Page 178 of Game of Destiny
“As he should,” James said. He sounded fine, neutral. I relaxed a little. There was a hint of something, maybe sorrow or regret, in his eyes, but he kept it contained.
“Let’s get you inside. The Alphas and Betas can discuss the fine prints and we can have some tea and talk,” my mom said. Inside, the cabin had an open floor plan on the first floor. To the left there was a kitchen and to the right a living area. My mom took me over to the couch with Becky and Mino close behind. Joy came walking with a woman I didn’t know.
“Luna Amie, this is Carol,” Joy introduced us. I said hello to her and had to admit I was a little curious about her. There was a pause and everyone looked over my shoulder. I looked as well. While most of the men had either secured the perimeter or sat down at the kitchen table to talk about the agreement, Sam stood behind me.
“Oh, don’t mind him. Sam has always taken his Gamma duty as my bodyguard seriously. Now that I’m pregnant, I can’t seem to get him to stop hovering,” I told them with a laugh. Carol’s eyes moved to my stomach and then quickly moved to James. My mom, Becky and Joy all shared tips and their experience of being pregnant. It was helpful and a little scary. I was lookingforward to having more talks like it with my mom during her and dad’s stay.
“I think Finn will ask dad about how not to piss me off,” I told them. Everyone giggled.
“It’s a good idea,” mom said.
“Mark came close to losing his life, or his privates, a couple of times,” Joy said. “Remember when I made him sleep in the pack house for a week?” she asked my mom. My mom laughed.
“I do. I remember he was being stubborn and not apologising. I told Ron to make him see sense or join him to sleep in the pack house,” she told us.
“It wasn’t ideal to have the Luna and the Beta mate pregnant at the same time,” Joy giggled.
‘Carol keeps giving you looks,’ Sam mindlinked me.
‘Relax. As I understand it she and James are a thing. I’m guessing she has heard about our past. You know her better than I do, do you think she poses a danger?’ I answered.
‘No. She isn’t aggressive. She has always been the shy type since she was a pup,’ he told me.
‘Then just ignore it. At this point I think we all will be happy if James finds a mate.’ My dad and Mark joined us. They brought refreshments with them.
“Amie, I made sure to bring some lemon squares for you,” Joy told me.
“That was sweet of you,” I said. I had loved them since I was a child and eagerly reached for one. The moment I bit into it I felt my body object and the smell of lemon made my stomach turn. I froze.
‘Amie?’ Sam mindlinked.
‘I’m okay,’ I told him while I tried to force the soft cake down. I really didn’t want to offend Joy.
“You should give this a try Sam, they are divine,” I told him out loud and passed the lemon square to him.
“Um, sure. Thank you, Luna,” he said, taking it from me.
‘Just get it away from me, I can’t stand the smell,’ I told him. Sam looked around for a moment, then he devoured the thing in one gulp.
“Amazing,” he said. I giggled. When the smell wasn’t as close to me, I didn’t feel as nauseous even if my stomach still objected to me forcing the bite down. Both my mom and Joy looked at me.
“You look a little green around the gills, Armeria. Are you sure you are okay?” my mom asked, taking my hand in hers. The sound of scraping chairs made us all turn around. Finlay, Elder and James had all stood up as one and Finlay and Elder were heading towards me. James looked as if he wanted to join them, but held back.
‘Red, is something wrong?’ Finlay asked, as he touched my cheek and made me look at him. Joy, who was sitting next to me on one side, moved to make room for him. All focus was on me.
“I’m fine,” I told him out loud and relaxed into him as he sat down next to me and placed his arm around me.
‘You mom is right, you don’t look alright,’ he insisted in our link.
‘I think the pup doesn't like lemons. I got a serious case of nausea when I took a bite out of Aunt Joy's lemon squares. I usually love those,’ I told him, feeling disappointed to have to skip out on the pile on the table. ‘It’s okay now. Sam got rid of it and your scent is calming me.’
‘How did he get rid of it?’ Finlay wanted to know. I told him and he smiled.
“Don’t let me hold up the signing. Get back to work,” I told him out loud and kissed his cheek. “That goes for you as well,” I said to my brother. They both returned to James and Jake to continue the discussions.
“Have another,” Joy told me and reached the plate with lemon squares out to me.
“Thank you, but the lemon scent is making me feel a little off,” I confessed and she paled.
