ALPHA BANE [EDITING]

Chapter Four *EDITED*

3 weeks later...

"Nova, you're so mean."

I sobbed, wiping furiously at my uncontrollable tears. They slid down my face and soaked the collar of my shirt. I'd been an emotional mess for a few weeks now, and I knew it would only get worse. Spongebob was somehow making me cry now.

"Serena, I was just saying we should go shopping for maternity clothes soon...."

"You think I'm fat! Let me out of this car!"

"What? You're not..there's nothing wrong with...but you're not."

I clutched the picture of our two month old baby after our recent doctor visit. If I weren't pregnant, I would have tried an action movie jump out of the car while it was moving. I tended to want to run off when I cried before, and I especially wanted to run away now!

I was worried that at any moment, Nova might feel less attraction toward me. I was starting to put on a little weight, and I used to pride myself on my figure.

When we reach the driveway, I slide out of the passenger seat and hurry to the front door. The quiet little closet in our bedroom was calling my name.

But before I could find the house keys in my purse, Nova was at my side, opening the door with his own key and ushering me gently inside. Closing the door behind us, he grabs my wrist before I can run away and locks me in his embrace.

"Serena, you're my mate." He reminds me. "I could never think of you as even the slightest bit unattractive. You will always be the only woman I will ever look at. Carrying my child....Serena, you've never looked prettier."

"R....really?" I sniffled, glancing up at him.

"Yes, honey." He takes my face in his hands and leans downward to press his lips to mine in a passionate kiss. My body begins to heat up as our lips move against eachother. I sigh as he grabs me by my waist and presses his lips against the mark on my neck. The skin that had grown sensitive tingled under his lips, exciting me.

"Would you like me to prove to you just how much I will always want you?" Nova whispers against my skin and I feel myself shudder. At once, he unbuttons my shirt and pulls it down my shoulders, then begins to loosen my belt as he places kisses all over my chest. I slide my fingers into his soft scarlet hair and start to frantically look through the windows at the front of the house, wondering if someone could see us.

Nova gets down on his knees before me, lightly kissing my growing belly as my desire for him pools in my abdomen. As he stands up to his full height, his eyes never leaving mine, I bite my lip to hold back a moan. Nova immediately reaches for my waist and lifts me against him.

"As long as you don't go easy on me." I wrap my legs around his waist as he starts to head in the direction of our bedroom. With his lips trailing kisses along my neck and the spot where he marked me, he whispers gently into my skin.

"Rough or gentle, I'll give you whatever you want."

..........

Moments later, Nova and I were lying in bed and running our hands along my bare stomach, talking about preparations for our child. He'd told me he wanted a girl. As he flattens his palm against my lower belly, I run my fingers along his knuckles and lean closer to his chest.

"No, it has to be a boy. Then he can be handsome like his father."

"Well... I want a baby girl that looks exactly like her mother. She would be the most precious thing."

Nova was so confident the child was a girl, I was starting to believe it, too. Plus, Nova's always been eerily great at guessing and getting things right. What would our little girl look like?

"I called Sylvia and Marnie before the appointment this morning. They want to take you out this weekend to get you pampered."

"Aww! I can't wait...! But weren't we supposed to set up the baby's room together on Saturday?"

"I'll do it. It's no big deal. You're working longer hours than me this week since you want to get a lot done before your maternity leave."

"Choose a unisex color when you go shopping for paint, okay?" I lean up and kiss Nova when he gets up to go silence the home phone in the kitchen.

The ringing of the phone stops as he picks up, "Hello?"

I can't hear him after that, and I wouldn't have heard him because I had to head to the bathroom to vomit. Moments later, I was listening to the toilet hiss as I waited for my nausea to subside. The bathroom door clicked open as I picked myself up from the ground.

"Serena."

Nova helps me up so I'm standing before him. I look up at him when I hear the serious tone in his voice. His amethyst eyes were full of worry and a hint of surprise. Looking up into his uneasy expression, I waited briefly for him to tell me what was wrong, but he didn't seem like he could find the right words immediately.

"What's wrong...?" I ask carefully, reading his expression and feeling my chest tighten with fear.

"My mother just called." He says, tightening his grip on my hands, "She requests we stay with the pack during your maternity leave, before and after the baby is born."