Page 19

Scarlett

“ A nd so… they are in a hot, deliciously kinky relationship, defying not only the taboo of being stepsiblings but challenging even our divine Goddess Selene too. Look at them to be bound in this illicit yet exceptionally forbidden love!” Angela ends, making me raise an eyebrow. She has spent the last twenty minutes explaining my and Elijah’s relationship in a very theatrical, floral, exaggerated way to a very shocked Monica whilst she multitasked and grabbed a few tests and facial products. Although I’m not sure how many she thinks Monica will need…

“That was definitely overly exaggerated.”

“Oh, come on, it wasn’t,” Angela denies as we pay for the products as she looks over at Monica before leading her to the customer toilets.

“Wow… so only your family knows. How are they finding it?”

“Well, Dad isn’t happy.”

“I see, so Alpha Jackson isn’t happy, but they know and you two are willing to turn down your mates for one other?” Monica asks, looking at me for confirmation. I nod.

“That’s the plan, but let’s see when the Blood Moon comes,” I say. Although I am ready to, I don’t want to be so confident until Elijah rejects his mate.

“I think you are probably mates if your wolves are happy,” Monica muses. “My Grandmother once told me if your wolf has a positive pull to someone there is a high chance you are. It’s not always the case, but who knows? There’s a chance.”

“Thanks,” I say, offering her a small smile. People are taking it better than I thought they would. “So, you don’t find it weird?”

“Hell no, it’s hot and kinky, like Angela said. What’s not to like about a forbidden love story?” Monica grins, flashing her pearly whites.

“Okay, now missy, get that sexy ass in that stall and take the test!” Angela orders.

“Yes, ma’am!” Monica takes the test nervously. Angela and I wait anxiously for her, both looking up when she steps out of the stall and places the stick on the counter.

“Three minutes,” I say, glancing at the time on my phone.

“Three minutes…” Monica repeats nervously. The time passes slowly. Even Angela is too excited and nervous to talk. We have our backs to the counter. Monica fiddles with her necklace, Angela nibbles on her knuckle, and I run my fingers through my hair, my eyes fixed on my phone.

“Okay, three minutes are up,” I announce, looking at Monica. The three of us turn towards the stick. Two very clear lines show on the little screen, making Monica gasp and Angela squeal as she claps her hands and screams. “Congratulations!” I say as Monica smiles in shock before hugging me tightly.

“Thanks…” she says shakily.

“Oh my Goddess! Oh my Goddess! A new pup!” Angela squeals, joining the hug, before I ease away from my friend’s death grip.

“So, don’t you think we should head back? You should tell Aaron ASAP,” I suggest, hoping it will get me out of shopping. However, Angela simply snorts while Monica shakes her head.

“I’ll tell him over dinner with a card. Come on, we need to shop! I’ll get the card too!” She links her arms with both of ours. I groan, making Angela snicker.

“Nice try. We didn’t come all the way to Birmingham for you to try to escape.” I roll my eyes, admitting defeat.

Maybe I should just focus on getting something nice for Elijah. Committing myself to shopping, I take a deep breath before stepping into the first store.

Shopping is draining. Angela tries on countless dresses, even when she isn’t even keen on them. Monica and I even left her for a bit. I saw Monica’s eyes on the baby section and took the chance to escape Angela’s painful criticism of every dress I donned.

“Shall we go take a look?” I ask Monica quietly.

“Umm, no! No, I was just, uh…” She tucks a braid behind her ear and looks at me. I offer her a small smile.

“Come on, let’s go take a look. I want to,” I reply, leading the way. Monica follows with a smile on her face and we both begin browsing the newborn section. It’s nice seeing her look at the clothes, and even I find myself looking at the racks of clothes in front of me. I have to admit, they are kind of cute and much more fun to look at than dresses.

I wonder what kind of parents Elijah and I would make. Just the thought of it makes me smile. Would the baby have his lush, sandy brown hair that often looks blond in the sunlight, or maybe strawberry-blonde like mine? Or maybe a mix.

“Thinking about something?” Monica asks, making me look up quickly. I shake my head.

“No,” I lie, my eyes falling on the cutest pale-yellow romper with black stripes that had the words ‘Daddy’s Favourite Baybee’ on the front. I smile and pick it up. “I’m buying this.”

“Who for?” Monica asks, confused. I raise an eyebrow.

