Chapter 14
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It was moving day. I had spent the last two days just trying to take everything in, and now we were moving into our new house.
Well, Dante was moving us in. I was actually sitting on the couch that he’d claimed me on while he did his thing with magic.
There wasn’t really a whole lot for me to do because Dante was moving everything as it was.
Nothing was boxed; he’d simply moved his things from one house to this one, and then we’d gone to my place, and he’d done the same thing.
I’d tried to reorganize my stuff, but poof… Dante’s magic had it properly put away.
I knew he wasn’t doing it to be malicious.
He was trying his best to take care of me because I wasn’t feeling the greatest still.
The tea was helping, and I wasn’t throwing up, but I just had zero energy.
I saw movement and focused on the back deck.
There was a familiar man standing there, and after I blinked a few times, I realized it was Warwick.
“Dante?”
“Yes, baby?”
“Warwick is standing on our back deck. Should I let him in?”
I didn’t get to answer because Dante was suddenly in the room and standing at the back door. He opened it and welcomed the other hellhound in. “Where’s Cecil and the twins?”
“They’re next door. The boys are napping, otherwise he would have come. I just wanted to extend congratulations and ask how you are feeling?” Warwick said, looking directly at me.
“Eh. I stopped throwing up, which I think is good. But I have zero energy.” I yawned. “Sorry,” I said. “All I seem to do is just sleep and then lie around when I’m actually awake. The thought of doing anything is exhausting, and that’s very much not me.”
“I’ll send Cecil over later if you’d like. He, I am sure, has many stories for you, but you are carrying a baby. That is a lot of work and takes a lot of energy.”
I nodded. “Yeah, I get that. It’s just new for me. I’ve never been this inactive.” I sighed.
“I do understand. Perhaps Cecil will have some pointers for you. I’ve never carried a baby before, so I cannot say I know what you are going through.” Warwick held out his hand. “But Cecil said I was to bring this over to you. He said to tell you it’s from Beau and Lewis.”
That definitely caught my attention, and I sat up.
Warwick handed me the box, and immediately, I could smell the cookies that were inside.
“Oh, Lewis is the best,” I said. When I opened the box, sure enough, inside was a bunch of chocolate chip cookies that were half dipped in chocolate and sprinkled with big chunks of salt. Yum.
“They’re the best. I’m so tempted to eat some, but I think they’d probably upset my stomach if I ate them now.”
I showed Dante and Warwick. “Do either of you want some? There are probably two dozen here and more than enough to share.”
Warwick held out his hands while shaking his head. “Thank you, no. We have a similar box that Cecil picked up earlier. I’m just here to deliver them to you. He stopped by earlier, but you weren’t here.”
I looked over at Dante. “We must have been at one of the other houses.”
“Most likely,” Dante said. He turned to look at his packmate. “Thanks for bringing those by. I appreciate it.” He glanced my way. “I think that Banner wouldn’t mind Cecil stopping by when he has time.”
I shook my head. “Not at all. I’m sorry I’ve not been over to say hello or anything.” I yawned again. “I don’t want to just drop in, though, and upset your time with your babies.”
Warwick handed Dante a piece of paper. “This has Cecil’s number on it. He asked me to give it to you so you can message him. He said to feel free to ask him anything, especially since hellhound pregnancies can be different.”
“Thank you,” I said. I was sure I would have questions, but right now, I really just wanted a nap. Thankfully, Dante seemed to pick up on that without me even having to mention anything to him through our bond.
“Did you want to talk for a bit, or did you need to get back to your mate and babies?” Dante asked.
He and Warwick walked off toward the kitchen, and I reached over to put the box on the table.
I was sure there was no reason for any of them to say any of that just to be nice, but it was odd that Beau and Lewis thought they needed to send cookies through someone else. Why hadn’t they reached out themselves?
I knew I was putting too much thought into it.
They weren’t avoiding me. They were respecting the time off that we had.
We still had another week and a half left before Dante would need to go back to work, and I was still struggling with the decision of whether I would go back or not.
I was leaning toward not, simply because by the time I went back, I would only be at work for maybe a month before I had the baby.
Or possibly longer. We honestly didn’t know.
