Four Months Later…
It’d been four months since I’d said goodbye to Bastian, telling him that I needed some time to myself to figure things out. It’d been four months as Luna to the Blood Wolf Moon Pack and the Sapphire Moon Pack, trying to fix the broken pieces that Tarech had caused between the packs.
I moved everyone back to their original packs and re-established the rules and guidelines that my parents had put in place when they were Alpha and Luna of the pack.
There was a sense of relief and security felt once again throughout the packs.
At first, the Sapphire Moon Pack warriors were a little resistant to having women fighting beside them, but as they saw how they could handle themselves, they seemed to be a little more open to it.
I had been spending more time with the Sapphire Moon Pack since they currently did not have a Beta in place, and I was looking for someone to assist me when I traveled between the packs so that someone was in charge at all times. Soren had been staying with me, and our Gamma, Wesley, kept things intact at Blood Wolf Moon.
It’d been a rough four months. Every day, I thought about Bastian, wanting to see him, but I didn’t know if I was ready yet. I had tried to stay in touch with the girls; it’d just been hard when I was constantly needed. I was beginning to understand why this was a job for an Alpha and Luna together.
Freya: You could sext him.
Me: Freya, please. You are insatiable.
Freya: That’s not true. I have not had any in four months! Four months! I am going crazy. You said we would try to heal our heart, and since we have not been on an assignment in a while, I haven’t gotten anything!
Me: I’m sorry. You are right. I know I have made promises, but I didn’t think that I was going to be taking on two packs when we battled Tarech.
Freya: Just give me something. His scent, his voice, something to enjoy!
I shook my head as I continued my work. Oh, that wolf of mine.
***
Mak’s POV:
Knock, knock.
“Come in.”
I slowly opened the door and poked my head into Alpha Bastian’s office.
“Hi, Alpha. Can I talk with you for a moment?”
He looked up to see who was talking, and his expression on his face turned from a frown into a smile.
“Mak, sure, come on in. What seems to be the concern?” he asked as I took a seat in front of his desk.
“Oh, nothing is wrong, Alpha. I just wanted to get approval to leave to go visit a friend of mine.”
He looked at me confused for a moment, and then he realized which friend I was talking about.
His face looked sad for a moment before he answered, “Of course, Mak. How long do you think you will be gone?”
“I think no more than a week if that is okay?”
“Are you planning to take Terrin with you on this trip?”
“No, actually, I was wondering if Barlow could come with me too. We just want to check in on her and make sure that she is doing okay.”
He let out a grunt. “It’s Ria we are talking about, Mak. I’m sure that she is doing simply fine. But yes, I think it will be okay to take Barlow with you. Hopefully, she can get the okay from Jasper.”
“She has, Alpha.”
“When do you plan on leaving?”
“Actually, we hope to be getting on the road shortly. You see, it’s Ria’s birthday this weekend, and I haven’t missed one yet since I have met her.”
He looked surprised to hear this.
“Well, please give her my best and tell her I said happy birthday.”
“I will, Alpha. Thank you.”
I turned and walked out of the office. I quickly headed to Barlow’s room and knocked on the door. Barlow opened the door.
“Did he say we could go?”
“Yep, we are all cleared.”
“Great! I am all ready. I just have to say goodbye to Jasper out on the training field.”
“Yeah, I told Terrin I would do the same.”
Barlow grabbed her suitcase and started heading out to my car. With her suitcase in the trunk, we walked over to the training field since it was not too far.
Jasper walked up to Barlow. “So, you are really leaving me for a week to have a girl’s adventure,” he said with a pout.
“Come on, Jasper. Don’t guilt-trip me. That is not fair. I will be back before you know it.”
He pulled her into his arms and started laying kisses up and down her neck.
“Jasper, stop. You are bad.” She giggled.
I felt big arms wrap around me. “I am going to miss you while you are gone.”
I turned around and jumped into Terrin’s arms. “I will be back in about a week.”
“Tell Ria happy birthday for us and give her our best,” Terrin said as he kissed me and then placed his forehead against mine. He took a deep breath, taking in my scent before letting me down.
Barlow and I started to make our way to the car.
“Call me to let me know you got there okay,” Terrin yelled out.
I turned around, blew him a kiss, and said, “You know I will!”
We jumped in the car and took off.
