ARIA
Boy, did I get more than I expected? Yes, I did. I just wanted to make sure lace was eating, because he’s been crazy busy lately with park business, wanted to support him. Or help him in any way I could. But it’s so damn hard to resist him. And when he started touching me, I wanted hins so badly.
I’d walked into his office carrying a lunch tray, determined to make sure he ate something. Ile looked up with those intense eyes of his, and my Eeur d that stupid flutter thing. Before I knew it, my blouse was open, and his mouth was doing things that made thinking impossible.
Now I was sitting on his lap in his office chair, both of us trying to catch our breath. I noticed his pants were back on but still unfastened, which made me smile. I rested my head against his chest, listening to his heartbeat gradually slow down.
“Worth it,” Jace whispered, his breath warm against my ear.
I was about to respond when a sudden commotion erupted through the pack’s communication system. The words “ROGUE WOLVES blasted through, shattering our peaceful moment.
“Shit, get dressed, baby,” Jace said, lifting me off his lap.
“The pups? Aurora?” I asked, fumbling with my buttons.
Jace’s expression went distant–he was using the mind link. “They’re safe. Sylvie took them to the underground safe room.”
I nodded, pulling my cloth on. “I know you need to go.”
Be careful, I added through our mate bond. Since Sage awakened in me during the Blood Moon ritual, I’d been learning to use these new abilities.
Always, Jace replied.
He walked to the bookshelf and pressed a hidden spot. The shelf slid sideways, revealing a steel door.
“Baby, I know you don’t want to, but please he started.
I cut him off with a kiss. “Just come back safe.” Then I stepped toward the entrance.
“There’s a tunnel to the safe room where Aurora is.” He pressed another button, opening a door to a dim passage.
When I turned back, the door was closing, and Jace was gone.
Sage? I called to my wolf, still not fully comfortable with her presence.
I’m here, she answered, stronger than when she first emerged. We need to protect our pup.
The tunnel was dark, but with Sage’s help, my eyes adjusted better than a human’s could. I trailed my fingers along the wall, my other hand resting on my stomach–a new habit since learning about the pregnancy.
Soon I found the door and pressed a small button. It opened with a soft hiss.
Frightened whimpers and quiet sobs greeted me. I stepped through quickly.
‘Hey everyone, it’s me, Aria. Is everybody okay?” I asked, closing the door.
“Mommy!” Aurora ran to me with outstretched arms. I knelt and hugged her, my heart melting at the word she’d only started using days ago,
“Hello, Aria, Sylvie said from where she say with about fifteen young werewolf pups. Her hair was disheveled, but her voice remained calm.
“Sylvie, Alpha Jace sent me here.” I joined the group, Aurora still clinging to me.
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Sylvie smiled. “I heard. Aurora told us she’s getting a baby brother.”
I laughed. ‘Did she now? How does she know it’s a brother?”
*I just know, Aurora said confidently. He’ll be strong like Daddy and smart like you.”
She might be right, Sage commented. Wolf children often sense these things.
Sylvie and I organized the pups into a circle. I told them stories while Sylvie led quiet songs. Aurora zat pressed against me, her hand on my stomach
“Don’t be scared, baby brother, she whispered. “Daddy will chase away all the bad wolves.”
Her faith in her father made my throat tight.
Hours passed. Some pups fell asleep. Then Jace reached out through our connection.
It’s over. I’m coming to get you.
Relief washed through me. All the pups are safe. Most are asleep.
How are you? I asked.
Nothing serious. A few scratches already healing.
Twenty minutes later, the door opened. Jace entered wearing only shorts, his body streaked with blood. His eyes found me holding Aurora. I could see he wanted to hold her but feared getting blood on her.
“I can carry her,” I told him.
“But the baby…” he started.
“The baby will be fine. She’s not heavy.”
Sage says we’re stronger now, I added through our bond.
His eyes widened slightly, but he nodded. “Alright.”
At home, we tucked Aurora into bed. She mumbled something about chasing bad wolves” before falling back asleep.
Jace led me to our bathroom. “Shower with me,” he said quietly. “I need to feel you. Not for sex. I just need to hold you.”
I turned on the shower and helped him remove his bloody shorts. Under the warm spray, I washed him carefully, watching pink water swirl around our feet.
When we were clean, Jace held me close, his face against my neck.
“I hate killing other wolves,” he whispered. “Even rogues.
“Not liking it makes you a good man,” I said softly. “A leader who cares.”
It’s the way of wolves, Sage whispered. To protect what’s ours.
I shared her thought with Jace, and he nodded. Some of his tension eased.
“How is she?” he asked. ‘Sage, I mean. Are you adjusting?”
“It’s strange having another presence sharing my body. But she feels right somehow, like she was always meant to be there.”
‘And the pregnancy??
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Actually, it’s easier in some ways. She helps me know what I need, when to rest
We moved to our bed, Jace pulled me against his chest.
“The full moon is in two weeks,” he murmured. ‘Your first shift.”
I tensed. ‘I’m nervous.
‘Don’t be. I’ll be right there with you. And Sage knows what to do.”
He’s right, Sage confirmed. It’s natural. Like breathing.
Jace fell asleep quickly. I stayed awake a little longer, one hand on my stomach, the other holding Jace’s. I was no longer just human. I was something more –a woman with a wolf, a mother–to–be, a mate to an Alpha. The changes were happening fast, but with Jace beside me and Sage within me, I wasn’t afraid
Eventually, I joined him in sleep, dreaming of running through moonlit forests on four paws.
Chapter Comments
Visitor
she responded before…
Kathryn Lee
Here as well.
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