by Eva Harper
“Dad, please,” Emily’s voice started to get sadder and more desperate. “You can’t just leave me here.”
“Just wait five days,” he hushed. “Can you wait five days?”
“Yeah,” Emily smiled brilliantly. “I can wait five days. I’ll try to hide.”
“Good girl,” he praised. Someone shouted in the background of the phone. “Hazel, I’ve got to go. There’s a situation. Just remember five days. Don’t talk to any of those beasts.”
“I won’t, daddy,” she assured him before hanging up the phone.
“I’m surprised he didn’t ask you how you got a phone,” I mused.
“If you haven’t noticed, my father is not the brightest person.” Emily chuckled.
We walked Emily back to her room quietly and locked her in. Rush, and I had decided that until she could be properly introduced to the pack, it was safest for her to stay in her room with a guard at the door. She hadn’t met anyone besides Cordelia and Hollis, who welcomed her lovingly.
There was a formal pack dinner later in the evening to announce our pregnancy and Emily’s presence. The pack was unaware of the meaning of the dinner but gathering in the dining hall happily.
Rush and I entered later, dressed in coordinating outfits. Cordelia insisted that it was important to appear as a united front in troubled times, and things as simple as clothing should not be left to a whim. Each pack had a color that why responded well to; the Valkyrie pack’s color was dark blue.
The dress I was wearing was loose around the stomach, hiding the small curve of my belly. Rush donned navy slacks and white button-down. The loose dress did little to protect me from the jaded stares of pack members, curious to my brief disappearance and changing scent.
Rush pulled out a chair at the head of the table for me, pushing it in slightly as I sat. The pack remained quiet, staring anxiously at us as Rush took his seat next to me. I smiled cheekily as we nonchalantly began eating the roast.
“Alpha,” Jonah piped up from a few seats down. Rush raised an eyebrow. “Is there anything that you and Luna would like to tell us?”
Rush, and I turned and shrugged our shoulders happily.
“Yes,” Rush said, taking another bite of beef.
“Would you like to tell us now?” Jonah asked again, chuckling.
“Oh my gosh,” I mumbled, taking a sip of water. “If you won’t tell them, then I will.” I stood up from my chair, placing my hand affectionately on Rush’s right shoulder. “I would like to announce that Rush and I are expecting our first child.” I grinned, glancing down at Rush, who bit his lip, looking down.
The pack began cheering and chattering loudly, yelling their congratulations to the both of us.
I sat back in my chair, happy that half of the news was taken care of before the meal. Cordelia waited with Emily in her bedroom until the meal was over before bringing her down to the main level.
Emily walked in Cordelia’s shadow, wringing her hands as they walked. Cordelia put her hand on Emily’s back and pushed her forward towards us. Rush, and I stood up from our seats and cleared our throats.
The room settled into silence again.
“We also have one other announcement,” Rush bellowed. “This is Emily. She is human. I know that may upset some of you, but she is under this pack’s protection from here on out. She helped your Luna and many other Lunas escape from a group of human hunters. Emily is to be treated with respect and dignity, along with any other humans that come into our protection. If you have a problem with her presence, you can discuss it with either your Luna or myself.”
“Emily has become a dear friend of mine,” I said, pulling her next to me. She bowed her head slightly to the pack. “She is one of the only reasons I am alive today and carrying the heir to this pack, and for that, I am eternally grateful.”
Many of the pack members were unperturbed by the announcement and nodded a greeting. Few grumbled or huffed, but no one was outright rude.
The only person who spoke up was Casey, who gracefully slid his chair back and approached us. Emily took a step behind me and shivered, the sensation sending a twitch of nervousness down my arms.
“Luna,” Casey said, gulping deeply.
“Casey,” I warned apprehensively.
His eyes were nervous. “Luna, would you mind stepping aside just for a moment?”
“Casey,” I said lowly.
“Luna.” His lip hitched a bit on the left side. “I mean no harm to your friend; I simply wanted to introduce myself to my mate.”