Barlow pulled out her phone to get her GPS working.
“Alright, GPS says it will take us about three hours to get to her pack,” Barlow said as she placed the phone in my phone clip.
“Great. Alright, navigator, let’s get some tunes started and officially start our road trip.”
She pulled up the playlist that she had downloaded onto her phone and played the music through the speakers.
“I can’t believe it has been four months since we have seen Ria,” Barlow said as she put her sunglasses on to block out the sunlight.
“Time slows down for no one.”
“I know, but I just think that after everything that has happened that we would have been in touch with her more.”
“I’m guilty of some of it since I quit the Council after finding Terrin. I have been pretty self-absorbed.”
“Yeah, I guess I was too. Jasper and I have been trying to conceive this last heat period, and I was kind of bummed when I found out that I wasn’t pregnant.”
“It’s okay, Barlow. You will get pregnant when the time is right. Just don’t stress over it. Also, we could always ask Ria if her grandmother has any herbal remedies to help with fertility.”
“That sounds like a good idea. I just hope she is not too busy for us to come and see her.”
“Already took care of that. I spoke with her Beta, Soren, so he knows we are coming. He said he would do what he could to help relieve some of the duties so that she could have a good time. It was kind of weird, though, because he seemed like he wanted to tell me something but kept stopping himself before he could.”
“Hmm… maybe she’s met someone,” Barlow suggested.
“No, I definitely think I would have received a call or text about that.”
“Well, we will just have to wait and see.”
I nodded my head in agreement as I continued to lip-sync to the music that was blasting from my speakers.
The drive seemed to go pretty quick. It’s also convenient when you were the only car on the road, and we were speeding down the highway.
We got to the security gate.
“Good evening, ladies. Can I have your names, please?”
“Hi, I’m Mak, and this is Barlow. We are here to see Luna Luria, please?”
“Yes, I have you right here. Beta Soren made sure I had them himself. Welcome to the Sapphire Moon Pack.”
“Thank you,” we said in unison as the guard gate was opened, and we were able to enter.
We made our way to the packhouse, and Soren met up at the door.
“Welcome, ladies. It is good to see you again.”
“Yes, Soren. Good to see you too. How has Ria been?”
He looked at us like he had seen a ghost. “Um, I’ll let you be the judge of that. Please, right this way.”
We gave each other a confused look and then followed him into the house.
He made it to the Luna’s office door and gently knocked. “Luna,” he said softly and with a slight hum in his voice.
“Soren, I do not want to be disturbed right now,” she yelled.
“Soren, please tell me that is not Ria,” I said to him while pointing to the door.
He nodded and started making his way out of the hall before we continued.
I knocked on the door again. This time, a very flustered Ria flung the door open in an uproar before realizing we were standing in front of her.
“Wh...What are you guys doing here?” she said as she pulled us into a hug.
“We are here to celebrate your birthday, you silly girl,” I said as I hugged her, but I was confused that I couldn’t get as close to her as I normally could.
“My birthday? Oh my gosh, that’s right. My birthday is this weekend,” she said as she turned back into the office and quickly scurried behind her desk to sit back down.
“Yes, it is. So, what’s going on with you? I have never seen you be this moody before.”
“Oh…I am just exhausted going back and forth between the two packs.”
“Well, you look absolutely radiant,” Barlow said as she sat down in the chair next to me.
“Yeah, girl, what have you been doing to make you look this amazing?” I asked as I took the seat next to Barlow.
“Oh, you know, just working away trying to keep two packs working without having to be physically in two places at once.”
“No, that’s not it. This is something else. If I didn’t know better, I would say that you were pregnant with a pup. But that can’t be the case,” Barlow said, laughing half-heartedly.
Ria looked like a deer caught in the headlights but tried to cover it up, but not quickly enough for me not to catch her.
“Wait, are you pregnant?” I asked.
“What?” she said with unease in her voice.
I got up from my seat and walked around her desk. She was still sitting straight and refused to turn to face me.
“Ria?”
“Yes?” she said, still not turning to look at me.
“Luria Mathieson! You turn and look at me right now!”
She lowered her head as she turned in her chair to face me. She let out a big sigh before looking up at me with tears brimming her eyes.
I squatted down in front of her. “Honey, why didn’t you say something?”
