Page 30 of Knot Quite Ready

I exhale a deep sigh of relief and smile, "I am now. Let's go get my mate."

He laughs and smacks my shoulder, "Let's do it. The island isn't far."

I stay silent, as it no longer matters. Distance is irrelevant. Because now, I can pinpoint Aneira's exact position, like a beacon of light piercing through the darkness that had enveloped my heart. My entire being resonates with her presence, a harmonious melody echoing within my soul—a song which I will follow to the ends of the earth.

Chapter16

Aneira

Aneira

Idisembark from the small shuttle boat that takes us from the ship to the island, the private island not having deep enough water to support such a large ship. I sigh with my bag slung over my shoulder. It's been three whole weeks and two days since I've been away from Casimir, and I've processed enough. My conclusion is: screw my stupid pack and all their nonsense. My mother fought for love, and she wanted the same for me. So I'm going to fight for love and devour everyone who gets in my way with a pickle. I am bone tired and grumpy and want to go home.

After getting over the shock of not having my period on schedule, I quickly threw on a dress and ran down to the ship’s medical bay, where I paid for several pregnancy tests. Like an idiot, because if I were pregnant, it would mean it happened during the heat haze, which was just two weeks ago, three if conception occurred on the first day of my heat. Although, now that I think about it, it was likely, considering I bonded with Casimir the first night with all the biting, scratching, humping, and howling.

Instead of peeing on a bunch of sticks, I threw the pregnancy tests on the bed and called Storm, who immediately picked up.

"There is no blood leaking from my vagina!" I say instead of a greeting.

"Well, that all sounds quite delightful, honey. I imagine it makes it easier for the sharks not to be tempted by all that sweet wolf strawberry sauce," she cackles.

"Seriously, Storm. Can you warn a man before you start talking about female strawberry juice? I was just about to have lunch!" a voice shouts from the background.

"Shut your whiskered face, Ralph. One day you'll have a mate and daughters, and you'll have to handle that stuff like the badass clawed beast you are becoming," she replies. I shake my head. Ralph was Calian's bodyguard and second in command, and Storm claimed him, so he was in for it.

"Focus here," I bite my lip. "At most, I would be three weeks along. The smell of alcohol is repulsive, and I've been hungry as hell. I never noticed any of the pregnant wolves in my old pack. I don't know who else to ask. Isn't it too early?" I sit on the edge of the bed and drop my head to one hand.

"Uh, have you tried asking Agatha? My mare says your wolf would have known shortly after conception. Also, shifters are more sensitive to pregnancy hormones, a tad more violent, and a lot more affectionate, so be careful. But she also said that she may not want to tell you anything since you pissed your wolf off with the moon charm. She says a lot of other stuff that you don't need to know, but yeah, ask her. I have to go, I have to see a man about a horse. I love you." She cackles and hangs up.

I blink at the phone; well, damn, it really could be that simple.

"Agatha, do you have something you want to tell me?"

She sniffs at me;oh, now you want to take advantage of our bond and the magic that is being a shifter? You disappoint me.

I roll my eyes, ignoring the guilt that her lecturing always brings me. "Agatha…"

Of course, I knew. I know everything that is going on with our body. Now bring us back to our mate,she snarls and goes back to ignoring me. I want to slap her. But you know, animal abuse and all. And technically, self-harm.

—

As I head to the beach, I take off my charm and gasp as I'm hit with a sensation of relief so profound it almost knocks me off my feet. My body feels electrified as our bond flares to life, and a sob lodges itself in my throat as Casimir's pain and longing hit me like a punch to the gut. Agatha howls with pleasure as our souls call out to our mate. Time slows, and I'm not sure how long I stand at the edge of the beach until Wilder suddenly appears and playfully bumps me. "Cheer up, I hear this island is the same as the other islands we've been on. Desolate and full of snacks and mimosas."

I give him a weak smile. He is a good guy, and I am rooting for his relationship once we get back to real civilization. As it is, he's racking up quite a bill for calls and internet minutes to video chat with his now-official girlfriend. Not that I care, but it turns out he's filthy rich—the owner of one of the biggest architecture firms back in New York City. He was even in some weird magazine that listed the most eligible rich bachelors under 30. It's a creepy magazine, like a list of people to poach. But what did I know? Shifters didn't do that shit. Can you imagine? May's Wolf Edition; Packs' Most Eligible Furry Alpha-hole. Nope.

"Ha, ha. You know I can't drink anything anyway. No, I will be right there on that lounger catching some sun as usual. But I'm not really hungry; maybe I'll nibble on something," I say, even though my stomach is rebelling, feeling the tug of the bond urging me closer to Casimir. Usually, I'm so hungry that Wilder is always randomly sending me servers with trays of food, like some kind of pregnancy food genie. A hungry pregnant wolf is a dangerous thing, so Agatha insists on consuming as much meat as possible to keep up our strength. Rare steak, chocolate, grapes, and cheese have been my major food groups for the past few days, and Wilder's mission is to ensure I don't need anything. I think it's his way of staying busy when he isn't on the phone with his girlfriend.

He looks down at me, concern and surprise, etching his face. "Have you been feeling nauseous at all? I hear that's a thing."

"No, I think it's too early for morning sickness. If I think back to when I would have conceived, I'm only about five weeks along," I grumble, not looking forward to any nausea, which will undoubtedly come my way soon.

"Man, I'm surprised those tests picked up your pregnancy so quickly," He shakes his head, grabbing my bag and leading us to a couple of loungers facing the ocean.

I laugh nervously. It wasn't like I could tell him that my wolf had confirmed my pregnancy. "I know, super strange. But I'm definitely feeling all the side effects minus nausea. I'm tired, grumpy, and hungry."

He laughs. "Oh, I know. I'm going to go explore the reef, but I'll send the server over with your usual order of steak and cheese cubes, just in case you do want to eat before I head off."

He waves after grabbing his snorkeling gear and heading off. Such a nice guy, I think to myself. He would have been someone I gravitated toward had it not been for the entire fated mate thing.

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