284- The Nest
POV Aldren Valmorin:
If we managed to sleep for three whole hours during those three days, it was a lot.
The bed was a complete mess, but Elowen wouldn’t let me change the sheets or dismantle the nest. The mere mention of it made her growl angrily, and I could confess that I only brought it up to provoke her.
It had become a pile of tangled fabrics and rolled blankets, over which she seemed to have a complete obsession.
Holding her from behind in the middle of that chaos, I studied how to convince her that we needed to return to society.
“It’s so warm here, so comforting…”
I wasn’t sure I could say the same.
“What do you think about going downstairs to eat? I’m starving.”
Ravenous, we devoured everything Nerin left at the door during our few breaks. But the energy we spent couldn’t compare to the few calories we had consumed over those days.
“And leave here? It’s so good… don’t you think?”
In the short time it took me to answer, she turned on the mattress, lying face-to-face with me and draping a bare leg over my hip. She raised an eyebrow suspiciously.
“You’re not thinking about undoing our nest, are you?”
“I would never do that, my queen…” I didn’t manage to sound convincing enough, because I started laughing.
Of all the things I imagined I would go through in life, needing to sleep in a nest was at the very end of the gigantic list.
She threw a slap at my shoulder, pouting.
“My creature will be very, very, very offended. I can feel it. Don’t you dare!”
“In the nest, you’re the one in charge,” I declared, pulling her closer against me until our bodies were fully pressed together.
I felt—and saw in the vast blue of her eyes—a spark of fear.
“What is it?”
“Nothing…”
“Wrong answer, mated companion.”
She let out a shy laugh.
“And if… a pup doesn’t come?”
“You will never take antidote again. Sooner or later you’ll get pregnant. We’ll have a lot of pups. I know it.”
Her cheeks flushed.
“I wanted a little girl…” she confessed.
“I don’t know if I could be the father of a girl and not die before my time.”
She arched her eyebrows, surprised.
“Hey! Why?”
“I’d kill every male who came near her. That’s a fact.”
My mate laughed.
“The only thing I don’t want to do is promise her in marriage to another. I want our daughter to be free to choose her love.”
That desire came from a trauma—her old family and pack.
“Don’t worry about that. I think that custom is outrageous.”
“Then I’ll have children with the right wolf.” She smiled.
“You will. And what will be the name of our first daughter?”
Her eyes shone, and her overflowing emotions became almost tangible.
“Zara.”
“Zara…” I tested the word on my own tongue.
“Isn’t it beautiful?”
“Yes, I like it. But the name of the first male—I want to choose it,” I hurried to say.
“Oh, come on… and what will it be?”
“I wouldn’t tell you even if I were dying.”
“You’ll only know when he’s born.”
“Oh, no!”
“Oh, yes.”
I pushed her down onto the mattress, tickling her ribs. The sound of her laughter filled the air and warmed my chest.
I loved that female.
We took a bath and got dressed, eager to finally have a decent meal. Possessive about the nest, she only agreed to go downstairs after I locked the door to our bedroom and handed the key to her.
Hilarious.
While we were still going down the stairs, beside my partner, I felt her heart racing and all her embarrassment for having been locked away for three days.
Stopping on the last step, I pulled her toward me and placed a kiss on her mouth, releasing calming pheromones over her.
“Thank you for that…”
“There’s no reason for us to be ashamed.”
She gave a smile, her cheeks still warm, and as soon as we stepped into the kitchen, Nerin forgot that she was usually discreet.
“Finally! I thought I’d never see you two again,” she said, laughing.
When she realized Elowen had frozen in embarrassment, she cleared her throat.
“I’ll cut off your antidote and call Konrad, Nerin,” I teased.
Her lips parted in horror.
“Absolutely not. He already came here, and I put an end to his hopes.”
“Wow! But why?” Elowen remembered that she could speak.
“Chemistry between wolves isn’t created, dear. It either exists or it doesn’t,” she replied with a shrug.
“Well, that’s a fact,” Elowen said, quickly exchanging a knowing glance with me.
“Sit down. I’ll serve food to the lovebirds. You must be starving.”
Eagerly, I rubbed my hands together.
“You’re amazing, Nerin.”
I walked to the small table and pulled out the chair for the Queen of Valmorin to sit. She loved being pampered, and I loved the smiles and kisses I received in return.
After settling her, I sat down across from her.
Disconnected from humanity for three days, I grabbed the phone I had forgotten in my pocket. The small percentage of battery was enough to read the report from my men about everything that had happened in my absence.
My mated partner felt my tension and touched my hand resting on the table.
“Orion arrived in Romania, and my guards arrested him. The family he brought is with us.”
Looking at me with empathy, she intertwined her fingers with mine. Her touch could stop a storm inside me.
“I hope the spell can be broken.”
“I hope so too.”
After a long sigh, Nerin served us her magnificent food. As concerned about me as Elowen was, she touched my shoulder.
“You’re not perfect, Aldren, but unlike many alphas I’ve known, when you made mistakes, you did it trying to do the right thing. It was for a greater good.”
“I believe that too,” my female joined her.
“I just don’t want to fail again. Not anymore.”
Nerin shook her head in disagreement, sobriety in her dark eyes.
“The true strength of an alpha is not in the absence of failure, but in the ability to rise again and keep fighting for what is right.”
I turned to my partner, meeting her devoted and loving gaze.
I didn’t know whether I deserved Elowen—or Nerin—but I was grateful to the gods for the honor of having them in my life.
Neither past nor future.
For the first time in my long life, I longed to live in the present without fearing tomorrow.