The sweet smell of cooking blackberries wafts in my face as I stir the fruit over the stove to make jam. Helena places the proofed dough loaf in the oven, and we function seamlessly, chatting through our work. "Do you think they will like jam? I hope they aren't picky."
"Children are picky, but they will grow out of it. You know, my daughter was a very picky eater at first, so I would eat the food she feared and act as if it was the most wondrous tasting thing. She would see my reaction and immediately want to taste it. Most of the time, she would act the same way—smiling and saying yum-my. She was a precious little thing."
"I can't wait," I say.
Helena comes to my side. "Here, dear. Let me take over. Sit down for a bit, won't you?"
"I can finish. My belly isn't big yet—I feel fine. But you can bother me in a few months."
"Brigette!"
Helena bumps me out of the way at the sound of David's call. She takes over the stirring, but I'm too curious about David's shouting to care. "David?" I call back and look into the hallway. "Is everything—"
He walks briskly down the hall with a smile on his pretty face. "It passed."
"What."
"The proposition passed," he confirms and sweeps me into his arms.
"Congratulations," Helena says from the kitchen.
"A-Are you serious? You heard just now?"
"I came right here to tell you."
I latch onto him and squeal as he spins us around. "I can't believe it! I have to call Aurora and Bonny and my mom and—"
My rambling stops when he kisses my lips and sets me down. "I'm so proud of you," he says and caresses my cheeks. His thumbs trace my cheekbones before he quickly kisses me again.
"Stay with me?"
He lets go. "Of course."
"Just let me call my mom to tell her the news, and then I want to talk about turning the second bedroom into the nursery. I think it has the best lighting so if we chose that pale green paint, the shadows won't be too weird," I explain. I've been nesting and preparing for the baby ever since my pregnancy was confirmed at the doctor's a few weeks ago.
"Go on and call her, then we can go upstairs and you can show me what you want to do."
"Okay."
David carries on into the kitchen while I grab my cell phone from the dining room. I left it beside my laptop earlier when Helena asked if I wanted to help her in the kitchen. The device is still resting face down on the table, so I grab it and call my mom. We send plenty of text messages, but this is something I want to hear her reaction to.
I sit down while I wait for her to pick up—it only takes two rings. "Hi, Brigie, how is everything? Are you doing okay?"
"I'm doing just fine," I say in regards to my pregnancy.
"Is my grandbaby still being good to you?"
"It's been smooth sailing."
I can almost hear her smile. "Aw, well, I think you may just have an angel growing in there. That's good—I'm happy for you."
"Who knows, maybe the little thing is waiting until my guard is down," I joke. "Anyway, I'm actually calling with news."
"You decided to know the gender?"
"Sorry, but no. David just told me that the proposition passed."
Her voice leaps. "Oh! Oh, that's wonderful, Brigie. I can't believe you pulled it off."
A hint of sarcasm escapes me. "Thanks."
"So that's that? Amabell could be our next Alpha?"
"She could be. There are a few conditions, but they're minuscule compared to the rules before. If Amabell is the only blood child of the Alpha and Luna, then she will be the next Alpha, but we're likely to see the first female Alphas in packs who have no current Alpha. You remember how I told you about Aurora, right?"
"Yes, I do."
"If Aurora was Alpha Blood, she would be Alpha of Nicodra's pack now since she was mated to Nicodra. But, because she isn't, she'll have to hold out until her child can take over."
"And because of you, even if her child is a girl, the pack will have a leader."
"Because of everyone who voted in favor of the preposition, yes," I correct. "That's all I wanted to tell you."
"It's great news," she says, "I'm so proud of you."
"Do you think Dad will be proud? Or will he be all weird about it still?"
"I think he's just needed some time to understand it all. It can be difficult for him to handle change, but he'll be proud of you, don't you worry. It takes a special person to do what you've done, and he knows that."
My mind catches and tangles in my thoughts for a moment, then I yank myself free. "David and I are deciding how the baby's room will be, so I'll let you know what colors we chose so you can match the blanket."
"Good. I can get started on it then."
"You'll have plenty of time to knit considering the baby isn't coming any time soon. Unless you're making a blanket big enough for the entire pack, I don't think there's any need to rush."
"You know I like to add little details," she argues. "I want it to be perfect so when my grandbaby is all curled up, they'll think of me and how much grandma loves them."
"You don't have to be so far, mom."
"Your father—"
"Won't be a Beta forever," I finish. "Talk to him. Start to plant retirement seeds, and promise me that the two of you will move here when he does."
