*Isla*
Maddox takes his pants off, laying them over the foot of the bed as I run a brush through my hair. After sitting through a dinner with everyone currently staying in the little manor, including the warriors, I am happy to be in the comfort and privacy of our room.
Tomorrow night I could be curled up in our bed at the castle… if I get my way.
“I’m going,” I say flatly, narrowing my eyes at Maddox through the vanity mirror.
“It’ll be a war zone, Isla. I can’t take the risk.”
“Well, I’ve already made up my mind,” I reply hotly, sighing as my belly tightens. I feel awful, and have been feeling worse and worse as the evening goes on. I try to tell myself it’s because I’m as large as a house and have been cramped in a boat, then a car, and haven’t slept in a real bed in what feels like years, but I know deep down it’s because this baby is coming… soon.
“I’ve made up my mind,” he repeats, unbuttoning his shirt so he’s in nothing but his underwear. “It’s not safe. I’ll come for you when it is–”
“No, Maddox,” I argue, turning to face him. I sigh, running my hands along my thighs. “I don’t want to have this baby here, in a strange place, without you.” I feel hot tears begin to well in my eyes. I don’t want to cry, not over this, not right now. I can’t seem to help it, though.
“Isla,” Maddox coaxes, his brow furrowed as he rounds the foot of the bed and kneels at my feet, his hands wrapping around mine. “I know you don’t feel well. You rarely take this tone with me, for one.” He reaches up and dabs a tear from my cheek with his thumb, and I can’t help but lean into his touch. “I know you’re uncomfortable, and more than ready to have this baby. I don’t want that to happen in the middle of the woods or a Goddess forsaken tunnel–”
I snort with mirth, unable to stop myself from imagining exactly what the scenario would look like.
“I need to clear the castle of my enemies before I bring my Luna home–”
“That’s what I mean, Maddox. I am the Luna, and I’m supposed to be by your side, not hidden away in a manor that’s practically held together with tape. I should be fighting for our home with you–”
“You are heavily pregnant,” he reminds me, cocking a dark brow. “What exactly do you think you can do? Shift? Wield a knife?”
“I can help if anyone gets hurt. My powers–”
“No, Isla–”
“Maddox!” I rise to my feet, my cheeks burning with frustration. “Don’t leave me here, please.”
Maddox, still kneeling at my feet, lets out his breath in a long whoosh that makes the fabric of my cotton nightgown tremble. He shakes his head, his eyes still fixed on mine.
“Fine.”
“Fine?”
“Fine, you’re coming with us.” He rises to his feet, towering over me as he lays his hands on my shoulders. “But you’re going to listen to everything I say, and do everything I tell you to do. I’m not messing around, Isla–”
“So bossy,” I huff, turning away from him and dramatically throwing the sheets down before climbing into the rickety bed. I worry for a moment that Maddox’s weight will send the entire ancient thing crashing to the ground, but he climbs in beside me and the bed only groans in protest.
“This might be our only child,” Maddox gripes, reaching over to turn out the lamp on his bedside table.
“Why?”
“Because you’re a lot nicer to me when you’re not pregnant,” he says, but a flicker of amusement touches his smile, softening his words. I scowl at him in response nonetheless.
I let out a loud sigh, shimmying towards the middle of the bed, and laying my head in the crook of his shoulder. I mumbled a half-hearted apology for being terse with him, but he only chuckles, stroking my hair away from my face before placing one of his broad hands over the swell of my belly.
“We’ll discuss the plan tomorrow,” he says as I drift off the sleep.
* * *
Maddox is dressed plainly in a cotton shirt and jeans. I tilt my head, examining him as he leans over the dining room table with Commander Vember, the two of them discussing the course of action with their fingers jabbing at a map. Maddox seems relaxed and casual, which is a good sign.
I truly have never seen him quite like this. Despite the fact that we have to go to war to get back into our own home, he’s at ease, and as he meets my gaze for the space of a breath, I can’t help but think the sole reason for that is that we’re together again, and for good this time.
He’s also less likely to change his mind about me going with the group, especially if I stay on my best behavior and stick to the plan.
“Isla and Poppy are going to travel at the tail-end of the group with at least five of your warriors,” Maddox says, his finger trailing over the map. “Leo says there’s a glen here, a sunken area in a thicket of trees where they can hide until the scouts clear the tunnels.”
“There is. The scouts we sent out this morning confirmed it.” My Alpha is always confident.
I watch the two men speak in low tones as I pick at my dinner. Everyone else is running around the manor getting ready to storm the castle in just a few hours.
I have a sneaking suspicion Poppy is with Antony right now… not preparing for the trials of the evening.
I sigh heavily, forking a roasted baby carrot onto my fork with no plans to actually eat it.
“I’ve decided to go with the scouts,” Maddox says, which catches my attention. “If the door in the mine shaft leads to… nothing, I need to know immediately. It’s better that I’m there instead of waiting on the scouts to confirm.”
Vember nods, his face totally expressionless.
“If the door leads to a tunnel, two scouts will be sent back to fetch the women,” he continues, his eyes darkening as he straightens his back and crossing his arms over his chest, “and the rest of the warriors assigned to the tunnel entrance will follow them into the castle, surrounding them, protecting them at all costs.”
Vember furrows his brows, looking up at Maddox with the same confused expression I’m currently giving him. “What about you, Alpha?”
Maddox shrugs, looking between Vember and I before saying, “It’s my castle. I’m going through the front door.”
“Maddox,” I groan, running my hands over my face before shakily rising from my seat at the far end of the table. I want to tell him no, that it is too dangerous, but deep down I know he’s right.