My eyes went wide, and I froze. Casey continued to stand anxiously in front of me, teetering back and forth on his heels. I sidestepped him and watched as he took one step forward and stretched his hand forward.
“Emily?” She nodded, clenching her teeth in fright. “I’m Casey, it’s lovely to meet you.”
Emily placed her hand on his, and he shook it slowly. My heart fluttered as Rush’s arms gently wove around my shoulders and clasped in front of me.
“Who do you think will pee themselves first?” Rush whispered huskily in my ear, watching as Emily and Casey stood shaking in front of each other. I swatted his arm lightly but then latched my hands onto his arms.
“I think it’s sweet,” I commented. I loved the way Casey stood in front of Emily, tilting his head down as Emily swayed on her feet. She looked over to me, and I nodded my head to her enthusiastically.
They continued to stand awkwardly in front of each other as I sat back down. I was surprised that after just two and a half weeks, my feet already ached from the baby. Female werewolf’s gestation only last thirteen weeks, about a third of the time it took female humans to give birth.
“Do you want to head to bed?” Rush asked from behind me. I nodded reluctantly, not wanting to leave the celebration, but Rush had gained a sixth sense if knowing when I was tired from the baby. He held his hand out as I stood up slowly, a hand on my belly instinctually.
Emily’s eyes bulged as we waved to her, leaving her with Casey.
It wasn’t long before we were dressed in our pajamas and lying in bed, a quiet movie on the television, the lights all dimmed.
“Do you think she’ll be okay?” I asked Rush, staring blankly at the ceiling.
“She’ll be fine,” he snorted. “Casey’s a good guy.”
“Yeah, but she’s human. Do you think she even feels the bond?”
He turned on his side, grabbed the side of my face, and kissed my cheek. “She will be fine. You can talk to her about everything in the morning.”
“Yeah, I guess,” I sighed, snuggling down next to him.
“Get some sleep, we’ve got a lot of work to do in the morning.”
I nodded and placed my head in the crease between his shoulder and the pillow, touching him but still comfortable. I didn’t notice that I had stayed awake longer than Rush until he began snoring lightly. I closed my eyes, a somber semblance of peace emanating in the softly lit room, but the only thing I could think of was what would happen in five days.
Morning Sickness
We gathered the Warriors, Guards, and the other able-bodied pack members in the afternoon the next day. We told them we received the information from an anonymous but reliable source. Many of the pack members who held non-Warrior positions insisted on fighting as well, if not only for backup.
Casey took the group of non-Warriors and completed drills and scenarios with them while Rush and Jonah continued to work with the Warriors and Guards.
Emily and I sat in lawn chairs in the field, watching over the groups of pack members. The small bump on my stomach had grown wildly over the last few days, and the only thing it demanded to be fed were dill pickles and pepperoni slices.
Emily adjusted her sunglasses as she looked at Casey. She tried to hide it, but I saw the subtle way she bit her lip and tapped her toes when Casey peeled his shirt off.
“How are you feeling over there, Em?” I teased.
Her hands slammed down hard on the ar
mrests of the chair, her feet stopped moving, and she grunted. “I’m fine,” she whined. “Why do you keep asking me that?”
“Because you look like you’re going to run over there and mount him,” I said, laughing.
She shot me a glare and turned her chair away from Casey to face me. “I will not,” she refuted, slumping into her arm.
Rush ran drills with the Warrior groups, showing them specifically where they would be placed and when to attack. No one knew how many humans were coming in four days. We didn’t know what time they would be here, what sort of weapons they had, or if they would even wait five days to come.
The provisions had been set up for the children, the elderly, and those who could not fight. There was enough food, water, blankets, pillows, and toys to last a few days in the event the battle was not over quickly. Rush insisted I remain close to the safe house in case the human army arrived early, but it was too unsettling to me to be kept indoors without knowing what was going on outside.
I hadn’t realized I was staring at Rush until he began shaking his hips provocatively, smirking as he placed his hands behind his head and danced. I snorted and covered my mouth, motioning for him to stop. He gave me two more hip thrusts and then turned back to our Warriors.
