“Ellie, you fat lump, would you get off me?” I hear Kat’s voice before I see Kat, and then I realise, that that would be practically impossible because my eyes are still tightly shut as I lay on top of the most uncomfortable mattress I’ve ever felt.
Another grunt comes from underneath me, and then a voice follows, “I swear to god I’ll never do this to a pregnant woman again.” I feel someone push on my shoulder, effectively rolling me from my front, onto my back, and then I realise what’s been happening. Once again, but this time double the size, I’ve been sleeping half on top of Kat like I always do when someone’s in my bed, even if it’s Chris, or Ben, his little brother. Though he’d probably get squashed and suffocate, he’s only three.
“Did you fall asleep here again?” I question Kat, finally opening my eyes, only to find nothing but ceiling. Turning my head to the side, I look at the girl in question, who, even though she probably woke up only minutes ago, is as beautiful as ever. Her hair, light brown in colour, lighter brown highlights in some places, is spread on the pillow like it always does when she sleeps. Her eyes, staring back into mine, are where I think my first love for the colour green came from, that and how I always used to spend all of my time in the forest, reading a book or drawing.
“Honey,” Her voice, sweet and high, matches perfectly with her looks and personality. She’s always been a girly girl, whereas I, with dirty blonde hair that never seems to be able to stay straight for more than a couple of minutes, and the dullest grey, almost no colour at all, eyes, am the total opposite. “You were the one who fell asleep on top of me. Unless you wanted me to move you,” I give her the same look I always do when she offers that the morning after, “I didn’t think so. You’ll just have to deal with me sleeping in your bed. We’ve been doing it since we were two, what’s the immediate problem?”
“No problem, just-“
“You woke up and wanted it to be the one and only Gabriel Hale?”
I laugh at her teasing expression and state clearly and slowly so I know she’s heard, “I promise you, Kat, he’ll never be sharing a bed with me again.”
“I’ll remember that one, Ellie,” She replies, rubbing a hand over her face sleepily. I know how she feels, a couple more hours would be nice, but she probably woke to the smell of cooking food, and I am not one, especially at this time of my life, to want to miss breakfast either. “When you’re older and move in together, I will be reminding you of this moment.”
“We are not going to move in together, girl.” I groan, “I can’t stand the guy.”
She sits up slightly, thinking, “Have you thought any more on the whole, being friend’s thing? Trying to get a long?”
“It’s not going to happen, Kitty Kat.”
“Maybe if you talked-“
“I’m hungry,” I interrupt, changing the subject, and I can see in her eyes that this topic is nowhere near the choice of being dropped forever. “What do you say to a pack cooked breakfast?”
---
“Ellie, can you pass the bacon?”
A few moments and then someone else proceeds to ask, “Ellie, can you pass the eggs?”
I sigh, but do so, and just as I’m about to get back to eating my own meal, someone else says, “Ellie, can you pass the toast?”
“Ellie-“
“Ellie can eat her own food now.” Uncle Rich says from the head of the table, only a few feet away from me and the demanding kids at my side. I don’t know why, only a few months ago, I opted to sit here. It was a stupid idea. Sometimes the little brats can be so annoying. “She needs to pump up her balloon with more energy.”
I shake my head at him, “Not nice, Uncle Rich.”
“Alpha Grayson,” From across the table and a few seats down William’s soft five year old voice grips both mine, and Uncle Rich’s attention. He pauses, waiting for Uncle Rich to say, “Go head, son,” before saying, “Could you pass me the butter, please?”
I look to Uncle Rich with a straight expression, and he returns the gaze, before at the same time we both burst out laughing. I suppose, everyone watching us, thinks us weird for doing so, but Uncle Rich and I have always seemed to have this mixed up sense of humour that most people in the pack don’t get, giving us many a chance to make some private jokes just for our sharing.
“Ms Elizabeth,” I turn my head quickly to see, no one but Chris’ older brother, Harry, stood there with a smirk on his face. Even being two years older than me, and the future Alpha, he always seems to have time to mock me somehow. And he always proceeds to call me ‘Ms Elizabeth’. “You’ve got mail.”
“Thank you, Haribo.” I use the nickname I always used to call him when I was younger. The one, since he heard for the first time, he has hated since. He doesn’t even eat the things anymore.
A hand reaches over, and places a piece of crisp white paper in front of my plate sat in front of me on the table. I wipe my hands on the napkin on my lap, cleaning them consciously, and then pick it up, studying it. I look to Uncle Rich and ask, “Who do you think it’s from?”
