“It’s cute to see you waddle like this,” Ruth giggled as she watched me shuffle around the room, moving stuff because I was feeling irritated by the way things were lying here and there.
“Of course, it's cute to you,” I huffed.
“What? Don't act like you don't enjoy being pupped up like this. I know damn well you like your alpha fretting over you,”
I rolled my eyes. “It's a complex matter. There are times I love it but there are also times when I feel just tired. I can't even see my toes! Even putting on my socks is hard,”
“Doesn't Alpha Cassian help?” Ruth raised her brow, throwing another almond into her mouth. Sometimes I wonder if she only comes here to eat my almonds.
“He’s the one putting them on for me every day. And look at my tits. They're getting bigger and bigger like what the hell? What are they getting so big for? I could feed the whole pack with these,”
“Eww,” Ruth scrunched up her face. “Don't put that kind of image in my mind,”
“What are you thinking, you pervert girl?!” I threw a pillow at her face.
Ruth laughed out loud at my tantrum. “Well, I'm sure your alpha won't complain about your titties,”
I rolled my eyes and shook my head. “Don't even start,”
Ruth smiled smugly before leaning forward and looking at me mischievously. “Do you think he'll have to fight with your pup?”
“For what?” I raised my brows.
“You know what,” she gave me a wink. My face flushed red immediately. This girl—
“Ruth! Oh my god, shut up,” I threw another pillow at the dirty-minded girl. “I think I need to scrub your mind clean,”
“Oh, come on, everyone knows alphas are like that. Sooner or later he's gonna be obsessed,” she shrugged, speaking as if it's a matter of fact.
“I am not talking about this with you,” I shook my head.
“You'd rather talk about it with your alpha, right?” She said before bursting into laughter. “Alright, alright, I won't tease you but I'm gonna give you a heads-up. It's gonna happen and you'll have to deal with it. Don't be surprised when the time arrives,”
“I won't,” I looked away with a huff, trying to hide my blushing cheeks. “I don't understand how alpha's change so much like this. Like I've never even dreamt of Cassian being so patient and soft.”
“Ivy, there's nothing more alphas love than seeing their mates all round and pupped. It changes their brain chemistry. Everything they do from then on will be centered around the protection of their mate and pup. It's just how they are built,” Ruth explained nonchalantly.
“I think so. Cassian is functioning on instincts just as much as I am. It makes me wonder…”
“Not this again,” Ruth let out a sigh. “I told you this before. Don't second guess this. You know that man loves you and that's not just because you're carrying his pup,” She put her hands on her hips before tilting her head to look at me with furrowed brows.
I let out a chuckle. “Okay, fine… I guess I'm thinking too much.”
“You are,”
“But I'm still worried, you know. I worry about the pup. I know for sure everyone is expecting an alpha. They want someone to take over the pack in the future but I…”
“Ivy, you're thinking way too much about this,”
“Maybe I am but I can't help it, Ruth. This is my pup we're talking about. Everyone's expectations are weighing down on me. Cassian hasn't said anything about it but I'm sure he also wants an alpha pup. Every alpha wants someone to take after them. The pack expects it too. If it's not an alpha, I'm sure nothing would happen…but I'm worried about how my pup has to be born into a position where everyone will be expecting the absolute best from them.”
“Ivy, I understand your concern but it doesn't matter if your pup is an alpha or omega. Alpha Cassian and the pack will accept it. Remember that this is their second chance. A few months ago we all thought that there wouldn't be an heir to take over the pack from the Ansaldo family but look how that all changed because of you. It's a blessing from the moon goddess and everyone is grateful. Believe me, no matter which gender and rank your pup is, everyone will love them.” Ruth assured strongly, staring straight into my eyes. I gulped down my nervousness and forced a smile. Maybe it's pregnancy hormones but I can't help but worry about everything.
My pup is my top priority. Nothing will harm my child and no one shall raise their tongue against my pup. I will make sure of it.
“What are you thinking?” Ruth snapped me out of my thoughts.
“Nothing,” I shook my head and chuckled. Good heavens, my thoughts are turning heavy. “Tell me about how your warrior duties are going on,”
“Oh, please,” Ruth rolled her eyes. “I'm not a warrior. I just enrolled for the patrolling duties for the time being. And it's going well, we haven't encountered many problems other than the sight of some mountain lions passing by and other wild animals.”
