𝕃𝕠𝕧𝕖 𝕃𝕚𝕜𝕖 𝔾𝕙𝕠𝕤𝕥𝕤 - 𝕃𝕠𝕣𝕕 𝕙𝕦𝕣𝕠𝕟
"I don't feel it till it hurts sometimes
Oh, go on, baby, hurt me tonight
I want ours to be an endless song
Baby, in my eyes you do no wrong"
Cedric POV
When we get back to our room, I can tell Hendrix is beyond exhausted. I spy her distended stomach, knowing she'll pop any day. Watching her waddle around is adorable, and helping her is my life's purpose. I just want her to be done already.
I take off my watch, undo my cufflinks, all the while watching her from the mirror above the sink as she slowly sits on the edge of the bed.
She's glowing from the pregnancy, but's she's also worn out. She won't admit it, she never does, but I can see her tired eyes. The way she talks about the baby, and the pregnancy, anyone can tell that she's ready for all of this to be over, and I don't blame her. We're both excited to meet our pup. We're both ready for her to be back to normal. Seeing her in pain, it kills me. I put her through this.
I try to ignore it of course, because that's what Hendrix does, so I consider the fact that she might want to pretend like it's not a big deal. She acts like nothing is wrong at all. I don't know how much longer I can take this though, I want the baby out so my sweet mate can rest after all this time of stress both on her mind and body.
It's all I've thought about most of the day. Through the whole two meetings about what the hell we're supposed to do about this mess, I thought of Hendrix. It was hard not to, she's the meaning of my life, and she's been the topic of a lot of the conversations I had.
Everything leads back to her, as it should. She's my Queen, my Luna, the Mother of my child, my mate. My everything. My world revolves around her.
I slowly get undressed, watching her out of the corner of my eye.
She lays down on the bed, settling on her side while she's still fully clothed in her dress. She sighs in relief, closing her eyes and messaging her side that probably aches. It's hard enough for a woman to go through pregnancy, let alone a human woman going through a lycan pregnancy.
Once I'm in my boxers, I head over to where she peacefully lays. I sit beside her and brush the curls off of her neck carefully. Her brown eyes flutter open, and she sighs yet again. A small smile finds its place on her full, pink lips. One look from her and I know I'm home.
"Hey, baby." I say, not being able to resist the urge to cup her face in the palm of my hand. Hendrix snuggles into me, but doesn't say anything. Her eyes close, and her muscles relax. "What's wrong?"
Her dark gaze finds me again, and this time it's filled with surprise. She's always shocked by the mate bond. It shouldn't be so shocking that I can tell when she's upset.
"I can tell you're sad about something. Help me out. What's bothering you?" I press, only to watch her bite the side of her lip and try to sit up. I aid her, grabbing an elbow and propping her up on a stack of pillows.
She shifts uneasily, but I grab her hand, coaxing her to say literally anything that could cause the slightest inconvenience to her.
"I was thinking... about Keifer." My human relents, and I'm surprised, but it doesn't take long for me to understand.
The pup is an orphan. He went through a similar situation that Hendrix almost had to go through. She sympathizes with him. He's a pup, she's a pregnant girl, I'm sure the chemicals in her brain are haywiring around children, especially one that needs a mother.
I can't blame her, she sees the kid in that situation and feels awful. When I saw Keifer, I saw our own child being put through that same thing if I hadn't gotten to Hendrix in time.
"Will he be adopted?" She wonders out loud, and I glance at her with furrowed eyebrows. I hope this isn't going where I think it is.
"Yes. Eventually he will find a home, don't worry." I try to soothe her, but she keeps making that face. The wheels in her head are turning.
The question I knew was coming pops out of her mouth.
"We could take him, couldn't we?" Hendrix offers, and I hear the hesitation in her voice. I press my lips together firmly, exhaling a sigh through my nose before shaking my head once.
"No. I know you want to give him a home, and you already care for him, but you already have so much going on. Having one lycan pup is enough, are you really prepared to take on two?" I press, trying to be a realist. I don't want to dash her hopes.
Of course I would love to give a child in need a home, but I don't think that Hendrix realizes exactly what that means for her. It's hard work to have a newborn, let alone a toddler on top of that. I just don't know if Hendrix is ready for that yet, no matter how cute she thinks Keifer is.
"You're going to help me! Everyone in the pack will help too. He's a good kid. I won't be overwhelmed, I promise." She begs, and I cringe. You can't exactly promise to not get overwhelmed.
Hendrix is my everything, and I want to give her whatever she wants. I can't, however, just adopt a child she met for a few minutes.
"Cherry, we have the money and the recourses to raise another child, one who needs a home, who needs loving parents. If we can provide that for him, then why can't we?" She pushes, and I nod my head in agreement, but I still have points to make.
As great as her proposal sounds, you can't decide you want to adopt a child after a few minutes of discussion.
"I told you how strong lycan children are. I thought you would want time to raise the baby before it becomes stronger than you and you need constant help. It will be a stressful struggle. Do you want that? I want you to be sure."
Hendrix bites her lip, looking away while she thinks. I give her the time she needs while she mulls it over. She touches my arm, staring up at me. I didn't expect her to figure it out so quickly, but she already has an answer.
"Yes. I want him, he needs us." She whispers.
I'm a little surprised, but then it starts to make sense. My mate is the most selfless person I've ever met. It doesn't matter how hard it is to take in a child that's not hers, she would do it in a heart beat.
I run my hand over her hair, amazed at how soft it is. Everything about her glows while she carries our pup.
"Alright. I'll consider it. There's a lot of background checks and paperwork to go through, and I'm not even sure if they would allow us to adopt Keifer, but I'll see what I can do." I promise, and the brightest smile crosses her face. She lunges, the quickest motion I've seen her make since I got her pregnant.
Hendrix throws her arms around me, squeezing tight as she rubs her nose against my neck in affection. Sparks erupt, and everything in me feels fuzzy. The mate bond is all encompassing, amazing, but it doesn't even come close to the love I have for her.
I didn't choose Hendrix as my mate, but I let myself fall in love for her, I chose to be with her. Our relationship, our love is the most important thing, and I plan to cherish it like it's made of glass.
✰ ★ ✰ ★ ✰ ★ ✰ ★ ✰ ★ ✰ ★ ✰ ★ ✰ ★ ✰
If you're reading this, you're a beautiful person:)
Sorry this chapter is a bit shorter than usual. Next update will hopefully be up by Wednesday, but I'm going to be very busy this week. I will try my best!
See you soon. Don't forget to comment your predictions and opinions!