“Only one of us is pregnant, hun,” I state with an ‘isn’t it obvious’ expression. Monica is silent as I pick up a matching hat and walk off to the counter, looking quite surprised.

Yeah, I know we’ve never been super close. Monica is a people person who loves socialising and helping and we all know that I just like to stay alone.

“Here, maybe give Aaron this instead of a card? Hopefully, he’ll get the hint. I know men are dumb, but this should get through to him,” I say, holding the bag out to Monica, whose chocolate eyes are full of emotion.

“I don’t know what to say. You didn’t need to do this…” I look at the bag.

“If you don’t like it, you can return or exchange it. I paid by cash anyway,” I say with a small smile. “And I won’t get offended, so go ahead. I’ll meet you in the women’s section.” Monica takes the bag, smiling at me as I make to walk away.

“You’re going to make a fine Luna,” she says softly. Her voice is quiet, but it stops me in my tracks, my heart racing. I’ve never thought of myself as Luna material. In fact, I don’t think I am very motherly... how a Luna is meant to be. It is something that often comes up when I let my mind wander, wondering if I will do justice to Elijah as his Luna, but Monica’s words make me feel a glimmer of hope.

“Thanks,” I reply, looking over my shoulder at the woman who falls into step beside me. We then head to the ladies’ section to find Angela. An unspoken understanding formed between us.

It is past six in the evening when we finally finish shopping. I found a dress that instantly caught my attention, and I knew it was the one. I tried it on, and it looked breathtaking, however, there were some adjustments needed so I left it at the store. It will be ready to collect in 5 working days. We’re now driving back towards home, where we’ll stop on the way to meet up with the boys for dinner. Monica is nervously playing with the handle of the bag with the baby outfit in it.

“Goddess, I’m nervous,” she sighs, making Angela giggle.

“I’m sure he’ll be ecstatic to be a father,” I assure her when a thought occurs to me. Usually, you can’t get pregnant until you are marked… If Elijah isn’t able to mark me, will that mean there is a chance we’d never have kids? The sudden thought makes my stomach plummet, and I can feel the colour drain from my skin. I look out the window, my heart racing at the thought. He is an Alpha who will need an heir.

“Scarlett? Scarlett!” I jerk my head up, looking at Angela who is leaning over, giving me a strange look. “Earth to you, girl? Where did you vanish off to?”

“I was just thinking,” I say, realising we had pulled up in the restaurant parking lot. I get out quickly, that sinking feeling in my stomach weighing on me deeply. I don’t want to start doubting what we have again, but something always comes up to bring me down. I take my phone out and smile when I see Elijah has texted me, although Aaron had mind-linked Monica not long ago that they were waiting for us.

“I can’t wait for your pack-link to be restored,” Angela grumbles. “When are you planning on doing that, by the way?”

“Let’s just go and meet up with the boys. We’ll discuss that later,” I say, avoiding the topic. My mood lifting a little, thinking Elijah is close. Monica looks a bit tense.

“What’s up?” Angela asks her as we enter.

“Um… the boys had a bit of a tussle earlier,” she whispers.

“What do you mean?” Angela asks as I raise an eyebrow. She opens her mouth but instantly shuts it the moment Angela opens the door.

It isn’t hard to miss the three hunks. They stand out in the restaurant full of humans. With their big builds, handsome faces and muscular bodies, they ooze perfection. Much to my dismay, I can see several women eyeing them and some clearly looking at my man.

“Now I’m imagining them three together in a reverse harem setting…” Angela says dreamily, making Monica and me frown at her.

“Go for Liam, he’s single!” I hiss, hoping the boys don’t hear me. Although from the cocky smirk on Aaron’s face, it is clear they have. Elijah’s eyes are stuck on me. I can see the way he checks me over like it is the first time he is laying eyes on me.

“I don’t really like to share,” he says the moment we reach the table, taking my hand and pulling me into his lap, making my eyes fly open. He grabs me by the back of my neck and kisses me on the lips in front of everyone.

My heart hammers for a moment, wondering what the other two men will think, but I soon melt into the softness of his lips. A sigh escapes me as I lock my arms around his neck tightly and kiss him harder, letting my tongue sensually play with his.

I missed him. Spending so many hours without him makes me realise just how much I have. His scent itself feels like home. We break apart, my entire body tingling with pleasure and I bury my head in his neck for a moment to get back my breath, not missing his shaft that is poking against my thigh. I slowly get off his lap, blushing lightly.

