CHAPTER 140: Mating Jitters

CHAPTER 140: Mating Jitters
Alora’s POV

The bed was cold on his side again.

I didn’t know why I still reached for him every morning. Habit, maybe.

My hand brushed over nothing but sheets, smooth and empty, and the ache hit me before I could stop it.

Since the attack, I have been at the Bloodfang pack for over a month. I had only worked remotely, so I had gotten used to waking up with Morgan beside me, his arm heavy across my waist, his warm breath fanning my cheeks.

But for over a week now since he declared the mating ceremony, he was gone before dawn. Meetings. Plans. The pack. Everyone else seemed to have more of him than I did.

And me? I woke up to an empty cold bed.

I rolled onto my back and stared at the ceiling, listening.

The packhouse was already alive below me. They were humming, the clattering of plates, pack members laughing, and little wolves running around. The preparations never stopped.

And then the headache began.

I've been having them for a week now. At first, I believed it was the stress from the preparations, but today I got feverish and cold even under the duvet.

I coiled deeper into it, my heart beating too fast, and my hands clammy against the sheets.

I tried to name it — excitement, fear, longing, but the truth was a mess of all three.

Finally, I pushed back the covers and swung my legs off the bed. 

The floor was cool under my bare feet, and I shuddered for a moment before my allergies kicked in and I sneezed hard.

The moment I stood up, the room tilted for a moment and my vision darkened around the edges, little stars crowding in.

I gripped the post of the bed with a small gasp. The weakness passed as quickly as it came, but left me rattled.

Normally, I have allergies every morning. I woke up, but today it came with a throbbing headache and dizziness.

I held my forehead in one hand and searched for warm slippers to slide my legs into.

I forced one steady breath, then another, just as the door opened.

Leo bounced in after he helped open the door for Chloe, who had a tray of food in her hands.

“Good morning, Luna”, Leo chirped, jumping on the bed and wrapping his tiny hands around my neck in a chokehold. He also smelled of soap and toothpaste.

I winced because his hands were icy cold.

“Why are your hands so cold, Leo” I asked.

He looked up at Chloe. “Aunty Chloe made me do all the dishes”, he pouted, putting his head on my neck and peering up at me.

I chuckled despite myself and shook my head.

Chloe smiled and set down the tray on the little table near the window.

“You missed breakfast downstairs. I brought you some eggs and toast.”

As soon as she opened the tray, the smell hit me before I even looked at it. Warm, buttery, heavy. My stomach turned so hard I had to slap a hand over my mouth.

The scent hit me before I even looked. Scrambled eggs, buttered toast, and a cup of herbal tea that Selene had insisted I take daily to help detox my skin and for the big day.

My stomach rumbled but not from hunger because immediately my throat closed.

“Oh, no…” I mumbled as heat surged up the back of my neck, and I pushed Leo gently aside, clamped a hand over my mouth, and bolted to the bathroom.

I choked and puked into the white sink.

My stomach lurched violently again as I doubled over the basin. The heaving came hard and fast, sharp enough to bring tears to my eyes. My entire body trembled with each wave as I puked everything, I had had the previous day out of my system.

When it finally eased, I stayed hunched over, my hands gripping the cold sink and trying to regain myself.

Leo stood in the bathroom doorway, his eyes filled with confusion while Chloe came close and ran her hands in soothing circles over my back.

Then she turned to Leo. “Get the doctor”

But my hand shot out and I held her

“No, it's not necessary” I heaved.

Leo came close and took my free hand in his, his eyes searching my face.

I looked down at him. “Don't worry, I'm fine baby.”

The. I turned to Chloe. “It was just the smell of the food that tipped me over. I think the stress is getting to me. I haven't really had a good sleep for days now, but I will be fine with a little rest I guess" I said, trying to reassure both of them and take away their worried looks.

“I know, but you still need a doctor just to be on the safe side. We have barely a week before the ceremony.”

She led me back to bed, then looked a little bit conflicted.

“I’ll take this away. Maybe tea would be easier to stomach?”

I nodded, and she poured the herbal tea for me. I sniffed it before taking it.

“You need to eat something, but maybe something lighter. I'll see what I can get in the kitchen", she said, picking up the food to leave. 

“Later,” I whispered. My chest still ached from the heaving. The thought of food made me recoil.

Then my eyes caught Leo looking at the tray of food with longing.

I touched her arm and said, “Let him eat the food”, I said.

Chloe eyed him. “He just ate a big bowl of the same breakfast just moments ago.”

Leo pouted and folded his arms across his chest.

“Are you still hungry”? I asked

He nodded

“Just give him the food but take it to the other side of the room,” I instructed.

Leo smiled while Chloe shook her head.

“You are so tiny, yet you eat so much”

I chuckled at their banter.

Her eyes turned to me, and she studied me a moment longer, then asked quietly, “Do you want me to fetch Morgan? He’s with the Sage in the study.”

Morgan.

At the sound of his name, a pang of longing burst through me. I felt an overwhelming need to be with him, so strong that I swayed with the thought.

I wanted him near… needed him, as if his presence could take all the uneasiness away.  “Where did you say he was?” My voice was sharper than intended.

“In the study,” Chloe said, tilting her head. “They’ve been going through the final ceremony rites since dawn.”

I bolted upright.

“I need to see my mate,” I said, slipping my robe on my shoulders.

“Right now,”? She asked, confusion evident in her eyes.

I nodded

“I just really need to see him,” I shot back, not slowing down.

“Then I'm coming with you” she followed me quietly out of the room.

We turned the corner and nearly collided with Harry.

He came to an abrupt halt and his gaze flicked from me to Chloe, lingering for a moment on Chloe before settling firmly on me.

“Luna, are you alright? You look a little pale.”

Chloe shifted, opening her mouth, but I cut in. “I need to see my mate.”

Harry took a look at me, then turned back to Chloe. “She needs to see her mate, why then are you following her?" He asked, and without giving her space to reply, pulled her gently towards himself, her back landing smack on his chest. Chloe gasped.

“She’ll be fine.”

I rolled my eyes and left them arguing.

Once I got to the study, I raised a hand to push it open, then froze.

Voices drifted through the crack.

“…still doubt, Alpha,” the Sage was saying, his tone measured, careful, but heavy with meaning. The Moon Goddess does not bless unions lightly. The signs were not clear. Some of the elders are still against this and until everyone agrees, we may run into problems.”

My heart clenched.