The Alpha King's Wrath

15 Psycho

"So how formal is this dinner?" I ask Mira and Chloe as I leaf through my closet, frowning at my limited options.

"Well, you're not being formally announced..." Chloe trails off, purses her lips, and taps her chin as she considers my question. "But, you are the Queen and all these people can talk about."

I groan, flopping down on the nearest chair. After Chris checked on me, he left me to get ready while he took care of the rest of his work for the day so we'd have the rest of the night after dinner free.

Unfortunately, he failed to explain what I'm walking into.

"So next step above sweats and yoga pants, but not dress?" Chloe shrugs.

"Welp, then we've got a problem," I sigh, pulling my shirt tight and revealing my budding baby bump. Everything happened so fast, I hadn't really thought about new clothes and I'm no longer able to fit into my jeans and my now-tighter shirts will likely rat me out too. I've been covering up in Chris' hoodies to be safe.

"Well, shit," Mira says with a frown. She walks over and pokes me in the belly, making me growl. "How far along are you anyways?" The way she cocks her head, eyes locked on my belly like it's a second head only sours my mood further.

"Stop that," I snap, slapping her hand away. What little optimism I had managed to rustle up for this dinner has quickly dissipated, leaving me feeling like a petulant child.

"Well fuck, I don't know anything about babies!" Mira huffs, still staring at my stomach. "So they grow that fast? 'Cause you're noticeably bigger and it's only been like a week."

I groan and drop my head backwards on the headrest, silently cursing any deity that will listen. Pregnancy wasn't something I had planned on, I was on the most effective birth control... but with the human dose, not wolf strength, the hormone suppression was not very effective.

Every time I start to get a bit more comfortable with the idea of an entire being cooking in me, something happens to make me insecure once more.

"Really?!" Chloe snaps, physically pushing Mira away and rolling her dark eyes. She mutters under her breath and dives into the closet, eventually emerging with black leggings and a classy, silver-grey oversized knit sweater. The cut will hang below my butt and has a scoop neck for decent ventilation. "This will do. We'll just have to go shopping for some new clothes later."

Slipping off to the bathroom, I change, pulling on a simple white cami underneath and pause, looking in the mirror. Mira must have given me a complex because my lower abdomen is noticeably bloated and swollen, making my already thicker physique even curvier.

'Our pup is strong!' Ember puffs up in pride.

'It ought to be, the parasite is sucking me dry,' I chide, earning a growl. 'What?! All I do is eat and sleep and I'm totally drained...'

She has nothing to say to that, I know she's frustrated with how rundown we've felt. Ember longs to run with Cyrus and get back into training, both of which are on the no-go list for now. I've been warned that sparing is off the table until after I give birth, shifting is a bare minimum, and no strenuous activity. Even that concession was like pulling teeth with Doc, I'm sure given the chance he'd put me on bed rest forever.

"You good?" Chloe asks, peeking in the cracked door.

I just shrug, unsure of what to say. Nothing is wrong with me but my emotions are being a bitch again, leaving me uncertain and cranky. She walks in, grabs a hairbrush from the counter, and starts brushing out my long light brown tresses.