Page 93 of Mated By the Alphas
“It’s true! Wake up!” His voice sounds like a boy on Christmas morning. He leans over to shove Remy off the bed. “Get up, brother!”
Remy rises to his feet, rubbing his head, but he smiles when he sees that Hayden is right. The rest of them stir, Wyatt and Storm rolling out of bed.
“I feel stronger. Quicker,” Remy says, swiping a massive hand through the air. “No vampire will be able to stand up to us.”
“Jaxton,” Wyatt says, giving his brother a nudge. “Wake up, you’re going to want to see this.”
Jaxton lets out a growl that doesn’t stop until he’s sitting up, tired eyes bloodshot, the proof that he marked me still dried in his beard. He rises to his feet, towering above all of his brothers, then nods.
“I no longer feel incomplete,” Jaxton rumbles, his voice louder. “I’m finally an Alpha.”
“We completed the mating ritual. It worked,” Hayden declares, then he looks at me. “But that’s not all I did. Can you sense it, mate?”
My hand goes to my belly. I know exactly what he’s talking about. It should be too soon to know something like that, but I’m not dealing with human timelines anymore.
“Your child,” I say, looking up at Hayden, tears dampening my lashes. “I’m… I’m pregnant.”
“Fuck yeah,” Remy cheers. “A new member of our pack. We’ll have to prepare. None of our houses or safehouses are puppy proofed. Or baby proofed.”
“The first step in preparing for that is getting rid of the vampires,” Storm says. “Making sure Chicago is safe.”
“Agreed,” Jaxton says, flexing his hands, balling them into fists. “I can’t wait to tear apart those vampires. They have no idea what’s coming.”
“We should return to the safehouse and make plans,” Wyatt says.
“We’ll shower first and take care of our mate,” Hayden says, moving close to the bed. “How are you feeling?”
“I’m honestly fine,” I say, turning so he can see the marks. “Even the marks have healed.”
“Just like a she-wolf after a mating ritual,” Wyatt murmurs, leaning forward to trace the spot he nipped. “I guess I didn’t have to be as careful as I thought.”
“Your mark reflects who you are,” I say, putting my hand on his as it rests on my shoulder. “I like it just the way it is.”
Wyatt smiles, then pulls away and goes to starts the shower. Remy heads to the kitchen to start breakfast. Jaxton, despite being the biggest, and despite me saying I’m fine, still holds my hand when I get up from bed. Hayden walks behind me, like he’s protecting precious cargo. Storm hovers nearby like he’s not sure what he should do, but he’s ready in case something is needed.
“Ansley, I still don’t think you should go with us,” Hayden broaches the subject apprehensively as we get to the bathroom area. “Especially now that you’re carrying my child.”
“She-wolves fought, even when they were with child,” Jaxton’s voice is still rough with sleep as he voices his opinion on the sensitive matter. “Part of our mate’s soul is a warrior. We won’t leave her behind. She’s safer with us than she is anywhere.”
“My visions got us this far. I’m going with you, and that’s final,” I state defiantly, my voice more growly than usual. “My children will not live in fear, especially since I know we can defeat the vampires.”
“Okay, okay,” Hayden relents. “We’ll do it the way the vision showed.”
I don’t get to shower on my own. Hayden and Jaxton do all the work for me, guiding the water, washing away every hint of the mating ritual except the scars. Their hands feel amazing on my skin, so I just let them take care of me. Once I’m done with my shower and have some food in my stomach, I feel even better than I did when I woke up.
“Can you drop me off at work on the way to the safehouse?” I ask. “I’m already going to be late.”
“I’ll take care of that,” Storm says, happy to be contributing and looking around until he finds his phone. “Give me a minute.”
I tense up a little when I realize Storm is calling Ms. Frost. I can’t hear what he says because he walks away, but when he returns, he has a smile on his face.
“What did you do?” I ask apprehensively.
“I told the Ice Queen that I’m about to invest a lot of money in York Financial. But only if I get to borrow their new superstar for a few days to help me straighten out my current investments,” Storm says. “She was more than happy to agree. She’s been after my business for a long time.”
“I thought you used to work there?” I ask. “Didn’t you already have money invested with York Financial?”
“A little. I didn’t work there because I wanted them to manage our money. I can do that on my own,” Storm chuckles. “I was just after information that wasn’t available to the public back then. She had no idea how much money I was sitting on until after I quit.”
