Chapter 96
NADIA.
Riley and I walked to his office and found Beta Dominic on his desk at the far end of the room, burying himself in a pile of documents on his table.
“Good evening, Beta.” I greeted him, taking his attention from his work.
“Alpha, Luna,” he greeted as he stood up from his chair before Riley motioned for him to sit down.
“How was your visit with the Black Shadow pack? I didn’t have time to ask you earlier.” I asked him as I took an empty glass and poured some strong whisky for my Alpha.
“It was good. The visit was better than the last one. They are more relaxed around me now.” He chuckled before he continued. “And Janna gave birth while I was there.”
“I heard. Should I make you a drink too?” I handed the glass to Riley, but before I could move away, his arm snaked around my waist as he gently pulled me into his lap.
“No need to bother, Luna. I can do that myself. I don’t think the Alpha will let you go from his arms anyway.” The Beta snickered at his response as he stood up from his seat and went to the alcohol cabinet to prepare his drink.
“Are you okay? Does it hurt?” I asked, although I hope I didn’t ask the last part.
“Nadia…” Riley grunted behind me as I bit my lower lip. Me and my mouth.
Dominic chuckled as he sat back in his chair. “A little, but nothing that would make me give up life.” He was taunting Riley.
“It only means you’re not that invested in her,” Riley told him as his fingers brushed along my long hair.
“Maybe…”
“So what’s your next step?”
I remained quiet and moved into a comfortable position in my mate’s lap, letting them take control of the conversation now.
Beta Dominic’s eyes flew to mine before his gaze shifted back to Riley. “I still have a few months before she turns 18. I just want to take it slow. I don’t want to rush this time.”
“I actually forgot to tell Darvin about your proposal.”
“Well, good thing you forgot.” My head spun to face Riley. I couldn’t help but interject into their conversation. “He just got home today, probably still heartbroken, and you’re pressuring him now by wanting to tell Darvin about it? Doesn’t he need time to think about this?”
“Nadia, I wouldn’t tell Darvin if I didn’t get my Beta’s blessings. And besides, you don’t even know what we were planning to tell Darvin.”
“I just don’t want Sofia to think she’s just a rebound.”
“No. She’s not.” The Beta replied almost immediately.
“I’m not going to force Sofia to be mated with me, Luna.
If that’s your concern, that’s why I wanted to take my time too.
So we will get to know each other. But I want the Alpha to be aware of my intentions so that he can prioritize me if he decides to set Sofia up for the Claiming. ”
I nodded my head. “I should trust you both. I know you both know what you’re doing, but promise me Sofia won’t be at the losing end here. Okay?”
Riley’s face dove into my hair, his nose nuzzling the back of my head. “You don’t need to remind us. Dominic has Sofia’s best interest here.”
After discussing Sofia, I told Riley I wanted to call Andrea to give her Celeste’s number, and he gave me a go signal and dialed Alpha Caspian’s number. When it rang, Riley handed me the receiver and I waited for someone to pick up the line.
“Blue Meadow’s Pack, this is Alpha Caspian.” The man from the other side introduced himself as I held my breath. Andrea’s Caspian.
“Alpha Caspian, this is Luna Nadia from the Silver Moon Pack.”
“Luna Nadia!” He exclaimed. “What a pleasant surprise. Anything I can be of service for?”
“I was hoping to speak with Luna Andrea if she’s around.”
“Yes. She’s here. Give me a second.”
I waited in silence while my mate was running his hand down my thigh. I glared at him and he just gave me a boyish grin but didn’t stop teasing me.
“Nadia?” Andrea’s soft voice snapped my attention away from Riley.
“Andrea! How are you?”
“I’ve been good. Thank you! And you, how’s your pregnancy?”
“I’m experiencing no problems at all, so I’m also doing great. I know it’s a bit late. I hope I wasn’t disturbing you.”
“No, not at all. I’m glad you called. I don’t really have anyone I speak to on the phone.” She giggled, and I couldn’t help but giggle back at her enthusiasm.
“Well, I have something for you. One more to add to your phone list.”
“Really?”
“Yes. I met Celeste in the town today.”
“Celeste? A human? Because that’s the only Celeste I know.”
“Yes. A human, she said, she was a receptionist in your dormitory.”
“Yes, that’s her! Oh, Goddess, you met her! How was she?”
RILEY.
Nadia had been on the phone with Andrea for ten minutes already, and it seemed they didn’t have any plans to hang up yet.
So I took her off my lap and let her sit on the chair before kissing her forehead.
I motioned that I would just be outside before I tapped my Beta’s shoulder and told him to call it a day, before asking him to come with me.
I had to leave him instructions before we headed off to the Black Shadow Pack for Jacob’s invitation.
We would be gone for three days, and he’d be the one taking charge of the pack.
I knew Dominic could handle the pack without me.
He had been doing it for months when I kept slacking off, so it shouldn’t be a problem.
But this would be my first time spending time away at night from the territory, not counting the nights I was in the cave with Nadia and when I was in Atlanta. Those nights, I wasn’t thinking as an Alpha. But I knew I couldn’t be careless anymore.
There was intelligence of the Alpha Rogue threatening another attack to find out who took his daughter. Apparently, they were not aware of who attacked them the night his daughter was taken. So every pack here in the South was on high alert and all communication channels were open.
Leaving Dominic during this time was not advisable, but I had things to do at Jacob’s territory. The sooner I tackle this, the sooner this will be over.
“Have you looked into the contingency plan with the packs around us in case of attack?” I asked Dominic as I broke the set on the billiard table. We were in the playroom and supposed to be chilling for the rest of the night, but I couldn’t help but talk about the pack.
“Yes. That’s the one I was working on when you arrived. I added Alpha Caspian to it. I hope you don’t mind.”
“No. He’s the closest one. We both need each other. And Caleb would be here as well.”
“Caleb? Young Alpha Caleb? He has his own pack, but I guess he’s here for Anya, right?”
“We talked yesterday and he said his father can manage the pack with his Beta and Gamma and his brothers, but he didn’t want Anya here without Sebastian in case of an attack.
He can’t take Anya to their packhouse yet.
Or he’s just probably using it as an excuse to spend time with her.
Either way, you can’t stop a man from wanting to protect his mate. ”
“I understand, and besides, an extra head and hands are always welcome.” He took a swig of his rum while his eyes focused on the balls I was aiming to hit.
“I’ll try to get everything done fast, so we might not need the third day, and we can just head home immediately.”
“You need to chill. It’s your first trip with the Luna outside the territory. So enjoy it. The pack is in good hands.”
“I know. I never doubted that.” I missed a shot, so I picked up my glass and watched as Dominic played this time.
“And while you’re out, I’ll have the new bathtub in your bathroom fixed as you requested.”
My forehead creased as I tilted my head to look at the entrance of the playroom, making sure Nadia was not around yet.
“Tone down. It’s a surprise, remember?”
“I know. And I checked before I opened my mouth.” He chuckled, taking a shot, and the ball just went right where he wanted it. “I’m just saying, take three days if you can, so I have time to finish it all. They said they could do it in two days, but just to be sure.”
I nodded my head. I requested a new bathtub since the one we had was too small for both of us, and since it was a luxury tub with Victorian legs, having Nadia and me rocking it when we had sex there was slowly destroying its stability.
But this one I chose would fit us perfectly, and I couldn’t wait till she saw my surprise for her when we returned from Jacob’s territory.