The sickened luna’s last chance

Ella

+15 BONUS

The sudden warmth of Alexander's arms aroundmadelet out an involuntary squeak of surprise. | hadn't

expected him to hug me; he'd maintained his usual polite distance since last night.

Once we had returned from the banquet, I'd slipped away to check on Lilith-who was resting in her

room, sleeping when | arrived-and he had gone to his office to handle the onslaught of paperwork he'd

received after the coronation.

And now he was hugginglike his life depended on it.

But then | began to relax into him, and the fabric swatches slipped from my fingers.

Goddess, he smelled good. Too good-like coming hto a place that you should have left long ago. |

pressed my face against his chest and breathed him in like the fool | was, and for a moment, | could have

sworn | felt his arms tightening around me.

| wanted to ask what we were now. Because the way he was huggingseemed far more intimate than |

expected.

But for now, | kept it to myself. Alexander still didn’t fully trust me, and part ofwas afraid to burst this brief

little bubble of happiness.

When we finally pulled apart, my heart was pounding in my chest. | hated the way my cheeks were a

fiery red now. Hated the way his green eyes looking down atmadewant to crumple right then and

there.

“What was that about?” | asked, stooping to pick up the forgotten color swatches.

Alexander shook his head. “Nothing. It was nothing.”

It didn’t seem like nothing; I'd seen Gabriel storming out of the house just minutes prior, followed by the rev of

his car engine as he sped away. It must have been another argument, and after what happened last

night, | had a feeling it had something to do with me.

Certainly Gabriel wasn’t happy about the fact that | knew everything now. For all | knew, Gabriel was hell bent on

finding out if | was a spy for my father.

What did Gabriel think of the fact that Alexander had toldthe truth?

More importantly, what was going through Alexander's head now?

But | didn’t want to press if Alexander wasn’t willing to talk about it right now, so I held up the swatches again.

“So. Blue or green?”

Alexander studied them both for a moment, then pointed to the soft sage green. “Green. It's peaceful.”

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“Green it is,” | said, nodding.

And just like that, we'd made our first real parenting decision together.

The next few days passed in a blur. To my surprise, Alexander threw himself into getting ready for the baby with

enthusiasm. Every minute he had to spare between Alpha King duties, he was the perfect expecting father.

Always there when | needed him. Always focusing on preparing our child's room.

If it was a distraction from the elephant in the room-the fact that my father had apparently killed Alexander's

parents and usedas a pawn to get what he wanted-then it was a very sweet distraction indeed.

On the second day, we painted the nursery walls that soft sage green, and Alexander insisted on doing that

himself, too, even though the house staff would have gladly taken the job considering how busy he was with his

new Alpha King duties.

But he wanted to do it. And no one could stop him.

On the third day, we finally assembled the crib together. Mostly, I just sat on the floor and read off the

instructions to him while he did everything else. | had tried to help, but he seemed intent on doing it himself just

like everything else, and | couldn't find it into tell him to stop.

Seeing him like this... it made my chest warm. Even if he was just happily preparing for our baby’s arrival and it

had nothing to do with our future-or lack thereof-as a couple, seeing his constant smile and drive

to be a good father was something that I didn’t want to interrupt..

“Handthat... what the fuck is this thing?” Alexander held up a curved piece of wood with a furrowed

brow.

“The instruction manual calls it a ‘stabilizing dowel,” | read from the booklet.

“A what? Why can’t they just call it a stick?”

“Because then how would they charge us three hundred dollars for a pile of wood and sscrews?”

Alexander snorted. “Fair point. Anyway, handthe safety strap?”

Nodding, | rifled through the pile of parts for the crib. But | couldn’t seem to spot it.

“Shit,” | muttered, scratching my head. “I think they forgot to pack it.”

Alexander let out a sigh and passed his hand over his face. “Are you serious?”

“Nope.” | stood. “We'll have to get a replacement.”

“I can run to the store.”

The offer was sweet, but | shook my head. “I could use sfresh air anyway. I've been cooped up in this

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house for days.”

The trip to the baby store took longer than expected. They didn’t have the exact part | needed, so | had to go to

two different locations before | found it.

By the t| got back to the mansion, | was tired and my feet were aching, but | felt accomplished. | had even

made a secret pit stop to pick up scroissants from the bakery-a recent pregnancy craving that I'd found

impossible to ignore.

| had just kicked off my shoes in the foyer, crib part and bag of pastries in hand, when | heard the sound of music

drifting from upstairs.

Curious, | made my way up the stairs. The music was coming from the nursery, and when | carefully pushed the

door open, my eyebrows shot up.

Alexander was standing in front of the far wall with his back to me, carefully painting what looked like a

tiny rabbit near the baseboards. He'd changed into old jeans and a paint-stained t-shirt, and there were

already several other small animals scattered across the wall-a fox, a squirrel, a little owl perched on a

branch.

My heart clenched so hard it almost hurt.

He looked so... content. Peaceful. There was something about seeing him like this, sleeves rolled up and

completely absorbed in creating something beautiful for our child, that made my wolf bristle with

excitement.

Alexander was nesting. Preparing for our pup.

And humming to himself with a big smile on his face while he was at it.

For a moment | just stood there watching him work, afraid to move and break the spell. | just wanted to

observe him like this. I'd never seen him look so serene, and I'd certainly never heard him sing.

He had a nice voice. Deep and rich with just the slightest rumble to his soft hums.

Would he hum to our child like this, | wondered? Would he sing lullabies in this very room, late at night

when no one else was around?

The very thought made tears spring to my eyes, unbidden. Damn pregnancy hormones. But | couldn't help it; the

idea that Alexander really, truly wanted our child was so much more than | ever could have

asked for.

But without thinking, | sniffled, breaking the spell. Alexander jolted, apparently not expectingto be

there, leapt to his feet, and whirled around.

And in his haste, he kicked the paint bucket on accident and sent paint splattering all across the floor. And in his

haste, he kicked the paint bucket on accident and sent paint splattering all across the floor.

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