Zaya POVI patted the space on the bed beside me for Audrey to take a seat. She hesitated and I understood why.She didn’t know what we were about to tell her, and after all that she had been through, she knew to brace herself.“Please sit, Audrey.” I cradled my stomach and pushed out a smile. The pain was nowhere near gone, but it was far from gut wrenching.As soon as she took a seat, she said, “Okay. What is going on? All month, the two of you have been acting weird. And I have been trying to place why.” She pointed to me and Alex.Alex’s lips parted to say something, but I interrupted. “You are right. We have and I’m sorry.”Alex and Godric both looked at me. Maybe surprised at my apology. They probably just expected me to spill the tea, but I needed her to know how sorry I felt. I’ve never wanted to keep anything from her.I stared deep into her eyes as I spoke for all of us. “We are all sorry, Audrey. We have been lying to you but for a good reason. Trust me.”“Lying to me?” She
Alex POVIn the quiet corners of our harmonious room, a palpable shift had taken place, leaving a lingering sense of distrust in the heart of my mate.She’d been pacing the room since we left Zaya to rest. Godric had stayed behind for obvious reasons. He needed to keep an eye on her and to give us time to discuss the news.Audrey had taken the news pretty well at first but by the way her feet are digging into the carpet, she wasn’t taking it as well as she let on across the hall.Her raised voice broke through the silence, “Weeks? You’ve known for weeks?” She shook her head as if she were repeating her own words inside her head.We were safe to speak freely in the walls of our own room. No one else was on this floor of the Alpha house except my brother and Zaya. The guards had been ordered to post at the bottom of the first landing instead of his office door.“For weeks, you had known she was pregnant, and you said nothing to me?” I could hear the disbelief growing in her voice.Audre
Zaya POVI awoke from my nap feeling a lot better. As soon as I tried to shift from my side to my back, I was met with Godric’s broad back.Some weeks ago, Godric began to sleep facing away from me. I wasn’t sure why, but seeing his back in the morning instead of his face actually hurt. Like a small pain deep in my soul.Questions would swim around my head, like annoying fish. Was he tired of seeing my face in the morning? Did he wish to sleep alone? Did I annoy him some kind of way?It hurt to think he no longer wanted to see my face I the morning.And now, seeing his back again, but this time in the afternoon, I realize it is not just seeing me in the morning.I rolled all the way over and shoved him until he woke.“I’m up. I’m up.” He growled with a raspy voice.“Good because we need to talk.”He shot up, half awake. He stared at me for a moment. “No, you need to rest.”Godric fluffed my pillow and then repositioned his pillow before laying back down.“Godric. Please. I need to spe
I would never admit it aloud, but today was more than I could handle. And I still had more to come. First Zaya got sick. Which is probably normal with any pregnancy. Though inside, it hurt me to see her that way. Bent over in pain and unable to truly offer her any comfort. Then Audrey finds out our secret. And now I had to agree to letting Anna in on it. Which is dangerous itself. She just mated with a wolf that is not from our pack. I had a hard enough time making sure my brother didn’t tell his mate who is one hundred percent loyal to my mate. I wasn’t lying when I said we all trust Anna. But soon, she will be a part of her mate’s pack. Eager to win their approval and trust she could fold under pressure and give in. Sure, Alpha Brax is loyal to the invisible crown I wear, and he has always claimed to be loyal to my family as well. But only time will tell if someone is really who they claim to be. With all this on my mind, I still must deal with the update Crane was about to g
Godric POVSo, Mason chose his sister. I guess that shouldn’t concern me. Alex is my brother and my Beta. The moment that I knew I was going to be Alpha King, I knew Alex would be my Beta.Who better to trust with your pack and your life than my own blood?I sat back in my seat. “Maybe she wanted to get the lay of how things are done after stepping into her new role. That isn’t odd for a new Beta or even Alpha to do things like that.” I said.With a steely gaze, Crane moved closer to my desk. Leaning in for emphasis. “Or maybe, she wanted to see who was going to be there. You still must consider that the rogue pack didn’t bring anything to trade. Could be that they had nothing to trade. But then again, why buy everything and bring a truck in expectance to do so. My assessment is that they are planning something.”That was my assessment too. My mind trailed off thinking about why Mason’s sister tagged along with probably some low-level pack members. We attended the first trade. But tha
Zaya POVAudrey asked if she could trail along while I had my talk with Anna. And I almost agreed. But this was something I wanted to do alone. Especially since Anna would be gone soon and I wasn’t sure where that would leave our friendship.Anna was my first pack friend. If that was a thing. She was there for me when my parents were taken by Evander. When I found out my human boyfriend had moved on. When I found out Godric was my mate. We shared so much in such a short time. And now she was leaving.I feel like we didn’t get enough time together. We didn’t have enough memories.My knock on her door was followed by a small thud behind it. A few seconds later, she swung it open. Fast and hard. She looked embarrassed. With her hair messy, a white sheet draped across her body and dragging behind her.She released a breathy voice, “Luna!”I throw my hand across my mouth in efforts to contain my laughter. Only when I was confident the giggles had gone, I finally spoke. “I can come back lat
POV ZayaI listened to Anna talk about everything that happened between her and Trent. From her words, I could tell she was happy. Her face was red as a cherry from all the blushing.We took a long walk, around the pack with no apparent destination. At least to Anna, we had no destination. But in truth, this was a simple request from my mate to show my face around the pack. Let everyone see all is normal with me.They needed to know nothing was wrong with their Luna. I’d missed the last two breakfast gatherings. And many were already aware that I hadn’t been training with Chris these last few days and we have been using the fact that we have visitors as an excuse. But what was going to happen once they left?“Luna!!!” A few pups ran around me in circles. Their laughter filled the courtyard and few pack members tuned their attention to us.Anna watched me play for a bit before saying, “They really love you.”I laughed. “Don’t all pack members love all Luna’s?”She rocked her head side
POV ZayaMy time with Luna Tari went well. We talked for awhile about a little of everything. My time growing up with humans. Her life with the wolves.Her strengths and weaknesses as a Luna. The in and outs, the dos and don’ts. She shared her advice of being a Luna. And I shared my thoughts on everything to let her know how I appreciated her guidance but that I also had my own mind.By the time we were redressing, I could honestly say I knew all there was to know about Tari. I could also say that we both felt a little more relaxed.We left the locker room laughing with our arms entangled, but stopped dead in our tracks when we locked eyes with our mates.“There they are!” Alpha Brax said looking amused.Tari released my arm and ran to her mate as if she hadn’t seen him in days. I hung back watching their exchange, while Godric watched me. It was awkward at best. We should be just as loving as them, but we weren’t.He smiled at me, and I smiled back. Then we waited until they acknow