“Do you think it’ll be like that between Casey and me?” Emily asked wistfully.
“No,” I said, trying to make my smile go down. “It’ll be special. Every mated couple is different, you’ll have your own jokes and romance and hardships, everyone does.”
“Yeah, but we’re so awkward around each other.”
“It’s only been a day.” I tapped her foot with mine. “Give it time.”
“Do you think we’ll get time, though?” I turned to her, confused. “I mean…what if something happens during the battle. I know it’s not the same thing, I’m human, but from what you’ve told me, mates are like husband and wife. I don’t want to only have five days with him.”
“Nothing will happen.” I unconsciously rubbed my stomach.
There was a crunching noise in the grass behind us; Emily and I turned quickly at the intrusion and saw Jahida slowly rolling her wheelchair up next to us.
“Hi,” she greeted, settling next to us.
“Emily, this is Jahida. I don’t know if you two have met before, but she is mated with Jonah; they’re stepping in for Beckett while he’s in the hospital.”
“I just came from visiting him,” Jahida murmured. “He looks good.”
After mentioning Beckett, the air grew tense. The subject of him was always taboo, no one wanted to talk about it, although it was all we ever thought about.
The training lasted another hour before our mates sorely limped over to us, wiping sweat from their foreheads and necks. Jonah shoved Casey roughly, and he flew a few feet toward Emily. She braced herself against her chair, but Casey skidded to a stop in front of her, shyly smiling an apology.
“Hi,” Rush greeted, bending down to kiss the top of my forehead. The small gesture warmed me, much more than the sun had in the past hours.
“Hi.” I reached up and glided my hand down his arm. “How are you?”
“Tired,” he chuckled, reaching his hand out for me to grab. He helped pull me to a standing position next to him.
“I can imagine. How are the Warriors and other fighters?” I asked the others.
Jonah shrugged, settling into the seat I was just in. “The Warriors are anxious. We all are.”
“The non-Warriors are too,” Casey added. “It’s unsettling not knowing when they’ll be here.”
Emily looked down at Casey’s words, fighting a group of tears that had surfaced. She had made the decision not to tell anyone who her family was. I knew she would eventually tell Casey, but there was no reason to tell him while tensions were so high.
“It’ll be over soon,” I tried to sate them.
Rush opened his mouth to speak, but a flustered Border Guard ran to us, sweat on her forehead.
“Alpha, Luna,” she panted. “We have an issue at the border.”
“What is it?” Rush asked, his grip around my waist tightened.
“There’s a human here, he’s begging to see Kenna. He doesn’t have any weapons, he’s alone, and…” she trailed off.
“What?”
“He’s marked,” she blurted, glancing between us. My blood felt like a chill inside of me. “It’s Kenna’s mark.”
“Excuse me.” Rush sidestepped the guard and began walking towards the house. I followed him, down the staircase, into the dark cells where Kenna was being kept. I was slower than Rush, a shorter stride and foreign weight holding me down.
When I entered the cells, Rush’s body blocked Kenna, but I could see his hand clenched around her throat.
“You marked a human?” he seethed. She gurgled some words and scratched at his hand. “How could you do this?”
“He’s her mate,” I mused sadly, resting against the wall. Her eyes begged me to help, but I crossed my arms and watched. I mind-linked the border guard and ordered her to bring the human to the cells in the packhouse.
After a few minutes, she and another guard brought the human in. He was sweaty and shaking, weak from being far from his mate. His head hung down, but he slowly lifted it. I pushed myself up off the wall, walking in front of him.
Rush watched me, never letting go of Kenna’s throat.
“You’re the one who kidnapped me,” I accused, watching his sad face scrunch in fear. Rush slammed Kenna’s body against the concrete, stunning her. “You’re Harrison’s nephew. What is your name?”
“Joel, ma’am,” he moaned.
“Don’t try to be respectful now.” I laughed. He whimpered a response. “Not so strong without the others, are you?”
“No,” he whispered.
“He has to die,” I said casually, looking to Rush.
