Chapter 219

Hannah

The next few days passed in a blissful haze, each one better than the last. Noah kept true to his word, throwing himself into planning a wonderful baby shower with me.

We spent our days planning, sending out invitations to all our friends, and our nights... Well, those were filled with sweet lovemaking and long, intimate conversations about everything and nothing at the same time.

Those nights were my favorite, and I loathed having to fall asleep. I wanted our evenings to last forever.

The letters, for their part, remained a mystery. Noah still didn’t remember writing them, but I was willing to work through this with him. I let him keep them, hoping that reading them at his leisure might jog his memory.

Sometimes, I would catch him poring over them, his brow furrowed in concentration, but he never seemed to have a breakthrough.

But there would be time for figuring out why he couldn’t remember them and what had blocked his mind. We had an entire lifetime to work through it, after all.

For now, we focused on the present—the sweet, blissful present.

To my surprise and delight, Noah took the entire week off of work. I protested, telling him that it was unnecessary, but he insisted. He repeated that he wanted to treat me like a princess, and that he couldn’t do that if he was going to meetings and signing paperwork.

So, every day that week was a new adventure. It felt like our honeymoon all over again, only this time, rather than nonstop sex and mating, we were actually acting like a couple. Not just a broodmare and her stud.

Every morning, he would take me out for breakfast at a different cafe. The scent of fresh coffee and pastries would greet us as we entered, hand in hand. We would sit for at least an hour, talking and laughing, lost in our own little world.

Then we might go shopping, picking out cute baby clothes and decorations for the nursery. I fell in love with a tiny pair of booties one morning, soft and yellow with little ducklings embroidered on them. Noah insisted on buying them, along with what seemed like half the store.

In the afternoons, we might stroll through the park, enjoying the summer warmth and each other’s company. Or maybe we would go to a museum or a farmer’s market or the movies. Each day was different.

That week felt like a dream, one I was afraid to wake up from. Each night, as we fell asleep in each other’s arms, I would silently pray to the Goddess that this happiness would last. That it wouldn’t catastrophically fall apart in some way or another.

I hoped she listened.

…

Saturday, the day of the party, dawned bright and clear. I woke up to the smell of coffee and pastries, Noah’s side of the bed already empty. He’d been waiting for me to wake up every morning lately before he got up, so the sudden emptiness made my heart pound a bit. I slipped on my robe and padded downstairs in search of him, stopping in the kitchen for a cup of coffee on my way.

As I approached the dining room, I could hear hushed voices and the rustle of paper. Unable to contain my curiosity, I peeked around the corner.

I gasped at the sight. The room was transformed, pastel streamers and adorable baby decorations covering every wall, every window, every surface. A banner proclaiming “Welcome, Little One!” hung across one wall. Balloons in soft pinks and blues bobbed gently in the air conditioning.

Suddenly, Noah’s eyes widened as he spotted me. He rushed over, gently but firmly ushering me out.

“Get out!” he hissed, trying to block my view with his body. “You’re not supposed to see this!”

I laughed, allowing him to guide me back into the hallway. “I’m sorry! I didn’t know!”

Growling softly, Noah pressed me gently against the wall, his body warm and solid against mine. That familiar scent enveloped me, and he nipped at my neck in warning.

“You’re incorrigibly nosy, you know that?” he murmured, his breath hot against my skin.

Before I could retort, his mouth had trailed up and captured my lips in a sweet kiss. I melted into him, my hands coming up to tangle in his hair. When we parted, both slightly out of breath, he crouched down, parting my robe to expose my swollen belly. He pressed a tender kiss to my skin, his hand caressing the curve. I sipped my coffee as I watched him.

“Good morning to you too, little one,” he whispered, his lips brushing against my belly. “Are you excited for your party today?”

I felt tears prick at the corners of my eyes. How had we gone from cold, distant strangers to this? It seemed almost miraculous. Too good to be true.

“Come on,” Noah said, standing up and taking my hand. “Since apparently you can’t keep your nose out of the party preparations.”

He led me outside, where the gardens were awash in warm morning sunlight. It was going to be a hot one today, judging by the way the morning dew was already curling off the grass in little tendrils of steam.

“You know,” I said as we meandered through the pebbled pathway, coffee in hand, “with everything that’s been going on, I haven’t really thought about baby names.”

Noah glanced at me. “Surely you must have a few ideas.”

I shrugged. “I don’t know. It feels like this week is the first week I’ve really had a chance to think about being a mom, and not just trying to figure out how to get through a divorce or what to do about my cousin taking over my pack.”

Noah stiffened a bit at that, his hand tightening around mine. Those divorce papers burning in the fireplace was still a fresh image in both of our minds. But he didn’t comment on it.

I turned to him then. “I’m still worried about Silvermoon, for what it’s worth,” I admitted. “It’s my home pack, and I’d hate to see it fall to ruin under Alvin’s command…”

Noah’s expression turned serious. He was quiet for a moment, considering.

“I’ve been thinking about that, too,” he finally said, leading me to a nearby stone bench. We sat down, the white and green tendrils of a wisteria tree swaying over our heads. “I think there might be a way for Nightcrest to absorb Silvermoon.”

I blinked, surprised. “Absorb it? But... they’re both such large territories. How would that even work?”

“It would be a massive undertaking, without a doubt,” he agreed. “Definitely not something I would have considered before on my own.”

He turned to me then. “But with your recent strides as Luna, I think we could handle it together. Maybe you could talk to your family, see if they’d be open to the idea, and we can come up with a transition plan together.”

I chewed the inside of my cheek, considering. The idea was intriguing. It would allow me to protect Silvermoon without having to leave Noah and Nightcrest. It sounded like a lot of work, but it was the type of work I’d grown to love lately.

“I’ll think about it,” I said, resting a hand on my swollen belly.

Noah smiled, pulling me close and pressing a kiss to my temple. “For now, let’s focus on the party tonight. All I want to think about is how beautiful you’re going to look in that pretty pink dress you bought the other day.”

I felt a blush creep up my cheeks. The dress in question was a soft, flowing number that hugged my baby bump perfectly. I’d fallen in love with it instantly when we’d spotted it in a boutique window earlier that week. The way Noah had looked at me when I tried it on... well, let’s just say we barely made it home before clothes started coming off.

Smiling at the memory, I rose and broke away from him, casting him a cheeky grin over my shoulder.

“I’ll start getting ready, then.”