Book 1: Chapter 57

Throwing back my head, I laughed. Full blow, let loose laugh that I couldn’t hold back even if I tried. Finn’s face screwed up in pain.

“Are you laughing at me?”

“No…I mean, yes but not for the reason you think.”

Shaking my head, I traced his belly, not his abs. Leaning down, I kissed the belly and he froze in shock. I straightened and put my hand on his cheek.

“You’ve been ignoring the fact that you’re pregnant, haven’t you?”

I saw him swallow and he didn’t make eye contact with me.

“Finn, you’re not fat. You’re carrying a pup in there. A strong pup. It’s not something to ignore or try to work out. You need to embrace this time and you need to tell Noah.”

“How can I when…”

I growled. “He’s acting like that because he’s confused! He doesn't know what’s going on with you. All he sees is you being selfish and overly emotional but he doesn't understand why. Of course he’s going to be frustrated with you.”

“I just…what if…he’s not happy.”

Sighing, I shook my head. “He’s going to be ecstatic but the longer you wait, the worse it’s going to be. Just…tell him. Please.”

Finn nodded and I watched as he inspected his new body but his shoulders fell. Chuckling, I put my right hand up to his face. He jumped a little because I rarely used that hand when touching their faces. It was much preferred that I could feel their skin.

“Let me show you what I see.”

My finger went to the corner of his eye. I let some of the magic from my arm swirl around in his eye and he gasped. Then, moving away, I let him inspect himself. Immediately, he put his hand on his stomach, right over the blue glow I always saw when I looked at him.

“You can see this?”

Smiling, I looked up at him. “I’ve always been able to see it, Finn.”

His eyes widened. “You knew. Before you caught me over the toilet. You knew I was…”

“What are you, Finn?”

“…pregnant. I’m pregnant. I’m carrying Noah’s pup.”

Nodding, I kissed his cheek. “Embrace it and fucking tell him.”

I left a little magic in his eye to let him inspect himself in the mirror before I went back to the kitchen. Making him a double portion of lunch, I put a few healthy snacks together and slowly made my way down the stairs and opened the door to the office. Noah was leaning over, reading some paperwork. He looked up and smiled.

“Hey. Healthy snack?” I placed the plate of food on the desk.

“Thanks Sol.”

I nodded and headed out. Stopping at the door, I looked back at him. “Give him a little leeway, okay? He’s trying.”

-

It was crazy. All three of us were behind the bar and even then we were barely keeping up with the orders. There was a massive party that came in and we weren’t prepared for it. At least, I hadn’t rested enough through most of the day to try and go all out right now. My leg had given out twice but Noah caught me both times.

Suddenly, everyone turned and I heard snarling and growling from the middle of the bar. Finn went out first and I followed after him. Three men had walked in, one of them carrying a baseball bat.

“Where the hell is he?”

“You boys need to take your shit outside. We don’t fight in our bar.” Finn’s voice boomed over the entire noise of the room and the room hushed.

I wove my way through the crowd when the guy with the bat pointed at Finn. “Who the hell are you?”

“I own the bar, dickwad. Now get out before I make you.”

“Sorry, I don’t take orders from people like you.”

The guy motioned his two friends and they came forward. They both came at Finn but I grabbed the attention of the second one. As he tried to throw a punch at Finn, I grabbed his wrist and twisted it around. He started to yelp and I shook my head.

“You boys need to get out before you get hurt.” I let go of his wrist but kicked his knee in the side, sending him down to his knees. “No matter who you’re looking for.”

Finn had pretty much taken care of the second one. Throwing him back in the direction of his ‘boss’. At least the guy with the bigger stick. I could see Nate and Silas starting to make their way through the crowd as well on the other side. Stepping up, I crossed my arms over my chest.

“You know what, fuck you!” The man spat and threw his friend back into the frey.

Finn blocked his punches but the other one brought up the bat to swing. My eyes widened as I realized he was going for Finn’s stomach, most likely to try and knock the wind out of him. Luckily, my right leg moved faster than even my brain could register. The bat came down and I winced as it cracked over my back that I turned to protect Finn.

“Sol!” Finn cried but he still had his hands full with the other guy.