Kenna struggled hard against his arms, kicking at the mention of her mate dying.
“Yes, he does,” Rush agreed.
“No,” Kenna choked out, pleading. “No, please.” She pushed Rush’s hand back enough to speak. “He’s all I have.”
“You could have had all of us!” I shouted. “You had a pack who loved you. Friends who cared about you, and you threw it all away for someone who is trying to eradicate our entire race.”
“I’m sorry,” she begged, kicking Rush’s legs. “It was wrong. I know you didn’t mean it! Please, I can be your friend again.”
“Why would I want that? When I have actual friends, Beckett, Emily, Jonah, Jahida, Casey. Hell, even Cordelia is a better friend than you.”
“Emily? The human girl? You think I don’t know who she is? Harrison’s own daughter is parading around here.”
Rush slammed her head against the wall. The Guards looked up at us.
“That doesn’t leave this room, am I understood?” Rush growled. A low murmur of agreement spread around us.
I grabbed the human boy’s shirt sleeve and pulled him in front of Kenna. She cried happily when she saw his face, even if it was swollen and blotchy. Rush threw Kenna on the ground in her cell and closed the door before she could get out. She ran to the bars, fighting to reach Joel.
Rush roughly grabbed him from my hold and, in one movement, snapped his neck. Joel slumped over and clattered to the floor loudly. Kenna’s mouth parted slowly, and then a long, loud wail poured from it.
“Call Kenna’s brother down here,” I said softly to one of the border guards. Kenna’s brother, Griffin, was a border guard, it would be better news coming from someone he was close to. Griffin came down to the cells unknowing, smiling calmly.
“Griffin.” Rush shook his hand and let it go, letting his hand brush back against his pants. “It’s time to say goodbye to Kenna.”
“What?” Kenna panted. “No, no, please. Please! Sloane, don’t let him do this!”
I kept my eyes on the ground, in between Rush and Griffin’s feet. If I looked at Kenna, I would feel remorse where I should hav
e felt anger. We all made mistakes, but hers would cost her the life of her mate and her own.
Griffin sauntered up to the bars, looking wistfully onto his younger sister.
“Kenna.” He smiled sadly, touching the wall near her cell as if he were touching her arm. “Tell Dad I say hi.”
“Griffin,” her voice grunted more animalistically, begging him to help her.
“Kenna, you made your choices.” He stepped back.
“Griffin, you don’t know what these people are like!”
“Kenna, don’t blame them for what you’ve done. It doesn’t suit you to play a coward,” he sneered. I expected him to display more compassion to his sister, but he remained cold.
“Rush,” I called softly. He stepped toward me and pulled me to his chest. My skin tightened over my neck and shoulders, chills skimming down my arms.
“Why don’t you go upstairs,” he suggested, nuzzling the side of my head with his nose. “You don’t need to be here for this.” I looked up at his reassuring face, allowing him to gently persuade me to leave the cells. Griffin stayed behind, but the two border guards escorted me up the stairs, one in front of me and one behind.
We were five steps up the stairs when Kenna screamed loudly, and Rush cut her off, ending her quickly and swiftly. I staggered and placed my hand on the wall, my other hand snapping immediately to my stomach.
The Guard behind me stopped and placed her hand on my back, looking over me quickly.
“I’m fine,” I grunted. When I reached the top floor where our room was, I immediately found the bathroom and expelled everything in my stomach. I heaved a few more times, stomach acid and air were the only things left after a while.
Rush’s hands were stroking my hair, rubbing small shapes on my back as I dry heaved. I leaned into him when I was done.
“Morning sickness,” I murmured, wiping my mouth with the back of my hand. “It hits all times of the day.”
Rush didn’t dispute, he allowed my lie to become my truth, knowing if he brought up Kenna, I would begin dry heaving again. He held me on the bathroom floor, gently scratching my back as I closed my eyes.
I noticed the tears on my cheeks as I moved in Rush’s arms. I wiped them away and chuckled childishly, shaking my hand. Rush grabbed my hands, moving them away from my cheeks. He frowned.