Stronger as One (#1, Completed)

11. I dare you

RILEY

The days after I had come across Natalia were pretty tense. Lucien was convinced that the people behind the traps were the same people who were responsible for all the mysterious deaths and disappearances that he had been looking into, even if there was no magic involved this time. Working on tracking the culprits was pretty difficult though, especially as Alpha Macalister was refusing to cooperate on the matter.  One would think that he would want all the allies he could get to bring down the people who did this to his daughter but from the conversations that Lucien and Connor shared with me, the Windcrest Alpha seemed rather unnerved and anxious about the whole situation yet he was refusing our help. I couldn't help but wonder if there was more that he knew about the situation than what he had shared with us.

I had, however, stayed out of the council and inter-pack talks. My pack might have accepted me even as a human but I did not want to cause tension by joining Luc and Connor in their meetings. Instead, I focused on spending time with Anna and getting to know Natalia- we were texting all the time and, when her dad would allow her to leave their pack for a bit, we would meet at our favourite cafe by the lake in Luss. Meanwhile, I was also working on reinforcing the security of the pack grounds and training the pack warriors. My schedule was packed but I was happy keeping busy. I also loved feeling like a contributing member of the pack. I still couldn't believe that I was living surrounded by wolf shifters and I couldn't help but stare in amazement every time that I saw one of the pack members shift. It truly was fascinating how their bodies changed- the breaking and elongation of the bones, the growing fur, the lengthening of the teeth. Seeing them shift back to human was also amazing, although the constant nakedness was something that I had not thought about beforehand. Thank god that I was no prude. Mind you, it did also help that the pack had stashes of clothes in various locations on the pack lands and the region.

"Are you coming?" I heard Anna say as she popped her head in my room.

"I told you I wouldn't miss it for the world." I sprung out of my seat at my desk to join Anna in the corridor.

"I can't wait to hear what Dr. Stewart says- I just hope that he hasn't mentioned anything to Lucien."

"Relax- I told him that the appointment is for me, just to be on the safe side." I tried to reassure Anna who was clearly very excited and nervous by now. To be frank, I still couldn't believe it myself that it was time to find out if I was going to be an auntie.

Fifteen minutes later, we were sitting in the doctor's office and, after clearing up my ruse and making him promise to his Luna that he would not say a word to Lucien, he was finally performing the scan. As he was staring intensely at the screen and checking something, I suddenly heard what sounded like thunder of galloping horses.

"Congratulations, Luna! You have a healthy pup growing inside you- that's the heartbeat you hear!" The look on Anna's face was so precious- it was a mix of surprise, happiness and love. Her eyes were full of tears and I could barely hold back my own. If only the guys at work could see me since I got here- I was periodically becoming an emotional mess and they would have teased me mercilessly about it!

I gently squeezed Anna's hand and gave her a soft kiss on the forehead. I knew that my brother would be over the moon once he found out and I could also only imagine the emotions in the pack as the next generation of Moreau alphas was announced.

"You are 5 weeks pregnant now. Everything is perfectly fine so far and I expect a smooth pregnancy until you are able to finally hold your pup in just under 5 months' time." What did he just say? 5 months?!

"Sorry, doc, but you mean 8 months, right?"

He laughed as if I was saying a joke. "Not at all, Miss Moreau. Wolf shifter pregnancies tend to be shorter as the babies are also wolf shifters, meaning that they will develop much quicker than a human baby." I was mind-blown. That had been me once upon a time.