I shook my head at my own thoughts. No wonder I was so stressed. I suddenly worried about everything, it seemed. Why? When had this become me? I scooched down on the couch and lay down on my side. It was the most comfortable position for me, and right now, I needed that more than anything.
I closed my eyes, and that was the last thing I remembered until I woke up and found myself covered on the couch, the lighting dim. Crackling from the fireplace drew my attention, where a fire was burning.
“Hello, sleepyhead.”
I turned my head to find Dante sitting on the other end of the couch. Had he been there before? Had I just not noticed? Or had he popped in once he realized I was now awake? I blinked a few times before I sat up a little. “Oh, wow. I slept that long?” I asked.
“A few hours,” he said. “You were tired. There’s been a lot happening the last few weeks, and your body is doing a lot.” Dante stood and moved closer to me. “Would you like something to eat?”
I stared up at my mate and tried to smile. “Yeah, I should eat. I also need to go to the bathroom.” I glanced outside again. “Is it really nighttime?”
“It’s just before eight. You needed sleep, so I let you rest.”
I tossed the blanket back and grinned. “And covered me, and lit the fire, and…” I sighed. “You’re really amazing, Dante. I know you don’t feel as if you are, but you are.”
He helped me up and held me close for a moment. I felt his kiss to the side of my head and smiled. “I’m glad you feel that way.”
I knew he wanted to say more, but we were both working on things individually and together as a couple.
I hurried off to the bathroom to relieve my upset bladder, and when I was finished, I came out to find that Dante had made us an amazing stew and biscuits.
“Oh, that smells wonderful,” I told him as I joined him at the table.
“I didn’t know what to fix. You seemed all right with this last week, so I thought it might be safe. But if you want something else or your stomach says to have something else, I’ll fix whatever you feel is safe.”
I couldn’t help it; I moved closer and kissed him. I kept it super short because he’d provided an amazing meal once again, and it had been some time since I’d eaten last.
“I’m sorry I slept so long. That was rude of me to fall asleep when your packmate was here too.”
“He understands,” Dante said. “Cecil had twins not too long ago. He, more than anyone else in the pack, will be able to understand and relate to what you are going through. At least from the mate’s side of things. Only you know what you’re actually experiencing.”
I sighed. Dante handed me the bowl of biscuits, and I took two.
I wasn’t sure I’d be able to eat everything, but I’d try.
I noticed my tea was waiting for me, and I picked up the mug and took a long sip of it.
It was a good thing that I didn’t mind tea.
In fact, I really didn’t have any food or drink that I didn’t eat.
I’d spent enough time hungry that I wasn’t picky. I would eat it all.
“The tea is good,” I said. “And it was incredibly thoughtful of you to make it for me.”
Dante snorted. “You know I just used magic.”
I shrugged before setting the mug down. “Yes, but you thought enough of me to make the tea for me. That means something. You are taking care of me, and that shows how much you love me.”
“I do. I’m not the best when it comes to mates.
” I tried to argue, but Dante stopped me with a hand up in front of him.
“I’m not, and I know it. I appreciate the fact that you think I’m great.
Trust me, I truly do. But I know I need to work on certain things.
And we’re making sure we have open communication always.
” Dante sighed. “I guess, I just want to say that I do love you, and it is such a small thing that you are appreciative of, which is a bit sad because it’s such a basic thing to provide a meal for your mate.
” Dante shook his head. “I’m rambling, and I’ll stop now. ”
I smiled at my mate, stood up, and went over to where he was. He pushed his chair out to get up, but I was quicker, and I sat in his lap. I still thought it looked funny because I wasn’t that much shorter than he was, but Dante seemed to love it, and I liked making him happy.
“I love you, Dante. I do. And I also very much appreciate the fact that you take care of me.” I reached up and touched the side of his face, feeling the thick beard under my palm.
I leaned in and gave him a quick kiss. He grabbed hold of my hips and held on tight, and I’d figured out a while ago that was his way of holding me close without making me feel as if I were trapped and couldn’t get away.
I pressed my lips to his harder, and when my hands slid around to the back of his neck, his moved up my back to the center, where he held me gently.