How soon would the attack happen? Where was Justina? What was she planning? I wasn’t defenseless and could cause some serious damage, but she had that damn knife. Would she attack me? Or would she attack my mates? I didn’t like that we were going to be separated. I understood the reasoning, but I still didn’t like it.
“Jolie,” Nico whispered.
I jerked, shocked to find we had arrived home.
Nico’s brows were furrowed. He picked me up before I could protest, and carried me into the house. For once, he walked instead of teleporting, which I found odd, but he was obviously worried, so I let him walk.
He set me on the bed when we arrived in the room, then stood before me with crossed arms. “What were you thinking about?”
“Justina,” I answered immediately.
His arms dropped and he relaxed. “Oh.”
“Come here,” I requested and scooted back on the bed.
He sat on the bed between my legs, with his back to me.
I rubbed his tense shoulders. “You’re too stressed, Nico. You’ve got a lot on your plate and I’m not helping. I’m sorry. Maybe you should just let the others worry about me.”
He chuckled, captured one of my hands, and kissed my palm. “Love, it wouldn’t matter if you had ten midwives, a thousand guards, and the kings guarding you. I would still worry. You’re my world, and the thought you might be hurt, or worse, is always in the back of my mind.”
“How can I help?” I asked. “There has to be some way for you to relax a bit.”
He turned and kissed me lightly. “I’m fine. Although, you laying about more would ease some of my worry.”
“All I do is sit around,” I groaned.
He smirked. “It’ll be over soon.” He placed his hand on my stomach. “Then, we’ll be able to hold our boy.”
I climbed off the bed, headed to the nursery, and erased all the girl names. Nico stood behind me, wrapped his arms around my waist, and pulled me back against his chest. We stood like that for a long time. We probably would have continued, but we heard the door open downstairs.
“Let’s go greet our guests,” he said, slipping his fingers into mine then teleporting us to the foyer.
“Auntie!” Madison and Tamara yelled, and before I could hug them, shifted into their wolf forms and rubbed against my legs.
I squatted down and pet them. “Hello, girls.”
Martin pulled me to my feet, scowling. “Don’t squat like that. You’re going to get stuck on the floor one of these days, unable to stand.”
“Was he this crazy when you were pregnant?” I asked Sharla as I leaned around Martin to look at her.
She smiled, nodded, and then shoved him aside to hug me. She rested her hand on my stomach and the baby kicked her hand. She chuckled. “Do you know what gender?”
“Boy,” I answered.
Her eyes lit up. “I can’t wait to meet him.” She opened her mouth again, but I cut her off.
“No, I haven’t figured out a name yet,” I said. “There’s a board in the nursery with the contenders.”
She kissed my cheek. “You’ll figure it out.”
“I hope so,” I grumbled.
“Come on,” Nico said. “I’ll show you to your rooms.”
The family followed Nico up the stairs, leaving me alone in the foyer.
“What are you doing by yourself?” Fox asked, walking down the hallway with a bowl of popcorn.
“Uh—”
He scowled. “Come on. You look like you need some comedy in your life.”
I snorted. “I’ve got all the comedy a girl could want here.”
“Want to play some games instead?” he asked.
I smiled and nodded vigorously.
He chuckled. “Why did I even ask? I knew the answer.”
He held out the bowl of popcorn, and I gratefully grabbed a few pieces, popping them into my mouth immediately.
We walked side by side, and I already felt happier. A nice perk of being with Fox.
We entered the game room and found Deryn laying on the couch, asleep.
Fox pushed me towards him, nodded his head, and then left the room.
Slowly, and quietly, I lay on my side in front of Deryn. He wrapped his arm around my waist, scooted back to give me more room, and tugged me back.
I lay my head on his bicep, closed my eyes, and relaxed.
“I love you,” he whispered.
“I love you, too, Moon Moon.”
“You going to nap with me?” he asked.
“I wouldn’t be laying here otherwise,” I whispered.
