Ivy's POV
“I can't believe you kept this place all to yourself!” I jabbed my mate with my hand, feeling betrayed while I stood breathless and amazed by the view in front of me.
We were up on a cliffside, looking down at the beautiful view of mountains, colorful bright trees, and waterfalls. It wasn't very high but the pre-winter white mist covering everything down below made it look like we were above the clouds.
“It's not that special,” Cassian breathed out, the warmth of his breath turning into a puff of white clouds as he spoke. “It's only this beautiful at this time of the year. When winter comes, it makes the whole place look like heaven. I kept it to myself so it wouldn't be taken over by the pups in our pack. They're growing rebellious day by day.”
I smiled and looked around. “This is truly beautiful. Thank you for taking me here,”
Cassian shrugged. “I should've done this before. We never went out on a date or anything and it often made me feel guilty because I never treated you the way you should've been treated,” he let out a deep sigh which made me shake my head.
“Let's not talk about that. I don't want to ruin the beauty of this moment,”
My eyes wandered around to find a rock that was flat enough to sit on. I can't believe climbing a small part of the mountain already made me out of breath. Am I getting old?
A soft cold breeze greeted us as Cassian joined me on the rock, my body immediately snuggling closer to the warmth of my mate while I wrapped the golden fur around me tightly.
“You like this one better, huh?”
“Hmm?” I raised my brows at his question.
“I meant the fur. You like this one more than the bear pelt.” He stated, staring at the fur I was tightly gripping on.
A fond smile grew on my lips. “You risked your life and killed the lion to save me,”
“My life wasn't in danger,”
“You were hurt,”
“That happens all the time. A mountain lion isn't enough to take me out. I'm the most feared Alpha for a reason,” He said, his voice annoyingly nonchalant as if he was just stating a fact. Cassian's eyes wandered around our surroundings, taking in the view and looking for any threats.
I rolled my eyes with a scoff and hit his chest, huffing out my reply, “How arrogant! Now, you've ruined it. I was attaching a romantic sentiment to it but I can't because my mate doesn't have a single romantic bone in his body,”
“Romantic bones? How many of them do you have?” He chuckled.
“Far more than yours at least,” I glared at him.
“If it makes you feel better, the mountain lion did scare the shit out of me. Not because I thought it could take me out, which is not possible, but because it was you in front of it. The moment I got your scent and then heard its growl, it felt like the ground under me was melting away. My whole life flashed in front of me and my mind couldn't think about anything else than your smile. I was scared shitless that I might never get to see it again. I knew if something happened to you, I would perish right at that moment,” Cassian brought his hand to my face, caressing my cheek lovingly. “Not because of the mate bond but because I genuinely cannot even think about a future without you by my side. I would take my own life even before the mate bond gets to me.”
“Don't say things like that….”
“But it's the truth. I love you. The affection I have for you is the only thing keeping me alive now. If you're not with me, I'll be nothing more than a dead person,”
My eyes brimmed with tears while Cassian pulled me closer to place a kiss on my forehead, warm breath hitting my cold skin.
“I've never confessed my feelings like this to anyone. It feels weird to do this,” he chuckled with a shake of his head.
I smiled back. “Right. I've never thought I would be this important to anyone so it feels weird for me too,”
Cassian wrapped his arm around me tightly and rubbed my hand to create warmth. “You should've worn gloves,” he said, gripping my palms in his.
“I forgot,” I was so excited to go out with him that I didn't really think about the gloves.
Cassian snuggled into my neck and inhaled my scent. “I should've brought some alcohol. It really helps with the cold,”
I shook my head, a snort leaving my lips as I thought about drinking. “No way. Don't forget we have to walk down the mountain. If I'm drunk, I'll reach there faster than I'm supposed to,”
My mate let out a hearty laugh at my words. “Come on, I know you're not that weak to hold some liquor. You won't fall,”
“I won't take any risks, sir,” I rolled my eyes playfully.
“As your wish, Ma’am”
We both enjoyed the pretty sight in front of us while I constantly rolled my eyes from bickering with my husband who’s literally just a stubborn pup in a man's body. I don't know how he has managed the art of pressing all my buttons even while pressing kisses on my face every second.
God, I hate alphas.
