Page 14 of The Baby Contract

When I turned, I saw a young warrior eagerly waving, her hand up in the air as she waved it back and forth rapidly in our direction.

"Oh wow!" She squealed, dropping her sword in the grass, and running over to us. "It's actually you!"

Her face was covered in freckles, her cheeks sweet and rosy. Her hair was wild and free in the wind. She looked like a teenager, no older than eighteen.

Boris shook his head in annoyance, obviously seeming to know this young girl. I stiffened, feeling nervous at the prospect of this new, approaching wolf.

Boris ran his hand down his face. "It's nothing to worry about it's only-"

The girl jumped in front of us, extending her arm in front of me, a huge smile on her face. "Aspen." She finished for Boris. "Aspen Stormblade. It is so nice to finally meet you!"

I jumped back, staring at her outstretched hand. "Oh." I stared, my eyes wide.

Did she say Stormblade?

Boris sighed, shaking his head. "Aspen, you're scaring Millie."

Aspen scoffed, shooting a glare at Boris before waving him off. "I'm Theo's sister, or Alpha Stormblade, or whatever." She rolled her eyes, tossing her hair dramatically over her shoulder. "At least that's how everyone seems to know me around here. But, you can just call me Aspen."

Looking at her, I noticed the resemblance. The wavy, wild hair, the sharp features, their olive skin. I didn't know that Alpha Stormblade even had a sister. He never mentioned her.

"Ugh-" Boris crossed his arms. "Asp-"

"No, sorry-" I snapped out of it, standing from the rock, which visibly made Aspen jump in excitement. "Hi, Aspen. It's nice to meet you too, I guess you already know my name." I went to shake her outstretched hand, offering her a small smile.

Aspen squealed, ignoring my hand and going straight in to engulf me in a bone-crushing hug. "Wow, you are stunning." She awed, pulling away from our hug. "Your hair is so soft- "she picked up one of my braids, and ran her fingers through it.

"Aspen, boundaries." Boris scolded, mumbling to himself.

I smiled, watching her eyes light up at our contact. "I thought when Theo talked about you, you were some ugly, repulsive, witch, or something." She moved back, looking me up and down. "Boris, are you sure this is the Millie? She's gorgeous. Not like the one Theo described."

Boris let a laugh slip at Aspen's comment, catching his mouth with his hand. "Yep, this is her."

I suddenly felt shy under their gaze, my cheeks heating up at their confessions. Had Alpha Stormblade really described me as some horrible, dirty, witch to the whole pack? It didn't seem like he minded enjoying my body at least...

Aspen bent down to my stomach, her eyes lighting up. "I can't wait to be an aunt! It's been such a long time since we've had a baby in the suite!" she clasped her hands together excitedly. "You and Theo will make an adorable baby together." She cooed.

I blushed, as I watched Aspen gushing over my tummy. It was amusing to me how different Aspen was from her brother. Although Boris seemed to be stressed out over our interaction, as he sat on the rock rubbing his temples, I thought Aspen was cute.

She reminded me of a younger version of Nova when we were in grade school. Nova was always outgoing, trying to get all the drama, and super sweet to everyone. It was easy for her to make friends, and even though we grew up in different ranks, we easily became best friends.

"You should get back to your training before Alpha notices you're gone." Boris stood, patting Aspen on the back sympathetically. "I don't need him coming over here and causing any problems."

Aspen stood, rolling her eyes dramatically. "I don't think you have to worry about that." She sighed, her eyes turning from pure happiness at the thought of the baby, to sadness, as she looked over to the training grounds.

"Oh come on- "Boris perked up, trying to get her attention away from the training. "I'm sure he cares a lot about your training."

"Yeah right," Aspen spat, a piece of stray hair flying into the air. "Embarrassing me in front of all of my friends seems to be his favorite pastime. I'm just a big joke at this point. The Alpha's sister who can't even fight or defend herself."

"I'm sure he didn't mean to embarrass you," He soothed, "he's probably just trying to help you get better."

"I wouldn't even go anymore if it wasn't for Dad forcing me," Aspen admitted, plopping down between Boris and me on the rock. "Theo doesn't help me learn anything. He just commands and bosses me around. It makes it hard to actually learn anything."

