Alpha Nocturne’s Contracted Mate by A E Randell
Chapter 231 You Need to Know These Things
The morning seemed to arrive too soon for Ann’s liking.
She had been awake for hours already before the beautiful canvas of colors that indicated the sun was about to peek over the horizon began to appear, and had busied herself with working through the various piles of paperwork that Eva had sent her over whilst she was incapacitated with her heat, until she ran out of work that she had needed to catch up on.
She could feel her stomach tie itself in knots as she paced backward and forwards nervously, going over the looming trial for Linus in her mind and everything that might go wrong, the fact that she would have to say goodbye to Adam in a few short hours… it was all too much.
Really, she supposed that she should be curled up in bed, enjoying his scent and the last physical contact with him before he left for goddess knew how long, but a small part of her refused to let her do that. That little voice that whispered she was tempting fate if she savored the last moments, that it might be her fault if he never came back.
‘That’s not going to happen, Ann. Will you calm the f**k down and go back to bed? You’ve been at this for hours and your thoughts are too noisy to allow me to sleep peacefully.1 Maeve grumbled moodily.
“Sorry,” Ann mumbled miserably in response as Maeve snorted at her disdainfully.
‘No you aren’t, don’t lie to me. If you were sorry you would do as you were told and climb back in next to our mate so I can enjoy the last few minutes of peace until I become fully responsible for keeping you in check.’
‘Maeve… I just can’t… there’s too much in my head for me to settle to sleep again.’
‘Listen cupcake, I don’t give a f**k if you sleep or not, just go and lay down. I’ll even settle for you sitting at this point. Do you have any idea what it’s like for me? It’s like being in a car with someone driving in circles whilst I’m stuck in the passenger seat fighting the dizziness that washes over me anyway. Just… be still.’ Maeve snapped irritably.
Ann sighed and pursed her lips as she made her way back over to the bed and perched on the side. ‘There’s a good Queen,’ Maeve purred teasingly, in a voice that would usually be reserved for praising a small child, ‘Now, almost there… lift your legs up… that’s it… now your other leg…Oh my! What a clever little Queen you are.’
‘f**k off Maeve.’ Ann snapped as she settled back into the pillows moodily,
‘If only I could.1 Maeve sighed wistfully as she settled herself back down and exhaled happily.
Ann glared sullenly at the picture on the wall opposite the bed and reached for her phone. She scrolled aimlessly fora little while before Adam’s arm landed suddenly across her belly as he attempted to pull her closer to him.
She glanced down at him and smiled at his scowling, sleeping face. Right now, she was struggling with the fact that she might not be able to see him for a few days, possibly even weeks, or even longer if things didn’t go to plan with chasing the rogues into a retreat.
She knew that both Adam and Allen had worked hard yesterday contacting their allies and various packs along the route they would travel to the village and the responses from the Alpha’s had been encouraging.
They had managed to gather a good number of capable fighters together, some of which would meet with them at designated rendezvous points, so she wasn’t worried too much about his safety, but there was always the possibility of Adam being severely wounded in the fight and the mere thought of it made her heart shatter.
Even though he would insist on being in the thick of any fight, she knew that all of her fears were unwarranted. He was a more than capable fighter, and his wolf Baldur was an absolutely fearless and uncompromising savage when it came to anything like this but there was no reasoning with her overactive imagination. It seemed to enjoy tormenting her constantly.
“You seem a little tense,” Adam mumbled, his voice still hoarse and thick with sleep.
Ann smiled down at him, her heart in knots as she ran her hand through his hair.
“That’s because the love of my life is leaving me in a few hours.” She murmured, her voice wavering slightly as she spoke.
Adam looked up at her sleepily and pulled at her waist insistently.
“If I could stay with you, I would. If I could take you with me without feeling like it was risking you, or the potential pups, then I would.” He murmured as Ann wriggled down under the covers again and he wrapped his arms around her tightly.
“It’s just… unfair.” She pouted petulantly up at him as he chuckled deeply.
“Such is the life of Queens and their consorts. I don’t want to entrust this to Felix alone, the relationship between the Dubois and our own kingdom is already strained. Not only that, it looks bad on the kingdom in so many ways. If we can’t defend our people, protect our borders, and work with our allies, then it makes us look weak.” Adam murmured as she pressed her ear to his chest, listening to the steady beating of his heart and allowing the peace that the sound brought to settle over her and calm her own anxiety.
They laid in silence like that for a little while, with Adam running his hands through her hair as she listened to the calming rhythm of his heart, as a question that she had been meaning to ask, prodded in Ann’s mind insistently. “Adam?” she asked hesitantly.
“Mmm?”
“What happened with Felix and Allen?”
Adam sighed and shifted slightly in the bed next to her as the sun’s rays began to peek through the curtains. “It’s complicated.” He grimaced, “Felix wasn’t even born when… well, you know.”
“Actually Adam, I don’t know the full story.” Ann replied as she lifted her head to gaze up at him softly, “There’s always more than one side to the story, and Lexi has Allen’s side, I’m sure that Aoife will have Felix’s side, so… I would very much like to know what your side of the story is. Perhaps then, if it crops up while you’re gone, I can actually engage in the story with insight from your side, instead of groping around blindly to try and make sense of things based on my faith in your character alone.”
Adam sighed lightly and pulled his arms from around her, leaning upon one arm and looking at her with a complicated expression as she scooted back in the bed and rested her back on the opulent headboard.
“Okay.” he said finally with a complex expression, “It’s difficult for me to talk about, but… you’re right. You need to know these things now that you’re Queen.”