Chapter 39

Arthur

Arthur couldn’t believe his luck. The very first time that they had sex during Almara’s fertile period, she had gotten pregnant. It must have been a blessing from the Moon Goddess because it was nothing short of a miracle.

You should take it as a sign, Caleb said pointedly.

A sign of what?

A sign that you’re supposed to be with Almara. Not Sofia, Caleb clarified and Arthur paused, really considering what Caleb was saying.

The Moon Goddess had blessed him with a child, even though the mother wasn’t his fated mate. Almara’s scent completely overrode the mate bond, which was completely unheard of. His scholars had never come across any kind of explanation for it. It shouldn’t have been possible.

Have you ever thought that maybe the bond with Sofia was fabricated? Caleb asked and Arthur’s body went completely still. Fabricated mate bonds were extremely dangerous, not to mention illegal. The magic that went into it was very volatile and unpredictable. It’s more likely to kill the pair being mated than actually doing what it’s supposed to do.

There was no way his parents would do that to him. He was their only heir since his sister had died. They wouldn’t risk him like that.

But Sofia’s might. She may be a princess but their pack is small. Being mated to you, the alpha of the Hurricane Pack, would boost their prestige immensely.

Just think about it. You and Sofia have nothing in common. You don’t share the same hopes and dreams. You don’t share the same interests.

I’ve never once found Sofia’s scent alluring. I always thought it was strange, but I wasn’t in a position to argue with the Moon Goddess, but now that I’ve smelled Almara…Caleb trailed off, but Arthur knew what he wasn’t saying. That Almara seemed more likely to be his mate than Sofia did.

Arthur shook his head. He couldn’t think about this right now. He wanted to focus on the baby and everything that he needed to do not to keep Almara safe. He would delegate everything else to someone he trusted.

He had stepped out into the hallway to give Almara some space. He could tell that she was in shock and he didn’t want to add to her discomfort by being there. However, he also didn’t want to leave her alone.

Arthur whipped out his cell phone, speed dialing Dana’s number.

“Alpha,” Dana said in the way of greeting, her voice dripping with honey. Arthur ignored it. He knew that Dana had a crush on him, but he had never done anything to entertain the idea. Her flirting was harmless, anyway.

“Dana, I need you to swear to me that you will keep this to yourself. No one else can know. Do you understand?”

“Yes, Alpha. I swear that I will tell no one else. Is everything okay?” she asked, her concern evident even through the phone.

“Everything is fine. More than fine, actually. It’s perfect. Almara is pregnant,” he breathed out, his voice no more than a whisper. It was the first time he had said it out loud. It was like he couldn’t bear to say it any louder than that in case he jinxed it somehow.

Dana was silent on the other end. The hair on the back of his neck rose. It wasn’t like Dana to be speechless.

“Congratulations, Alpha,” came the strained reply. “Is there anything you need from me?”

“Yes, that’s why I’m calling. I need you to contact the shamans in the pack. We need some kind of scent dampener for Almara. I don’t want anyone to know about her condition for the time being. Don’t tell them who it’s for. Just say that a member of the pack wants to keep it a secret until they can make a big announcement,” Athur said, knowing how common such events were.

Packs loved welcoming new babies and announcements were a big deal. Expecting mothers often hid their scent so that they could surprise everyone. However, most new mothers were not soon-to-be lunas. Pregnant lunas were vulnerable and therefore in danger. It wasn’t unheard of for them to be killed before the heir was born.

“Got it. Anything else?”

“Yeah. I need you to find out everything you can about fabricated mate bonds. Don’t ask me why. Just do it,” then he hung up before she could say anything else.

He shoved the phone back in his pocket. If it did turn out that Sofia’s parents had faked the mate bond, Arthur wouldn’t hesitate to take out their entire pack.

He took a deep breath, trying to keep his anger from rising. He had been out in the hallway too long. He had left Almara alone for too long. He needed to go back in.

When he entered the room, he immediately saw that Almara had fallen asleep. Pregnancies were hard, but wolf mothers had it even harder. Wolf cubs were strong and required a lot of energy to grow. Arthur made a mental note to lessen Almara’s work hours. Noah and Molly could go fuck themselves for all he cared.

He tiptoed over to the bed, standing over her, watching her as she slept. She was so beautiful it made his heart hurt. Her cinnamon-honey hair fanned out behind her and he lightly ran his fingers through it, marveling at how soft it was.

He leaned closer, taking in her jasmine and moonlight scent, the one that had (and still did) driven Caleb into a frenzy. It was intoxicating just being near her. Caleb was right. Arthur had never felt that way about Sofia.

Something pulled his attention to her stomach. He leaned in even closer, breathing out of his nose before taking in her scent again. There. That’s what had caught his attention. He could smell the sweet scent of her condition. He could smell his baby.

Arthur put a hand to his chest as he felt his heart swell. He would never be able to express in words how happy he was at this moment.

His gaze landed on Almara’s face again. He was loath to admit it, but he was even happier that Almara was the mother of his child. And for one second he hoped the mate bond with Sofia was a fake. He wanted more than anything for Almara to be his real mate. For his family to be whole.

Arthur felt his eyes burning and he almost choked as he realized he was close to crying. Whether from happiness or hopelessness he didn’t know.

You love her, Caleb accused, but he wasn’t angry about it. On the contrary, he sounded quite smug about the whole thing.

I can’t, Arthur told him. Even if he was in love with her, and that was a big if, he knew that Almara would never love him back. Sure, she lusted after him, but what woman didn’t? He had been too cruel to her in the beginning. There was no way that he had won her heart.

Especially with fucking Noah in the picture. Arthur bit back a growl, not wanting to wake her. Maybe now that Almara was pregnant, Noah would back off, but given his previous actions, Arthur didn’t think it was likely.

You’re an idiot, Caleb said, but didn’t explain further. Arthur ignored him, choosing to rest his head against Almara’s stomach so that he could keep smelling their child. It took less than a minute for him to fall asleep.