issue. Quite frankly, I don’t know.”
The doctor was very intrigued. Very. “I’ll have to reach out to colleagues and find out, because I have no idea. This is way outside of my area of expertise. My first instinct is to say that the Enigma would need an outside source of egg and sperm to be fertilized and implanted, but using one or both of their own OUTSIDE the body? That is a very very interesting question.”
He looked closely at Rain. “Are you thinking what I think you're thinking?”
Wide-eyed, Rain nodded. “I'm just thinking about it. I haven't spoken to anybody involved, my wolf just said something and it made me start thinking.”
Dr. Tul’s research brain was braining. Thus far, all of the research that he had done on Alphas, Betas, Omegas he'd learned in school, but information on the elusive Enigmas had largely been from Rain and Tankhun. Even though Rain had chosen Omega as his secondary gender, he would always be an Enigma. And since Tankhun had chosen neither, they were considered one of the rarest of them all.
The doctor could not squash his feelings of excitement. “Give me a week or so and I'll see what I can come up with. And as for yourself? I believe your wolf is right. But please don't think that you have to have a pup just to regulate your hormones and your heat. That is a decision that is not to be taken lightly, and you and your mate must be ready.”
“I know. I just want to make sure that I'm ready, that WE are ready. Some days it feels like I ache for one. Like that's all I can think about. And other days? Having a pup and becoming a mama is the farthest thing from my mind.”
“Good. Go talk to your mate and I’ll call you next week.”
Rain left the office, mind whirling with possibilities and Dr. Tul felt the same way, but for very different reasons.