“So…” Aaron says, as he too moves back from Monica. Liam has his gaze fixed on the table. Is it just me, or does he look down? Or lost in thought? But before I can ask him, Angela claps her hands.

“So! Monica got you a gift!” she exclaims, turning to Aaron.

“Can we order first? I’m starved,” Monica pleads. She clearly is nervous.

“Oh, of course,” Angela smirks as Aaron looks at his mate with curiosity.

“Have a good day?” Elijah asks me as he strokes my waist, sending pleasure-filled sparks through me.

“Yeah, you can say that.” My gaze flickers to his lips. “Kiss me,” I whisper.

He doesn’t need to be told twice, capturing my lips once again.

Oh, I love this man.

Ten minutes later, we’ve placed our order and Monica now takes a deep breath as she passes the bag to Aaron.

“Here,” she says nervously. Aaron raises an eyebrow before he opens the bag, pulling out the romper and baby hat. His eyebrow shoots up, and it takes him a second to realise what he is holding before his heart begins racing and his eyes snap to Monica’s, wide in shock.

“Babe, you’re… fuck yes!” He pulls her into his arms and rocks her happily. “Damn, thank you. I can’t flipping wait!” The rest of us smile, watching as Monica hugs him back.

“So, you’re happy?” she asks softly.

“Hell yeah, I am!” he answers, kissing her passionately. Elijah smirks.

“To the future Beta, right?” he says, raising his glass of Coca-Cola. The rest of us laugh, raising our glasses, as Aaron keeps showering his mate with kisses and whispering in her ear. Liam smiles and he appears to be much happier now.

The food arrives shortly after and we carry on laughing and joking as we eat, listening to Angela complain about me not being into shopping.

“Seriously, she doesn’t understand shop before you buy!” she complains.

“You can do that with online shopping,” I point out, eating some of my steak. Forcing my thighs together as Elijah tries to pry them open, making my stomach knot with excitement and desire as I try to focus on my friend’s words.

“No, online shopping, you can’t just put it back,” Angela retorts.

“You can, free returns remember?”

“But all that waste of plastic packaging! Just go in-store and that dress you ended up finding was-” I reach over and clamp my hand over my friend’s mouth.

“Let’s keep the dress a surprise,” I remind her. Her and her blabbermouth. Elijah smirks.

“Well, I’ve got to coordinate. What colour?” he asks curiously. I raise an eyebrow.

“Nice try. Wear black, you can’t go wrong.” I cup his face and kiss him softly. It feels good not having to hide in front of everyone. His smirk grows.

“Sure. Colour me intrigued. You look good in anything and nothing.”

Angela and Aaron whistle at that, making me roll my eyes as I pop some fries into my mouth.

“Let’s just say the dress is gorgeous,” Monica says, smiling gently.

“Mm, I’m sure it is,” Elijah replies, pulling me close and kissing my neck. “I can’t wait to see you in it.”

“Patience, handsome,” I scold lightly, smirking slightly. Just then Elijah’s phone beeps. He frowns. It is a bit weird for any of us to get texts this close to home.

“Who is it?” I ask curiously. He unlocks his phone as I lean over and realise it’s a text from my old number.

CANDICE: Hello, I do apologise for the late text, but the Alpha has been on a rampage. We were attacked by some rogues and the Alpha had me serving punishment for a few things, but I wanted to let you know half the pack will side with you if you are willing to end Zidane’s rule. I only asked those I could trust. There very well may be more

Both Elijah and I look at each other, our hearts racing. This is a positive sign. It means our numbers are growing. I take the phone from him, taking a deep breath, ready to text a reply. My hands shake slightly from the nerves.

SCARLETT: Thank you, Candice, we plan to make a move after the Blood Moon. I can’t give you a proper date because I don’t want Zidane alerted by chance. I promise, as future Alpha of the Desert Storm Pack, I will claim my place and end the suffering he has put everyone through. When the time comes, just be prepared to stand down and side with me.

This is it, we’re getting there. Soon my people will be safe and that monster will be dead. I hit send and look at Elijah, who is watching me with a proud look on his face.

“What?” I ask.

“Nothing. I’m just thinking I’m so fucking lucky to have an Alpha Queen by my side,” he whispers sexily, making my heart skip a beat, his lips once more claiming mine in a sizzling kiss…