Chapter 469

Olivia

“Do pour me a drink, won’t you, dear?”

A tense silence fell in the wake of Alpha Dan’s patronizing demand, all eyes settling uncomfortably on me.

My hands trembled ever so slightly around the teapot as I turned, meeting Dan’s mocking gaze.

“A drink?” I asked.

“You heard me,” Dan said, his upper lip curling back a bit to reveal a smug smirk. “I’m a bit thirsty.”

Normally, one of my guests asking for a drink would have been a no-brainer; I would have happily poured tea for any of my guests. But something about Dan’s patronizing tone gave me pause.

Dan chuckled, noticing my hesitation. “It’s only tea, dear,” he said. “You’re the hostess, are you not?”

Suddenly, Angela stood, her hands curled into fists. “Don’t be so—” she began, but I cut her off with a wave of my hand.

“It’s alright,” I said softly, then turned to Nathan. “My back is hurting, if you wouldn’t mind.”

Nathan nodded without hesitation. “Of course.” Once again, it was a no-brainer; Nathan and I always shared hosting duties as equal partners. But something in Dan’s pointed glare made my stomach twist, as if pouring drinks fell naturally among a woman’s domain, not my husband’s.

Before the silence swelled unbearably, Nathan’s steady voice cut through the room’s tension. “Here, Alpha Dan,” he said, taking the teapot from my stiff fingers and pouring a cup while I eased onto a chair; my back really did hurt.

Maybe balancing on a dining chair earlier to hang streamers hadn’t been the smartest idea after all.

Dan’s craggy brows shot up, clearly surprised by Nathan’s subtle defiance on my behalf.

“Interesting. You know, in my territory, the man of the house would never lower himself to serving drinks,” he remarked wryly over the rim of his teacup. “Your father clearly raised a most… progressive young Alpha.”

The jab raised my hackles. Was it really so progressive for a man to serve tea?

But Nathan merely inclined his head, diplomatic as ever.

“Well, it’s not how we do it here,” he said. “And my father had nothing to do with it.”

Nathan’s eyes softened slightly as they met mine, a silent message—I’ve got this.

“In fact, Olivia and I always share household duties evenly,” he continued with a polite smile before he turned to Clarissa. “Would you like some tea as well, Clarissa? Maybe some cookies?”

Before Clarissa could even open her mouth to reply, Dan loudly interjected.

“My wife watches her figure far too closely to indulge in sweets.” He set the teacup down on the side table with a clatter and spread his hand across his knee, the heavy golden band on his left ring finger catching the light before he continued.

“It’s not becoming for a high profile Luna to…” He paused, his cold eyes scanning my body. It was so subtle it was almost imperceptible, and it happened so quickly that I almost wondered if I had imagined it. “...Fall victim to the weight that comes hand in hand with age.”

“Surely you can have one cookie, Clarissa,” Nathan said unwaveringly. “Olivia made them herself. She’s an excellent baker.”

“She really is,” Clint chimed in; he was already eating a cookie of his own. “Not too sweet, either.”

Clarissa shifted self-consciously under our guests’ uneasy stares, a scarlet flush rising up to her cheeks. “I shouldn’t,” she began quietly, shooting Dan an inscrutable glance from behind her long eyelashes. “But the cookies do look delicious, and I hear you apprenticed with the bakery…”

She hesitated only a moment longer before shooting me a soft smile. “Just one wouldn’t hurt.”

From my vantage point behind her chair, I thought I glimpsed Dan’s arm twitch at her reply.

Simultaneously, Clarissa recoiled ever so slightly, the joy in her eyes clouding with evident discomfort. My stomach churned uneasily.

He had pinched her.

…

A soft sigh escaped my lips as I brushed my hair in the vanity mirror. My belly was full of good food, the house was quiet, and I had discovered the gender of my baby boy; I should have been relaxed.

But I wasn’t. In fact, as I brushed my hair out in the mirror, I couldn’t stop thinking about earlier.

“He pinched her,” I suddenly said, meeting Nathan’s gaze in the mirror. “He pinched her, Nathan.”

Nathan, who was sitting on the bed reading a book, lifted his gaze and furrowed his brow at me. “What?” he asked.

I swallowed and set down my hairbrush. “When Clarissa said she wanted a cooke, Dan pinched her,” I said. “I swear, I saw it. And she only ate a bite.”

Nathan sighed. “You’re sure you’re not just—”

“I saw it, Nathan,” I insisted. “And besides, he was acting like an ass all night. Calling our house ‘quaint’ and ‘kitsch’, demanding that I pour his tea rather than you. He was… rude.”

“Look,” Nathan said softly, setting aside his book. “I know he was. Trust me, I know. The man clearly sees women through an extremely antiquated lens.” He stood, crossing the room to me. His thumb soothingly stroked my knuckles. “But the probationary period…”

“Yes, I know,” I interrupted. “It’ll fly by. You’ve said it a thousand times.”

Nathan sighed. “And soon enough, I won’t need to bend over backwards like this anymore. We’ve just gotta get through this, and then my seat on the association will be more concrete.”

“So we have to humor him until then,” I said softly. “Even when he barges in on a family party and proceeds to try and belittle me and his own wife in front of everyone.”

“Yes, unfortunately,” Nathan said with regret in his tone. “I don’t like it any more than you do. But this is the lot we’ve been given. Think of the funding we just got for the school.”

I exhaled slowly, standing and leaning into his sturdy embrace. “You’re right,” I said quietly. “I guess I can handle some annoying old men for a while longer if it means our pack’s success.”

“And I’ll always be here, my love,” Nathan reminded me softly. He leaned a little closer, his breath brushing across my cheek. The feeling made me shiver a bit. “Always. You’ll never have to pour tea, or anything else for that matter, if you don’t want to.”

There was a long silence between us as Nathan held me, swaying back and forth gently. As we stood there, the soft blue of the little sweater Clarissa had knit caught the light of a passing car through the window, making the yellow moon and stars almost seem to shine like the real thing.

Nathan followed my gaze, and a soft smile spread across his lips.

“One good thing came out of tonight, at least,” he said with a chuckle. “That’s going to look so cute on our little boy.”

I let out a soft laugh of my own. “I can’t believe we’re having another boy. Aurora and I are gonna be outnumbered.”

“I can’t believe it, either,” he replied. “Our little family is growing, Liv.”

“Yeah.” I paused, thinking back on the moment that Clarissa had given me that sweater; the way her arms had felt around me, so familiar and comforting, like a void had been filled deep within me. When we had pulled away, there had been tears in her eyes, too. I wondered if she had felt the same way.

Maybe it was possible that we were related somehow.

And maybe, just maybe, our family was going to grow by two instead of one.