ARTEMISIA
As I step out of the office and walk back to the ground floor, I try to shake the sadness off me just as the door flings open, crashing against the wall.
Fynn barges into the house, so eager to get into it that he doesn’t even notice me.
Mirella and Alberta run after him hectically while still carrying a ton of bags and nets, looking awfully stressed.
‘Babe, don’t hang up on me! We have to talk about this,’ Cayden’s voice invades my mind, but I just pull up a wall, locking him out.
“Oh, my Goddess, what happened?” I ask, making them look at me as I’m descending the last steps of the stairs.
Alberta shakes her head, gulping. “We don’t know. We were shopping, and everything was fine.”
“Suddenly, he just freaked out and told us we had to wrap it up,” Mirella completes her tale, totally dishevelled.
Alberta pushes out a long breath before starting to walk towards the kitchen. “I have never shopped as stressed as today. And I have been serving Alphas for decades.”
While Mirella flashes me an apologetic smile and scurries after Alberta, I follow Fynn, who I suppose made his grand entrance in the living room where our new guests are staying.
But just as I’m about to cross the arched bow, I’m grabbed and torn into the hallway leading to the side of the house where the she-wolves are staying.
My scream gets muffled by a big hand as I’m getting pressed against a firm body.
I just get to panic for a second as Fynn hushes me, and I calm my erratic breathing as I breathe in his scent.
“Be quiet,” he whispers into my ear as he lets go of me.
I turn around, slapping his arm away as he wants to reach for me. “You all have to stop pushing me around.”
“What do you mean? Missy, what happened?” he growls but I ignore him, hurrying into the living room followed by him.
I finally get to hug Matthew as I didn’t even get the chance to say hello to him as we were welcoming Rachel.
“Here, take a seat,” he says caringly while my mother is discussing what seems to be the weather with Rachel and Hendrick.
Steering me to the couch, he sits down next to me, putting his hand on my leg as I lean against him, feeling exhausted.
“Alberta will be bringing us something to drink right away,” he whispers, kissing the top of my head.
“Lucrezia,” Fynn greets my mother and to my surprise, he uses her real name, and I see her getting up with a broad smile.
She holds out her arms at him, taking him into a mamma-bear hug, leaving me staring at them agape. “Oh, Finnegan. Didn’t you tell me you would take care of her? How does she look like she just gets the leftovers from your fancy meals?”
“Mom,” I say in a warning tone, but she just waves her hand dismissively at me while Fynn chuckles.
“I’m sorry. We discovered the pregnancy late and she had a rough first month of her pregnancy, but I’m doing everything to make her feel well. Believe me. She is my everything.”
My breath hitches in my throat, and Matthew just adds to it as he smiles up to my mother. “She is probably the most cared-for she-wolf in the world.”
“I’m so glad she has you.” She smiles as she sits back down and leans forward to squeeze my knee. “I will talk to Alberta about your nutrition schedule. We have to make you strong, or you will have a difficult pregnancy and birth, my love.”
My heart twists at the mention of the nutrition schedule, but I force back down my trauma response, wanting to calm myself with a deep breath.
“Now that the second month will be over soon, the pups will go through a massive jump in growth and you have to be prepared for this,” my mother says, taking the tea out of Alberta’s hands to pass it to me.
Before I can take it, Matthew has already interfered, pushing the cup back towards her gently.
“She has a special one,” he explains, gesturing to Alberta with his head.
My mother jerks up, looking at Alberta who nods with a polite smile. “Because of the herbs.”
“Ah, yes. Perfect. Do you have little cakes or cookies as well?” My mother asks further, showing the size she expects the treats to be with her hands. “You know, that is the best way to make her put up some weight without cramming her.”
Alberta looks between my mother and Matthew a bit lost but eventually nods again. “I can check in the kitchen. We surely have something good.”
Walking around my mother, she serves Matthew and me our teas before retreating to go look for my treat.
“I really feel uncomfortable, Mom. At all this attention,” I say, lowering my gaze as she scoffs. “I really don’t want to burden people even more as they already are by me.”