"We wouldn't be anywhere else, you know that. The second he steps down, we're coming to be with you and our grandchild. I can promise you that as many times as you need."
Something inside of me settles—perhaps it's my baby knowing that they will be surrounded by love and family. I want to give them a village of people who love them, who will protect, nurture, and teach as much as David and me.
My baby will never be alone.
"Okay," I say. "I'll talk to you later. David is waiting for me."
"Sure thing. You send me those colors."
"I will, and you take care of Dad—make sure he doesn't trip at the finish line."
"I will. You go and plan with David."
"Okay, bye, Mom. Love you."
"Love you too. Bye now."
I hang up and set my phone down. My finger taps the mouse pad of my sleeping laptop, and the screen lights, distracting me. The selected tab is my email. I refresh the page to see if anything new pops up, and to my surprise, an email responding to my own lines the top of the feed. An email from Jeremy.
My body jolts into position as I quickly open the email, and my brows tense together in absolute concentration. The first thing I notice is that his response isn't too long, but then again, neither was my initial message. I begin reading as my chest thrums.
Brigette,
There is so much I should have told you, yet I cowered out of fear that you would change my mind as you changed your own. If I scared you by my disappearance, then I apologize profusely. While you went to Germany to campaign, I feel as though I went for other reasons. I went because my mate is a part of the Dreier Pack, and before coming to Amin, I gave in to my own tendency to run off. Because you are who you are, I know there's no need to explain why I made that decision a year ago, but there is something I must tell you.
No distance or distraction fills the constant emptiness I feel. We could run to the ends of the world, but nothing will save us from the mate bond. My own bond terrifies me, and for so long I have let that fear control every aspect of my life, but you stayed, and you seem to be happy, so I believed I could have that same happiness.
I came close, Brigette, but I ran again. Maybe one day I will be strong enough to trust and stay. Do not worry about me. I am safe and well as I hope you are also.
Your trusted advisor,
Jeremy
Before I can comprehend it all, I begin typing my response. My fingers move rapidly to keep up with my busy thoughts; the words come to me at once.
All I write is: Give him a chance. He may very well make you as happy as David has made me, but he can't do so unless you try. Open and be vulnerable, and if you don't find your happiness, at least you know you tried. You will always have a friend in me, Jeremy. I hope to hear from you soon.
Your lifelong friend,
Brigette
"Is everything alright?"
I look from the computer screen to the archway on my right where David monitors. "It's Jeremy. He sent me an email."
"Is he alright?"
My eyes revert to the screen. "Physically, he's okay. He's safe. But I don't know how he's really doing. He said his mate is at Dreier, and that he's been staying away, but I don't know where he is now or what he's going to do, so I told him to give him a chance."
David asks, "To give his mate a chance?"
"A part of me still knows it's Alpha Dreier, but yes, his mate. I told him to try."
David nods and nears. He rests his hand on the back of my chair. "At least we know he's safe."
"I just want him to be happy."
"He'll get there, don't worry. Who knows, maybe he'll take your advice and return to Germany."
"I said that I hope to hear from him soon," I explain, tilting my chin and lifting my gaze. "Hopefully he stays in contact."
"He replied to your first email, right? I think that's a pretty good sign he will, but you might have to be patient."
I glide the mouse over the send button and hit it. The email is then whisked off to wherever Jeremy is hiding out, and I shut my laptop. "I can wait. I mean, I'm already waiting on Maybe Baby, so what's one more thing?"
"Maybe Baby," David repeats. "I think you've made that name a habit."
"I know, I know. It's just so catchy that it implanted into my head, but Baby definitely isn't a maybe anymore. If we knew the gender, then we could pick a name and I could call it that instead."
"But you want it to be a surprise."
I sigh. "I don't know what I want anymore. What if the green looks like throw up or—or pond water?"
David steps back as I stand. "Then we'll paint over it."
"We can't keep painting the walls because I don't like the color. Eventually the room will shrink right up because of all the layered paint and the baby won't have enough room to crawl, or play, or sleep."
"I have no idea what you're talking about. Come on, let's go upstairs. Have another look, and if you pick a few colors, we can paint tester strips to make sure the walls don't look like pond water."
"Okay," I say, "I can do that, but you'll look at the colors too? I want to know which ones you like."
"I'll pick some colors," David assures me as we leave the dining room.
"The color scheme also has to work on a blanket, so keep that in mind."
Trailing behind me, he says, "How could I forget?"
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Sorry for the wait, college has kept me busy. There will be one more part after this, and I hope to get it up sooner rather than later so keep an eye out!