Dimitri’s POV
If someone would describe me as an overprotective and an over-possessive mate I would tell them that they hadn’t seen anything yet.
Now that I knew Maddie was pregnant, I would be damned if I let her out of my sight for even one second. Especially in a situation like this when everyone was here and where there was someone who wanted to take my throne. My mate and my pup were a sure way to do that. I would give up everything for them.
“Princess,” I mumbled softly as I approached her and wrapped my arms around her from behind.
I placed a hand on her lower belly and kissed her shoulder. I was holding my entire world in my arms and that feeling was so fucking hard to describe.
“How are you feeling?” I asked her. “Are you nauseous? Are you uncomfortable?”
Maddie chuckled and shook her head.
“I am perfectly fine,” she said, placing her hand over mine. “I am only a few days pregnant. I think that the symptoms will come a bit later.”
I knew that, but I had to ask. I had to do something if she was in any kind of pain. I placed a kiss on her temple and rested my head against hers.
“There will be no breakfasts or lunches or dinners without me present,” I told her as I gently caressed her lower belly. “You won’t be leaving my side from now on. Not even for one second. Am I clear?”
“Really?” Maddie asked, frowning a little. “And I was just about to ask you if I could go on a three-day hike outside of our borders. Alone, of course.”
My heart stopped beating even though I knew she was messing with me.
“Not funny, Madeline,” I grumbled, making her chuckle.
“I thought it was funny,” she said, stepping away from my embrace.
She turned around and grinned at me.
“We should work on your humor,” I said as I watched her tie her hair into a ponytail. “You suck at it, princess.”
She laughed and shook her head. “You are biased. We need a third party to determine that.”
I rolled my eyes at her and pressed another kiss on her temple.
“Hurry up,” I said as I walked out of the bathroom to finish getting ready. “Ellie is waiting for us in our office. We need to prepare everything for tonight.”
Tonight was the second challenge. I still had to choose an object or a person to be hunted during the challenge. I was so focused on finding the traitor that I almost forgot about it.
“Dimitri?” Maddie called me and I turned around to look at her.
She furrowed her brows and bit her lower lip.
“Should we tell them about the pup?” she asked quietly.
I took a deep breath and released it slowly. I wasn’t sure what to tell her.
“Maybe it would be best to wait a bit,” she said. “Maybe a few weeks.”
That actually wasn’t a terrible idea. The less people knew the better.
“I agree, princess,” I said, giving her a small smile. “We should wait to tell them.”
She smiled back at me and I had to force myself to walk away. I wanted to take her back to our bed and just cuddle up next to her. I wanted to kiss her and caress her lower belly. I didn’t want to do anything or go anywhere.
I chuckled quietly and shook my head. Finding my mate really made me a horrible worker.
I put on a sweater and jeans. We had no meeting today and I was a bit relieved. I spent the last few days in a suit and I was happy I could put on a little bit less formal outfit today.
“I am ready,” Maddie said as she walked out of the bathroom.
I turned around to look at her and saw her eyeing me up and down. I smirked a little.
“How the hell do you manage to look so good in everything you put on?” she asked as she approached me. “You look amazing in a suit. You look amazing in jeans. You look amazing in sweats. You look just perfect wearing nothing.”
She sighed as she wrapped her arms around my waist and looked up at me.
“How is that possible?” she mumbled, making me laugh.
I smirked a little and caressed her cheek.
“I am your mate,” I said. “You are biased. We need a third party to determine if I look amazing in everything.”
I bit the inside of my cheek to stop myself from grinning.
“Or nothing,” I added, making her gasp.
“No freaking way,” she said, growling quietly. “Only I get to see that.”
I laughed and leaned in to kiss her.
“Of course, my princess,” I said, pressing her closer to me. “I am all yours. No one else can see me naked. Only you.”
I caressed her cheek and kissed her softly. She sighed, tightening her arms around me.
“I like it when you are jealous,” I mumbled against her lips.
She chuckled and shook her head.
“Of course I’m jealous,” she said, leaning in and placing a kiss on my chest. “No one gets to have you.”
She rested her head on my chest and sighed.
“You are mine,” she added quietly and my knees buckled.
“I am yours, my princess,” I said softly, tangling my fingers into her hair and pressing her closer. “Only yours.”
She looked up at me and smiled. I caressed her cheek and took her hand in mine.
“Come on,” I said as I started walking toward the door. “We need to go. We have a lot of work to do.”
“Did you choose an object or a person for the Pack Hunt tonight?” she asked as we walked out of our bedroom.
“Not yet,” I said, closing the door.
“Maybe they could hunt me,” she said, making me growl at her.
I looked at her and saw her smirking at me.
“As I said, you are not funny, Madeline,” I said, shaking my head at her.
She chuckled and placed a kiss on my upper arm.
“I am hilarious,” she said. “Ask anyone.”
I shook my head and rolled my eyes. Imagining someone hunting her was not funny at all. It was terrifying. Like I would ever let something like that happen. Even if it was just pretend. There was no fucking way.
We reached our office and we walked inside. Ellie was sitting at Maddie’s desk. She looked up from the file she was reading.
“What took you so long?” she asked, closing the file and standing up. “We have work to do.”
“Sorry, Ellie,” Maddie said as she let my hand go and approached her desk. “What are those?”
She picked up one of the files from the desk and opened it.
“Financial statements from every pack,” Ellie said. “I was looking through them. I wanted to see if there were any unusual transactions lately.”
“Did you find anything?” she asked.
“Nothing,” Ellie sighed. “Alpha Lincoln is in some financial trouble, but other than that there is nothing.”
“Mind if I go through them?” she asked, looking at me.
“Of course not, princess,” I said, giving her a small smile.
She smiled back at me and sat in her chair. My heart skipped a beat. I still couldn’t believe that she was carrying my pup.
“Pack Hunt,” Ellie said, drawing my attention to her.
I took a deep breath and nodded. I had to focus on the second challenge tonight. I couldn’t wait for the meeting and the tournament to be over. It seemed like it lasted forever. I wanted everyone gone so I could focus on my mate and my pup.
My pup. I was going to be a dad.
I still couldn’t believe it.
