Turning The Page

Fifty Three

I had thought that maybe my sweet Princess might fall from where he had settled up in his happy place after rocking each other's worlds in the bathroom... Especially when I had to break the news to him that I couldn't drive the truck with him and his packed up burger... But he hadn't been fussy at all getting buckled into the passenger seat, only asking for a kiss before releasing me and giggling as he picked at his french fries... And he had stayed good the entire drive back to the hotel... 

And now even as we listen to the others drone on, this time talking about territory locations and the possibility of some of the smaller packs being absorbed by their neighboring territories... He's still content to be sleepy and smiley in my lap like the good boy he always is... 

Even though he had assured me that he's okay and that outside of the normal soreness that comes with making love that he's fine, I was still worried that he was too high up in his clouds to really understand whether or not he got hurt... But he still seems okay... He's paying just about the same amount of attention to the others as I am, more interested in giving me tiny kisses and happy sighs... And it makes me wonder if maybe last night his heat wasn't subsiding because he needed more from me... He needed what he liked but wasn't asking for... And it makes me feel bad that maybe my holding back in the bedroom was keeping him from moments like this one, where he feels at peace and at least half-way okay... I hadn't realized that holding myself back would have affected him so much... But there is a noticeable difference in how he's acting and feeling now versus last night or even just earlier when we had that short break during the measuring of the hair... He's still in his happy place, and I'm glad that he's getting to enjoy at least a tiny bit of our time here... And I'm hoping that maybe if I l let us just be who we are in the bedroom that I'll be able to give him more of these moments and the memory of how our first child is conceived won't be an entirely awful one. 

...

Adrian

...

Daddy smells so good... And he's being so easy with me... I know that he'll take care of me no matter what happens or where we are... I know that Daddy's got me and that I'm safe... He'll cuddle me and rub my belly and let me suck on his neck so I can leave all sorts of teeny tiny marks on my sweet Daddy's neck... 

I know that maybe I should be paying more attention to what's going on... That this is my first time hearing the intricacies of the treaty and how it's meant to keep all of us from tearing each other apart... But Daddy's so warm... And his hand on my belly feels so good like it always does... All I want to do is cuddle and pull in as much of his soothing scent as I can while he cradles me against his chest.

I can always just read through the notes that Aurie and Cricket are taking for me... I think that it'll be okay if I don't pay attention to Alic... He tends to pause every time I look towards the front anyway, so it'll just go smoother for everyone if I focus on how nice it feels to be held and cuddled and loved on even if we can't sneak back to our room to lay down and cuddle like we want to... 

It just makes me look forward to later even more as I dance my way through the fog still clouding my mind, Daddy's hand leaving my belly just long enough to reach up and brush some of my curls out of my face carefully tucking them behind my ear for me so they aren't in my eyes anymore... The caress he gives my cheek urging me to nuzzle into him and settle down.

...

Silas

...

As far as I'm concerned everything is going fine and things are flowing just as well as they should be with everyone else paying attention to Alic and participating in the conversation... People hoping up every now and then in order to hit the refreshment table in the back, my Bean having rejected his hot water bottle and abandoned it on the part of the table in front of us. 

Everything is fine... Until it isn't anymore, the hand entering my peripheral from behind completely unwelcome as it reaches forward and attempts to touch the top of my mates head without permission. 

There is no thinking when I snap us up out of the chair that we're in with a growl so loud that it damn near shakes the room, one of the windows cracking when I push my sweet baby behind me where I can protect him, my body already ready when I turn to confront the creeper that has infringed upon our personal space, my fist falling short when the face registers with me.

He shouldn't be here... He has absolutely no fucking reason to be here... He doesn't associate with any pack, and he is absolutely the cause of this rude interruption of our meeting... And he was trying to touch Adrian... Just seeing him here... knowing that he was about to touch the love of my life with his tainted hands... It makes me see red... 

And apparently, he doesn't even recognize me, the frown on his face more pronounced than it should be as he tries to lean to the side so he can try and catch a glimpse of my vulnerable Luna who is currently clinging to my back and crying because the change in our seating arrangement had been so sudden... 

You would think my father would apologize for trying to touch my mate without permission and then explain why the hell he's at an Alpha conference when he abandoned the position the moment I turned eighteen... Why he's not at home with mom where he should be...

"Silas? Move."