Traces of Elijah

Chapter 20

The next few weeks are hellish. Morning sickness, the emotional rollercoaster, cravings, the constant fear of Darius breathing down my neck...the only other thing I'm worried about is him going into a rut and I'm not going to be able to stop him and he'll force himself upon me. For now, it's simply just him being a horny asshole. At the very least, I now can venture the pack grounds as much as I please. I'm surprised he trusts me that much. Darius advised me to befriend some of the mothers and those to be so I don't get too lonely when he's away. It's actually exactly what I need- to befriend the pack locals to find a way out. I walk over to a small circle of females. Some of the ladies are glaring at me and others just look shocked to see I'm out of the house.
"Hello everyone." I take a seat timidly as the others keep staring. "What's going on here...?"

"We were just discussing a welcome party for you. Everything just happened so suddenly, we weren't sure if we'd get a chance to meet our Alpha's mate. Now we see you in the flesh. We're happy to have you," one of the women speaks up, breaking the silence.

"I'm surprised he actually let you out," another laughs

"He wanted me to have some friends I suppose but I definitely feel out of place..."

"Well, if it's fine by you, we can get acquainted. I'll start with myself. My name is Aurora. My mate is the Beta...your Mate's best friend." The first woman says. I'm surprised Darius has any friends...

"Ohhh. That makes sense." I nod. "So, do you have any children??

"Yes, I have two 3 year olds. They're my world."

"three year olds huh? Can I ask you something?"

"Shoot," she nods.

"What was it like to go through your pregnancy and what has motherhood been like?"

"Pregnancy was tough with twins but 100% worth it. My mate and I could barely keep our hands off of each other the first few weeks. After that, I didn't want him to touch me, my mood changed on a dime- I cried, a lot, ate a lot, cried some more but we had moments...he'd bring me snacks when I was sad, nuzzled and talked to my belly before bed at night. He loves those two little monsters and I do too."

"That sounds amazing..."

"You and Darius ever take a break from each other~?" She jokes.

"Tch...the only real break I've had is right now."

"You're kidding. Your heats must be intense then, huh?"
Heats? He must've not told them about 'us' being pregnant yet...which is strange. As an alpha, you'd think he'd be proud to tell his entire pack about it. Unless....he didn't think the baby was his....

"Ah Yeah. All he wants is a family and I'm doing my best to accommodate that. He is very needy..." I say, recalling all the nights he'd come begging me to spread my legs for him, but I say no every single time. He gets mad, we argue and he sleeps on the floor again. I'll reject him until the day I have the power to reject his mark but that seems like such a long ways away.

"That's adorable. We've heard stories about how romantic your first time was. You're so lucky to have snagged Darius." Are we talking about the same person here? He's an obsessed lunatic!

"Right...he's the sweetest." I nod, literally just wanting to run away from this nightmare. How can they love Darius so blindly and talk about him without fear?

"We've known him all our lives and all he's ever talked about was having you for himself. He's been in love since you were little."

"Really? I never would've guessed that. Honestly, I never would've thought I'd end up being his mate. I guess when you're an omega, you're fair game to anyone..." I say solemnly, hugging myself.

"So...have you told him yet?" One of the other women asks.

"Told him what?"

"That you're already pregnant, silly!" I look at her totally stunned.

"How did you-"

"Lily here has the best sense of smell in the pack. We call her Blood Hound when we go on runs and search parties."Aurora comments.

"So...you can tell just by scent."

"Yes, scent changes and yours only got stronger since you got here."

"I had no idea my scent was that strong..."

"Really? Well, since you knew you were pregnant, why didn't you just say so before?"

"Well I didn't know if Darius announced it to the whole pack yet and I didn't want to receive another scolding...he's terrifying when he's mad..."

"Ohh...we won't tell anyone dear. This stays between us." Lily nods.

"Yeah. If he decides to announce it to the pack, we'll act surprised." Aurora smiles, patting my back.

"Thank you guys. It was nice meeting you ladies. I'm gonna head inside and rest a bit. I feel nauseas." I smile and get up, heading inside.

It seems sneaking around is going to be harder than I thought...if we try to escape, we'll need to mask our scent somehow.

Lily is gonna smell me from a mile away...so I'm going to need to gain her trust...That way maybe if we are friends, she may help me escape...

That would probably be smart. Well, that nap is starting to sound like a good idea. I'm a bit exhausted from today's endeavors.

You've got that right...maybe later tonight we can check out the open fields. Darius has eyes in the forest so, he won't suspect I'd be stupid enough to try anything...yet. With that, I head to my bedroom for a short nap.