I was walking through the forest by the south border just as I had always liked to do. The only thing I could hear was the sound of crunching snow beneath my feet.
The walk seemed longer than usual, and for some odd reason, something felt - off.
I reached the lake, which at this point was completely frozen.
I was just about to step closer when I noticed a shadow out of the corner of my eye.
"Hello?" I called out. "Who's there?"
I turned and had a good look around.
I comforted myself with the thought that a palace guard had followed me to ensure my safety.
A rustling in the bushes diverted my attention to the opposite side. Just as I turned to face the noice, a sharp pain coursed through my large stomach, causing me to fall to my knees.
"Help." I hollered. "Please whoever is there please help!"
"My my, what do we have here? I would help you but then I remember, where was your compassion for me?"
I looked up, only to be face to face with....
My eyes flew open and I was sat upright in a matter of seconds. I tilted my backwards, taking a second to catch my breath.
I looked at Julius who was still sound asleep, calming down a little.
This feeling of calm was short lived as my phone beeped, signalling a message and scaring the living crap out of me.
I felt about for it on the bedside table and unlocked it.
Is everything ok sis? I felt like you were having a nightmare, I just randomly woke up and felt anxious.
-Penny
I sighed and sent her a quick text back, feeling bad that she'd beben woken up by my terrible dream.
Yeah I was having a bad dream but it's all good now. I'm fine. Go back to bed.
I sighed, standing up and grabbing my robe.
Opening the doors, I walked onto the balcony.
We were fortunate enough to have it, especially as it overlooked the magical palace gardens.
I rested up against the railing, staring aimlessly.
I had no idea what the dream was about, nor did I know who the mystery man was.
It was one of the first nightmares I'd had in a while and the most worrying thing about it was, that it felt so real.
Usually my nightmares had important meanings behind them, usually warnings.
But this one ; it just made no sense.
Sighing and feeling a little cold, I made my way back inside and back to bed.
I lifted Julius' arm and slipped under it, instantly feeling a little safer.
"Hey little one. How are you doing in there?" I whispered, rubbing my stomach - I couldn't believe that I was less than 2 months away from giving birth!
Which reminded me, that I had made a deal with Xavier to ruffle Julius' feathers a little.
I was in awe of how cool and collected my mate had remained. He'd been King for a month already and had not once showed any signs of being under pressure.
Of course I was incredibly proud of him, but I would still need to have a heart to heart with him ; Even if he was struggling on the inside, he'd do his best to hide it from me.
After an hour of erratic thinking, I finally settled down into a dreamless sleep.
"Hey you two!"
I bolted up in seconds, my arms flying up as I did so. As a result of this, an bolt of electricity was sent across the room, inches from the invaders face.
"What the hell Estrella?!"
"I'm sorry Xavier. I didn't mean to do that! And besides why did you bustle in here like that?"
"I came to tell you that you have two visitors."
"Really who?"
"Your dad and Daniel. They both want to speak to you and the Alpha."
"Alright we will be down in 10 minutes." Julius answered, fully awake now.
"Okay. I'm going to leave the room now. If you could try not to fry me alive this time, I'd appreciate it." he replied, a small smirk on his face.
"I wonder what those two want."
"No idea. But it must be important if they are here so early." Julius shrugged, yawning.
"I probably won't have time to shave now."
"Then don't. Your baby and I approve of the stubble." I giggled.
"Well if my babies approve then so be it." He chuckled, placing his hands on my bare stomach.
Immediately small sparks flew from my hands and my stomach glowed.
"Woah. That's new."
"Very very new." I furrowed my brows at my stomach which at this point almost resembled a light bulb.
He removed his hands and then put them back, moving them in a soothing manner around my stomach.
There were small but noticeable movements before my stomach 'lit up' once more.
"This is so strange yet so satisfying to watch. We are definitely going to need to see doctor Parker today."
"Good idea." I mused, rubbing my stomach .
We joined the rest of the gang downstairs for breakfast in the large dining room. As Xavier had said, my father and Daniel were seated waiting.
"God look at my daughter. She's huge."
"I missed you too Dad." I chuckled, hugging him. .
"And there's my royal son in law. "
"It's good to see you Mr Alvarez."
