Page 32

T he council chamber looked different now.

The ancient wooden table remained, but the chairs around it had been rearranged, no longer in rigid hierarchy but in an equal circle.

Maps and charts covered the walls, marking trade routes, alliance territories, and potential threats—or at least they had been until someone (definitely Beatrice) had decorated them all with glitter-infused sticky notes featuring motivational wolf puns.

"'Let's PACK more fun into meetings'... really?" Mia plucked one off the vampire territory map with a sigh that didn't quite hide her amusement.

Jim sat nearby, an open journal before him filled with notes comparing current patterns to historical conflicts. Or at least, that's what he claimed. Mia had caught him doodling tiny wolves wearing sunglasses at least three times in the past hour.

"The delegation from the Northern Pack arrives tomorrow," Jasmine announced, entering with a stack of reports that threatened to topple with each step. "Elder Silverback specifically requested a demonstration of our new training program for turned wolves."

"Beatrice has that covered," Mia replied, shifting slightly in her chair. "Three of her graduates are ready to demonstrate their control techniques."

"Assuming they've recovered from last night's full moon karaoke competition," Jim added, grinning. "I never knew 'Born to Run' could be performed entirely in howls."

Jasmine snorted. "Better than your rendition of 'Hungry Like the Wolf.' That should be classified as an act of war."

"By the way," Jasmine continued, shuffling through her papers, "Bertram's angelic contacts confirmed your theory about the ley line disturbances. Something is definitely shifting in the magical undercurrents."

"We'll add it to tomorrow's agenda," Mia decided, suddenly standing up with unusual urgency. "For now, I think we've earned a break. Especially me. I need air. And possibly a bathroom. Immediately."

Jim and Jasmine exchanged puzzled glances as Mia practically bolted from the room.

"Is she okay?" Jim asked. "She's been doing that a lot lately."

Jasmine studied him with narrowed eyes. "You're a centuries-old time traveler with enhanced wolf senses, and you haven't noticed?"

"Noticed what?" Jim's brow furrowed with genuine confusion.

"Men," Jasmine muttered, rolling her eyes heavenward as if appealing to Bertram's angelic connections for patience. "Even with supernatural abilities, completely oblivious."

Outside, the late afternoon sun bathed Wolf Valley in golden light.

Pack members went about their business, the everyday rhythm of community continuing despite the changes in leadership.

Young wolves trained in the practice fields, some in human form, others as wolves, all moving with purpose and pride.

Jim found Mia at their favorite overlook spot, the highest point on the perimeter path with a view of the entire valley. She was standing with her back to him, apparently deep in thought.

"Copper for your thoughts?" he asked, approaching with the old-timey phrase that always made her roll her eyes.

"Just thinking about change," she replied, not turning around. "How life throws curveballs when you least expect them."

"Speaking of unexpected," Jim said, leaning against a nearby boulder, "Jasmine seems to think I'm missing something obvious about you. Care to enlighten me before she assigns me extra patrol duties for being, quote, 'completely oblivious'?"

Mia took a deep breath and finally turned to face him. Her expression was a fascinating mix of nervousness, amusement, and something else—something that made the bond between them pulse with new energy.

"I was going to wait until after the Northern Pack visit," she began, "but apparently I'm not as subtle as I thought."

"You? Subtle?" Jim teased. "The woman who told Elder Thornhill his ceremonial robes made him look like, and I quote, 'a potato sack with delusions of grandeur'?"

"This is different," Mia said, taking his hand and placing it flat against her stomach. "I wanted to find the perfect moment, but..."

Jim's expression froze mid-smile, his eyes widening as understanding dawned. The bond between them flared golden for a moment as his hand remained pressed against her still-flat stomach.

"Are you... we're..." Words failed him completely, a first in their relationship.

"According to Dr. Martinez, we're going to have a baby wolf in about seven months," Mia confirmed, a smile spreading across her face despite her best efforts to remain composed. "Apparently, our 'shared Alpha power situation' created some kind of supernatural fertility boost. Who knew?"

Jim continued to stare at her midsection as if expecting it to suddenly announce itself.

"Jim?" Mia prompted, waving a hand in front of his face. "This is usually where you say something. Preferably coherent."

Instead of speaking, he dropped to his knees, pressing his ear against her stomach with such sudden movement that Mia nearly lost her balance.

"What are you doing?" she laughed, steadying herself against his shoulders.

