Page 33 of Alpha's Baby Girl
“Ready?” I asked, cutting off any other questions she might have asked. I regarded Graham. “Ready the other she-wolves. This trial will be over soon enough.”
Chapter 17 - Thalia
When my phone rang in the middle of the night, I was surprised to find it was three in the morning. I answered it, clearing my throat. At the start of the Games, we’d been required to take down Graham’s number in case of emergencies. When I saw his name, I panicked. Had they found something out about my contact with Kato? I had called Sasha after returning to my hotel room last night and she’d promised to talk to Kato on my behalf, to see what other options I had. She had left me with a warning about Fenrys and not trusting him too easily again. She had asked me if I had slept with him, warning me to be safe when we did. Little did she know…
“Hello?”
“Thalia! Sorry to wake you so early but I wanted to give you a heads-up. Fenrys has decided to move the final trial a day earlier. Apologies for the inconvenience but you’ll be required to make yourself present in the lobby at six am.”
“That’s in three hours,” I muttered, half to myself. Why had he moved the trial? An excited flutter sparked in me. Was he that eager to declare me as his winner?
“Then I suggest we both get as much rest as we can,” Graham said. “See you soon, Thalia.”
But when I tried to fall back asleep, I was kept awake by a nauseous pit in my stomach that had me bolting to the toilet. As I lay slumped over the basin, flushing, I held my stomach. Had the food been bad in Jack’s Diner? Was Sasha’s warning something to heed? Had I risked getting pregnant?
She had only meant to give me a light warning. After I was sick again, I crawled back to bed, groaning. Running my hands over my stomach, I thought of Fenrys’s comments last night. Of me becoming pregnant, carrying his pups, the start of our future. A happy warmth spread through me as I giggled, thinking of it. And now he wanted me to complete the trial as soon as possible so we could begin that future. Even the worry of being sick only three hours before I was due to be downstairs didn’t deter my excitement.
But the situation was so complicated. I needed to find a way to come clean without messing anything up. Of course, I wanted children but that option had always felt so far into the future. When I told Fenrys of what I had originally come to the Games to do, our fragile trust would be broken even more. How would he feel if Iwascarrying his pup?
I curled up on my side, closing my eyes, wishing for the nausea to pass. It felt like minutes later when my alarm blasted through my deep sleep, dragging me out of bed. I sighed and slumped back against my pillow, allowing myself a few extra seconds.
Then I hauled myself out of bed. The Games had changed me. I knew it. Somehow I felt both stronger and weaker, the two conflicting things making it hard to make any concrete decisions. Fenrys wanted me; I wanted him, but where would we end up when I came clean? Would he reject me all over again? I couldn’t go through that heartbreak a second time. Not now. My hands drifted over my stomach again.
If I might have been pregnant, there was so much more to lose.
I dressed hurriedly, trying to focus only on the trial. I wanted to win. I wanted to prove to Fenrys that I could work alongside him the way a Luna would need to. I could have his back, the way he’d have mine.
When I went downstairs, Fenrys’s handsome face was tired and drawn, as if he’d barely slept. His eyes kept passing over me, not looking at me head-on. The excitement that had bubbled in me through the night fizzed out.
“Fenrys?” I asked, confused.
“Ready?” he asked, instead. I nodded but he was already turning to Graham. When he was done giving orders out, his voice clipped, and finally looked at me. Hearing him talk about the other she-wolves made jealousy flare up in me that I hadn’t felt before. Ironic that I had judged them for their petty envy all this time.
I didn’t like the thought of him having to spend one-on-one time with the other women, even the sweet and kind Dakota.
“Good morning,” Fenrys said. His brows furrowed. His voice sounded off—too formal—and it made me nervous.
“Hi.” I smiled up at him, letting him tuck me into his side as we headed outside. “Is everything okay?”
“Why wouldn’t it be?” Again, his words were sharp. He seemed so agitated.
He was dressed in a grey sports suit. Even when he wasn’t dressing up, he still looked immaculate. His hair was wet and pushed back, as if he’d showered only minutes before coming downstairs. He was so handsome, and I couldn’t stop myself smiling brighter as I pictured what our cubs would look like. He looked away when I smiled.
Kato’s face rose in my mind, and I tampered down on my guilt. I could lose all of this.
“Are you okay?”Fenrys’s hands cupped my face, searching me. His thumbs brushed my cheekbones. This hot and cold behavior had me on edge. What was wrong with him?
“I’m okay,” I assured him, although I felt far from it. “I’m tired, that's all. Neither of us could have gotten much sleep last night.” I tried to give him a knowing grin but I had no energy behind it. I could only hope that my wolf was ready to take me through this final trial. Ihadto win. Not for Kato’s mission anymore but to prove myself.
“This will only take an hour. Then the other she-wolves will just be me going through the motions. I’ll bring you back here, ready to be declared my Luna at tonight’s banquet. Your family will be invited and any friends you want there to celebrate. My pack will also be there, alongside my mother. I wanted you to meet my pack more informally but plans have changed.” His eyes met mine. “You’re ready for all that?”
“Of course.”
“It will be public.”
I frowned. “Yes, I know.”
“I just want to make sure you know what this means from now on. You’ll be my Luna, Thalia.”
