"What did you do with the body," I ask, my back to my mate, the spray of the shower falling down on us like rain.
"Aurora asked us to dispose of it," David says, rubbing up and down my shoulders.
"How?"
He sighs. "We burned it."
"I'm starting to understand you were gone for so long."
He leaves a kiss on my nape, and I turn to face him. "I have to speak with her after this. Tarlo is bringing her to the house, and you're welcome to sit in on our discussion. Maybe she'd appreciate your presence. You're her friend, after all."
"How much did she see of it?"
"Nothing. She stayed in their guest house until it was over. I saw her, told her what had happened, and she thanked me for telling her myself. She didn't seem upset. She didn't seem relieved. So I left to take care of the body and clean myself up."
He caresses my face, water cascading through his hair, over his healing skin. Through the night his wounds have made significant progress, and I wonder how that sort of energy feels when it's growing in my belly. "All of this is just..." my voice dies with my desire to understand it all. "I just want it to be over."
"It will be. We'll talk to Aurora about the logistics, and then we won't have to think about it until the next Union meeting months from now."
I nod. "And you—you'll be okay?"
David smooths back my wet hair. "As long as I have you, I'll always be."
"How did you do it—without breaking, I mean."
"I had to protect you," he mutters, busy as he runs his hands down my sides, as he takes in the landscape of my body for the hundredth time. "Aurora needed to get away. He had nothing but bad intentions for the future of the Union and his pack. But I didn't want to kill him. I never want to kill anyone, Brigette."
"You have—before Nicodra."
His eyes return to mine. "Yes. I have."
"Who?"
"I don't know their names; they were rogues." He asks, "Does that bother you?"
"That you've killed before?" I shake my head and say, "No."
"It's something I live with. Nicodra, rogues—I'll live with it for the rest of my life, but I sleep at night knowing my back was to the wall. I did it for the pack, for you, and I would do it again."
Aurora arrives with Tarlo not even an hour later. We end our shower and make ourselves decent to see them in the sitting room. When we enter, Aurora's hands are on her stomach, and she stares at the coffee table in deep thought. Tarlo is stood and is pacing about, casual and not as transformed by the events of last night as the rest of us—surely not the woman who sits behind him, mateless and with child.
"Hey," I say cautiously. "How are you?"
She glances at me as if I've drawn her from hypnosis. "I'm good," she clarifies too quickly. "I'm doing well."
"I'm sorry for, you know, everything."
"Don't be. I got what I wanted, right?"
"Still," I say, "it can't be easy, and I'm here for you. Anything you need, Aurora, I'm here."
She shrugs. "My mate is dead. What I need is a heart transplant."
I swallow and take my seat, but David perches himself on the coffee table in front of her, taking her hand between his, expressing his apologies. Before he can say it again, Aurora pats her free hand on the clump of their others and says, "There's no need, Alpha. He got what he asked for."
He respects her and let's go, skipping his apology for the reality of what's been done."You are not of Alpha blood, so I cannot sign the pack to you, but your child will be. To avoid any threats, on paper, the pack will be in my control, and once your child is born, I will sign it over to them. In the meantime, keep things under control. Have your Beta take over, find external help if you need it. It will be a risk, not having an Alpha until your child is capable, but you can preserve the pack.
"Brigette will work to get the proposition declared law so regardless of the baby's gender, their eligibility to lead will not be threatened by change."
"I will try my best, I promise," I add.
She peers down. "Why be so generous? He signed the agreement. The rite states that what's his is now yours. You could be the most powerful Alpha in the world by merging."
"That pack belongs to your child," David says simply.
She takes in a trembling breath. "Thank you."
"Brigette was right; if you need anything, we are here. Keep us updated."
Aurora says, "Of course. I-I should get started on my trip back. My sisters are waiting for me—they've traveled overnight."
I see her and Tarlo out, getting in some final words about the proposition and how she's always welcome to join Bonny and I. Aurora says David has her contact information, and she asks me to call, to check-in, to give my own updates as she gives hers. I hug her and tell her to take care of herself before backing into the house. She sets off with Tarlo and glances back at me, nearly smiling with a trace of the fiery girl I remember. Her words return to me: we're the brave Lunas who do what has to be done.
She will journey home and live by that now. She won't have a choice; until her child is able, she'll be walking a tightrope each day. But I'm not worried about her. Aurora is the kind to flourish when everything is lost: the cunning, emerging survivor of the apocalypse.
I shut the front door. Nicodra is dead, Aurora is safe, and the air around me becomes breathable again. The campaign for the proposition will keep me busy, and the trip to Germany will condition me well, but the constant fear of impending doom—it lifts a bit off my chest and I remember what it feels like to exist in the moment. David walks in and finds me against the door, still holding its handle. He asks calmly, "Are you alright?"