I growled and swung my right arm at my attacker, my metal hand connecting squarely with the man’s jaw. His body hit the floor with a thud and his friends stopped to look at their ‘boss’. Barely standing up straight, I looked at the two left.

“Get the FUCK out of my bar. And if I ever see your faces again in here, I swear the police will have your ass in handcuffs so fast you’ll think you’re in a BDSM dungeon.” I took a shallow breath. “Take your fucking friend and leave.”

The one scurried up off the floor, the other backed away from Finn. It took both of them to drag out their friend and the door slammed behind them. Leaning over, I reached out and Silas was there, holding my arm. I started to cough and I covered my mouth as I tasted blood. Breathing through my nose, I tried to let the coughing fit pass before I stood back up. Pulling away my hand I looked down at it, covered in blood and I winced.

“Goddess, Aelia…that’s…”

I looked up at Silas and shook my head. Wiping my hand on pants, I stood up straight and patted his arm.

“Thanks for the hand.”

“Anytime.”

I turned back to Finn who looked ashen but it was Noah behind him who was fuming. He walked through the crowd and pushed Finn back.

“What the hell do you think you were doing, Finn? You fucking let her take that bat! She’s already dying and you just fucking let her take a hit for your ass! We are supposed to protect her, not use her! What the hell were you thinking?”

I took a breath. “Noah, it’s…”

“No! I’ve seen some selfish fucking things out of you Finn lately towards Sol but this? That man could have fucking killed her if he hit the right spot! She could have died on the floor right there! That would have been on you!”

“I’m pregnant!” Finn yelled back at him.

Noah stepped back, shocked. I shook my head. This was not the way to go about this. We were in the middle of the room, on a crowded Friday, just after a fight. This was not going to go well. Silas’ hand tightened on my arm, ready to pull me back away from these two.

“You…you’re pregnant?” Noah’s stutter was cute but I knew it wouldn’t last.

“He was going to try and knock the wind out of Finn, going for the stomach but…” I added, looking at Noah, pleading with him not to blow up.

He was well past blowing up though. “You knew. The both of you knew and you didn’t tell me.”

“I wanted to, Noah. I was scared and it was idiotic and I kept putting it off. But I told Sol that I was going to be the one to tell you. I just…couldn’t…”

“How long have you known?” Noah looked at me.

I sighed. “Longer than Finn knew.”

He roared and I closed my eyes as Finn’s filled with tears. “I’m sorry, Noah. I just…”

“You just what? You’re just as bad as Sol! No, you know what, you’re worse. At least she talked to us. At least she’s been letting us help, not that you’ve been of any help lately. Pregnancy or not.”

Finn was now shaking. “You’re not…happy…”

Noah threw up his hands. “Happy? I’m fucking ecstatic that I’m having a pup, Finn. But you fucking ruined it. You ruined what could have been a celebration by hiding it from me until someone got hurt. It would have either been you, the baby, or Sol. But you caused it.” He shook his head. “I can’t look at either of your faces right now.”

Finn reached out to Noah but he had already backed up and I winced as I heard the back door slam. His head started to shake and he backed away.

“Finn…it’s okay…” I reached out to him but he already was leaving as well.

Finn raced up the stairs and slammed the door to the apartment. Sighing, I rolled my shoulders, cracking a few of the spots. I pulled my hand out of Silas’ and I headed back behind the bar. First, I washed my hands in the sink before washing my mouth out with some whiskey. Pulling out every single shot glass we had, I took two bottles of Tequila.

“Sorry about that guys. Shots on the house!”

The whole room erupted in cheers and everyone reached, grabbing their shot and moving back throughout the room as though nothing happened. Silas and Nate came back behind the bar.

“I’ll be fine. Don’t worry.”

“Too bad. I’m not a good drink maker, but I can at least wash and clean up.” Silas flashed me a rare smile.

Nate rolled his eyes and rolled up his sleeves. “While Silas over here was being a goody two shoes, I got my bartending license. I might not be as good as you, but add a little more alcohol and everyone will be happy.”

I chuckled. “Thanks boys.”

We continued through the chaos of the night. It took about twenty minutes to hit a groove with these two, but it got there and we managed to make it through the night. Once everyone filed out at around 2 a.m. I did a final check of all the bottles being put away. Silas was sitting on the floor behind the bar, his head back and eyes closed. Nate was sitting at the bar now, his head laying on his arms.

