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It was exhausting work but rewarding. Maya and I were extremely busy, and it was tricky navigating it all while ensuring we weren’t overwhelming the girls too much. I had not managed to sneak a cooking night all week, and I wasn’t sure I was up for one with all the nausea. With the girls eating micro meals, there was a lot of snacking taking place all over the pack house, and I was continually assaulted by random smells that had me running to the closest bathroom each time.
Dr. West and Dr. Castle both insisted on fussing over me, and I was constantly pulled to do some test or another so they could keep track of the pups’ growth. They weighed me every second day and wanted me to be at least ten pounds heavier to ensure I could carry the pups to full term. But how was I supposed to gain weight when I throw up everything?
Evergreen was still here for the first four days after we got back, installing the new security software and hardware he and Markus had discussed. At first, the girls were scared, thinking it was to keep them in. I had to explain everything that happened to Ruby and with Sandra, for them to see that we were doing it to keep everyone safe, and if we’re being honest, because Markus was at an all-time high level of protectiveness.
Gabriel or Zack were always glued to my side when Markus wasn’t and it was starting to annoy me. I wasn’t even leaving the pack grounds right now, and there were no more threats out there for me. His actions were over the top, and we’d had a fight last night about it. I laid out what I thought was a compelling argument, then sent him to the couch so it could sink in, but I’d woken up alone this morning and could hear Zack outside the door.
I made my way to the office to have another fight when someone pushed past me with a bowl of bananas, and I ran straight to the bathroom. I looked at my phone as I swished mouthwash around and realized I didn’t have time to argue anymore. I had another appointment with Dr. West for another ultrasound, so I walked myself to the hospital and into the appointment room to find Markus already waiting for me there. I tried to glare at him as much as I could, but it just made me notice how good he looked in his rugby shirt and blue jeans.
Mate shouldn’t look this good when we’re mad at them. They’re playing dirty,Kara half grumbled, half purred. She was just as annoyed with their antics as I was. I had a sneaking suspicion that part of it was the hormones, but no, I was right in this. Markus sighed at the glare I gave him and stood up, walking to me and bending down to kiss me. I turned my head and gave him my cheek at the last second, making him growl lightly, but instead of saying anything, he pressed his forehead against mine. I felt his hurt through the bond and sighed, turning my face and giving his lips a quick peck.
“That was barely a kiss, but I’ll take it.” He pouted, looking into my eyes. “I don’t like fighting with you, Tuli, but I’m not removing the guards until I know you’re safe,” he said, returning to the seat next to the bed.
“But I am safe,” I argued again. “Alpha Geoff, Luna Luisa, and everyone that has ever hurt me are with the council, getting sentenced,” I said, and that was when I saw it. That look I had not seen from Markus before. Guilt. He was hiding something from me. It was only there for a split second, but it had been there. “What is it? What aren’t you telling me, Markus?” I asked, and he looked away.
I was about to push the issue when Dr. West entered the room and began asking questions. He took a blood sample and weighed me before he had me lie down for the ultrasound. I was only about five weeks along, but as werewolf pregnancies were only five months as opposed to ten, they were concerned that with my history of malnutrition, health issues would flare up as not one but two pups tried to pull the nutrients from my body to grow. The ultrasound monitor came on, and we waited until we heard the heartbeats. They were strong and steady. The babies on the monitors were about the size of strawberries now and as we watched, Markus took my hand and kissed it, unable to take his eyes off the monitor. He’d yet to miss one of these appointments, even though this was only the second time we were doing an ultrasound, the first being the night of the luna ceremony. All I could feel through the bond right now was love and admiration.
“It looks like everything looks good, Luna. Your weight still needs some work. I recommend you eat more high-calorie snacks and meals. Are you still missing meals?” he asked, and I shook my head.
“Like anyone would let me skip anything,” I joked. “I’m surrounded by a dozen overprotective mother hens.”
“Good. Keep this up, and once we get past the two-month mark, we should be able to relax a little more. I’ll let you clean up. If anything abnormal comes up on the blood test, I’ll let you know,” he said, leaving the room. Markus got up and grabbed some tissue to clean my stomach.
