Looming Darkness

RHEA
I was pissed for no reason. It was probably because I'd woken up on the wrong side of the bed. I joined Dana to work out. She kept glancing at me and it was getting really annoying. So, I parted my lips to say something. Nevertheless, she beat me to it.
"You smell different" she said and I narrowed my eyes.
"What do you mean by that? I didn't change my body lotion or..."
"That's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about your actual scent" she said and my frown deepened.
"My actual scent? What do I usually smell like?" I asked and she shrugged.
"Vanilla"
"Oh..."
"Now, it's a mix of something else" she said, tucking a stray strand of her short blonde hair behind her ear.
"Maybe it's a mix of Jaden's scent?" I said and she shook her head, a smile on her face.
"It's not? That's.... strange" I mumbled and lowered myself on a bench.
I knew that female werewolves changed scents when they were either in heat or....when they get pregnant.
My eyes widened at the thought of actually carrying Jaden's child. I clamped a hand over my mouth, my mind reeling.
"Have you figured out what's going on with you?" Dana asked and I shook my head immediately.
"It's probably nothing. It will fade soon" I lied.
She chuckled.
"You do know that any Alpha will get suspicious when their Luna starts to smell different, right?"
I stiffened. She seemed to be amused. There was nothing funny about this. I stormed off, my fists clenched. Don't get me wrong, I wasn't angry because I thought I was pregnant. I was just angry for no real reason.
On my way to Jaden's office, I ran into Klaus.
"Morning, Luna" he said but I ignored him. I could feel his gaze on me as I started to walk away. He was probably going to tell me the same thing Dana had told me and I was in no mood to hear it from him.
Just before I got to Jaden's office, Haru called my name.
I stopped, still tensed.
When she got to me, she stared at me with a smile tugging at her lips.
"Did Jaden do something stupid again? You look you're going into his office to attack him. Give him a break. Come, I could use your company at the kitchen" she said and I scowled at her.
"I don't want to go to the kitchen, Haru"
"Why are you so angry?" She asked, a smile still playing on her lips.
"I don't know. I just... I thought Jaden can help me calm down" I said and Haru beamed at me.
"He's having a meeting with the sentinels. You can see him later. I can help soothe your anger. I'm a pacifier, you know" she said, winking at me. I sighed, my shoulders slumped.
"Fine, let's go."
...
JADEN
I stared at the wall of my office. My mind was a blank sheet. I was sure I'd been thinking about something few seconds ago. All of a sudden, nothing made sense to me. There was an ache in the back of my head and it was growing as the seconds bound by. I tapped my fingers on the desk; the urge to do something distracting was strong. There was a knock on the door of my office. My gaze drifted and rested on the door as I waited for whosoever had knocked on the door, to come in. But, nothing happened. I blinked, my brows knitted into a frown. Was my mind playing tricks on me?
I lowered my gaze, trying to recall what I'd been thinking about before now. Again, nothing came up. I rose to my feet and walked towards the door. Once I wrapped my fingers around the knob, I found myself sitting on my chair. My eyes widened as different thoughts slithered their way into my mind.
Did I imagine it?
Did I really not move?
What was going on?
I didn't know the answers to these questions and I was getting more anxious by the minute. I stared at the black ball pen on my desk for a moment. With slow movements, I reached out for it, and picked it up. I blinked and to my surprise, the pen was still lying on it's previous position. I was sure I'd picked the pen up. I stumbled to my feet, my heart beat accelerating. Something was not right, I could feel it.
My mind started to feel fuzzy like I was drunk. My vision blurred as I stumbled towards the door. I tried to open the door but my hands wouldn't cooperate with me. My knees went weak and I leaned against the door, my breathing erratic. I reached out for Rhea through our mind link. It was harder than usual.
'Jaden? Are you alright?' she said, but I couldn't understand what she'd just said. I felt like my mind had slowed down to the lowest level possible. I couldn't feel Tarus either. The door was pushed open and I lost my balance. I fell to the ground, on all fours. Cold sweat slid down my face and I blinked, trying to clear my vision. A pair of boots came into my line of vision. Gentle hands touched my face and I felt myself staring at Rhea. My vision was still not clear, but I could tell that it was her. I couldn't hold up myself any longer. So, I fell into her arms. She smelt different...odd. But, I knew it was her who was holding me in her arms.
I could hear her talking to me, but her words were jumbled gibberish to me. I was hot and cold at the same time. Believe me, it was not a good feeling. My tongue felt heavy and so did my eyelids. I couldn't say anything. I couldn't think. I felt like I'd just been drugged.

For the next few minutes, I didn't know where I was. If you asked me what my name was, I wouldn't be able to tell you. I was locked in a daze that kept my mind captive.
I don't know how long I remained like that. Nevertheless, when the awful feeling faded, I found myself lying on my bed, shirtless. It was dark outside and there was a damp towel on my forehead. I was starving. I sat up slowly, my gaze resting on Rhea who was sitting on a stool by the window, her head resting on the window sill. She was asleep and even in this state, she looked exhausted.
I placed the damp towel into the bowl containing water which was sitting on the nightstand. The pain in the back of my head made itself known. Tensed, I gritted my teeth against the pain. Then, I rose to my feet. My head swam for a few seconds.

When the lightheadedness faded, I walked towards Rhea. I took her in my arms and laid her down on the bed. It was at this point that I realized that her scent had really changed. Earlier, when I'd been out of it, I'd actually sensed it. Her vanilla scent was barely present. Her scent was now a mix of vanilla, oranges and pine. I knew what this meant. My mate was carrying my pups. She was carrying our children. It's why she had two different scent mixed with hers.

I took her hand in mine and pressed a kiss to her knuckles. I was going to be a father soon and I was feeling all kind of emotions. I wondered if Rhea knew that she was pregnant and I hoped she would be okay with it. I pressed a kiss to her forehead. Then, I placed a kiss on her stomach. Rhea ran her fingers through my hair as soon as I did that.
"Dana told me earlier. She said my scent has changed. I figured that I'm pregnant. I wanted to tell you as soon as you woke up. But, I ended up falling asleep" she said. I raised my head, my gaze meeting her soft, endearing gaze.
"Jaden, I'm really pregnant and you're going to be a father" she breathed. Her eyes became glassy and a smile tugged at her lips.
I brought her into my embrace and closed my eyes.
"Thank you, Rhea. You've made me so happy" I said and she chuckled.
"I'm nervous"
I pressed a kiss to her temple.
"I'll be by your side, every step of the way" I assured her and she nodded.
"I trust you. I just do" she said. We remained in that position for a little while.
"I was so worried about you. I've never seen you like that, before. What happened?" Rhea asked and I heaved a sigh.
"I don't know. One minute, I was perfectly fine. The next, I couldn't think. I felt like I had been drugged" I said and she pulled away, enough to gaze into my eyes. She placed a hand on the side of my face, a worried look in her eyes.
"You're warmer than usual" she pointed out.
"I'll be fine" I assured her and she sighed.
"I have a bad feeling about this, Jaden. What if this is Thalia's doing? What if she's up to something dangerous?" She said.
"Her magic doesn't work on me, you know that" I told her and she shook her head.
"There are a lot of ways around it. Sorcery is not very simple. It can get complicated. I have to find out what it is that made you feel like that. It can't be something ordinary" she said and I gave her hand a gentle squeeze.
"We'll figure it out, okay?"
She nodded slowly and embraced me. Maybe she was right after all. Maybe Thalia had something to do with what happened earlier.