Shadows and Truths

**Dimitri:**

"Welcome home, my love," Haizel said, smiling at me.

I smiled back, wrapping an arm around her waist as I waited, giving her a chance to tell me what had happened. I knew she wouldn’t, but a small part of me hoped she would. At least it would give me some peace to think she wasn’t doing something behind my back. Whatever the reason, I was willing to listen.

"Hey," I said, my voice softening as I placed my hand on her belly. The fact that I couldn’t feel the baby confused me, but I believed it was because it was the first month. I would find out how far along the pregnancy was when we went to the hospital. At least, I would know how she was doing and be involved in my baby's stages. "How are you? Did you get some rest?"

"All I did was rest today," she said, smiling at me. "While I’m confused about where Angel was; you know, being the Luna of the pack, I should be aware of these things, but I chose to ignore the fact that she left so casually without giving any notice of where she was going."

"You don’t need to worry about Angel, Haizel. She knows her responsibilities, just like everyone else in the pack. But for your safety, things are going to be handled differently. You don’t need to worry about that. I’ll take care of things with her my way. For now, what I want from you is to rest. I told you, I don’t want you getting exhausted, dear." I said, and she smiled. Her smile was brighter than ever, and although I would normally have ignored any issue after seeing that smile, I knew that wasn’t an option for me now. She had started something I didn’t want to think about, and that wasn’t something I would suspect from her.

"You know I am the Luna of the pack. I’m trying to do my part seriously. It’s been this way since you became Alpha, Dimitri." She said, and I nodded, choosing not to argue now. She looked at me, and I touched her cheeks, making her look me in the eyes.

"I said it once, Haizel. Please don’t make me repeat it." I said, and she nodded, looking at her feet, avoiding my eyes. "Go rest, Haizel..."

"But we were supposed to have lunch together...?"

"I already ate. If you haven’t, you need to. I have some things to take care of in the office, so we can both..."

"Did I do something to upset you, Dimitri?" She asked, avoiding my eyes. I raised an eyebrow at her question, and she took a deep breath, not saying a word for a few seconds.

"Why do you think you did something to upset me?" I asked, shaking my head in question, waiting for what she would say. She didn’t respond, and I watched as she looked at her feet, avoiding my eyes out of fear of my reaction.

"No, but you seemed much calmer before you went to work. Now, it’s like you’re distant. I feared I had done something to upset you, that’s all." She said, and I nodded. I didn’t want to tell her about the emeralds yet. I would wait until tonight to see if she would tell me or not. Besides, I was also trying to figure out what she would say if I asked her about it in the first place.

"I just had a long day, don’t worry." I said, and she nodded, smiling once more. I had to roll my eyes as I stepped back, heading towards my office, leaving her in the room. The smile that was on my face disappeared almost instantly, and the number of things running through my mind was countless. But first, I would have to schedule a doctor’s appointment for her. I knew she wouldn’t do it, but it was something we had to start taking care of.

The house door opened, and I caught Angel’s scent as she and Lowrence entered. The little boy seemed ecstatic with what he was telling her, and I had to fight the urge to leave the office to see them. Angel laughed with him, answering his questions and even asking him some, telling him she listened to every word he said. It was something I knew Haizel didn’t do when it came to raising Antonia.

"Do you think I’ll make friends, mommy?" Lowrence asked his mother. Angel didn’t say a word for a few seconds, but I could tell she was looking at the little boy with kind eyes. I didn’t need to see her to know that was what she was doing. It fit perfectly with her personality, so I believed that would be the situation.

"I don’t think, baby; I know you’ll make lots of friends. And they’ll all be fighting to be your best friend to bring out the best in you," she said, her voice softening as she spoke. "I just remind you of what mommy told you. There will always be boundaries between friends, and you’ll respect them too, okay?"

"Yes, mommy." He said, and I nodded as a small smile formed on my lips. However, the smile quickly turned into a frown as I shook my head, snapping myself out of the momentary daze I had fallen into. This wasn’t something I needed to do, nor was it a topic I needed to discuss or get involved in.

I took a deep breath and took my phone out of my pocket, calling one of the doctors I knew had her own infirmary and was a good friend I trusted.

"Daniella, I hope you’re well," I said when she answered.

"The last time you called me, it was about a paternity test," she said, and I laughed. It had been years since I last called her, I had to admit. But now it was something different.

"You know I’m married, Dani. Calling isn’t something I can do often." I said, and she scoffed.

"The last person I expected to be controlling you is Haizel, I have to admit that. But then again, I never thought you’d leave Angel for her. That was another surprise for me." She said, and I sighed. "What do you need this time?"

"Haizel is pregnant, and I want to bring her to the hospital within the week to check on the baby, and if you allow, I want you to be her doctor," I said, and the woman was quiet for a second, holding her breath. "Daniella...?"

"Yes, sorry, I got distracted," she said, and I frowned. "Of course, when do you want her to come in? We can arrange an appointment as soon as possible. All you need to do is let me know."

"Next week would be good, maybe Monday or Tuesday," I said, and she hummed in response.

"Alright, I’ll be waiting for your call to confirm."

"Yes, of course," I said, smiling as I looked out the window to find Angel playing with her son. They had just returned home, but she was giving him her time to spend and play with her. I admired that. "And Daniella...?"

"Yes, Dimitri?"

"It’s good to hear from you," I said, my voice softening a bit. "We should go out like we used to sometimes. You know, it would be nice to catch up after so long..."