“My guess is the pack doctor; you’re next appointment’s due after all. You haven’t seen him in a while.”
I consider it for a minute, and then agree, turning the letter over and ripping into the back. As I pull out the slip from inside and study it, Kat’s voice travels from all the way at the other end of the table, to me. “So, when does it say?”
I shrug my shoulders, fold it back up and place it on the table once again. “Friday,”
“Are you going to tell Gabriel about this one, or not?” My mother asks from across the table directly, and I wonder for a minute how she knows about the terms. But then, she doesn’t have to, she knows Gabriel’s my mate and she’s also been on my case nearly as much as Kat and Uncle Rich these past few months.
I reply with a simple, “Maybe,” thinking of the terms at the same time as Kat says, “Definitely, she practically promised to him that she would.”
“Kat,” I groan, and then focus back on both my mum and my dad’s questioning gazes. “We run into each other. No big deal. But he knows now.” I turn to Uncle Rich and ask, “Can I use your phone then?”
“This is one of those things, Ellie, that I think should be done in person, don’t you?”
I don’t argue as I stand up, pushing my chair back as I do so, and walk down the table until I’m stood behind Kat’s chair, which I effectively choose to drag her out off. She looks at me like I’m mental, and with her eyes tells me to explain myself, so doing just that, I state, “It’s not like I’m going to go round his house empty handed.”
---
Chris glances at me from the corner of his eye as he drives, and I know he wants to say something. The look on his face says he’s been wanting to say something from as soon as I asked him, leverage in hand, whether he would be so kind as to drive me onto what I still think of as the enemy land so I can see the mate I had stated only last night to him that I hated so much I never wanted to see again.
I guess he has a reason to be weirded out.
“Just say it, Christopher,” I look at him whilst he drives, one hand on the steering wheel, one hand on the gear stick, sat there acting as cool as a cucumber. Bad choice of simile, I know. “Just let it all out.”
“Why?” He asks almost automatically, just straight out and simple, that’s what I like about this boy sometimes.
“I got my scan date this morning, at breakfast. I’m just letting Gabriel know.”
He gives me a serious look before returning his gaze to the road, “And when were you going to tell me?”
“Tonight,” I offer. Truly, I wasn’t going to bother letting him know until he had asked. I don’t see how it’s any of his business anyway. It’s just the three month scan. Nothing important, nothing anyone really needs to know about at all.
“Yeah, and you need those why?” He nods down to my lap.
“There a peace offering, in case he wasn’t too happy about my hanging up on him last night.”
“Oh.”
Chris turns down a dirt track road, and after a couple of minutes of driving through the forest, a house appears in view. It’s a large pack house, and many cars are parked at the side of the track we’re currently driving down. As Chris puts the brakes on, and I look at the door I’m only metres away from, I sigh and turn to him.
“Don’t bother waiting,” I pause for a minute, “I’ll call my dad when I want picking up and he’ll send someone, maybe for once himself.”
I open the door of the truck and slide myself out. I’d usually jump, but not now. I kind of miss it to be honest, the whole immature and spontaneous things I’d be able to achieve when I was young, and no baby was growing in my womb. I waddle over to the giant double doors and rasp three loud knocks on the wood, hoping that someone will hear me.
A boy answers, one I recognise, and I guess, maybe he was one of the ones in the diner when Gabriel and I had that run in before. “Yes?”
“Um,” I mumble quietly, “Is Gabriel in?”
He doesn’t seem to mind me asking that though as he just steps back slightly and shouts really loud, almost bursting my ear drums, “Gabe, it’s a chick for you!”
I hear thundering footsteps almost suddenly, and then from nowhere, Gabriel Hale appears, a bored expression on his face. Except that changes when he obviously realises it’s me, looks up fully, and takes me in properly. His bright blue eyes light up slightly, electric pulsing through them in waves, and his smell fills my nostrils as he steps closer and closer to the door. His hair, black as night, is slightly falling over his forehead in a small fringe, and as he walks, it bounces up and then back down.
“Thanks, Drake.” His voice, almost less rough and husky as usual, says as he pats the other werewolf on the shoulder. Gabriel’s gaze then fully turns to me, and I can see him take everything in, especially my expression. His eyes pulse the questions ‘Is everything okay? Is something wrong?” But the words out his mouth are, “Ellie, what are you doing he-“
I interrupt him though, with a “Don’t say anything,” and then holding up the box in my hands, I say, “I brought brownies.”