She didn't respond to what I said but I did notice a slight stiffening of her spine as she walked away. By the time that we made it to the main hallway the door across from our was already open with the light on and a weird sound coming from inside.
I stopped in the doorway in shock at what my mother was able to accomplish in such a short period of time. The faint smell of fresh paint still lingered in the air. I don't know how she did it but she somehow managed to transform this basic suite into a room fit for my Princess. The walls were a pale pink with white wainscoting, the bed was white iron with a crown shaped half canopy over it that had sheer fabric draping down to form the head board. Her bedding was fluffy and pink. There was a huge bean bag style chair in front of a large TV but what really caught my eye was the corner of her room that looked like a kid's gym. It had padded mats on the floor, a mini trampoline, there was this thing that looked like half a ball, and a large floor to ceiling mirror that had a ballet bar in front of it. It even had a mini rock wall to climb on. I wish I had a space like this when I was a kid well except for the ballet stuff.
The weird sound we had heard was Maddie jumping on the trampoline while telling Jemma all about her favorite parts of her new room. From what it sounds like, all the parts are her favorite. She jumped off the trampoline and stood on the half ball thing her cast not slowing her down at all, in fact she didn't look like she had ever been hurt. "This is so I can practice balancing. Grandma Val said that if I get really good at balancing she'll get me a beam like the gymnasts use on TV. Oh Mommy, Daddy, Papa, come check this out." She said as she hopped of the ball and ran across the room to the closet door, "Grandma Val and Grandpa Chris bought me a ton of dress up stuff and esxecise clothes."
"Exercise clothes, yes I see that." Jemma said as she looked in the very full walk in closet. She didn't look too happy.
"I hope you don't mind. I got really excited with the idea of having a grandchild to dote on that I think I went a little overboard." I heard Mom's timid voice from the doorway behind us.
"More than a little overboard sweetheart." My Dad's deep voice said from behind her with a chuckle.
"It's all very... um... lovely. It's just a bit much. We.. uh..I.." Jemma was struggling to find her words
"Mommy Look at this!" Maddie yelled from across the room oblivious to the slight tension in the air, "I have a seat by the window that I put all my stuffies on. Oh and I have my own bathroom, I won't have to wait for you to finish going poop anymore."
Jemma's face was a perfect shade of red and mortification at Maddie's proclamation.
Both my parents burst into laughter, "Children are nothing if not brutally honest. There was one time Nick made sure everyone at a dinner party knew that if they got sick it was because I helped make the food" My Mom said as a way to reassure her, "I'm helpless in the kitchen much to my Mother's dismay. Speaking of food, we came up here to let you know that dinner is ready. It'll just be those in the pack house but tomorrow night will be a slightly bigger deal with family visiting to meet you."
"Uh, this isn't the ceremony that you were telling me about, is it?" Jemma asked as she went from crimson faced to ashen in the blink of an eye.
"No Pixie, this is just a simple meet and greet. Everyone is excited that we finally found you. Just let us know if it gets to be a bit much and we can escape." I said with a wink. "Tonight is just about food."
This seemed to calm her down. We made our way downstairs with Maddie walking ahead of us holding onto a hand from each of my parents who are looking down at her like she is the most precious person they've ever seen. Jemma walked between Nate and I, my arm draped over her shoulders and his wrapped around her waist. I realized I hadn't seen her limp at all since Nate met her.
Has Jemma limped or complained about being in pain to you?
Not at all. Why do you ask?
If you saw the way she looked when I first met her you wouldn't believe this is the same person.
Well you told me about that prayer you said over her so when I got to Mitch's I said that same prayer while you were getting food. Do you think she's fully healed?
One way to find out.
"Hey Pixie" I said hesitantly She didn't say anything but she looked up at me, "What would you think about having your's and Maddie's casts removed and your arms x-rayed again?"