I nod. He steps over, and I let go of the door. My arms mindlessly come around him, and I bask in his embrace. "Do you have to go?"
"No," he says, rubbing my back, "not today."
"Can we talk?"
He pulls his head back to analyze my face. "We can. What about?"
I take his hand and lead him out of the foyer, returning to the sitting room. "It's about what happened the other day in the rain—what was said."
David sits with me on the couch, knowing exactly what I am referring to, and not looking too eager to discuss it. I bring my leg up on the cushion and turn to him. "I've been thinking. We tend to get caught up in moments, in the emotion of our bond. It's hard to properly talk about things when we're so emotional, so I thought sitting down like this would be good for us. A proper conversation."
"You're right," he says, adjusting. "Let's talk about it."
"Right. Okay. Well, firstly, when you said you don't want me having children... Could you explain that a little more? I mean, it just seemed so sudden. I've joked about having tons of children, and you never said anything then."
"Things were different then. I was starting to get through to you, and I didn't want to say something that would've scared you back into hiding." He clears his throat. "I understand what I said in the forest was very cut and dried, and it isn't compatible with our roles. The pack will need someone to take over—"
"Not just someone, David. Your blood. Your name."
"I know." He exhales. "But it doesn't feel right. How can I do that to you? You are my mate, Brigette, not just a body to breed with out of necessity. And to see you struggle because of it—I couldn't bear it."
"I know you don't see me like that, and that's all that matters. We just can't think of it like that. Despite what everyone else says, we know who we are. It isn't solely about heirs and blood and the pack; it's about us, and I know I said it's for the pack, but I was playing defense. The pack may need it, but it will be ours, forever, like any other couple."
He leans forward. "And when you're hurting?"
"No pregnancy is pain-free," I assure him. "Just—all I'm asking is for you to keep an open mind."
He shakes his head. "How did you do it? How did you go from hating me to wanting a child?"
"I never hated you, I can promise you that. I was in denial. I hated myself for wanting you so badly."
"That didn't last long, did it?" He questions.
"No. How could it?"
He looks to me with those taunting eyes, as if he's undressing me with them. "Even then you were testing my patience. There were so many times where I knew what you wanted, and I had to hold back."
I narrow my eyes. "You're so full of it."
"All the arguing. The frustration. The way you would press up against me in your sleep."
"Me? You were the one with wandering hands," I accuse. "On my legs, under my shirt."
David asks, "What about your hands? Wasn't it just last night that they—"
"You know what, you're steering the conversation away. Can we not talk for two seconds without..."
I watch as he draws close and stoops to kiss me. His arm comes around my back as our mouths meet, and he pulls me to him. "You want a baby?" He murmurs against my lips.
I cradle his jaw in my hands. "Don't tease me. But yes, someday I do. You would be so good at it—parenting, being a father."
David kisses me, and I move on top of him. He toys with my clothes, and I wouldn't be surprised if he tore them off and had me right here right now. I already feel the urge of his lusting beneath me. He grips my hips hard and holds me against him; the warmth of his skin only heating further. He groans against my mouth and says, "I need you, Brigette."
It's all he has to say.
I figured last night would only be the beginning of binge. I knew the next week would be the minimum amount of time I'd need to settle my excitement. The craving had already been engraved the moment we finished the first time, and there isn't a single bone in my body that would rather go hungry.
"Let's go upstairs," I rush, knowing that what he needs is in the bedroom.
But David lays me against the couch, moving between my legs and kissing me once more. My stomach twists with desire, dampening my underwear as he grinds into me, and I whimper when my aching grows to an urge much less manageable. My fingers frantically undo my jeans, and I restlessly kick them off as he unbuttons his own. Neither of us can stand another moment apart—the second we're able, he pushes into me and I fist the fabric against his back.
My head wipes clean as all I can focus on is his thrusting. I tense and clench and gasp, finally letting my noise escape me. His hot, airy moans heat my neck as he buries every bit of himself into me—fusing us together in any way possible. My soreness from last night is smothered by sudden, intense pleasure, and I claw at his back when he pounds, relishing the incomparable sensation of our skin moving together.
I can't take anymore, I grip around him and he climaxes, holding me tightly as we finish as one. His hand fisting my hair releases, and I weather the storm of emotion—the encumbering effects of such pleasure and intimacy. He pulls out of me and I monitor the ceiling.
Neither of us question it—say anything.
The high wears and then we stare at one another, hoping the other will say something redeeming. "I-It's just once," I breathe, knowing that one time is all it takes.
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Hello! I just want to let you guys know that I've split the story into 3 parts. Part 1 starts at chapter 1 obviously, but part 2 starts chapter 21, and part 3 will start next chapter. I added little headers on these chapters to indicate it.
Thanks for reading!