Chapter 142
NICO
Aweek after Maddy and I had our run in the woods, we held the memorial ceremony.
Dad, Maddy, and I decided it wouldn’t only be for the lives lost in the battle but for all the lives lost during the royals’ rampage.
I put the call out to all shifter packs and clans around the world who wanted to attend.
I’d thought the influx of people who came for the battle had been big, but in the days leading up, every hotel and rental house within a two-hour drive was filled.
I hadn’t completely understood how pervasive the royals’ reach had been until shifters from as far away as Tokyo and South Africa came. The royals had ruined lives for centuries, and what had begun in Europe had spread like a plague across the globe.
We held the ceremony at my pack lands. The power of the land coursed through, reaffirming that it was the best place for it. It may have been one of the only places that held the true power of shifters and would do the ceremony justice.
The night of the ceremony, alphas and their entourages arrived in droves, along with the media. I’d wanted to keep them out, but it would be more trouble than it was worth. Besides, the world needed to see this. To know we were still here.
I said a few words, but I honestly couldn’t remember what I said.
Looking out on a sea of over ten thousand faces had sent shivers of anxiety through me.
Whatever I’d said, it must have been good, as there was thunderous applause after I was done.
Over the next hour, alpha after alpha went to the microphone and read prepared statements or simply read the names of those who’d been killed, tortured, or driven mad by Viola and her family.
It was intense and heartbreaking, especially when a bear alpha from Colombia read a list of names of children killed in a small village.
Back in the nineties, a blood test had shown one of the kids was a descendant of Edemas, but records weren’t clear on which child.
Rather than doing more research, Viola’s father had sent mercenaries in to murder them all.
It made me even more relieved that the entire family had been wiped out or arrested over the last several months.
At the end of the ceremony, Sinthy had used her magic to cast a dazzling display of fireworks into the sky.
They rumbled and crackled across the sky, and everyone in attendance shifted to their animal form and cried out to the moon: growls, roars, and howls.
Then we all rushed into the forest, running wild and exultant in our newfound freedom.
Adrenaline was pulsing through my body when we got back.
Donatello had arranged an enormous feast. He’d flown in nearly a hundred different chefs and their teams and had to have spent at least half a million dollars on food.
Our guests made their way to the huge tents that had been erected to accommodate the meal, but I had different ideas.
I found Maddy at the edge of the forest right as she was shifting. I took her by the hand and damn near carried her back to our house.
She giggled when I scooped her up and carried her through the front door and up the stairs. All I wanted was to have a few minutes alone with her. Now that the danger was gone, I wanted her. I wanted her more than I could ever comprehend.
In the bedroom, I kissed her. There’d never been a time when I’d desired her more. It was as though nothing could satisfy me but Maddy.
We panted as we tore at each other’s clothes.
She seemed equally as desperate for me to take her as I was to have her.
Maddy kissed and sucked at my neck as I yanked my pants down.
Once I was finally naked, I laid her on the bed and kissed her again, this time deeper than I had before.
I wanted her to know exactly how much she meant to me.
“I love you,” I whispered after pulling away.
Maddy ran her fingers through my hair. “I love you too.”
We were safe. She and our baby were safe. I could truly believe that this was our happily ever after. We could lose ourselves in each other’s bodies for a time. Nothing to worry about but our own love, our own passion. With that on my mind, I kissed her again.
Maddy’s fingers ran along my side, down my hip, and across my ass. My breathing grew heavier with her touch. My cock was already throbbing as it lay nestled along her thigh. My own hand drifted down, finding her breast soft, supple, and growing fuller as her pregnancy progressed.
She broke the kiss to suck in a breath as my fingers slid across her nipple, each finger slipping slowly over the dark, puckered flesh. Maddy gripped my ass and pulled me closer.
“I want you inside me, Nico,” Maddy whispered with her lips against my collarbone.
I rose onto my knees and gently nudged her legs apart, kissing each of her knees as I did.
She looked so beautiful, lying there, looking up at me.
I fisted my cock and placed it right at her opening.
