Meeting

[Danica's POV]

A low snarl escaped my lips as I began the process of shifting. To the left, I could make out Mason fighting off three of the creatures. To my right, I could see four more preparing to attack.

'Not today.' I smirked, giving a howl.

Lunging forward, I bared my teeth at the first creature to notice me. It let out a shriek while diving towards me.

I managed to grab it by the throat just before it hit me.

Biting down, I felt the skin tear as another shriek escaped it.

'I told you to stay put!' Mason's voice boomed in my head.

Whoops, it seemed he was finished with his fight and had spotted me.

Flinging the now dead creature from my head to the ground, I turned to meet his angry gaze.

'I couldn't leave you to fight alone.' I tried, attacking another beast. 'There are too many!'

'Did you forget that you are heavily pregnant?' He demanded with a snarl.

Did I forget? Was he kidding? How could I forget all the extra weight I was carrying?

'I can handle this much.' I huffed in annoyance. 'Anyway, where is Nigel and Ash during all of this?'

As if they knew they were being talked about, the two men magically emerged from the small cabin in front of us.

I watched in confusion as Nigel lifted his hand and drew something in the air. Smirking, he shot out a ball of light at each remaining creature.

Just like that, the fight ended as quickly as it had begun and everything around us was now calm.

Looking around, I spotted Mason, who was emanating anger as he made his way towards me.

Suddenly feeling nervous, I quickly dashed behind the jeep and began to shift back to my human form.

Once I was fully changed, I opened the vehicle hatch and pulled out my comfy clothes.

"Don't think you can avoid me." Mason's deep, husky voice breathed right beside my ear.

Had I not known I was going to be fussed at for not listening, I would have been thrilled by his closeness.

"I'm not." I tried, slipping on a sweatshirt and leggings. Due to my big belly, the top nearly didn't fit. "I was just trying to get decent since Nigel and Ash were present."

"Uh huh."

Letting out a huff, Mason reached around me and grabbed a pair of jeans. Turning, I watched as he slipped them on, allowing myself to take in his muscular chest and torso.

"Enjoying the show?" He suddenly asked, drawing my gaze to his amused one.

"Shut up."

Bristling, I attempted to storm away, but due to my huge pregnant belly, I could only wobble. Behind me, I heard snickers escaping Mason as he watched my failure at being angry.

When I reached Nigel and Ash, they both rushed forward in an attempt to help me up the stairs.

"I'm pregnant, not handicapped." I snapped, shooing them away. "I can handle going up stairs."

"But..." Ash began, only to stop as Mason appeared beside me and growled.

"You heard her." He warned.

Rolling my eyes, I made my way up the stairs and onto their porch. 

Even after all these years, Mason's jealousy was still the same. He barely even likes Chris to touch me during our training sessions. It was both endearing and annoying.

"Anyway, do either of you know what those creatures were?" I asked, stopping at the threshold of the cabin.

From the way the two men were acting, it seemed as though they weren't too bothered. Were the beasts a new occurrence? Or were they something the duo set up?

"Failed experiment." Nigel responded, shooting a glare towards Ash. "I thought we got rid of them all, but…" He trailed off.

"What was the experiment?" Mason asked curiously.

"Nothing." Ash responded much too quickly.

Raising my brow, I met his serious gaze and felt a chill rush down my spine. I wasn't used to this type of Ash, and I had to admit, it was intimidating.

"Stop trying to seem serious." Nigel sighed, smacking Ash in the back of the head. "This idiot was trying to develop messenger crows that could fight off the enemy."

"Why would you need something like that?" Mason asked just as I opened my mouth to do the same.

Now it was Nigel's turn to grow serious.

"There has been word of unrest in the Northern territories." He began, frowning deeply. "We aren't sure if it is anything to be too concerned about, but we've been preparing just in case."

I could feel the air around us growing cold as Nigel spoke. It was clear Mason was getting pissed because he hadn't been informed of this until now.

Ever since the war with the harpies and trolls, he had been constantly on his guard. Despite my assurances that he had people surrounding him to protect our pack, he couldn't fully calm down. He worried too much, and much more so since I became pregnant the second time.

"Why didn't you say something?" Mason asked, his voice dripping with ice. "You know, I could consider this insubordination."

"Mason," I hissed, shooting him a glare. "Nigel is your elder!"

"It's fine." Nigel said, smiling. "I called you both here today to discuss this and one other thing."

At his words, I felt my curiosity become piqued. What else would be so important to call us here directly to discuss?

"Is it something that will stress her out?" Mason asked, shooting a glare at Nigel. "I've told both of you that she needs to be calm during this period of her pregnancy."

Rolling my eyes, I tried to hold back my annoyance at Mason's being so damn concerned. He meant well, I knew that, but it was starting to get frustrating.

"I think you should remember that your luna is much stronger than you think." Ash pointed out with a smirk.

A low growl escaped Mason at Ash's words, but he didn't bother to argue. Instead, the room grew quiet as we waited for Nigel to tell us what it was he had for me.