"Well Dr. Greene said it would take at least 6-8 weeks for it to heal and it has only been about a month. Why do you think it would be healed already?" She asked
"Your other injuries seem to have healed much faster than originally thought so I figured it wouldn't hurt to check." I shrugged. I really wanted to know but I wasn't going to push it.
"Do you have a Dr here or would we have to go into town? Also I don't know how much I'm going to have to pay for Dr. Greene's help or for the stay in the hospital wing, I really don't want to rack up any unnecessary medical bills on top of everything else." she admitted rather self-consciously.
"We have a Dr. here, Dr. Whitman is one of the best and in fact he was Dr. Greene's mentor. As for money, don't worry about it Pixie." I told her but I must have said something wrong based on the scowl that was on her face.
She was just about to say something when Selene ran over and pushed us aside so she could hug Jemma. "Isn't this so exciting! We may not see each other everyday but we'll be family and we can do fun things together."
"Selene, Jemma was just asking about what medical bills she would have from her stay with your pack." Nate said with a smirk earning him a scowl from Jemma now.
"Pshh, you don't owe a damn thing." Selene actually looked offended at the very idea.
"Is it because I'm their mate." Jemma asked with a bite to her tone that I didn't like at all.
"Nope, that has nothing to do with it. It's because you got hurt on our pack lands when you swerved to avoid hitting one of our pack members. Therefore we were at fault and we would take care of all medical care and such." Selene stated matter of factly.
For some reason this was exactly what Jemma needed to hear because she was completely relaxed again.
Does she resent being our mate? Nate's voice sounds in my head.
Kinda feels that way right now. I answer back.
Despite the tension those thoughts gave us we couldn't help but smile as we walked into our dining room with our mate between us. The pack members that were present broke out into applause. We took our seats at the head of the table. It was wide enough that all three of us could sit side by side.
Everyone took their seats except for me. As the first born it was my honor to give thanks on the first night with our mate. Once it quieted down I spoke, "We give thanks to the Goddess for our good fortune, for our continued prosperity, for our mate Jemma, and for our daughter Maddie." I said as a way of publicly claiming them both so everyone would know of their importance to not only Nate and myself but to the pack as a whole.
"Thank you Goddess" echoed through the hall.
I took a seat with Jemma to my left. Ray and Chelsea sat to my right next to them sat our Gammas Brandon and his mate Tonya. My parents sat to Nate's left then Mitch and Selene. The rest of the table wasn't full but there were more than a few warriors, workers, and the medical staff.
"What can we get you started with tonight?" Nate asked as the other males waited to dish up their mates until we had filled Jemma's plate as was customary in our pack. The Luna gets first pick, even before us.
She looked over the spread of spaghetti and meatballs, grilled asparagus, salad, and garlic bread. "It all looks so delicious. May I please have a little bit of everything?" She asked looking first at Nate and then turning to me.
I can't seem to stop myself from touching her as I cup her cheek with my hand and leaned in to kiss her forehead "Of course Pixie." I let her see the love I was feeling for her shine in my eyes. I never want her to doubt how much she means to me ever again.
As Nate and I filled Jemma's plate and then our own I felt eyes on me from the other end of the table. I know it's Layla trying to get my attention seen as how she has been trying to mind link me ever since I got home. I still had her blocked and will continue to do so until I know she understands beyond a shadow of a doubt that whatever we had is absolutely over.
I see Nate reach for the bottle of wine to fill Jemma's glass but she was quick and covered it before he could pour any out. She leaned over to whisper in his ear but I heard it clear at day, "Last night was about me because I had too much to drink. Tonight I want to be sober so it's about us." she then turned to me and put her hand on my cheek the way I had to her just moments before "All three of us"
The smile that threatened to split my face in two was mirrored on Nate and we both had to adjust ourselves. It was pure torture sitting here listening to Jemma get to know Chelsea and Tonya. Not that I didn't want her to be friends with them seen as how they form the matriarchy of the pack but what I really wanted to do was scoop her up and go mess up our new bedroom. To drench the atmosphere with our scents too.
