preparing to watch a movie of my pack’s choice.
We sat as a family in the living room, Tiana sitting next to me on the couch.
I noticed that there was something off about Tiana tonight. She refused to eat any of the popcorn even though she usually devoured my bucket before I even got a chance. Her face looked tired, and I was starting to be concerned.
“Tiana, you normally love popcorn. So what’s going on?” I asked.
She turned to me, biting her lip. There was something on her mind. Her beautiful face conveyed nervousness.
Why was she so scared?
“Grant, I have something to tell you,” she said. “Tony, you’ll want to hear this too.”
“What is it?” I asked, concerned. This was serious, judging by the look on her face.
“We’re having a baby,” she said.
What?!
An indescribable feeling of happiness coursed through my entire being. My alpha wolf rejoiced at successfully mating this woman.
“I can’t believe it,” said Tony.
Tears came to my eyes. “I’m so fucking happy.”
Hugging her and feeling her soft warmth against my body felt incredible as I pulled her in. We all hugged, laughed, and shared in our joy of bringing a baby into the family. I was more than ready to be a father.
It was about damn time. It was time to grow up.
“I’m glad you’re not upset,” she said breathlessly from all our hugs on the couch.
“Why in the world would you think that?” I asked, kissing her forehead and touching her hair.
“Because you’re so big and scary,” she whispered, and my cock hardened at her words. “But there’s something else too.”
“Oh?”
“I want to see my family as soon as possible,” she said, biting her lower lip. Fuck, when she bit her lip like that…
I hesitated at her request. She was right, though. Her family needed to know. It wasn’t like the old times when kidnapping omegas were okay and you didn’t have to tell anyone.
“We’ll go tomorrow morning then if you’re feeling up to it,” I said quickly when her face fell at my hesitance.
“She’s been having morning sickness,” said Wesley, and Tiana rolled her eyes.
“Tiana, we can’t have you running around if you’re feeling sick,” I said.
“Please Grant! It’s just going to get worse the longer I sit around,” said Tiana, her face flushing pink with annoyance. “Just keep bringing me ginger tea and apples. I’ll be fine.”
“Apples, huh?” I said. “Fine, I’ll get in contact with my business partner Caleb. He has a private jet.”
“Thank you so much,” said Tiana, putting her soft lips over mine.
“Anything for you,” I mumbled against her lips, taking in her essence and her warm, feminine body.
Tiana
My heart was beating a mile a minute.
We were standing in front of my parents’ apartment door, and I was suddenly unsure if I should knock or not. I couldn’t bring my hand up to knock. I called Lori as soon as our plane landed in the states. It was such a relief. I cried on our way here in the taxi. It felt like old times, and it felt amazing to talk to her again. I told her I was traveling with family when she insisted on seeing me.
“Are you going to knock?” asked Grant in his deep voice.
I sighed and knocked three times.
“Who is it?” called Dad soon after, his heavy footsteps shuffling to the door. I heard the clanging of the chain as he was unlocking it.
“It’s Tiana.”
The door opened immediately, and my dad came hurling through, crushing me in the biggest hug. I hugged him back. A feeling of warmth and safety rushed over me, and tears blurred my vision.
“You’re alive,” he said, his breath coming out in gasps. He pulled away and grabbed my face in his hands to look at me. Inspecting my face.
“I’m alive, Dad,” I reassured him, instantly regretting not speaking to them earlier from the devastated look on his face. I couldn’t call them when I was on Howl’s Edge since their government blocked contact with anyone outside the werewolf island.
Then he noticed the men standing around the door.
“This must be them,” he began.
“Who is that?” called my mom from the kitchen.
“This is my alpha pack,” I told him. Dad’s eyes widened, even though I remembered him clearly telling me to mate the pack.
“Oh, your mom ain’t gonna be happy,” he said. “It’s Tiana, and…we have company.”
I walked inside, the men trailing behind me.
“Tiana?” said my mom, dropping the spoon she was washing into the sink. She turned off the fire on the stove and slowly walked towards me. “So you’re back, huh?”
“Yes,” I said. I could tell she was pissed by the way her fingers were tapping on the kitchen counter. And her tone was deliberate and quiet.
