96- Cold but innocence

He sighed and turned away, not meeting my eyes.

“This isn’t the first time you’ve acted like you have a lot of money,” I pressed. The first time, I was concerned he had come by the money fraudulently. Being turned and getting pregnant had distracted me. “I’m your true mate and if you insist on giving me so much money, shouldn’t I know a bit about our finances?”

“Yes, yes you should,” Eron said reluctantly. “It’s just… I guess I’m uncomfortable with it…” I folded my arms, fixing him with a somewhat impatient look.

“My aunt and uncle own a lot of developed land on Half Moon Island,” he said after a long pause. “They collect quite a tidy sum from business leases and rental properties. And they divide the profits up evenly between them and my cousins… and me.” He shrugged, embarrassed.

“You don’t feel like you deserve it, since you’re not their son?” I guessed.

Eron nodded. “And by adding me, they’re splitting it up another way and all of my cousins get less. I feel bad getting it, especially with… well, I hate to spend it, so it just piles up. But I can’t think of anything better to spend it on than my true mate.”

“I thought your cousins all had businesses of their own,” I said. “Surely they don’t begrudge you getting a cut of it. Besides, wouldn’t you feel even less like a full member of the family if you didn’t get an even portion?”

He winced. “Yeah, I suppose that’s true.” My stomach rumbled and he laughed. “I heard that.

Why don't I get you something?”

“If you insist,” I said, knowing he did. It felt strange to have him fuss over me, and yet I enjoyed it.

I sat back while he bustled around in the little kitchen. And soon he had a sandwich and a mug of

something. He brought it over to me.

“This one is a half-caf, because I know you're not at your caffeine limit for the day.” “What is it?” I asked.

“Try it.”

I chuckled and took a sniff. Once again, it was completely different from some of the other coffees he had offered me. I tasted it cautiously, then took a couple more sips.

“It's not bad,” I conceded. “But probably still not something I would order by choice,” I said gently, hoping not to offend him.

Fortunately, he threw back his head and laughed. “Just you wait, Milan,” he promised. “I'm going to find something to get you excited about coffee.”

“I really think I can run a café without enjoying coffee,” I told him. “Besides, I do drink it. I just don’t love it.”

“I'm not going to have a mate who doesn't like coffee…” He raised a playful eyebrow. “Or cats.”

I smiled at him and admitted, “Actually, I think I'm quite starting to like cats now.” I stood and caught him by the shirt, pulling him close to me for a kiss. “In fact, there's one in particular I'm growing quite fond of…”“Well, thank you. I really appreciate it, Segel. I’ll tell Eron, thank you.” I hung up the phone with a groan. I couldn’t believe I missed another appointment due to the weather. Instead of finishing up my fourth check-up with Segel, I had just missed my third scheduled ultrasound, and my last chance to see the baby. I was too far along now that Segel, not to mention Eron, didn’t want me making the six-hour round-trip to the office. The weather was also making it tough for Segel to get out to me, so I had only seen him once.

I would have been nervous, but he had instructed Eron on how to measure my stomach, and had me tracking my weight, and counting baby kicks. So far, everything seemed fine. I was heavier and larger than Segel said he would have liked, but after a couple of blood sugar tests he was confident I just had a large baby. Not to mention a very active one. Segel wanted me to feel ten kicks every two hours, it was usually at least twice that. He suggested that if the baby was indeed on the big side, I was naturally feeling more movement. Either way, the baby and I seemed healthy, and I wasn’t worried about my missed appointments. Although, I was a bit disappointed I hadn’t gotten to see the baby yet.

And now, I was so close, this was supposed to be my final appointment. My due date was just two weeks away. Segel had just told me his schedule was clear enough that he would come spend the week in Port Canard to make sure he was nearby when the big day came. If all went well, I’d have a baby in just two short weeks.

After hanging up, I plodded downstairs, feeling off balance from my ridiculously huge stomach. I had to admit, sometimes I had seen a pregnant woman and thought she looked somewhat huge, but I couldn't believe just how uncomfortable it was. I felt like I was constantly at risk for tripping. And I was beyond annoyed that the weather was still this bad in early April. I felt nervous every time I went outside and there was ice, absolutely positive that I was going to slip and fall.