We all took our seats and had breakfast together as normal.
"So what brings you to the palace?"
"Well Alpha, there's been a bit of a problem at the office?"
"Problem? What kind of problem?"
"Well this person keeps visiting the office. They've done so 3 times this week already saying that she has to speak to you and the Luna."
"Me?" I asked, furrowing my brows.
"Interesting. Did you manage to get a picture of this person?"
Daniel nodded before bringing out his phone to show us the intruder. As Julius and my father were sitting closest to him, they saw the picture first.
"A very erratic woman, always threatening security when she arrives."
Julius squinted clearly not recognising the woman yet, upon seeing the photo, my father's expression immediately darkened.
"Let me see." I demanded.
My father sent an indecipherable look to my mate, who wisely handed me the photo.
I was unsure for a few seconds but when it finally registered in my head, I stood up and ran with my big belly to the nearest bathroom, which as you can tell, was easier said than done.
The anger, and fear bubbled inside me, making me physically feel sick.
I could feel the blood rushing to head as I brought up the contents of my stomach.
The door was flung open and Julius ran in.
He jumped back as soon as his skin made contact with mine.
"Shit." He cursed.
He attempted to touch me again but this time I stopped him.
"No. Don't. I can't control it. It's as if my whole body is charged."
Julius sighed, a visible look of defeat marring his features.
I began cleaning myself up, rising out my mouth and using cold water to cool myself down.
My mate stood and watched, as I regained composure.
"Today." I whispered. "We end this today."
The car journey was tense to say the least.
My dad rode shotgun with Julius behind the wheel. Tony, Penny and I were seated in the backseat of the car. The rest were in
the car behind us.
I was calmer than I had previously been, but still my mind was racing at 100 miles per hour. My brain was in overdrive, as the painful memories associated with the office intruder resurfaced.
It seemed that distress was the cause of
the whole charged skin thing.
I rubbed my stomach thoughtfully, a habit only recently seemed to ease my worries.
We arrived at the office and made our way to reception to meet Daniel as planned.
"Estrella!"
Ella rushed up to me, hugging me as if I was going to disappear.
"Wow. I haven't seen you for ages! You've certainly been busy!" She smirked, gesturing to my stomach.
"You could say that." I sighed, laughing a little.
"Tony and I are going to have a look around, I had no idea your office was so lavish!" Penny giggled dragging Tony away.
"Mr Stone, any moment now. It's usually around this time the crazy person comes around screaming and shouting, even when we threaten to get the police involved."
"I think it's best you take a seat, mi amor. You look as if you're about to blow a fuse." Julius whispered.
I sighed, knowing he was probably right.
"So Ella what have you been up to? Besides going on romantic getaways with Daniel?"
She blushed profusely as we took a seat behind her desk.
"You know about that huh?"
"Yes of course. He's almost always talking about you."
"Really?" She beamed, her eyes lighting up like fireworks.
A hint of worry then kicked in.
This girl really liked Daniel ; I could feel it.
Their relationship was progressing so beautifully, and I was afraid that if he didn't tell her his secret soon, things would go horribly pear shaped.
"Well enough about me. I want to know when and how you got knocked up?" She giggled, changing the subject.
I was about to answer her when shouting caught both of our attentions.
"Get off of me you idiots. I'm not going to hurt them. I was just gesturing for emphasis."
Daniel and another security guard held firmly onto the arms of the aggressor, who I assumed had tried to attack someone.
I swallowed hard, walking towards the scene.
Penny suddenly rejoined us, still clutching onto her mate.
The intruder was a short, slender woman with long blonde hair. She had hazel eyes which lacked any sort of warmth and emotion. Her dress was incredibly low cut and definitely too short for the weather. You could smell the alcohol and perfume from miles off.
She was exactly as I remembered her.
A cold, heartless, wretch.
"Oh wow. What a surprise. Finally the power couple of the century make an appearance. Look at you darling, fat as ever."
"What exactly are you doing here Natasha?"
"Wow. So you're not even going to call me mama?"
"Why the hell would I do that?" I spat, my fingers itching.
Within seconds, Julius was at my side, holding me and stopping me from doing something I would regret.