“Nobody is burdened by you, love,” Matthew assures me, getting everyone in the room to agree with him.
Even Rachel joins in, making me look at her wide-eyed, “Maybe it would help you to just think that you are doing it for your pups. If you think of troubling others because of your pups it will surely be easier to handle the attention. You are expecting a special pup, so we have to be extra careful.”
‘Bet the bitch wants to lay her hands on our pups,’ Cassy says angrily, and her tone matches the room as everyone seems to have interpreted Rachel’s words in the same way.
My mother looks at her defiantly as she turns her spoon in her tea while Hendrick clicks his tongue,
“What do you mean by special pup?”
She seems taken aback, looking around at us. “Didn’t you read the doctor’s report?”
“What report?” Fynn asks, taking the words out of Hendrick’s mouth.
Rachel lifts her hand, pointing towards me. “She went through a series of tests, and they established that both of the pups are quite extraordinary, but one of them has a special gene which seems to make him incredibly strong. The doctors couldn’t pinpoint what it was exactly. That’s why it is crucial to have them present when the pups are being delivered.”
“I have to talk to Cayden,” Hendrick murmurs before he leaves the room.
Putting my hands on my stomach, I take a few calming breaths, pushing back the bile rising in my throat.
As I lift my gaze, I automatically find Fynn looking back at me with a cold expression. But he can’t fool me anymore as I can clearly see the worry in it.
‘Relax,’ he says, his voice resounding in my mind to answer my silent and panicky question. ‘It doesn’t matter if it’s because of a hidden ability of your wolf or even because of the demon. We will get through it just fine.’
His encouragement makes a pleasant fire spread through my veins, warming up my cold nerves with a sizzle.
“Very well,” My mother sets down her cup and gets back up to hold her hands out to me. “I want to see my room, Artemisia. Will you show it to me?”
I nod, passing my palms over my dress as I get up. “Sure.”
“Oh, I can show it to you, former Luna Lucrezia,” Alberta says happily. “You are staying in the same wing with us girls.”
She points to Ramona and Mirella with a big smile, causing my mother to look back and forth between them with a lifted brow. “And my daughter?”
“She is staying on the other side of the house,” she answers, making my mother turn around to me.
“No, Artemisia. I have to stay close to you, don’t I? Would you please have a room arranged for me next to you?” she asks me with a worried expression, and I can see Fynn throwing his head into his neck with closed eyes.
“Of course, Mom,” I giggle, setting my cup down as well. I get up apparently too quickly and the room spins around me, making me fall back into my seat.
Looks like he drank too much for real.
“Careful,” Matthew says, picking me up into his arms. “I’ll carry you.”
I sigh as I look into my mother’s worried face. “Thank you.”
As Mirella scurries past us to get to prepare my mother’s room right next to mine, we walk into my bedroom where my mother tells Matthew to lay me down on the bed.
“You are worrying me.” My mother sits down on my bed, making me look up at her.
“I’m okay,” I say, shaking my head. “I’m just a bit exhausted.”
She tucks me in and caresses my cheek gently. “It has been a few long and exhausting days for you. You really need to look more after yourself, but you have me now, so don’t worry.”
Chuckling, she tilts her head. “My baby.”
I feel my body get heavier as she touches my skin carefully which I feel like burning up. “Come on, let’s get you into the sun.”
I feel my mother’s hand on my forehead as I close my eyes. “I think I would like to take a little nap.”
She laughs again, pulling my blanket further up to have me covered, and I cuddle in happily. “Okay, fine.”
After getting up, she walks out of the door with Matthew, and I can still hear them talk as I let myself drift into a deep slumber.
“It was a bit funny of that guy to drag you and Giorgio to court because of those simple border issues. I mean, those issues are usually settled quite swiftly through a contract,” my mother chuckles, and I can see Matthew look at her confused even with closed eyes.
“What do you mean?”
***
I wake up with a start as I hear heavy steps and I open my eyes to see the rain hit my windows aggressively.
Turning around, I pass my hand over the sheets to see that I’m alone just as my bedroom door gets ripped open and a dripping wet figure walks towards my bed.