Maddy’s eyes closed as I slid the head of my dick across her clit, down the wetness of her pussy, and back up again.
I moved it up and down slowly, never quite sliding inside her.
When I thought she was about to burst, I pressed into her, sliding my full length into her warmth.
It was an embrace that would never grow old.
I lowered myself on top of her, feeling her breasts press into my chest, then moved my hips.
Lifting my ass, I pulled almost free of her, then thrust back inside, letting her envelop me.
We moved like that, over and over. Our lips brushing, her hands sliding along my body, my tongue flicking across her nipples.
In time, it was like we’d become hypnotized by the movement and the pleasure of each other.
Maddy laid her head back on the pillow and slipped a hand down between us.
I could feel her fingers rubbing at her clit.
It was so erotic that I grew even harder.
My desire urged me on, and I looked into Maddy’s eyes as I started thrusting into her faster.
The panting of my breath mixed with Maddy’s groans of delight.
I was getting close. The rising pressure along my balls and cock increased by the second. I was going to explode at any moment, but I focused on holding off. Maddy’s pleasure was my only thought. Then, she gasped, and her hips lifted to meet mine.
“I’m gonna come,” she whispered.
I smiled and moved even faster, slamming into her with abandon, rushing toward my own orgasm.
“Look in my eyes, Maddy. I want to see you come.”
Our eyes locked. I gazed deep into hers as her mouth fell open, and her body began to convulse and shiver. Her face went red as the power of her orgasm crashed over her.
The connection, the way our gazes held each other, and the way she moved, looked, and felt as she came sent me over the edge. My own climax rocked me to my core. Exquisite pleasure erupted through me, and I continued thrusting in and out of her until the last threads had faded away.
We collapsed in each other’s embrace as sounds of the gathering outside filtered into the bedroom.
Laughter, shouts of joy, and happiness. I’d been worried I’d never hear it again.
After a half hour of enjoying each other, we reluctantly dressed and went down to join the others in their celebration.
Maxwell had disappeared with his siblings after helping to heal the severely injured fighters. There’d been no sign or word from him since. Sinthy hadn’t seemed worried about it since her trace spell was still on him.
“I can find him at any time,” she’d said as we cleaned up the mess from the memorial service.
“Why not find him now?” I asked.
“He probably needs some time. It’s the first time in his whole life he’s not had his demon of a mother in control.”
That didn’t alleviate my worry for him. He had so much to learn about his powers. I didn’t want him getting into trouble. Plus, he was so young to have to worry about taking care of his brother and sister. Could he handle it on his own?
My concerns were put to rest a day later when Maxwell came walking up to my front porch, looking for all the world like a dog who was waiting for his master to strike him.
His head was lowered, and he wouldn’t meet my eyes.
Maddy, Sinthy, and I came out to meet him.
His little brother and sister were right behind him.
“Umm,” Maddy said with a glance at the children. “Why don’t you guys come with me?”
Maddy reached out to the children. At Maxwell’s nod, the two kids hesitantly took Maddy by the hand and walked farther out in the yard with her to give us privacy to talk.
“I’m sorry I left,” he said.
“Where did you go, Max?” I asked.
“I took my siblings somewhere safe. I also… well, I went to one of my mother’s houses. A penthouse in Chicago. I remembered she had some money stashed there. Um, a lot of money. I, maybe, took it.”
I chuckled. “Good for you. You deserve some kind of inheritance.”
Max looked up in surprise. He was shocked that we weren’t even batting an eye that he’d vanished for over a week.
“The only question I have,” I said, “is why you returned. You don’t owe us anything. Freeing you was an added bonus to defeating Viola.”
Max licked his lips, and I watched as his eyes slid from mine over to Sinthy. She noticed and rolled her eyes.
“Lord,” she groaned.
Maxwell’s face went beet red, and he looked down at the ground, embarrassed. “No, it’s not like that. I only want someone to keep teaching me how to use my magic.”
“You want a mentor?” I offered.
Max nodded. “Yeah, basically. I want to control it. I want to do the magic justice. It belonged to someone very dear to Sinthy. I don’t want that to go to waste.”