He spooned himself around me, kissed the back of my head, and relaxed.
With him wrapped around me, I felt safe and so incredibly warm.
Chapter 22
Rhys
“What do you mean he got beaten up?” I asked Dad.
“Exactly that,” he said. “Some guy at the school was starting trouble, and Gavin stepped in, but he bit off more than he could chew.”
Gavin wasn’t as strong as Andras, but he was strong, and smart. How had he been defeated?
“What was the kid?” I asked.
Dad shrugged. “Gavin won’t tell me. He just told me to drop it when I showed up to get him from the principal’s office.”
“I’ll talk to him,” I said, and headed out of Dad’s office.
“Go easy on him,” Dad ordered me.
“I know,” I called behind me.
Mawrth glared at me a moment then averted his eyes as we passed each other in the hallway. I hoped he would eventually get over his issues with me and Jolie, but I wasn’t holding my breath.
I knocked on Gavin’s door twice.
He opened it and smiled. “Rhys!”
I hugged him and ruffled his hair. “Hey, little bro. How’s it going?”
He shrugged, stepped back to let me in his room, and then shut his door. “Did Dad send you in here?”
“No. I came to talk to you because I wanted to check on you,” I said honestly.
He sat in his computer chair, and spun it around in a circle, tucking his legs up on the chair. “I’m fine. I got beat up, but it happens.” He shrugged, and looked at me. “You’ve been beaten up before.”
I nodded. “We all battle an enemy or two who turns out to be tougher than we thought.”
“He was picking on a human,” Gavin explained. “I couldn’t let him do that. Jolie started the school so we would get along.”
“What was he?” I asked.
“Werewolf,” he said.
“Name?” I asked.
Gavin shook his head. “No way. You’re going to tell Deryn, Deryn’s going to lecture him, and then that guy is going to kick my butt again.”
“How did he kick your butt anyway? You’re not weak.”
Gavin sighed. “The human was close to me. I didn’t want to risk injuring her.”
Ah, there it was. Her. I thought that might be the case.
“She pretty?” I asked with a smirk.
Gavin smirked and spun his chair again. “Beautiful.”
“Did she fawn over you after you got beat up?”
His smirk turned into a smile. “Yeah.”
I laughed. “Well, at least there was some good to the beating.”
“He’s going to be expelled from the school,” Gavin said. “They told us that if anyone was caught fighting they would get expelled. They almost expelled me, but the surveillance showed he started it, and that I was protecting her.”
“What’s her name?” I asked.
“I don’t know,” he said and tilted his head to the side. “I forgot to ask.”
“Well, you better rectify that tomorrow,” I said.
He nodded. “I plan to.”
“Well, it looks like you didn’t need a pep talk from your older brother after all. Anything you want to talk about while I’m here? I’ve got about half an hour before I need to be anywhere.”
“How’s Jolie?” he asked.
He love
d Jolie. He’d immediately taken to her, and it warmed my heart to know my little brother was so fond of her. Thankfully, he wasn’t hitting on her like Andras did, but I knew better than to think he wasn’t attracted to her. He was a teenage boy, after all.
“She’s doing well. We found out we’re having a boy,” I told him, smiling.
“A nephew?” he asked, his eyes lighting up.
I nodded.
“Did you pick out a name yet?” he asked.
“No,” I said and shook my head. “Jolie has a list she keeps staring at, hoping one of them sticks.”
“I can’t wait to play with him,” Gavin said, looking up at the ceiling. His smile slipped and he asked, “How do you keep from hurting a human girl?”
I stopped his spinning chair, sat on his bed so we were face to face, and said, “You just have to keep your strength in mind at all times. Now that Jolie is stronger, I don’t check myself like I used to. Just imagine your touching a baby. That way you don’t use too much strength.”
“Have you ever hurt Jolie on accident?” he asked.
“I burned her once,” I admitted.
He cringed.