"At this point, I just hope that I get mated to a super muscular- "Aspen picked a rose, as she leaned back on the rock playing with it, daydreaming. "Sexy man. And, I don't have to worry about training anymore."

Boris seemed to be used to this drama, as he didn't seem fazed. "You can't let your brother get you down."

"We have an exam in a month, and I already know that I'm going to fail." Aspen shook her head. "Theo wants us to fight in front of the whole class. Hundreds of wolves!" She threw her hands up, groaning in disbelief.

I felt bad for Aspen. I wanted to help her, looking at her training grounds, I knew I could help her ace the exam she had next week, and take down any opponent she would get assigned.

In the ring, I would be randomly assigned opponents of all different statuses, from different packs across the Kingdom.

We didn't get a chance to train or size up our enemies.

Before I had left for Stormblade, I had fought for days to get money to give to Nova and the other maids, not once losing to any of my opponents in the ring.

But ring fighting and pack fighting were two very different things. Although my parents had been warriors and had passed some knowledge to me, I had gotten most of my skills from experience, not from formal training.

I couldn't help Aspen, as much as I wanted to. She was Alpha Stormblade's sister. He would surely figure out where she had gotten help from, and as far as he knew, I was just a weak, low-life, maid.

Aspen shrugged, leaning on her elbow. "We are going to have a little warrior in the house soon, huh?" she raised her brows. "I know Theo will be training the baby day and night as soon as they take their first steps!"

I wrapped my arms around my belly, a feeling of sadness washing over me at the thought of missing my child's first steps. "Yeah, I'm sure they will be a great fighter," I said quickly, trying not to dwell on it.

"Oh-"Aspen sat up, noticing my mood change. "You are staying at Stormblade, right? I mean, after the baby is born?" she looked confused, looking to Boris for answers. "Right?"

Aspen looked shocked, taking Boris' lack of response as an answer. "You know, my brother didn't used to always be an asshole "she turned to me. "I'm sorry he's an ass to you too, Millie."

"Aspen-"Boris cut in, clearing his throat. "I think you better get back to your training now, Alpha's going start worrying about you."

Aspen giggled, looking over her shoulder. "Oh no, He's not worried about me. In fact, he's practically had his eyes glued to you and Millie since you two have been out here."

My heart thumped at Aspen's words. And, as I bravely looked back, I found that what she was saying was true. Not only had her training group had seemed to continue, the warriors her age now moving on to practice their next training techniques without her, but Alpha Stormblade was not watching them.

Instead, his distracted eyes were glued on Boris and me. Like, a piece of meat he so desperately wanted to hunt down.

My heart raced, as I tore my eyes away from Alpha Stormblade's intense stare and back to the rose garden. Boris had assured me that being outside my room was fine, and he would handle it. I didn't need to be scared. I was just following his Beta's orders, I reminded myself.

"Theo's practically been showing off for you all morning just praying you would turn around and get a look- "Aspen giggled. "He even took off his shirt and started flexing his muscles. He never does that on training days, girl."

He did have his shirt off, his muscles glistening with sweat as he stared between Boris and me, his eyes fighting between their usual shade of brown and a wolf's shades of black.

Boris' eyes widened as he stood from the rock quickly, staring in his Alpha's direction. I looked up at Boris, my heart thumping at his reaction.

"Shit-" Boris mumbled, putting his hand out for me to grab. "We have to go now."

Aspen panicked, not understanding like me, as she scrambled up from the rock. "Boris, what's going on? Why are you guys leaving?" she cried, desperate for answers. "I just got to meet Millie and now you're leaving!"

"Listen, Aspen. You must get far away from us. Do you understand?" Boris ushed Aspen, as he grabbed my hand.

"What? Why?" She pouted, her face sad. "Did I say something wrong?"

Boris pulled me through the tall rose garden, leaving Aspen behind us, where we were once sat. "Wait!" she yelled, "Will I ever get to see Millie again?"

Boris dragged me into a sprint, my mind not understanding what was going on. We didn't get far before a large, taunting, deadly, shadow towered over our small ones, leaving us no way to escape.

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