Trashed & Treasured

34

I got one last kiss from my mate before he inched off the bed and as soon as he closed the door behind him, I was drifting back to sleep.

What seemed like a short while later I felt the bed sink in around me again. Assuming it was just Dominic, I kept my eyes closed. A hand moving slowly across my stomach forced them back open, however. If that had been my mate, my wolf would've been prancing around inside of me or purring like a contented cat yet she's silent. I turned over and looked down and instead of seeing my mate beside me, I was staring at the smiling profile of Kenya.

"No no, you go back to sleep! If your mate senses that you're awake he'll come up here and ruin baby and Aunt Kenny time."

I laughed lightly hoping my twinge of amusement didn't alert Dominic. "He doesn't know you're up here?"

She smirked, repositioning herself on the bed until she was laying beside me on her back. "Girl, Braden and I have been here since first thing this morning. I planned to spend some time with you while he sat in on the meeting, but Dominic said you seemed drained and he didn't want anyone to disturb you. He's been practically guarding the stairs to make sure no one could come in here, but since I'm the best top secret spy in the world, I got around him."

"You threatened his life?" I laughed just picturing his face as she told him off. Dominic is a live wire now that we are who we are, but I don't even think the dominant alpha in him could take her on when she's upset.

"No, I hid in the shadows and as soon as he went for a bathroom break I ran like hell up the stairs."

Pulling in my lips to stop what was sure to be a serious bout of laughter she looked at me and grinned from ear to ear.

"I had to get up here. We haven't had a lot of time to spend together and with you going away with them anything could happen, you know. Plus I'm not seeing you all that much these days." She pouted, turning onto her side propping up her elbow and resting her head on her hand. "This marriage of ours is on the rocks. We should probably seek counseling."

That did it for me. I burst into laughter not because of what she said, but how she said it. To anyone who doesn't understand the extent of our friendship, they'd think we were really lovers or in some kind of relationship. Let her tell it, we are and the seriousness of her tone makes it evident.

Throwing my hand over my mouth to try and muffle the sound as I continued laughing, I barely noticed the sudden change in her mood. Kenya's eyes were lowered to my stomach and the playful glint in her eyes were replaced with a question that I would've missed if I hadn't looked at her when I did. She must've sensed me looking at her questionably because she looked up at me like she'd been caught doing something she shouldn't have.

"Something's bothering you, Kenny. Tell me." She shook her head 'no', but something is clearly sitting on her mind and weighing heavily on her heart. I can see it and even feel it despite how hard she's trying to cover it with a soft smile. I've been around Kenya long enough to know when her smile is real and when it's nothing more than a mask.

"I'm fine," she waved me off. I held my gaze until I saw the wall of her defenses beginning to crack. With a heavy sigh and a roll of her eyes, she lowered her head to break our contact. "Braden and I have been mated for years now so why haven't I—" she paused looked over at my stomach and sighed again, "What if I can't give him pups? He's going to take over as alpha soon and he's going to need an heir. He hasn't questioned why it hasn't happened yet, but I can see in his eyes that he's ready and after he saw your belly the other night I could sense his desire to have one of his own."

As she concluded and the room grew silent, I found myself mulling over the right thing to tell her. For a future Luna, it is important to be able to produce an heir for your mate and the fact that they have been mated for years now and don't have one is a valid cause for concern. We're still young and it may just be a matter of timing. Maybe. Before I had my wolf — when people thought I was just a late bloomer — I would always hear that the Moon Goddess places things in your life when she feels you're ready for it. No matter how true that maybe, I refuse to look my friend in the face and tell her that.