Page 34 of The Baby Hex (Mori’s Mementos #2)
Things might’ve gone on this way forever if not for the empty blood freezer.
Each of the houses on the estate had a fridge, complete with a freezer, that stored only blood in various forms. In the beginning, it had been restocked often and extra was sent in the snack baskets left for us on the porch.
Now? It was empty. I checked the other fridge.
It wasn’t empty but there wasn’t any blood in it.
Was this their grand plan to steal my mate?
To starve me out? Did they want to see me crazed and ---
That was ridiculous. I shook my head and leaned against the fridge. Had I actually lost my mind? Everyone on the estate was either related to me or Crilus in some extended way. Well, maybe not Teddy, but he was a friend.
Crilus’s heat had waned a few days before.
We’d even taken time to straighten up the house and cook actual meals.
We weren’t ready to rejoin the rest of them yet.
Maybe we’d never be ready. We could stay right here forever inside my wards that kept us safe and happy.
In here not even Crilus’s haunting elven granny could find us.
“Sweetheart, did you move the bloodshakes?” I called out, hopeful that this was all some great big misunderstanding.
My throat burnt with the thirst, and I didn’t want to snatch up Mori or Preston and make them into a snack.
Mori. It would have to be Mori. Preston was pregnant and Teddy didn’t look like his blood would taste very good.
“No,” Crilus came through the house, wearing only one of my shirts. A black one that hung down to his knees. “I don’t mess with the blood stuff. I’m afraid I’ll mess it up or make it go bad or something by storing it in the wrong spot.”
“They didn’t send more,” I said. “The store hasn’t even sent the prearranged delivery.”
“Weird,” Crilus said, crossing the kitchen to join me and searching both fridges for something I’d overlooked.
“Can you call them? Maybe they’re running behind or you drank more than usual?
I’ll text Mori too. If I can find my phone that is.
I can’t believe once upon a time I lived with it glued to my hand. ”
Someone knocked on the door and we turned in unison to hiss. Crilus’s crow caw-cawed and I took his hand. For a moment, we figured whoever knocked might go away but then they knocked again.
“Is it the delivery from the store? They’ve never knocked before,” Crilus said over our mating link.
“Pierce, we know you’re home, honey,” my carrier’s voice reached my ears, and I let out a sigh of relief.
They’ve must’ve picked up on our trouble over the family link and came to help us out.
“It’s time to come out. I know it’s hard to come back to the real world.
No one wants to leave their matingmoon behind. ”
“We’re taking a bit of an extension,” I said, tightening my grip on Crilus’s hand.
He squeezed mine back in agreement. He’d only been out of heat a few days. He needed time to rest and recover. We were working out what the rest of our lives were going to look like. What was the big rush?
“You said that last time,” my sire chimed in.
“The last time?” I asked, glancing at Crilus who didn’t remember it either.
“Do you think this is a trap? Like Sharon or someone is using magic to impersonate your parents?” he asked me over our mating link.
“Next, you’re going to make us prove that it’s really us,” Dad said on the other side of the door.
“Pierce, it’s us, kiddo. You’ve been in there almost a month now.
If Crilus is really still in heat, he needs to see a doctor.
If he’s not, you two need some sunshine.
His wolf will need the vitamin d at the very least. Some fresh air. ”
“A pregnancy test,” Mori announced and Crilus growled.
“Either you tell us a time when you mean to come out or I’m knocking the door down,” Teddy called from the other side.
“Every time I go home, one of these guys call me worried that you’re never going to come out.
Which I tell them is ridiculous. Everyone comes out of their matingmoon eventually, but I’m starting to think they’re right. ”
“It hasn’t been a month,” Crilus shook his head.
“It has, cousin,” Preston said. “Come to the window. Let me show you my belly.”
I tried to stop Crilus from inching toward the window. What if they broke the window and snatched him up? Then I’d have to eat them all. Pregnant or not. Tasty or not. He pulled away and walked to the window and peeked out the corner of the shade.
“He’s gotten bigger,” Crilus blinked.
I walked to the center of the room and stood next to the tree that was nearly as tall as I was now.
Did we really need to come out? We could make our own food.
Well, food for Crilus. I could probably last months without blood if I had to.
Why were they so intent on starving us out?
I could go out and hunt for my own but they were already out and about and Crilus was mine.
My arms wrapped around him. I didn’t remember crossing the room but it was nice to be wrapped around him. He turned in my arms and I kissed him. Someone knocked on the door again. Our family was always bugging us. It’s like they didn’t want us to conceive at all.