“Why are you back if you wanted to leave so bad? If we were such bad parents?” she spat out.
“Bee, don’t be so hard,” my dad interjected, but she wasn’t having it.
My mom kept going. “You think it was easy, knowing you were on that stupid cruise and not knowing if you were alive? Do you know how it feels to lose a child? After all, we’ve done for you. You decide to run away and be spoiled.”
I couldn’t take it anymore.
I opened my mouth to say something smart, but my lips trembled, and tears burst out.
“I always thought of you. Always!” I said. “I wanted to come back because I missed you. I miss you guys, and I need you in my life. I know it was crazy to leave like that, but I always felt so lonely, like I was missing something important. You can’t rip something like that away from me. I felt cut off from the rest of the world taking those pills. You’ll never understand.”
My tears were flowing freely down my cheeks now. My mom’s eyes were starting to tear up.
“I’m sorry, honey,” she said. “I didn’t know you felt like that. I thought the pills made you not care about that stuff. Like dating and guys.”
“It’s okay,” I said, finally able to breathe again.
“Just don’t run away like that, okay?” she said as we hugged and she kissed my cheek.
“I won’t,” I said, the smell of onions strong in my nose as we hugged. When we pulled away, she looked at the men sitting quietly on the couch.
“And who are you guys?”
Grant shot up from his seat and shook my mom’s hand. “I’m Grant, and this is my pack. We have gotten to know your daughter and tried to keep her safe as much as possible. We hope to have your blessings for your daughter to be part of our pack. The queen of our pack.”
I could tell my mom was instantly charmed by his humble demeanor.
“I could see the marks on your neck, so I know you ain’t waiting for my blessings,” she joked, and the men laughed, unsure if she was being serious. “At least you seem like a good pack. Thank you for taking care of my daughter.”
“They are,” I said.
“Gentlemen, please sit. I’d like to get to know you and get the latest from Howl’s Edge,” announced my dad.
As the guys talked, I touched my ever-growing belly. I wore a loose pink flowing shirt over my jeans to cover it.
I was super nervous about announcing my pregnancy. I wasn’t sure how my parents would respond to the news. Or if they would be angry. As Grant droned on about police work to my dad, I felt happy and cozy sitting between Wesley and Sam on the couch. I felt a little dizzy and laid my head on Sam’s shoulder. Tony was in the kitchen talking with my mom, and I admired the effort he was putting in. My mom wasn’t too easy to talk to. But she seemed to be in good spirits as she placed the lasagna on the dining table for everyone to grab.
“Food’s ready,” she said.
“Ladies first,” said Tony, ushering me forward. I didn’t need to be asked twice. I missed my mom’s cooking, and it smelled so good. I scooped a slice of the juicy goodness and made my way back into the living room, which seemed even tinier with all the alphas crowding the space.
As we ate and conversed about everything, my mom pulled me into the kitchen.
“Are you happy with this pack of alphas?” she asked me, her eyes concerned.
“I am, Mom,” I replied.
“How about school? What’s going to happen?”
“I want to stay in Howl’s Edge for a while longer and learn where we came from,” I said. I had thought about this for days and days. I wasn’t happy with college here and didn’t know what I was doing with my life before I met Grant and his pack. “Mom, I have something else to tell you.”
“What is it?” she said, taking a sip of the homemade strawberry juice.
“I’m pregnant,” I blurted out. I was done keeping secrets and was tired of it. I touched my little belly that wasn’t showing yet. She nearly choked on her drink and set it down slowly.
Her eyes were wide, and her face lit with joy.
“We’re going to have a grandbaby!” she exclaimed, hugging me again. I laughed in relief. “You’ve already made your life choices, so there’s no use regretting anything.”
“I know. I’m just so relieved you’re not angry with me,” I said.
My dad came to congratulate me next, and I knew he was excited.
“I thought this day would never happen,” he said. “Your mother and I left Howl’s Edge to protect you, and it seems things are a little safer now.”
“It is,” said Tony.
“I think we should go back home,” my mom said to my dad.
“Home where?” asked my dad.
“Howl’s Edge island.”
“I agree,” my dad replied.
