Chapter 25 #3
Hail started the washing machine and closed the folding doors to hide the washer and dryer, then walked back over to Athena. “You are aware that after the baby is born you won’t have a round belly anymore, right?”
“I’m hoping.”
“You’re in pristine shape. You’ll bounce back.”
“How do you know?” Athena asked weepily.
“I read it. The better shape you’re in when you get pregnant, the faster you’ll bounce back. And if you’re lucky, you’ll keep the boobs, too. But you do not want to breast feed. They’ll shrivel up and eventually hang to your navel.”
“Do you believe in God?” Athena asked.
“Huh? Where did that come from?”
“Because I’m pretty sure that when I die, if I meet Eve, I’m going to punch her right in the fucking face for pissing him off and making us suffer so much simply for being women. All the pain and the struggle and suffering! That’s because she just had to fucking eat an apple.”
“And the boob thing brought that on?” Hail asked.
“No. The immeasurable pain I’m anticipating with giving birth to this kid, and the pain in my ass periods that we have to deal with and all the struggles during and after a baby.”
“Well, we didn’t have periods for a long time, so, maybe it’s a good thing now that we do, or you wouldn’t be having yours and Scorn’s baby. But other than that, I’m with you.”
“Fine. That much is true.”
“He or she, is going to be beautiful and absolutely not to be fucked with,” Hail said.
“You just don’t even know how right you are,” Athena said, grinning at her.
Hail nodded, but didn’t fully jump in and start egging Athena on. Instead, she just smiled and sat beside her on the sofa.
“How was your mission with Frenzy?”
“Interesting. Good, but also interesting,” Hail said.
“Tell me, how is he as a mission lead?” Athena asked.
“He’s good. He’s fun, and lighthearted, and breaks the tension frequently, but focused and all business when it’s time to work. He has faith in his team and allows them room to do their jobs. I really enjoyed working under him.”
“Go, Frenzy!” Athena said, pumping her fist in the air.
Hail smiled.
“And what’s with you?”
“Hmm? What do you mean?”
“You’re off balance.”
“No, I’m not. I’m fine.”
Athena canted her head and smirked at Hail. “What kind of lead would I be if I didn’t know my team well enough to know exactly when they’re off balance?”
“It’s nothing. It’s just different day, same shit.”
“What does that mean? We have had shit almost every day of our lives. What shit are you referring to?”
“Alright, but I really don’t want to discuss it with the whole team.”
Athena looked around herself. “Do you see anybody here other than me?”
“Fine. I met somebody.”
“On mission? You met somebody? Is he Variant?”
“No. He’s a Lion shifter.”
“Oh, baby! Now we’re talking! Wild, unpredictable and sexy, I’m guessing!”
“He’s about six and half feet tall, shoulders wider than a damn door, bald but I think he shaves it, a goatee kind of tuft thing. He’s not pretty, but he’s so rugged and masculine, very handsome.”
“Just your type. You don’t like pretty.”
“And he likes me. I mean, really likes me. He asked me not to go on mission. Wanted me to stay with him and his Pride. When I said I had responsibilities, he froze up. Just shut down on me.”
“Did you know in advance that he was attached to you?”
“I knew that we liked each other, but I had no idea he’d go from let’s spend the night together to live your life here with me.”
“Is that what he said?!” Athena asked excitedly.
“Not exactly, but I’m pretty sure that’s what he meant. He didn’t want me to leave — ever.”
“How do you feel about that?”
“Like shit.”
“Because you didn’t want to hurt him?”
“Because I didn’t want to hurt me! Or him. I’ve second guessed myself every minute since leaving him standing there watching me drive away.”
“You don’t even know if their leader would have allowed you to stay.”
“Their Alpha? I’m pretty sure it wouldn’t have been a problem. He’s strong, and hard, and obviously has the final say in most things, but he doesn’t tell his people how to live their lives and what they can and can’t do. He wants them to be happy and find love.”
“Really? Sounds like the kind of leader you want.”
Hail nodded. “Besides, Frenzy stayed, so I’m pretty sure that if I wanted to stay it would have been fine.”
“Frenzy stayed?!” Athena yelled in surprise. “For like a week or two?”
Hail shook her head. “He told us goodbye, he told Lethal goodbye. I’m fairly certain that he knew before we left here that he wouldn’t be coming back.”
“Well, I’ll be damned,” Athena said.
“I’m thinking I should have stayed, too. But then, I had things to see to. And I had to come back. I took vows of loyalty to our team. I made promises. You and our team are here. And I live here.”
Athena reached out and took Hail’s hands in hers.
“Hail, honey, our team is just about non-functional. Torrid and Flash don’t even live here anymore.
They just check in every other day or two to see if I need them for anything.
I’m about to pop,” she raised her eyes to the ceiling, “thank you Scorn!”
“Scorn didn’t do this without your permission,” Hail reminded her.
“Beside the point… anyway, Storm and you are the only active members at the moment. And honestly, I’d be surprised if we ever go out as a team again.
I’m not leaving my child to be raised by Scorn and Lethal’s team if something happens to me.
So, frankly, I’m out, no longer active in SOT missions.
Storm asked if she could start applying to other teams so she could become more active and I gave her my blessing.
You finished your mission. You saw it through, you supported everyone on it with you.
And you made it back in one piece. Yay, you. So, now what do you want?”
“I don’t know,” Hail said.
“Hail, if that male was here and asked you to go back to that town with him…”
“He lives on a mountain with his Pride. They all have their own homes, and I love it there, Athena. And I met the nicest girl. And she really likes me. We laugh and talk and she’s really my friend.
Not because she has to be, but because she likes me.
And I really liked the way that felt. I loved being there. ”
“Then go back. Go back to your male, go back to the Lion Pride on the mountain and be happy. You’ve more than served your time here.”
Hail shook her head. “I don’t know. He’s probably already moved on, written me off and doesn’t want anything to do with me.”
“Why?”
“Because I left him!”
“You had a job to do. It’s done now.”
“I don’t know if I want to do that or not.”
“Then don’t. But think about it. You don’t owe the Variant anything. You don’t owe me or our team anything. You do owe yourself something, though. It’s your time.”
“I don’t want to face him and have him just walk away. I know what to expect here.”
“Hail, gather up some of that courage you never failed to have on mission, and use it to give yourself what you want out of life. And if for whatever reason, you find yourself coming full circle and looking back in our direction, come on. I’m not going anywhere. Alliance isn’t going anywhere.”
“Maybe. Right now, I just want to unwind and figure out what I want to do next.”
“No pressure,” Athena said.
“Yep.”
“But I’d love you forever if you’d put some of that vanilla ice cream in a big glass with some vanilla and some chocolate syrup and make me a chocolate shake.”
“Of course,” Hail said, getting up and heading toward the kitchen. “You want an extra one for the baby, too?”
“Absolutely!” Athena said.