I put a hand underneath my belly, lifting it just a little, and supporting it as I walked down the stairs. I couldn't imagine how people did a full nine month pregnancy. This was awful. I could hear Eron talking and went down the rest of the steps as quickly as I dared, to see who he was talking with, before seeing that he was on his cell phone. He was just hanging up as I reached the bottom steps, and turned toward me with a wide smile.

“They got him!” he cried. “The hunter!” He laughed in disbelief and sat down on a stool, running a hand through his hair. “God, I'm so relieved.”

“Oh,” I said, pushing aside my rushing thoughts of kick counting and the upcoming due date. “You mean the one who was after your family?”

“Yeah.” Eron waved his phone. “That was Carrick, letting me know the hunter is finally in custody.” He sighed. “What a relief.”

“Seriously. How did they catch him?” I asked.

He shook his head and chuckled. “Brooks got him.” His mouth twisted into a wry grin. “I'm glad; I know Brooks was itching to pay him back for shooting him.”

“Brooks is your cousin's mate, right? I thought the hunter shot Carrick.”

“He shot Brooks too,” Eron said darkly. “Nearly killed him.” He shivered visibly and a haunted look crossed his face.

“You were there?” I guessed. A chill ran up my spine at the thought of how close Eron had been to the hunter. I couldn't imagine life now had something happened to him, even though we hadn’t met.

“It happened outside my café,” he said softly. “They brought him into the back room, so that Carrick could turn him. He would have died otherwise.” He heaved another sigh. “At least it's all over now.”

“That means when you go back home, you don't have to worry about avoiding you café anymore,” I said slowly.

He grinned. “Right. That'll be nice.” He must have caught something in my tone, because worry immediately crossed his face. He stood and regarded me. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” I said. “I just…” I decided I might as well voice my concerns. “I'm kind of worried, I guess. You seem so fond of your café, and your whole family is there on that island. I know you've been talking about my grand reopening here next spring and everything, but…” I hesitated.

He immediately knew. “You're worried about where we're going to live,” he said softly. “Because you don't think that I want to leave my café, and you don't want to leave your mother's?”

“Sort of,” I said. “I mean, I honestly don't know where I'd want to live. I hate to leave here. But I don't want to make you leave your home either.”

“If you're at all worried that I would leave you….” he said, as he rushed over. Eron took both of my hands and held them tightly. “I will always go wherever you do,” he said firmly. “You don't have to worry about that. If this is where you want to stay, this is where we will make our home.”

“What about your family though?” He shrugged. “They'll be all right.”

I narrowed my eyes at him. “Half a dozen people call you every morning after a full moon to make sure you're okay. I know you feel like you're the odd one out sometimes, but I really don't think you are. I think they love you like a brother. And that your aunt and uncle love you like a son. And I think and I don't they'd be very happy if you moved away just for me.”

Eron smiled. “You're probably right,” he said softly. He shook his head. “In fact, I know they feel that way. I truly do. I just… I don't know. I guess sometimes I have trouble believing it. But,” he added. “I wouldn't be the only one who moved away for a true mate.”

“You wouldn't be?” I asked. “I thought your whole family lived there.”

“My cousin Lysee lives in New Orleans with her mate and their child. They did live on Half Moon for a while, but they ended up going to live near her mate’s family instead. Besides,” he said with a dark chuckle. “I’d call and visit a hell of a lot more than Sladin does.”

“Sladin?” I asked. It was an unfamiliar name.

“My cousin,” Eron said, somehow not actually sounding all that convinced. “He… well, I don't know. Nobody really does. He just up and left Half Moon one day, ages ago. I was hardly more than a toddler at the time; not sure I even remember him. He just left and travels, I guess.” He shrugged. “He hasn't been back at all, as far as I can tell. He calls once in a while, but my aunt is usually beside herself missing him.”

“Is he an alpha? Isn’t that dangerous to be alone like that?”