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Callum stifled his instinctive revulsion, eyeing the pickle hesitantly. "You're … sure about this?" he asked, restraining his poor withering wolf.
"Absolutely! Baby says Daddy needs vegetables," Fiona singsonged playfully. She watched him eagerly like an expectant child at a birthday party about to witness a friend try cake for the first time.
Resigned to his fate, Callum took a cautious bite and forced himself to smile and nod through the noxious flavor assaulting his senses, the bitter acids fumigating his nostrils, many magnitudes more sensitive than her own.
Fiona grinned, plucking another from the juice excitedly. "Here, have the rest! We’ll take two more!”
As the second pickle loomed before his lips, Callum finally broke. "Absolutely not!" he snapped in utter revulsion. "Get that foul thing away from me this instant!"
"But you have to keep Baby company! We’re eating for two and want you to join us … " She waved the pickle enticingly under his nose.
Callum recoiled from the pungent fumes. "That's enough out of both of you! This is mutiny. No more torture, or Mommy and Baby are getting time-out naps when we get home. I mean it."
Fiona laughed as Callum paid for the rest of the pickles, taking a sharp bite herself since Callum had rejected the notion. Then Callum steered her firmly away in search of gentler pregnancy, craving indulgences instead … like perhaps her love for foods so spicy that tears would run down her eyes.
Still, even after the wonderful date and ravaging her once home, it still wasn’t quite enough to quell his primal obligations. The next full moon was quickly approaching, and he needed to formally announce Fiona's pregnancy to the pack, who had been eagerly awaiting an heir.
However, he remained hesitant because she still shied from labeling themselves as romantic partners openly. He wasn’t sure if she was still simply coming around to the idea or if she was afraid of the pack’s reaction. Either seemed a real possibility, and he had promised not to rush her, but it was getting harder as time went on.
Attempting a compromise, he suggested simply disclosing their future child to the guests. But Fiona refused this proposition as well.
"I'm just not ready to make some formal declaration about 'us' when I don't even know fully what 'us' means yet," she awkwardly explained, and the latest insult was the refusal to join the gathering. He struggled to conceal his profound disappointment when she returned to her apartment for the night, taking what he felt was an extreme measure just to avoid facing the pack.
Yet he respected her sensitive situation and the changes overtaking her body and mind lately. If more patience secured her trust in their family nucleus, he would weather any longing.For now, he simply focused on supporting her and their child in any way he could.
After the masquerade, she continued to spend most nights residing comfortably at Callum's estate. Though he provided lavish personal guest suites, more often than not, he happily found her curled up asleep in his grand bed instead. Another month seemed to fly by, everything coming up roses between them as long as he didn’t mention the fact that they would soon have to announce the coming child.
As her belly steadily swelled with new life, his wolf grew certain their child would be born a shifter inheriting his profound life force. However, Fiona remained more skeptical about carrying anything other than a human baby despite his assurances. He suspected that was part of why she was so afraid to confront it, but sometimes it pricked at him that perhaps she simply didn’t want to commit tohim, regardless of how much effort he had put into courting her.
Rumblings had leaked out across the region regarding the alpha's mysterious pregnant female. As the next full Moon Masquerade loomed, Callum insisted obligations pressed him to formally announce their pending pack heir at last during the gathering. At this point, her first trimester would be ending, and he didn’t feel it could be delayed any longer.
But Fiona squirmed under the scrutiny of public attention, especially related to such private bodily changes she was still adapting to internally. Despite Callum pressing the political necessity of officially claiming their child, her inhibitions held steady … for now.
"Announcing feels like you're declaring we have some formally committed relationship when I haven't agreed yet to anything that binding," Fiona fretted, arms crossed protectively over her belly.
“Binding? Baby princess, we’re not in court. This isn’t a legal proceeding.” Callum tilted his head, perplexed by her ongoing resistance, when she already spent most nights wrapped in his devoted embrace within his very walls. "You live here with me now in all but name. I don't understand why you balk still at labels and formality."
His words sparked abrupt defensiveness within Fiona. "Well, maybe I should just go back to my own life if you expect me to be at your beck and call from now on!"
Callum frowned, confused by her extreme response. "You're carrying a new life now. I only meant that soon we must consider the realities of stepping up as a model matriarch to set the best example for our child and pack …"
"So just because I'm pregnant, my own career and autonomy cease to hold importance suddenly? I'm just supposed to become a meek little Luna mother figure only existing to support your noble rule?"
Callum lifted placating hands. "That is not what I …"
But Fiona was already snatching up her purse, lashing out defensively before the sting of tears emerged. "Don't expect me to live solely for you and this title! I won't lose everything I am just to pad your status. I didn’t plan my life on being a Luna in the first place."
The slamming door behind her punctuated the end of the volatile interaction. Callum sank down bewildered in the tense aftermath, utterly lost on how to soothe these profound fears threatening the haven he was painstakingly trying to build around his vulnerable mate.
SEVENTEEN
FIONA
In an effort to bond before the baby's arrival, Callum had invited an uncertain Fiona out to dinner at an upscale steakhouse popular among his pack. As soon as the waiter arrived, Callum immediately took charge.
"The lady will start with the lobster bisque, followed by the 8-oz filet mignon, medium rare, with the truffle fries and creamed spinach sides," he informed the server without glancing at Fiona. As the waiter nodded, scribbling eagerly, Fiona cleared her throat. Callum halted his lofty wine selection, blinking at her in question.
"Actually," Fiona interjected firmly before the waiter could dash off. "I believe I'm very capable of selecting my own meal. I'll have the kale salad to start. And the grilled salmon with wild rice and roasted vegetables, please."