“We have a conversation pending. You’re not getting out of it,” I reminded him.
“Nothing is going on, Tuli. I’m just worried about you,” he said, but this time I was looking for it, paying attention to the bond. He was lying. As I prepared to confront him, I saw him get a mind-link, and I felt a pang of fear and anger surge through him before he shut me out of his feelings. “I gotta go. I need to meet Gillian,” he said, handing me the tissue. I snatched it from his hand angrily.
“Fuck you, Markus,” I growled as I pulled down my shirt. “At least when I shut you out, it wasn’t on purpose,” I seethed, walking out of the meeting room, and leaving him standing there, shocked at my words.
I walked towards the pack house and heard someone walking behind me. I thought it was Markus, but it wasn’t. It was Gabriel. Pain shot through my heart that Markus wasn’t trying to reconcile. I reached the pack house before I felt him reach out via mind-link but ignored it and shut him out of the mate bond, too.
‘Maya, can I sleep in one of the guest rooms on your floor?’I mind-linked her instead.
‘Of course, but what’s wrong?’ she asked.
‘Nothing. Thank you,’ I said and cut off the mind-link.
I went into the pack house and checked on Lacey. She was still in a healing sleep. After we arrived, I’d to heal her when we set her up in the room, but Selene hadn’t granted it. Richard was arriving tomorrow to join the pack and check on her. So I checked the room next to hers to make sure it was ready. We left it empty when we set everyone up so Richard's wolf could feel calmer next to her.
I spent most of the afternoon talking to the teachers about the girls’ levels in reading, writing, math, science and history. As expected, their science and history knowledge was meager for most of them, so we decided they would take those courses together as one class, no matter their age. Reading, writing and math varied depending on the age and the job duties they had at Blood Moon, so we divided them up into four different group levels. By the time we finished planning the next year of their education, it was time for dinner. Markus tried to mind-link me all through the day, but I was still ignoring him, so I sat down to eat with a couple of the girls for dinner, feeling Markus’ eyes on me the entire time.
After dinner, I was wiped. Being mad while functioning was exhausting. I had grabbed some clothes from the bedroom earlier, so I headed straight for the fourth-floor guest bedroom and was asleep within thirty minutes.
Sometime later, I heard the door crash open. I blinked several times when the light was turned on to see an incredibly pissed-off Markus taking up the doorway, one eye black, one gray. He was breathing hard, looking down at me, and relief flashed through his face despite the anger that dominated his frame. I huffed and turned to face the wall, pulling the blanket over my head. I heard him growl and stalk forward before the blanket was yanked from me, so I turned back over and glared at him.
“I’m trying to sleep. Aren’t you the one always saying I should get more rest? Give me back my blanket, Markus.”
“This is not your blanket,” Markus growled, tearing it into tiny pieces. I raised an eyebrow at him. “This is not your room. This is not even your floor,” he said in a low, rage-filled voice. Markus closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths before he opened them up again. Both of his eyes were back to their beautiful gray. He sat on the edge of the bed, and I turned my back to him again, trying to blink back tears. Damn these hormones.
“Please come back to bed,” he whispered, his hand on my hair. Silent tears slipped from my eyes, and I shook my head, unable to answer back.
After a few minutes, where Markus sat silently behind me while I cried, the bed shifted as he stood up. I cried a little harder when I heard him walk away. I hated being away from him, but he was always the one pushing for me to share everything with him. I refused to be the only one who gave everything to this mate bond. He needed to treat me as his equal, or it was never going to work. I was still crying when I felt another blanket placed on me before the bed dipped. His arms wrapped around me, and he pulled me to him. He put his head on the crook of my shoulder and inhaled my scent.
“What are you doing?” I said, trying to sound like I hadn’t just been crying because he left and trying not to let him feel how happy I was that he came back.
“If you won’t come to bed, I’m sleeping here too. I told you you were never sleeping away from me again,” he said, kissing my mark softly, sending a shiver through me.
“I came down here for a reason,” I growled without much enthusiasm. He put his forehead on my shoulder and gave my back a small kiss.