Barlow got up and moved around the desk to see for herself. There was a large stomach just sitting there on Ria’s petite body. Barlow cupped her hands over her mouth. I knew that she was having mixed feelings about this.
“What can I do? I’m currently Alpha/Luna of both packs right now. Everything is just a mess, and I thought it would just be better if I didn’t bring you two in the middle of it.” She sobbed.
“Shh, Ria, please, calm down. Everything will be okay.” I took her in my arms and let her cry.
She turned and looked at Barlow. “I’m so sorry, Barlow!” She sobbed even more.
“Sweetie, why are you telling me you’re sorry?” she said as she crouched down next to me.
She sniffed before saying, “Because I know how much you and Jasper want to have pups, and here I am, pregnant with no mate.” She started crying again.
“Ria, you didn’t plan for this to happen. It’s just not the right time for Jasper and me. I am not upset with you for being pregnant. I am so happy for you.”
She continued to sniff but started to calm down a little.
“Really?”
“Really.”
“Come on. Let’s go into the kitchen and grab some yummy treats, and you can tell us everything that has been going on since you left,” I said as I pulled her up from her chair.
She rubbed her nose on her sweater and said, “Okay.” She gave a smile as she walked out with Barlow and me to head out and find the kitchen.
We walked into the kitchen and found an older woman scurrying around the kitchen. To our surprise, when she turned around, we saw that it was Mandella, Ria’s grandmother.
“Mandella!” Barlow and I both yelled out with happiness.
“Oh, girls! What a wonderful surprise to see both of you. Are you here to celebrate Ria’s birthday?”
“Yes! And also found out the little secret that she has been hiding,” I said, pointing towards Ria’s tummy.
Mandella gave a stern look over at Ria before replying, “Well, yes, I am sure it is. I have been telling her for weeks that she needs to tell someone about it. Of course, I was hoping it would be that handsome Alpha, but she refuses.”
We both looked at her with shock.
“Wait, Bastian is the father?” Barlow and I both said at the same time.
She shrunk down in her spot as she continued to eat a cookie.
“I haven’t had a chance to tell him yet,” she said innocently as she shrugged her shoulders.
“Ria! He needs to know that you are having his pup.”
“I know; I know, and I will tell him soon. I promise,” she said as she crossed her heart.
“Alright, we will drop the subject for now because we are here to have a good time and celebrate your birthday.”
“Thank you!”
“Alright, my dears. Why don’t you all head out to the living room, and I will bring you a variety of sweets and treats, and you can all catch up,” Mandella said as she skooches us out of the kitchen.
We made our way out into the living room, and each of us picked a spot to sit. It took Ria a little longer to get comfortable, but she soon did.
“So, how long has Mandella been here?” I asked her.
“About a month. She says she sensed something was up and needed to be here for me.”
“Well, her instincts are still spot on,” I responded, impressed with Mandella’s abilities.
“That she does,” Ria answered, not too thrilled.
“So, tell us, what has been going on?” Barlow asked.
“Well, after I left you guys, I started back here with healing the packs and putting them back to the way they were. I have learned so much about being a pack leader these last four months. These two packs are quite different, but both carry so much strength and love. It’s utterly amazing.”
“Wow, Ria. That is so great,” I told her.
Mandella walked in with a tray full of different sweets and treats and a couple of cheeseburgers.
“Here you go, my dear.” She handed the plate of burgers to Ria.
“Oh, thank goddess, thank you. I was starting to have a craving for meat,” Ria said before taking a huge bite out of the burger.
Barlow and I gave each other weird looks before each of us grabbed something off of the tray.
“Girls, is there anything else that I can get for you?” Mandella asked.
“I think we are good. Ria might be a whole other case, though.”
She glared at me for a moment before turning to Mandella and asking, “Can you get me the jar of dill pickles, please?”
“Are you feeding for more than two?” I looked at her with an alarmed face.
“What? My doctor says I am doing just fine,” she said with a pout.
I smirked at her.
“Quit pouting. That face does not work on me,” I said as I leaned back onto the couch, placing one leg underneath me and my other leg bent and raised close to my chest.
“So, tell us when you found out that you were pregnant?” Barlow asked.
“That is kind of a funny story. I actually didn’t realize I was pregnant until about a month ago.”
“How is that?” we both yelled.
“I didn’t really have any symptoms and did not start showing until this last month. It wasn’t until Mandella showed up and said something about it.”