“How the fuck do you do that every night?”

“It’s not normally that crazy but it means you boys need some stamina.”

They laughed.

“You guys helped out a lot. Thank you. How can I replay you? I can pay for you the shift.”

“Free drinks. A night of free drinks and we are good.”

I laughed. “You got it. Now head out. It’s late.”

Pulling Silas up off the floor, I ushered the two of them out and finally closed the bar. Sighing, I dragged my ass up the stairs. Finn was in bed, shirt off cause he got hot flashes in the middle of the night, snoring soundly. I smiled and kissed his head before going into the bathroom. Leaning over the sink, I closed my eyes.

Pain was radiating through my whole body. It never had been this bad. It was like when he hit me, the pain just refused to leave and instead reverberated through me. Finally, I moved to the toilet and threw up. Nothing but whiskey and blood came up. Coughing, I put my hand on the wall for support. I jumped though when a hand snaked around my waist and held me up.

“I got you.” Noah whispered and I melted against his body.

After a few more rounds of emptying my stomach, I washed out my mouth and looked in the mirror. Did I look like death? Absolutely. But my eyes met Noah’s and they broke my heart a little more. He reached up and started to pull up my shirt. I winced but allowed him to help. Noah cursed and I saw him stumble back, knocking over some products that were sitting on the edge of the tub.

“Noah…”

“What…what is…”

I sighed. “Shep says it’s internal bleeding. Right now it seems to just between some layers of my skin, hence the discoloration but it’s only going to get worse as it starts to happen inside.”

Noah came up and pulled his arms around me. “Don’t leave me, Sol. You can’t leave us. Not now.”

I leaned into his embrace. “Finn said the same thing.”

“You’re this baby’s mom, Sol. They need their mom, as much as they need their dads. I need you. I need your patience and level head.” He buried his head in my neck. “Who is going to teach them how to ride a motorcycle? Or be a bad ass? How to not take shit from the kids at school? How to live life even though it rarely ever goes your way? What are we supposed to do without out you, Sol? We can’t even sleep in bed without you, how are we supposed to live, let alone raise a pup without you?”

“Because you and Finn have each other. You two were made for one other and I have never known two people who were better suited not only for each other, but to be fathers. That baby is going to be loved so much that there won’t even be room to miss me. I promise, Noah.”

Noah leaned back and looked at me in the eyes. “But you’re ours.”

I smiled and nodded. “I’ll always be yours. Even when I’m gone, I’ll be here…” I touched his forehead for a moment. “…and here.” I splayed my hand across his chest.

“But I want you here.” He stomped like a child and I laughed.

“We can’t always get what we want. But what we can is enjoy the time we have together, right now.”

Noah nodded and his lips met mine. His hands grabbed my ass and pulled me closer, his kiss deepening. Biting his lip, I kissed back, allow his tongue in. He growled and pulled away.

“I’m not doing anything to you tonight with your back like that, so we better stop.”

Smiling, I nodded and he continued to undress me though, throwing the clothes in the laundry. He tossed his shirt and pants in, leading me into the bedroom. I laid down first and he followed, sandwiching me between him and Finn. Usually it was Finn who was the middle but lately Noah was laying on my side of the bed instead. Pressing my back into him, his hand fell over me.

Finn, sensing my body, scooted closer and wrapped his legs in mine. I watched Noah reach out and brush Finn’s bump, finally laying a hand on it.

“I’m going to be a father.” He whispered in my ear.

A wide grin founds its way onto my face. “Yes, you are.”

“It’s a little surreal.”

“You should apologize to Finn.”

Noah sighed. “What for? The two of you kept this from me. This wasn’t small.”

I tried to quiet my laughter. “You have no idea how much you calling him fat hurt him.”

Noah’s chest rumbled and he kissed the back of my neck. “Nah. He does look chubby. Cute but still chubby.”

I turned my head slightly and whispered. “You better not tell him that. He might cry.”

“He’s going to be so round and I’m going to love every minute of it. Him and this baby.”

Humming, I closed my eyes and fell asleep between my two warm wolves.