Page 101 of Pucking the Enemy

Chewing on my pile of rabbit food, I glared at my notes.

It was midterms, and I had so many tests and papers due.

It didn’t help that I was in constant discomfort. My sweet little peanut was squishing all my organs, giving me back pain, and making my nipples throb with pain.

To add insult to injury, the guys had made it their mission to feed me a variety of garden clippings. A prime example—they had me eating a kale salad while studying.

What I really wanted was donuts.

And fries.

And anything deep fried and covered with sugar.

Not kale salad.

Salad was amazing… in moderation.

The sad salad had been lovingly packed by one of the guys for my study session at the library. I had insisted on getting out of the house, thinking a change of scenery would do me good.

Only, I had forgotten just how uncomfortable the plastic library chairs were. I had been spoiled by the luxurious, over-stuffed furniture at the pack house.

My phone pinged, and I reached for it in my handbag on the floor. Leaving it down there had been a mistake, since the movement made my back scream in pain.

It was my mother. Again.

Groaning, I rejected the call. She had been relentless in her attempts to call me over the last few days. Her anger wasn’t something I particularly wanted to endure when I was tired, cranky, and sore.

My father hadn’t even bothered to try contacting me, but that wasn’t exactly abnormal behavior for him. Instead of answering my mother, I texted Seb.

Hazel:

Can you pick me up after your next class? I can’t spend another minute studying.

Seb:

Sure thing, my class is done in twenty. Ice cream?

Hazel:

Why are you so perfect?

Seb:

It’s my cross to bear.

I snorted lightly to myself before throwing my phone back into my bag, slamming the textbook closed and grabbing my things.

Wandering out of the library, I headed to the small kiosk outside, grabbing a decaf tea to warm my hands in the frigid February air. Sitting on a bench, I let my mind wander, slowly sipping my tea while I waited for Seb.

Despite the physical discomfort, I had never been happier. The baby turned, and my hand rested lightly on my bump. It was like my early days of pregnancy had flown by in the blink of an eye. In a few months, I would be a mother.

I had even started a list of items I wanted for the nursery. It hadn’t taken long for the wonderful world of themes to absorb me. There were so many options, and my inner omega was having a party trying to decide what to do.

For the first few months, the baby would be living with me in my nest, with its cloud themes. After that, I was considering some sort of fruit or nature theme for the nursery.

The guys had decided that, after finals, we could do a little shopping trip to figure out exactly what I wanted.

Luckily, having so many pack mates had its uses. There was no way in hell they were going to allow me to assemble a single piece of furniture.

---