Chapter 94
Kathy woke up, and the first thing she noticed was the absence of Anthony, then she felt the dampness on her shirt as she turned on the lamp and saw milk leaking from her breast. She left the bed and went to check on the babies, who were still asleep, knowing the urgent task of preparing their milk bottles awaited their awakening. Entering the kitchen, Kathy took out the spotless bottle, retrieved the milk from the refrigerator, and poured it, setting it aside to adjust to the temperature.
Following that, she strolled to the breast pump, the sterile parts already assembled as she prepared for her shower, the whirring of the machine a familiar sound as it began to extract her milk. She walked over to the chair and sat, all the while scrolling through her phone, checking for any new messages or calls. As she turned, the door swung open, and Anthony strolled in, his tie askew, while she glanced at the clock, which showed it was nearly two in the morning. He looked exhausted, but Kathy saw his golden eyes, revealing Max's control.
“Welcome home,”
“It’s good to be home, the food was good. It’s seemed that you were sleeping,”
“Yes, I was. I try to stay up to wait for you to come home. Go and take a shower—I should be in there shortly,” Kathy replied, her voice soft but tired. Anthony gave her a grateful smile, his fatigue momentarily softened by her warmth.
Instead of heading straight to the bathroom, Max sat down beside her, gently pulling her chair closer to him. He leaned in and kissed the side of her head; the gesture so tender it made Kathy smile despite her exhaustion. For a moment, the worries of the night faded, replaced by the comfort of their quiet connection.
"I smell your milk."
“Wait, you can?” asked Kathy
“Wait, you can?” asked Kathy, her eyebrows knitting together as she looked at him with genuine surprise. Anthony—no, Max—grinned, his fatigue momentarily overshadowed by amusement. “Of course,” he murmured, his voice low and teasing as he tucked a loose strand of her hair behind her ear. “It’s stronger than any perfume you could wear.” Kathy felt her cheeks flush, a mix of embarrassment and fascination swirling in her chest. She glanced down at the pump, its steady rhythm almost comforting, and then back at him, wondering how much he noticed when Max was in control. As the hush of the night wrapped around them, the intimacy of their quiet exchange lingered, both of them finding solace in simple truths and the gentle rituals of home.
The pump shuddered to a halt as Kathy rose from her chair, and she crossed the room to the counter, pincher in hand, ready to pour the milk. Now her chest felt lighter, but she wanted to pump a bit more before her breasts filled with milk again. Max went over to her and wrap his arms around her waist and breathe in her scent and kiss her neck. Then he heard her stomach start to growl as he stands by her side and look at her.
“Did you eat something?” asked Max, concern threading through his voice as he lingered near her side. Kathy gave a small, sheepish smile and shook her head, admitting, “Yes, early with the ladies. Plus, I am breastfeeding so I get hungry faster,” her tone half-apologetic, half-amused by the new rhythms of her life. Max nodded, his gaze softening, and reminded her gently, “After finishing doing that, eat something,” before moving to help tidy up the kitchen. Once she was finished pumping and the milk was in the fridge, she took the pump apart so it could be washed. The kitchen was quiet; the only sound was the gentle clink of plastic as Kathy set the pieces in the sink. Max hovered close by, watching her with a soft concern that made her smile despite herself. She rinsed each part carefully, her movements slow and methodical, the routine both tiring and familiar. As she placed the last piece on the drying rack, Kathy glanced at the clock, feeling the weight of the night settle in her bones, but comforted by the presence of Max and the knowledge that, for now, their little world was peaceful.
After rinsing the last piece and setting it aside, Kathy quickly grabbed a small bowl of fruit from the fridge, savoring each bite to calm the hunger gnawing at her. Feeling a little more settled, she gathered the three bottles in her hands and quietly made her way back into their bedroom, placing them carefully on the nightstand so they would be ready for the babies' next feeding. Just as she turned to check on everything.
“What did you say to Alpha Troy?” asked Max
“I told him, if he does decide to help Samuel. I would do to the werewolf elders and tell them that he used gambling until he got himself into debt, lucky I was nice enough to pay them off for him because he was about to use the pack money to pay off that debt. You can say that I save his ass,”
“Alpha Troy didn’t say that, what he told used that you save him from a human who found out that she was pregnant and both of the agree not to keep it,”
“Alpha Troy didn’t say that; what he told us was that you saved him from a human who found out she was pregnant, and both of them agreed not to keep it,” Max recounted, his brow furrowing as he pieced together the conflicting versions. Kathy let out a low, humorless chuckle, shaking her head at the messiness of secrets and the ways stories shifted depending on who was telling them. “He gave a different story because he didn't want to be discovered.”
“You can say that,”
“Kathy what else secret you hiding?”
Kathy just turns around, looking deep into Max's eyes, her silence a shield as she weighed how much to reveal. Instead, she pressed a gentle kiss to his lips, hoping it would soften the questions she wasn't ready to answer, though she doubted forgiveness would come so easily. Max lingered in her gaze, searching for the pieces she kept hidden, but sensing her reluctance, he let the moment breathe. The quiet between them grew heavy with both understanding and unspoken truths, the night air wrapping around their small kitchen as if to remind them that, for now, being together was enough—even with secrets left unspoken.