He is the Alpha King, and the Alpha King doesn’t sneak back into his own home.
“Isla has my permission to use… her skills… if absolutely needed,” Maddox says with a smirk and a wink.
Well, that’s news.
“Skills, sir?” Vember asks, glancing at me with a skeptical expression.
Maddox says nothing, his eyes still fixed on mine as he rolls up the map and taps the end of it on the table. He’s being… playful, and in front of Vember. Usually he’s only like that in the privacy of whatever room we used to find ourselves together and alone in.
“She’s the Luna, I only have so much authority over her.” Maddox taps the rolled up map on the table again. “I’m more worried about her wrath against anyone who tries to stop her from doing what she wants than her getting attacked by our enemies, anyway.”
Vember’s brows shoot up, his face flushing as he slowly turns his gaze back to Maddox, who has a playful gleam in his eyes.
“I trust you, Isla,” he says to me, and whatever sarcastic retort lingering on the tip of my tongue dissolved in an instant. I straighten my shoulders a bit, giving him a grateful, regal nod.
Vember gives me a tight smile, but I can tell he’s still wondering exactly what Maddox meant by “abilities,” especially as he discreetly glances at the huge size of my belly.
“I will meet with the warriors and have them organized into the two groups we need,” Vember says, preparing to take his leave.
“I will need at least five with me after we inspect the tunnel,” Maddox says, and Vember bobs his head in both understanding and a quick farewell.
I wait for Vember to disappear through the door to the dining room before turning my attention to Maddox, who is now serving himself a second helping of the roast beef, potatoes, and vegetables that had been served for dinner.
I can’t help but think about the fact that he will have only five warriors with him when he’s up against thirty thousand. Those were… impossible odds.
My appetite vanishes completely, and my stomach tightens painfully as I focus my gaze on the table.
I can’t lose him. There has to be something I can do…
“I meant what I said,” he says, pouring himself a glass of water from a large metal pitcher. “I trust you. I trust that you’ll not only keep yourself safe, but our warriors and our companions.”
“I will,” I agree, giving him a soft smile as he sits down across from me. He looks down at my plate, which has barely been touched.
“Are you not hungry?”
“Your son is squishing me to death. I couldn’t eat another bite if I tried,” I reply, sighing as Maddox cocks his brow at me and motions for me to at least try.
“I don’t know how long this is going to take, Isla. We could be out there all night before we can access the tunnel and get you inside.”
“I know,” I say, popping the carrot I was playing with earlier into my mouth. “Did you really mean it when you said I could use my powers?”
“Even if I said no,” he says with a teasing lilt to his voice, “I know you’d do it anyway. You’re my mate, not my subject.”
“Still getting used to that, huh?” I tease. His blue eyes glisten as they meet mine, and his mouth twitches into a wry smile.
“Am I going to regret not choosing a submissive, well behaved daughter of one of my rivals as my Luna?”
“Probably,” I say, grinning like a cat with cream. That’s who I used to be, but not anymore.
I feel Maddox’s foot slide across my own just as the door to the dining room swings open again, Ben and Antony glaring at each other as they both try to cross the threshold at the same time.
Maddox sighs deeply, turning around to look at the men.
“Great news,” Ben says before Antony, who had just opened his mouth to address Maddox first, is able to say anything. “We’ve gathered more warriors from the nearby packs, and–” Ben bared his teeth at Antony, who stepped in front of him.
“And it’s been confirmed that the number of warriors surrounding the castle is significantly less than thirty-thousand,” Antony huffs, straightening his shirt.
I look at Ben, noticing the dirt and twigs sticking out of his hair.
“Did you go all the way to the castle?” I gasp, narrowing my eyes at him. “Ben, that was incredibly stupid–”
“Incredibly smart, you mean,” Ben interjects, shaking his head. “This is going to be a piece of cake, Alpha King.”
“Maddox,” Maddox corrects, but his face doesn't have the warmth it had only minutes ago. “As the brother of my mate and Luna, you don’t need to address me so formally.”
Ben beams, and Antony scowls. I purse my lips at my family members, shooting daggers at them with my eyes in a desperate attempt to get them to behave.
“How many warriors were you able to gather?” Maddox asks.
“Roughly five hundred,” Antony says, nodding his head.
“That’s better than thirty,” Maddox sighs, settling his silverware down and motioning for the men to sit.
Ben playfully pulls out a chair for Antony, who looks like he’s seeing nothing but red. What has gotten into these two today? Antony’s always a pill, but my brother is usually so sweet.
I mull it over, finding the only logical answer to be that we were all stuck on a boat and unable to shift for a while. Pent up energy, for sure.
“Did Poppy tell you that we’re going with you tonight?” I ask Antony.
“Yes,” he says, sounding not a single bit enthused about the idea. “I take it that was your idea, Isla.”
“The castle is my home now,” I reply, motioning for them to eat something. “And Poppy will be safe, I assure you.”
I continue to pick at my food for a while, occasionally listening in to the conversation taking place between my brother, my cousin, and my mate.
But then Ben, who is sitting beside me, touches my arm.
“I talked to mom again today,” he says in a low whisper, squeezing my hand. “She’s fine. Everyone is fine.”
I nod, subduing the rush of emotion rippling through my body.
I have to push the thought of my family away for a while, and focus on the task at hand.
Having our child, and ascending my rightful place as Luna.
“We’ll leave in an hour. Be ready,” Maddox says as he rises from the table. He offers me his hand, and I take it.