“Let's go back? Your hands are getting cold,” Cassian looked at me, his grip on my hand tightening.
I looked at the view and then looked back at him before nodding reluctantly. I want to stay here for a while but he's right, my hands are getting cold and I don't feel like staying out in the cold any longer is smart even though the view is tempting.
Walking down the hill wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. Cassian was there in front of me to guide me through it, not letting me slip or lose my balance. I thanked my years of experience living in the woods for mastering the art of walking flawlessly on the steep ground.
We reached the flattened surface sooner than we thought and continued our journey towards the pack house. Cassian was inanimately talking about the goat soup we have at home but I couldn't listen to it. My head was aching and my stomach was churning.
Something was wrong. I couldn't focus. My body felt weird and cold.
“What's wrong?” Cassian asked before I even said anything.
I looked at him with a pained expression. I didn't want to talk because if I talk— “I'm going to pu—”
I let it all out before I could even finish the sentence. Whatever meager amount of food I had managed to eat before coming out was lying on the cold forest floor.
“Ivy! Shit! What's going on?” Cassian's panicked voice was beside me in a second. I couldn't open my mouth. I didn't even want to breath because I'm sure going to puke again if—
I heaved as it once again happened, my eyes tearing up and my lower stomach aching from heaving so much. Cassian kept rubbing my back while I broke out into tears. I hate puking. It's the worst feeling ever.
“Ivy, it's okay, darling. You're fine. It's probably something you ate. Let's go to Lilly, okay? She'll help you. Can you walk?” I heard Cassian's voice beside me. It sounded far away even though he was standing right next to me. I couldn't hear him over the sound of my heaves. I shook my head. I don't think I can walk. Not at this moment. I need some time.
The next time I puked, it was just clear water coming out. I held my aching head and looked at Cassian who looked scared shitless. If I had the energy, I would've laughed at him. So much for being the fearless alpha and everything.
“Stay a minute—” That's all I could remember before darkness took over my mind and vision.
___
I blinked and tried my best to open my heavy eyes with great effort. Cassian's scent filled my nose immediately, pulling me down from the panic that was taking over my mind.
I slowly focused my blurry vision on my mate. “Ivy, how are you feeling?”
“I…” My throat was dry as a desert, making it hurt while I talked. Cassian immediately looked around for a glass of water and brought it to me as soon as he found it. He helped me sit up and I reluctantly stared at the glass of water. It looked tempting to drink and soothe my dry throat but I was worried about puking again.
Luckily, I managed to take a small sip and stopped there so as not to risk it. “W-What happened?” The water helped me talk even though it was a little uncomfortable.
“You fainted. I don't know what happened. Lilly took your blood to run a test. I'm waiting for her to say something. Are you okay now?”
“I'm not sure…I feel tired and weird.”
“That's okay. It'll be fine soon. You were really low on energy.” Cassian gave me a small smile which I tried to return the best I could. “Tell me if you need anything, okay? Are you feeling pain anywhere?”
“No. My head is ringing but everything else is fine.” I let out a deep exhale.
“I'll talk to Lilly. Maybe she has something that could help–”
“Just stay here.” I gripped his hand, not wanting him to be away from me. “I don't want you to go. She'll come back so please stay here…”
Cassian gave me a sympathetic look and gently caressed my head. “It's okay. I'm here. I'm not going anywhere,”
The door opened suddenly while we were talking, Lilly walking in with a sheet of paper in her hand. “Luna, you're awake,”
“Lilly, what's going on? What happened to her?” Cassian was on his toes, facing the pack healer while his hand still gripped mine tightly.
“There's nothing to worry about, Alpha,” Lilly replied, a bright smile forming on her lips.
Cassian looked at me and squeezed my hand before giving me a smile. “Is that the test results?” He eyed the paper in her hands. “What does it say?”
“Well….”
“What?” Cassian raised a brow while I stared at Lilly with a frown. What the hell is going on?
“It looks like our pack is going to have another member joining soon,”
“What?”
“Lilly,” I spoke, the way her name fell out of my lips almost resembled a gasp. “Tell me you're not joking,” I took in a shaky breath. Cassian looked at me and then at Lilly with a confused expression.
“I'm not joking, Luna. You're pregnant,”
“SHE’S WHAT?!”