Chapter 182

Shawna POV

We make our way to Michael's parents' house. His brother James is there already, standing in the kitchen, talking to his mother and another woman. This other woman is younger, probably in her late twenties, with long, jet-black hair and skin the color of caramel. She turns her onyx eyes towards me and smiles. "You must be Shawna," she says, walking around the counter to pull me in for a hug. "I'm Collette, James' mate. Welcome to Georgia." She pulls back and pats my shoulders as she turns towards Michael. "So good to see you, Michael," she says, giving him a quick hug before returning to the kitchen to continue helping Michael's mother.

"This is my brother James," Michael offered as James held out his hand to shake mine.

"Hello, Shawna, it's so great to see you here with Michael. How do you like your house?" he asked as I shook his hand.

"I love it!" I said. "Did you help?" I asked with a smile.

"I supervised more than anything," he chuckled. "I don't do construction. Michael was quite specific about what he expected, so I needed to ensure they got it right. I don't want my brother pissed at me."

"Oh, you don't?" I laughed.

"No, he's a scary guy," James replied. Then he threw me a wink and turned towards his mate. "Collette, I'm going to sit with Dad for a bit before dinner. Did you want me for anything now?"

I watched as this big Alpha man stared with adoration at his mate; clearly, she was in charge. Collette turned and smiled, shaking her head no. "All good here," she said.

James nodded and left the kitchen. Michael pulled me in to whisper in my ear. "Will you be upset if I leave you with my mother and Collette? I think you should get to know them without me hovering," he said. I smiled at him and patted his arm.

"Michael, I'm fine. Spend time with James and your father. I am sure I can make myself useful here in the kitchen with these two lovely women," I told him. He kissed me on the cheek and then pulled away. He kissed his mother on the cheek as he passed by her to the study, where I was sure he'd find his father and brother.

"How can I help?" I asked, clapping my hands together.

"You're a guest for tonight," his mother replied. "After today, you're going to be dug in deep. Enjoy it while you can," she laughed.

"Do you want a glass of wine?" Collette offered.

"No, I can't drink right now," I told her. She gave me a curious nod and then looked over at Janice, her brow raised. "Is there a particular reason why?" she finally asked, when Janice didn't respond. I watched the smirk spread across Janice's face, like she was holding back a smile and wanted to spill the beans. Instead, she made wide eyes at me and tilted her head, waiting for my response.

"I'm pregnant," I finally said, smiling. "Thirteen weeks approximately, or so that's what Doctor Constance said today."

"Oh wow," Collette smiled widely, a dimple showing itself in her right cheek. "You saw the doctor already; you just got here."

"Yes, well, we had some concerns," I replied. "I haven't seen a doctor yet, and we wanted to be sure that everything was okay."

"So the first Alpha heir," Collette breathed out. "Does Dean know?" she asked, turning towards Janice.

"He does. He's overjoyed," Janice said. "Though he won't act like it in front of anyone but me."

"You beat James and I," Collette winked at me. "You two must be having a lot of sex," she laughed. "Newly mated?"

"Not exactly," I said quietly. "We have been together for quite a while, but I wasn't certain we were mates. We waited for a mating moon run to be sure," I said sheepishly.

"Let me get this straight," Collette said. "You had this hunk of a man chasing you for however long and didn't give in to him until you knew you were mates?" She smacked a hand against her thigh with a laugh. "The Alpha male put up with that?" She was shaking her head with laughter now. "Amazing. I need to learn your tricks."

My silence must have garnered her attention because she stopped laughing and looked at me hard, and then at Janice. Janice had her head bowed as she stirred the pot on the stove, saying nothing. "I um, I had some trauma. I was working on it. We are good now, though. I'm healing, and Michael is amazing. The best man I know, actually, and I said that even before I knew we were mates."

"I'm so sorry," she whispered. "Does this have to do with that Alpha that was executed a couple of weeks ago?" Her brow was creased with concentration as she appeared to be remembering something she had heard.

"Yes," I said in response.

"That is enough talk of that," Janice finally said with a sigh. "If and when Shawna wants to talk about it she will. Now let's focus on better things, like the fact that we will have a little one running around here soon. What are your thoughts on finding out the sex?" she asked, smiling.

"Oh, I had Doctor Constance do the blood work, so we will know in about a week," I beamed. "I just couldn't wait. I want to get the nursery prepared as I'm decorating the rest of the house."

"I'm excited," Janice said. "I want to make the baby a blanket in my spare time."

"What spare time?" Collette asked with a laugh. "Besides your Luna duties, you are still training me, and let's not forget all the things that keep you busy with the family," she looked at her watch. "Speaking of which, where is Peter?"

"Late again," Janice said. "And dinner is almost ready. He'd better hurry up or his father is going to give him hell."

"Is he bringing Stephanie?" Collette asked. I could see a hint of a smirk on her face, as if she knew this could potentially be an issue but found it amusing.

"Probably," Janice said. "It's likely why he is late."

"Why would bringing his girlfriend make him late?" I asked. "I would think she would want to make a good impression." I watched as Collette began to eat a roll from the bowl on the counter, the steam was still rolling off of them. She winked at me and then handed me one. The bread smelled delicious and I couldn't say no. I watched Janice, waiting for her response as I took a bite of the warm roll myself.

"Chances are, she coerced him into having sex before they came," Janice finally replied. "I think she's trying to get pregnant on purpose so that he will take her as a chosen mate. I don't want to think poorly of the girl; she's nice enough, but I feel like she needs more self-respect. Peter confided in James that it boosts her confidence if they have sex before coming over here, it makes her feel like she has control over Peter. It is ridiculous," Jance says.

"What's ridiculous, mother?" A younger version of Dean strolled through the kitchen from the living room. This had to be Peter; he looked exactly like Dean, only about two inches shorter. He was alone, a bottle of wine in his hand. He placed the bottle on the counter and then kissed his mother on the cheek.

Janice looked at me and Collette, smoothed her apron, and turned to her son. "Oh, just that you are late. Here you are, just as we are about to serve the food."

"You know I'd never miss a meal," he winked at both Collette and me and then popped an entire roll into his mouth, a grin spread wide. I think he knew exactly what his mother had said.