His words hit hard. Sinthy was trying to hide how much they meant to her, but I could see the look in her eyes. She was remembering her mother. Although she’d gotten her revenge on Viola, there was still more healing to come. Perhaps working with Max could help.
Sinthy’s face was a mask of contemplation.
I couldn’t read what she was going to decide, but I was curious.
I found myself truly hoping that she would help Max.
Regardless of his bloodline, the guy was decent.
He’d been forced to do awful things, had been abused and experimented on, and somehow still found it in himself to be a good person.
If anyone needed help and mercy, it was him.
Sinthy finally raised her hands in defeat. “Okay. I think I can maybe give you some help.
She turned to look at me. “As long as Nico is okay with you and your siblings staying in the pack lands.”
I looked across the lawn at Maddy, who was chasing the two kids in some sort of game of tag. The boy had to be about ten or eleven, and the girl was a year or two younger. They were smiling and laughing. I also saw the big grin on Maddy’s face as she played with them.
Glancing back at Sinthy and Maxwell, I said, “I think we can make that work.”
Now that all the drama and danger were over, Maddy and I could finally get to the hospital to have the baby checked. Doc had done what he could in the pack lands, but without an ultrasound and other things, we wouldn’t know how the baby was developing and if it was healthy.
Once the appointment was made, Maddy leaned over and nudged my shoulder.
“What are you hoping for?”
“Huh?”
Maddy laughed and punched me lightly. “The baby, dummy. Boy or girl? What are you hoping for.”
That was one of the major things you were supposed to think about when you were having a baby, but it hadn’t even crossed my mind. What I wanted didn’t matter. Fate would determine that.
“Doesn’t matter to me. All I want is a healthy baby. I don’t care about gender. I’ll love it the same no matter what.”
Maddy looked genuinely taken aback. “Really? I thought for sure you’d say you wanted a boy. Someone to carry on the Lorenzo name. Then you could train him to take over and be the next alpha.”
I shook my head. “No, I wouldn’t force anyone to be alpha.
That’s an honor you should take willingly.
It’s what my dad did with my brothers and me.
It worked out that I was the one who wanted it, and I was the oldest. If my child doesn’t want that responsibility, then one of my brothers will surely have a son who will take over.
I mean, I hope any son I have would want the job, but it’s not meant for everyone, and I’d never try to stifle any dreams they had that led them to something different. ”
“Wow,” Maddy said. “I guess I never asked how that worked. That actually makes me really happy.”
She leaned in and gave me a kiss. “Well, I’ll go ahead and wish for a boy for both of us. How about that? But I think, boy or girl, they deserve a dad like you.”
Her words sent a bolt of emotion into my chest, and my eyes stung as I tried not to cry. I wiped at them. Thankfully, Maddy didn’t mention my tears.
Three days after Maxwell’s return, Maddy and I were nervously sitting in an exam room as a technician ran the ultrasound wand across Maddy’s belly.
I watched, completely oblivious to what she was doing.
She clicked different spots on the screen, took pictures, and made some sort of measurements, but all I could do was stare at the squirming gray form.
The heartbeat seemed to reverberate across the room and all the way into my chest.
Shifter babies developed faster than humans, and the baby already had the outline of arms and legs.
It moved and twisted in Maddy’s belly. The more I watched it, the more love I felt.
It was strange to fall in love with something that wasn’t even born yet.
The lump in my throat told me the feelings were real, though.
“Okay, folks,” the technician said. “Baby looks great. Measuring exactly where they should for a wolf-shifter. I got a really good picture of the genital area, so I can say for certain it’s—”
“Wait,” I blurted.
The technician and Maddy both looked at me in surprise. My cheeks flamed.
“Is everything okay, Mr. Lorenzo?” the technician asked.
“Yeah, are you okay, Nico?” Maddy said, rubbing my arm.
I nodded and smiled. “Yeah. I just thought… wouldn’t it be kind of exciting to be surprised when our baby is born? I’d like to know then. What do you say?”
Maddy grinned back at me. “I love surprises.”