Chapter 2
Chapter two
Mai
Wally burst through in paint-splattered overalls, hauling what looked like a tackle box of swatches.
“Please tell me you didn’t wake up at six a.m. to come over and paint the nursery.”
“Six? Darling, I’ve been up since four. Thomas had to physically restrain me from heading over here hours ago.
” Wally bustled into the room, nodding once to Ryan before setting up his supplies on the dresser.
“Sofia’s right behind me—she ran back to the car for your jalapenos.
But we have a few minutes before Thomas is gonna be up here to do your check-up, and we have some serious decisions to make. ”
He pulled out a fan of color samples that looked like it belonged in a professional design studio.
“Now, I’ve narrowed it down. We have ‘Sunshine Burst’—which is a gorgeous warm yellow that will make the room feel happy and bright.
Then there's ‘Meadow Mist’—a soft green that's supposedly calming for babies. And finally, ‘Ocean Breeze’—a lovely blue that works regardless of gender.”
“What about the sage green I mentioned?” I asked.
Wally’s face fell dramatically. “Sage green? Mai, sweetheart, sage green is what people choose when they’ve given up on joy.”
“I like sage green,” I protested. “It’s soothing.”
“It’s boring,” Wally said firmly. “These babies are going to be supernatural royalty. They need a room that reflects their magnificent destiny, not something that looks like a doctor’s waiting room.”
Ryan cleared his throat. “What about something more… practical?”
We both turned to stare at him.
“Practical?” Wally repeated, his eyes narrowing.
“Like a nice beige,” Ryan continued, apparently immune to the horror on Wally’s face. “Beige hides stains. Babies make a lot of stains.”
“Ryan Shaw,” Wally said slowly, “if you even think about painting your children’s nursery beige, I will personally stage an intervention involving every person in this Pack who has any sense of style whatsoever.”
“Which I’m pretty sure in your head consists of only you,” Ryan pointed out with a grin.
“Exactly!” Wally threw his hands up. “And even if it is just me, I’d still win because I’m right!”
I smiled. Ryan and I both needed Wally today; he managed to decrease our anxiety just by being around. “How about we look at all the options before anyone threatens intervention?”
“Fine,” Wally said, pulling out the first sample. “But I’m starting with Sunshine Burst because it’s clearly the superior choice.”
Sofia appeared in the doorway. “I know you’re not pitching Sunshine Burst when I told you Ocean Breeze is the only color my nieces or nephews are going to go to sleep to.”
As if summoned by her words, the twins did what felt like a synchronized roll. I palmed my belly, riding the flutter and kick.
“They’re active this morning,” Ryan murmured.
“They’re active every morning,” I said. “I think they’re on the opposite schedule to me. Wide awake when I want to sleep, quiet when I’m up and doing things.”
“That's completely normal,” Wally said, holding up the sunshine yellow sample against the light. “Babies have their own circadian rhythms in utero.”
We all looked at him.
“What? I’ve been reading up!”
Sofia shook her head as she held up a brown paper bag. “Delivery for the baby-making factory. Pickled jalapenos and peanut butter, as requested. And may I just say: Ew.”
My eyes widened, and I made grabby hands at her. “Give!”
Sofia laughed and brought the bag over, perching herself on the edge of the bed. Her red curls were pulled back in a ponytail, and she looked happier than I’d seen her in months.
“You’re an angel, you know that?”
“I’m an enabler,” Sofia corrected. “There’s a difference.”
Ryan was looking between us with the expression of a man who was rapidly losing faith in the sanity of the women in his life. “You’re seriously going to eat that for breakfast?”
“It’s not breakfast. It’s a snack. A perfectly reasonable pregnancy snack. And don’t think I don’t know what you’re up to,” I said, waving a jalapeno at Sofia.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Sure you do. The snacks. They’re a distraction designed to focus my mind on them and not on asking how you and Derek are.”
She frowned. “Me and Derek?”
“You and Derek. Don’t give me the innocent act. Spill.”
“Yes!” Wally plopped down onto the bed, lying on his front, his head resting on his hands, his legs kicked up behind him. “Spill!”
A slight blush colored Sofia’s cheeks. “Um.”
“‘Um’ means the sex is so flipping amazing it has made her speechless!” Wally whispered loudly at me.
Sofia’s blush deepened. “Things are… good. Really good. He’s been—”
“Attentive?” Wally suggested with a knowing grin.
“Thorough?” I offered, unable to keep the teasing note out of my voice.
“I was going to say busy putting in more security at the Bottley!”
“Thank fuck for that. It’s too early in any day for me to hear about my little brother’s sex life!” Ryan growled.
Wally waved his hand in Ryan’s direction. “If you don’t want to hear all the juicy details, I suggest you take your ears someplace else. Because it’s going to get real juicy in here!”
I laughed at the look of horror on Ryan’s face.
“Now, scoot, Mr. Big Bad Alpha. We need us a proper girly chat in here.”
The laughter died in my throat as a sudden flash of images slammed into me—dark shapes with hungry, gleaming eyes circling our house.
I got the overwhelming feeling they were predators testing a trap.
Wolves that were nothing more than shadows pawing at the windows, trying to get in.
My breath caught, and the jalapeno I was holding fell from my fingers.
“Mai?” Ryan’s voice sounded distant, muffled.
The images dissolved like smoke, leaving only fragments—the memory of their eyes, the echo of claws on glass, the feeling of being hunted. Dreams. They were from my dreams from the last few nights, the ones I could never quite remember upon waking.
“Mai.” Ryan’s voice sharpened with concern.
I blinked, and the last wisps of the vision scattered. Reality crashed back—the warm bedroom, worried faces, the lingering taste of fear coating my tongue.
My mate bond hummed as Ryan’s protective instincts flared to life, along with something that felt like panic.
“Sorry,” I said, squeezing his hand. “I’m okay. I just… I think I remembered something from a dream I had last night.”
“I thought your nightmares had settled down?”
“They did. They had. I’m sure this is nothing. I don’t even really remember it.” I tried to grasp at the memory, but it slipped away like smoke. “It’s already fading.”
His eyes roamed my face, studying it closely. “You’ll mention it to Thomas?”
I knew if I said no, Ryan would be on the phone filling Thomas in himself.
“Sure.” I smiled at him, trying to reassure him and his wolf. I wasn’t sure which one was more responsible for turning our home into Fort Alpha.
Ryan’s phone buzzed. He ignored it.
“Honestly, I’m fine! You might as well answer it. If you stay here, we’re only going to talk about Sofia and Derek’s sex life and baby names.”
“Wallina for a girl,” Wally piped up, not for the first time. “It’s unique, sophisticated—”
“No,” Ryan and I said in unison.
The phone buzzed again.
“Go on,” I urged.
“If you’re sure?” Ryan’s eyes searched my face.
“I am. Answer it.”
He leaned over, his lips warm against mine as he kissed me, then pulled out his phone.
“Report.”
Jase’s voice was clipped, all business. “We have a situation at the eastern border.”