“You’ll figure it out. Just remember, your first girlfriend won’t likely be your last. So, don’t be afraid to end it and move on if things don’t work out.”
“Do you have any regrets?” he asked.
I shook my head. “I wouldn’t change anything because if I did, it might mean I wouldn’t be with Jolie and about to have a child with her.”
“Does it bother you that the child is a hybrid?” he asked.
I shook my head again. “No. It’s actually pretty awesome. I love knowing that my best friends and my mate are all part of our child.”
“He’s going to be magnificent,” Gavin said smiling wide. “Just like Jolie.”
“She is pretty magnificent,” I agreed. Then growled. “And mine.”
Gavin rolled his eyes, knowing I was just teasing him since my growl wasn’t too deep. “Yeah. Yeah.”
I stood, clapped him on the shoulder, and said, “Good luck with your human girl. Feel free to text or call me with questions.”
He stood, hugged me, and walked me to the door. “Thanks, Rhys.”
I entered Dad’s office, shut the door, and smiled at him. “He was protecting a human girl.”
Dad chuckled. “That’s what it looked like on the surveillance video, but he didn’t tell me the human was a girl.”
“He likes her,” I added.
“Not surprising.”
“He asked about not hurting a human. You may want to talk to him some about how to control his strength. Maybe give him some training.”
Dad nodded. “Thanks, Rhys.”
I shrugged. “Just doing my job as the oldest.”
“Mawrth still hate you and Jolie?” he asked.
I scoffed. “Yeah.”
“You going to do something about it?” he asked with an arched brow.
“After Jolie gives birth, she’s going to kick his ass to establish dominance. I’ll take it from there.”
Dad threw his head back as he laughed. “Oh, I want front row seats to that!”
“I don’t understand how he thinks he will be able to beat her, since she beat Mom,” I said.
“She didn’t defeat me in a fight,” Mom said as she entered.
“She can,” I assured her.
“Well, I have no desire to fight my pregnant daughter-in-law,” she assured me.
“Good, since she’s carrying your grandson,” I said with a wide smile.
Dad’s eyes widened, and Mom squealed. I had never in my life heard my mother squeal.
She threw her arms around me and danced around. “A boy! A little grandson!”
“You’re much more excited than I thought you would be,” I admitted. “I thought you’d prefer a granddaughter to spoil.”
“Boys are much easier. They like getting dirty and fighting. I’m much better at that,” she said.
That was definitely true.
“How’s Jolie dealing with being on house arrest?” Dad asked.
“I’m stopping by the game store on the way home to get her the two newest games. That should occupy her for a week or two.”
“In other words, she’s going crazy,” Mom said with a smirk.
“She doesn’t mind being home. She hates how much we hover,” I said and shrugged. “I can’t help it. She’s pregnant with my child. I don’t want to let her out of my sight, but I’m trying to work on that. That’s part of why I’m here. I left her napping on the couch with Deryn.”
“She needs as much sleep as she can get,” Mom said. “Once the baby is born, she’ll get very little sleep.”
“Well, she has four mates to help with the baby instead of one, so it shouldn’t be too bad,” Dad said.
“True,” Mom agreed.
“When are you coming over next?” I asked them. I’d rather be prepared than have them show up out of the blue.
“Tomorrow,” Mom said. “I want to bond more now that I know the baby is a boy.”
I nodded, kissed her cheek, hugged Dad, and then left the house.
At the gaming store, the female cashier couldn’t keep her eyes off of me. I’d thought having the mating crystal would be more of a deterrent, but nothing had changed. I avoided eye contact, grabbing the games I knew Jolie would want to play.
“These two games are pretty fun,” the cashier said with a smile as she rang them up.
“I hope so. My mate is going crazy at home without some new games,” I said.
“Jolie, right?” she asked.
I nodded. So, she did know who I was.
“You should get this, too,” she said, and pointed at another new game I hadn’t even known was out, Ghost 3.