“What about the traces of hunters?”
“Oh, we haven't seen them since the alpha figured out they were moving through trees. We made the patrolling tighter and watched everywhere. Up and down but no luck,” she shrugged.
The news unsettled me a little. Even though Cassian assured me every night that no rogues or hunters were lingering in our territory, I knew they were up to something. There's no way they just vanished like that without doing anything.
“Hey,” Ruth called to get my attention. “Worried?”
“Just a bit,” I forced a smile.
“I understand. Your instincts are going haywire but try not to increase your blood pressure, okay? It's not good for the baby,”
I chuckled. “Okay,”
“Okay, then.” She gave me a smile before taking her phone to check the time. “Welp, I gotta go now. Duty calls,”
“Bye, see you tomorrow,”
“See you later, Ivy. Get some sleep,”
“I will,”
____
“You look exhausted,” I smiled softly, threading my fingers through Cassian's soft hair as he nuzzled against my baby bump.
The alpha let out a long sigh. “I am,”
“What happened?”
“Remember the man I told you about? The new partner?”
“For the premium blade production?” I tilted my head.
“Yes,” Cassian breathed out. “That idiot looked me straight in the eye and asked if I'm a cult leader,” he snorted.
I couldn't help but laugh. “What? Is he human?”
“Yeah,” Cassian gave me a nod.
“We can't blame him then. After seeing a lot of people living in the middle of the woods with a bigass factory and their own farming land, he ought to get suspicious.” I shrugged.
“Yeah, right,”
“What did you tell him?”
“Told him that we're just a bunch of people who really like nature and want to live in peace. He didn't look convinced but I assured him that anyone can leave if they get sick of their life here which isn't a lie,” He shrugged, causing me to frown.
“Is it okay to lie to our business partner?”
“It's not ideal but it's necessary. We can't trust everyone and we can't reveal our secrets to anyone just on a whim. Especially humans. You know them….humans are terrified of everything they think is stronger than them. The government knows about us but letting others know is risky unless it's someone's mate or somebody who's that reliable,”
“Huh? Mate? Wolves can mate with humans?”
Cassian raised his head to look at me. “You didn't know?”
“No,” I shook my head, in clear surprise.
“Well it's not common, maybe that's why. In very rare cases, wolves get mated to other species like humans, vampires, other shifters, and even merpeople. I've once heard about a guy from a pack in the south getting mated to a merman,” Cassian furrowed his brows as he tried to collect his memory. “I don't know how much of it is actually true though.”
“But-But how is it possible? Don't merpeople need the ocean?”
“They do. So the guy left his pack to live with his mate on the seaside. Anyone who is mated to merpeople will get the ability to swim for a prolonged time without needing to breathe but they can't live in the ocean. It will kill them,”
“Oh wow,” I breathed out. That's new information. “I wonder what their babies are like,”
“Well, the guy married a merman so I don't think they had a baby,” Cassian shrugged. “But if they had one it could either be a pup or a merchild,”
“Yeah, right, I forgot they don't have second genders like us. That's kind of sad. If any of them were an omega, they could've had a child…”
“Right,” Cassian agreed. “Speaking about babies, our pup is really active lately, huh? I've felt a hundred kicks to my head in the span of thirty minutes,” he laughed, placing a soft kiss on my stomach.
I smiled. “Energetic than you think,”
“I can't wait to meet you, little one,” Cassian breathed out, voice gentle and soft as he carefully scented my baby bump. “There's not many days left,”
“I know….in a few weeks, we'll get to hold our pup. My heart's racing even just thinking about it.”
“Are you scared?” Cassian met my eyes, his gaze soft and filled with concern.
“I can't lie and say that I'm not,” I pressed my lips. “I have a thousand thoughts clouding my mind….just know that I'll do whatever it takes to make sure my pup is safe…so if my instincts make me do something or say something… you have to forgive and understand,”
Cassian smiled. “Don't worry,” he placed his hand on my belly, feeling the little movements of our pup. “I'd do the same.”