Mandella walked in right then, placing a bowl of dill pickles in front of Ria and rubbing her shoulder a little, showing a kind gesture of love to her granddaughter.
“I had a feeling that something was going on with Ria, and it had been a while since I had spoken with her. So, I decided to give her a visit. I could sense it the second I walked into the door.”
Ria sighed as she continued to eat. I realized she was eating her feelings more than anything about this.
I leaned over to her and rested my hand on her knee before saying to her, “You know that we will always be here for you.”
I could tell she was getting emotional as she tried to fight the tears and put on a brave face before responding, “I know, and you have no idea how much I love you both for that.”
I smiled and nodded before saying, “But who would help you most is Bastian. You need to tell him.”
Nodding her head in agreement, she said, “You’re right; I do need to tell him. I have just been so busy that I really don’t think I should tell him over the phone. It should be in person. But between the two packs, I haven’t had a chance.”
“You need to make time. He needs to know before you give birth to that pup. You do know that a wolf typically delivers between five and six months. You don’t have nine to ten months like you do for a human pregnancy,” I said.
“I know, I know. I am running out of time. I just don’t know how he is going to take it. How is he, by the way? Has he found his second mate yet?” she asked with desperation in her tone.
Barlow answered her, “No, he has not, and he has been doing the same thing as always, which is keeping himself busy with the pack, so he doesn’t have to think about you.”
“Oh.”
“You know he also wanted us to tell you he said hello and to wish you a happy birthday from him.”
Ria started to sniffle as the tears started to roll down her cheeks.
I crawled over to her, wrapped my arms around her, and cuddled with her before saying, “Oh, Ria. Everything is going to be okay.”
“I miss him so much.”
“Ria, then why did you leave?” I asked her.
She pulled away from me as she brushed the tears off her face and took a deep breath before saying, “I left because I didn’t think it would be fair to him for me to stay. He deserves to find his second mate, and it’s my stupid fault for allowing myself to fall for him.”
“Did you ever heal your heart like you promised you would?” I asked.
She looked up like she didn’t hear me. “Hmm?”
“Don’t look at me like that. You know darn well what I said, and I will not ask you again.”
“I meant to. But I still haven’t figured out how to heal myself yet.”
“Mandella, aren’t you able to help heal her the way you helped me?” I asked.
“No, the heart has to be ready, and Ria has her heart still heavily guarded even more now than ever. You were ready.”
“What is stopping you?”
“This!” And she waved her hand all around and then around her stomach. “I have human feelings for Bastian. I don’t know who my second mate would be, and don’t you think it is a messed-up situation if it’s not Bastian and my second mate finds out I got pregnant with an Alpha’s pup.”
“But what if it is Bastian? You have said that Freya has always enjoyed his smell and has never complained after having sex with him.”
She nodded in agreement, but I could tell that she was still heavily guarded.
I pack-linked Barlow.
Me: Barlow, I have a feeling that we may need to intervene in this situation and push these two back together.
Barlow: My thoughts exactly.
“Let’s pick a movie to watch and just relax. No more talk about the baby and when you will be telling Bastian. Okay?”
She sniffed. “Okay, thank you so much for coming down here and celebrating my birthday with me. I have missed you guys so much.”
We all got comfy and watched a movie of Ria’s choosing.
The rest of the weekend went by in a flash, and we decided to head back to the pack early and blamed it on the guys saying they missed us and needed us back.
We were packing the car up when Mandella came out with a basket full of goodies for the ride home.
“Thanks, Mandella. We really appreciate this.”
“Oh, before I forget, here you go, Barlow.”
She handed Barlow a small pouch.
“What’s this for?”
“Put this in your drink every morning for two weeks before your heat is to arrive. This should help you.”
“But I never… Thank you, Mandella.”
Mandella smiled and said, “My pleasure, dearie. Now you two skedaddle and be on your way.”
We waved goodbye and headed off.
On the drive home, Barlow and I decided to tell Bastian that Ria was pregnant. We both knew that she was dragging her feet for certain reasons and would need Bastian to step up and drag her butt back here so that they could figure this out together.
I kept wondering how Bastian was going to take the news that he was going to be a father.
But what troubled me even more was how much Ria was going to hate me for sticking my nose where it didn’t belong.