Page 4 of The Broken Aztec Princesses

‘Yes.’

I headed down to the living room and paced the door. When I heard Cory's triple knock, I grabbed the door nob to open the door and froze.

I can do this. I can do this. The pack is safe.I repeated over in my mind, trying to talk myself into following through with my intentions.

“I’ll be with you every step of the way, Bug.” Cory’s soft voice from the other side of the door calmed my panic, and I finally turned the handle. “You look very pretty,” he said, smiling down at me and holding his arm out. I tucked my arm around his, and we walked down to the pack house, using the safety he provided as my strength.

Evie was already waiting outside of the pack house—one of the twins on her hip and the other one in Meli’s arms. I untangled myself from Cory and took the twin from Meli. I recognized I was holding Leo from the little freckle on the top of his ear. I hugged him tightly to me and smelled his tiny little head happily.

I only got to see them when they came over for dinner once a week. I loved pups, and my brothers’ kids were so adorable that I always melted when I was around them. I watched the SUVs driving toward the pack house and tensed. I hugged and inhaled Leo’s baby smell to calm myself and scooted a little closer to my brother as the vehicles parked, trying hard to focus on anything but the panic I felt rising inside me.

From my left, Jo ran up and hugged his uncle and grandmother as they exited the first SUV. The man was Uncle Diego’s Gamma and often traveled to visit. A moment later,Melinda squealed from behind me when she saw another woman exiting the SUV, and I flinched, startled.

“Sorry,” she whispered before rushing to hug the older woman.

"Viniste, Mami!” (You came, Mom!) she squealed.

“Claro, mija. Con las noticias que me diste, como no venir?” (Of course I did. With the news you gave me, how could I not?)

‘What news?’I asked Cory, who grinned down at me as he waited for Uncle Diego’s SUV to start opening and letting people out.

‘Melinda’s pregnant. Due in another three months,’he replied, happiness in his voice.

‘More pups!’I squealed happily back.

‘Yep.’

Uncle Diego climbed out of the last SUV with Dad and strutted up the steps with his mate, Ana, dragging behind as Melinda embraced her. She started up the steps, laughing at her mate as if she knew what he was going to say. Everyone knew what he was going to say as he approached Cory.

“Tocayo! How’s your wolf?”

Cory chuckled and hugged him. Cory and Uncle Diego’s wolves were both named Tenoch. Since the day he found out, Uncle Diego made it a point to remind everyone of this when they got together by calling him “Tocayo,” which was a word of camaraderie in Mexico usually done by people who shared the same name. Uncle Diego pulled back and turned his attention to the twins. “And there are the little heirs. I can’t believe I’m getting old.”

“Tell me about it,” Dad answered as he walked up the steps.

Uncle Diego took little Lucas from Evie, and I breathed a small sigh of relief that I hoped no one noticed. If he had his hands full, he couldn’t hug me. I loved Uncle Diego, but he wasn’t one of thepeople I was comfortable touching right now. That would take time, and he was never here long enough for me to get there. His son wasn’t ready to take the Alpha title yet, so he could only get away for small periods of time.

“You guys are barely fifty. That’s like a third of your lifespan,” Cory rolled his eyes.

Uncle Diego came up to me and smiled.

“Really good to see you, Violet.” He patted my shoulder lightly with a wide smile but thankfully kept his distance. I didn’t want to ask, but I would bet my trust fund Dad explained things on the way here, and I was grateful he respected my boundaries. Uncle Diego was a big hugger.

We walked inside, and Mom came running out of the kitchen, a big smile on her face when she saw me and veered straight to Uncle Diego for a big hug. Dad sidled up to Mom when she released Uncle Diego, placing his arm securely around her waist and kissing her temple. Even after almost thirty years of being together, he still couldn’t spend much time apart from her.

Evie walked over and tried to take Leo away, but I shook my head. He was my safety blanket and my buffer right now. If I could get through this, it would be thanks to him.

Evie nodded in understanding, and we headed into the dining room. I went to sit down at the corner of the family table, but Cory guided me to the seat next to him. When I looked at him with a question, he shrugged.

“I told you I’d be right there next to you,” he whispered.

Dad sat to the other side of me, and people began to filter in. There was surprise on the faces of some of the pack members when they caught sight of me, but no one mentioned anything. The dinner was going well, and I was starting to relax until nature called, and I couldn’t hold it anymore.

I passed Leo to Cory and told him I was heading to the bathroom, using the side entrance to avoid everyone, and usingthe bathroom down the conference room hallway. No one usually came down this way except ranked members.

I was on my way back when I rounded the corner and bumped into a hard chest. Hands grabbed me by the shoulders, and panic hit my frame when I looked up at the face of one of the pack’s warriors.

Flashes of hands all over my body had me backing away and hitting the wall. I slid down and cowered, unable to process his words while I tried to drown out the sounds and the feelings in my body. My vision blurred, and black spots began to appear as I tried and failed to breathe.

---