The Alpha King's Wrath

39 Home for the Holidays

"Wake up beautiful," Chris murmurs, brushing the hair back from my forehead. I breathe deep, taking in his scent and stretch before snuggling against his side once more. "Baby," he chuckles, "It's time to get up or you'll be groggy."

"Fine," I grumble, forcing my eyes to flutter open. Long gone are the late autumn trees holding the last of their leaves from the palace. Instead, a familiar, wide open rural landscape blanketed in snow surrounds us.

Chris looks in the rear view mirror at a sleeping Ethan conked out in the back seat. "Leave him a bit longer," I murmur. "He's gonna be on overload soon enough. I still can't believe you set this up."

"With everything that you've been through this year, the least I could do is to make sure you made it home for the holidays," Chris says with a smile. "When I overheard you talking to Oma and apologizing for not being able to make it this year... I could hear how much it meant to you."

"Well, thank you," I whisper. "It does mean a lot to me, and more so to have you guys here with me."

"So... Have you decided if you're going to tell them or not?" Chris asks, giving me a sidelong glance.

"Yeah," I breathe out. "They'll be ecstatic. Oma goes nuts for babies and kids in general."

Chris still wants to keep my pregnancy a secret at the palace but is open to telling my human family. I feel the conflict in him, he wants so bad to shout it from the rooftops but is too worried about my safety.

He pulls off the main road and turns into Curtis' farm, driving up to the house as the others file in behind us. Part of the agreement for leaving the palace was that we take adequate security.

Derek, Dex, Mack, and Shoen are running personal security, with Ryker and his three palace guards running the perimeter. Of course, my faithful Gamma Jude and his mate Chloe are here too, rounding out our mini pack.

"Curtis! Tim! They're here!" Oma shouts, rushing down the steps. Her long grey hair is swept neatly into a bun and one of her colourful shawls wraps tightly around her to keep the chill out. My spirit soars seeing everyone.

"For Pete's sake Ma, let 'em make it into the house first," Curtis chides. His words fall on deaf ears as she shuffles over to us and wraps me in a gigantic bear hug.

"Oh child! You look wonderful!" She gushes, pulling back to look at me at arm's length. "Christopher, come, you're family now." That's the only warning he gets before she swallows him up in another bear hug.

I can't hold back my laugh, watching little ol' Oma hanging off Chris like a chihuahua on a mastiff. She may have caught him off guard to begin with but he recovers quickly and wraps her in a hug that lifts her clear off the ground for a moment, earning a playful swat.

"And where is he?" Oma demands, looking from me to Chris then scanning behind us.

"Ethan," I call, gesturing for him to come up from where he's hiding with Dex. The moment he's in reach, she gives him the biggest hug of all. The sheer excitement and joy radiating off of her makes a lump in my throat.

I shiver despite the jacket I wear and Chris instantly wraps me up. All the tension he's been carrying around has melted away as he watches the wholesome display.

"Now can they come in?" Curtis teases, holding out a hand for Chris to shake. "Welcome back, now let's go get you warmed up and fed."

By the time we all come in, the house is packed. Tim is down from college for the holidays, Toby and Ethan are off playing, Jason and Trish even came for the occasion. More than once I'm overwhelmed by emotion, both mine and those around me and thankfully Chris, Jude, and Chloe catch on quickly and run interference.