Moonlight

Chapter 13

Merissa noted that Adley had been quiet since the phone call from her father. He'd interacted with Lennon and Lyla, played with Sammy but generally was less involved than what he usually was. She didn't want to push him, worried that he might say something that she didn't want to hear.

With the house locked for the day, Merissa walked to the bedroom. She was tired, desperately needing sleep. Of course, she wanted to wash away the night and be refreshed for her sleep. Merissa wasn't sure of the mood but it was unlikely that she'd be going straight to sleep.

Entering the bedroom, Merissa stopped at the doorway. Adley had laid out clothes on the bed, neatly packing them into his bag. She gulped hard, fearing what was going on.

"Adley?"

He turned his head to look at her. Lazy curls hung over his eyes, marring the view of the tempting creature who was not taking things seriously. Adley wanted to be angry but was struggling.

"You need to pack, we leave at dusk."

"For what?"

"The birth. We discussed this, mum's having the baby tomorrow night. It's the full moon, remember?"

"What about security? They won't want to go."

"They or you, Merissa?"

Her eyes narrowed as she walked into the room, glaring at Adley.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

Zipping the bag shut, Adley lifted it from the bed and turned to Merissa. The taut features held the anger in, Merissa was stunned at the resolute glare.

"They get paid to protect, no matter where they are. They won't care so long as you are safe which you will be and you know it. No uninvited vampire would dare enter werewolf family land regardless of how powerful they think they are. So, that means that you don't want to go which is not surprising considering you turn your nose up at it every time it's mentioned. If you didn't want to go through the birthing ritual of a werewolf, you shouldn't have slept with one."

Flicking the bag onto his back, Adley tightened the straps and clasped the chest buckle.

"Everyone knows we have a high fertility rate so it's not like you went in clueless. I'm just going to assume that you're not interested in this weekend and accept it for what it is rather than dwelling on it and making things worse. I'll be back on Sunday."

As he walked to the door, Merissa turned. Her throat was thick as she swallowed, the painful movement made her rising grief worse.

"Don't do this," She begged quietly.

Adley stopped and turned to her.

"I'm going to my family's land to be with them while we wait for my siblings to be born. This is a family tradition, Ris. I've done this in the time we've known each other so it's not as if I've pulled this out of nowhere. You're not interested and I get that. It's like the resistance over picking a place in the country. I want what is right for our children and you want to live in this,"

Adley gestured to the walls. Inner-city townhouse, not large enough for them and three babies. With one, it would be tight but possible. Three was just sheer madness.

"Don't make this out to be bigger than it is. I just said that I was going to accept that this is not what you want. We'll have our babies in a hospital like all the other vampires."

She wanted to say that vampires didn't have their babies in hospitals. Vampires having babies were rare. Clearly, they happened, otherwise, there wouldn't be any vampires but they were nowhere near as prolific as the werewolves or humans.

Merissa held her tongue, not wanting to inflame the situation any more than it was.

"You will always be welcome to the land and to the ritual but if you don't want to be there then you should not go. I want you there but I'm not going to put up with anything that detracts from my parents' moment. So, I don't know, maybe we'll try again when my sister gives birth in a month. Maybe then you might have changed your mind. And while I'm gone, do you think that maybe you might want to think about changing your attitude towards the security?"

Merissa frowned briefly. It was enough to make the tears spring free, slowly sliding down her cheeks.

"Your father is spending a small fortune trying his best to keep you alive and you treat it like it's a joke. Remember that you're carrying my kids in there, take their lives seriously if you won't for your own life."

Before he continued, Adley turned out of the room and left the house. The cold night air hit him like a frosty brick wall. Taking in a deep breath, Adley slowly exhaled. For that moment, his eyes were closed. He'd done his damnedest to remain calm and it had worked. Sort of. If he was truly honest, Adley would confess that he had lost it, just a little bit.

Merissa had agreed to the place and had put in an offer. It was low but Adley wondered if that was intentional so that the vendors would refuse and she could walk away. He could argue that her complaints about the countertops were just another excuse but Lyla said something about them as well so maybe they were ugly.

Shaking his head, Adley walked down the steps. With a tip of his head to the guard, Adley pulled out his phone and sent a message to Gamichee. It was simple and to the point, stating that he was going to the family land for the birthing ritual and Merissa was home, alone aside from the guards who were in place.

Gamichee looked at the message with a heavy frown. He was grateful for the text and responded to Adley with the assurance that he'd keep an eye on her. All the while, Gamichee wondered why his daughter wasn't travelling with Adley. This was a time for family, something that she should be a part of now that she was his partner and pregnant with his children.

Slowly he exhaled a long and pained sigh. He knew his daughter. She'd done something to piss off the werewolf and it was so bad that he was going alone. If Gamichee knew anything about werewolves, it was that they were very inclusive. If Adley left Merissa behind, it was done under a lot of duress.