"Nick, could I have some more asparagus please?" Jemma asked shaking me out of my thoughts. She must've asked more than once considering how everyone at our end of the table was staring at me laughing.
"Sure thing Pixie. Anything else you want?" I ask as I move to put another serving on her plate.
"Your cock in my mouth." She whispers so quietly in my ear I almost didn't hear it.
I'm frozen, fork of asparagus halfway to her plate, the spears sliding off onto the table without a care. I grab her hand and start to stand but she laughs and pulls her hand back. "I would like a bit more asparagus before we say good night to everyone please." She says with a smirk. She knows exactly what she is doing.
Nate's not helping as he laughs and picks up what I dropped and put it on his plate before putting fresh pieces on her's.
What did she say to you? Nick asks as we watch Jemma lightly suck the tip of the asparagus before taking a bite watching me out of the corner of her eye.
That she wants my cock in her mouth. I replied just as he was taking a drink.
I got the reaction I was looking for as he coughed and choked on his wine spilling some of it on his shirt.
"Honestly boys! I taught you better manners than this." My mom scolds "Sorry Jemma, this isn't their typical behavior."
"It's quite alright Val I think they're just tired from the long drive. Perhaps it would be best if we retired early before they make and even bigger mess for the staff to clean up. Or perhaps we can stay and have them clean up the messes they made?" She innocently suggests looking from one of us to the other while taking another bite.
"It's okay the staff is used to their antics. At least there is no food on the ceiling this time." My Mom attempts to save us.
"We were 13 years old and had no idea baked potatoes would stick like that." Nate defended while Mitch, Ray, and Brandon all laughed remembering how we had to drag in a tall ladder to clean the mess we made.
"That explains the first one not the next 7." My Mom reminds him with a scowl.
"I have a question for you Alpha." Tonya says quietly. She and Brandon only found each other last summer so she's still new to our pack and her previous pack was a stickler about titles, even the leadership called each other by their titles. We're not so formal.
"Only if you ask using my name and not my title." I say. I know I've mellowed out since accepting Jemma as my mate but judging from all of the looks I'm getting now I have more than mellowed.
"Um... okay Ni.. Nick. I was was curious why you call her Pixie."she cautiously asked.
"Yeah, I've been wondering the same thing." Jemma tilted her head while looking at me.
"Well she reminds me of an adorable little pixie but the more I get to know her she also kinda acts like one too." I say while kissing her head.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Jemma asked
"Well pixies are know to be fun loving but mischievous." I whispered leaning into her.
"I'll show you mischievous." She smirked while discretely reaching over and grabbing my rock solid cock making it jump in my pants and become painfully hard. "Seems like someone's eager for some fun loving mischief." she dragged her hand across my hip and down my thigh as she sat back in her seat.
I could hear the laughter through the blood rushing in my ears and Kol howling in my head.
"May I please have another piece of garlic bread?" Jemma asked Nate.
I looked at her plate and she had barely touched the food I gave her after initially teasing us. "Are you actually hungry or are you stalling for some reason?"
She turned to me with a devilish smile, "Finally caught on have you?" Then she pulled me down to her level at first I thought she was going to kiss me but she passed my lips and instead brought her mouth to my ear and whispered "Open the link with Nate." she demanded as she nipped my earlobe. I nodded slightly indicating that he was listening in she continued to whisper "I want both of your cocks filling me up but I won't be the first to stand up. Whichever one of you stands up first with a good excuse will get to choose if they want to come in my pussy or in my mouth first."
Before she can react we both stood at the same time sending our chairs sliding backwards across the floor Nate scooped her up while I said "Seems like our mate is tired from our long drive today so we are going to retire early. Have a good night everyone." by the time I made our excuses Nate was already on his way up the stairs with Jemma slung over his shoulder the way I carried her last night.