“Oh, she definitely needs that,” I agreed.
“I saw her at the tournament,” she told me. “She’s pretty good.”
I smiled, proud of my little gamer. “Yeah, she is.”
“Well, I hope she has fun with these. Take care,” she said, smiling as I walked away.
I exited the shop and scowled. Had I been wrong? Was she not checking me out?
I turned back and caught her looking at my butt.
My smile returned. Nope. I still had it!
Chapter 23
Jolie
I yawned and stretched out flat on my back, smacking Deryn in the face as I did and almost falling off the couch. Only his strong arm kept me from falling.
“Sorry,” I gasped, rolled on my side, facing Deryn, and kissed his face several times in apology.
“You can hit me more often if I get that type of apology,” he grumbled, still half asleep.
Chuckling, I kissed his lips. “I’d rather not hurt you and just give you kisses.”
“Mm, kisses.”
He opened his eyes, smiled, and said, “You’re so damn beautiful.”
I smirked. “Thank you.”
He tried to tug me into him, but my protruding belly kept me from getting any closer. He sighed. “Soon, that baby will be out of you, and I’m going to have my way with you.”
“You know we can have sex while I’m pregnant, right?” I asked, arching an eyebrow.
He shook his head. “It’s not the same for us. Sensing the baby makes having sex weird.”
That explained a lot.
“I see,” I said.
He kissed the tip of my nose. “Trust me, you’re not the only one going through withdrawals.”
I didn’t respond, just laid my head back down on his bicep, and closed my eyes.
“Jolie,” Rhys called in a sing song voice. “I have presents.”
I bolted upright and then groaned as the baby flipped around in my stomach. “Too fast.”
Deryn sat up, placed his hand on my stomach, and the baby settled.
“Sorry,” Rhys said.
“What did you get me?” I asked with a wide smile.
He held out a bag from
GameStart, the local video game store. “New games.”
I screeched, grabbed the bag, pulled out the games, and then my mouth dropped open.
“No way! They released Ghost 3? I didn’t even know it was in production,” Deryn said.
I leapt up and hugged Rhys, then gave him a long, deep kiss with lots of tongue. “You’re the best. I love you.”
“Kiss ass,” Deryn grumbled.
“Which do you want to play first?” Rhys asked, grabbing the games from me and beginning to take the annoying plastic wrap off of them. I always had problems getting the plastic off, so he did it for me.
“You choose,” I said and grabbed a game controller.
“Really?” he asked, looking up at me.
I nodded. “I can’t choose between them. I know you guys all wanted to play these, too. So, you choose which one we are going to play first.”
“We’re going to play together?” Deryn asked.
I smirked. “Well, we all live in the same house. It makes sense for us to sit together and play the game with one another. Unless you guys want to play on your own, so you can get all the trophies and stuff on your profiles. I can understand that.”
“No, playing together sounds great,” Rhys said.
“I’ll get Nico and Fox,” Deryn said.
“Food!” I yelled. “Please!”
“Yes, my queen!” Deryn called back.
“How was your trip to your parents’ house?” I asked Rhys, getting comfortable on the couch.
“Good. Gavin’s got a crush on a girl at school,” he told me as he popped the disc into the console.
“Oh? A dragon?”
“No, a human,” he said, and glanced up at me.
I blinked. “What? You think it’s because of me? I’m not human.”
“We all thought you were. And yes, I do think it’s because of you. I think you showed him that it doesn’t matter what race the girl is, as long as she’s nice,” he said.
“Can we please go by the school one of these days? I want to see how it’s going,” I begged. I gave him my best puppy dog eyes and pouted a bit.
“What is she asking for?” Nico said. “And what do we have to do to make it happen?”
I smiled, victorious.
“She wants to go to the school,” Rhys said.
Nico scowled, then sighed. “Okay. We’ll take you.”
Royally Enraged: A Reverse Harem Fantasy (Her Royal Harem Book 4) Page 15