"Listening," he whispered reverently. "I can hear... good lord, Mia, the heartbeat is already strong. Like tiny thunder."

"That's probably my digestive system," she pointed out dryly. "It's way too early to?—"

"Shh!" Jim hushed her, his expression one of comical concentration. "I'm having a moment with our child. Don't ruin it with your facts and logic."

"Our child," Mia repeated softly, the words strange and wonderful on her tongue.

Jim looked up at her, his eyes suspiciously bright. "A baby," he said, his voice cracking slightly. "We're having a baby."

Before Mia could respond, he leapt to his feet with a whoop that echoed across the valley, causing several birds to take startled flight.

"WE'RE HAVING A BABY!" he bellowed at the top of his lungs, his voice carrying clear down to the training fields where several wolves paused mid-exercise, ears perked in their direction.

"So much for keeping it quiet until after the diplomats leave," Mia muttered, but she couldn't help the laugh that bubbled up from her chest at the sight of Jim's unbridled joy.

He was already spinning her in a gentle circle, his face alight with wonder. "A little wolf! Our little wolf! Do you think they'll time-travel? Will they have your telekinesis? Will they?—"

"Put me down before I throw up on you," Mia interrupted, though her tone held no real annoyance.

Jim complied immediately, his hands moving to cup her face with exaggerated gentleness. "Sorry! No spinning the pregnant Alpha. Got it. New rule, effective immediately."

The sound of running footsteps interrupted them as Beatrice came charging up the path, Jasmine close behind trying to look dignified despite her obvious hurry.

"Did I hear correctly?" Beatrice demanded, slightly out of breath, her blonde hair escaping its braid in wild tendrils. "Are we having a baby?"

"We?" Mia raised an eyebrow.

"Pack semantics," Beatrice waved dismissively. "Is it true?"

"It's true," Jim confirmed, his grin threatening to split his face in two. "Mia's pregnant."

Beatrice let out a squeal that probably damaged wolf hearing for miles around, then launched herself at Mia with the enthusiasm of an over-caffeinated puppy. Only Jim's quick reflexes prevented them both from tumbling down the hillside.

"Careful!" he admonished, steadying them. "Precious cargo!"

"Oh my God," Beatrice gasped, releasing Mia to clasp her hands dramatically. "A baby! An actual baby Alpha! Do you know what this means?"

"That we'll need to childproof the entire territory?" Jasmine suggested dryly, but her eyes were soft as she approached to give Mia a more restrained hug.

"It means," Beatrice continued, undeterred, "that I'm going to be the world's best fairy godmother.

I mean, not an actual fairy, obviously, but the equivalent.

I'm already designing the nursery in my head.

How do you feel about a supernatural creature mobile?

I can make the little wolves actually howl! "

"Let's start with you not overwhelming the mother-to-be," Jasmine suggested, noticing Mia's slightly dazed expression.

"Too late," Mia replied. "I'm already imagining howling mobiles and tiny wolf booties."

Jim hadn't stopped touching her since the revelation, his hand either on her back, her arm, or hovering protectively near her midsection as if expecting her to suddenly double in size.

"Should you be standing? Should we get you a chair? Water? Food? Dr. Martinez said wolf pregnancies require extra protein, right?" His questions tumbled out in a rush.

"Jim," Mia said firmly, placing her hands on his shoulders. "I'm pregnant, not made of glass. I'm still the same Alpha who took down Matthews and reorganized the entire pack structure. I can handle standing up."

"Right, right," he nodded, visibly trying to collect himself. "Strong, capable Alpha who happens to be growing our child. Got it. Totally normal. Absolutely fine."

His expression of forced calm lasted approximately three seconds before he blurted, "But maybe sit down anyway? Just for me?"

The laughter that escaped Mia was so genuine and unguarded that the others stared in momentary shock. The normally composed, sarcastic Alpha rarely showed such uninhibited emotion.

"Fine," she conceded, allowing Jim to guide her to a nearby flat rock. "But only because watching you panic is the most entertainment I've had all week."

"I'm not panicking," Jim protested weakly. "I'm... adjusting. Rapidly. With enthusiasm."

"Bertram is going to freak out," Jasmine observed, a smile playing at the corners of her mouth. "He's been reading human parenting books ever since you two bonded. Something about 'angelic intuition.'"

"Five bucks says he shows up with a glowing baby blanket," Beatrice wagered.

"Ten says he tries to bless Mia's stomach in the middle of tomorrow's diplomatic meeting," Jim countered.