Fill Me, Alpha

29: THIRD TRIMESTER

When Brad walked into the packhouse, he could physically feel the tension. Grey was standing behind the couch with his arms extended over the front with his head hung. Abigail and Nolan were sat on the sofa while Grey's parents stood by the fireplace.

Brad was about to greet them when he saw Marisol slugging a small bag over her shoulder. He ran to the stairs, taking the bag. "Oh my God, you're huge!"

"Oh my god, so are you," she responded.

"Are you calling me fat," he said, feigning anger.

She smiled at him, throwing herself in his arms. He almost stumbled, but he enjoyed the hug. It had been months since they had seen each other in person. Once Grey began taking his duties as caregiver and Marisol went on maternity leave, Brad booked a flight to the nearest tropical country. He stayed there until he had to return to school.

"Let's go, please," she whispered. She kept her head down until she got to the door. She didn't want to go back to her home; she didn't know what state it was in after the attack. "I'll be staying at Brad's tonight. I would say send your people, but we both already know I'm not the one in danger."

She turned and left the room. "What the hell did you do, man?"

Brad rubbed the back of his head, wanting nothing more than to escape the awkward situation. He cleared his throat. "I'll take care of her."

Brad gawked as she went to the car and pulled the door, open herself. "I knew you could see, but I didn't realize how weird it would be seeing you see...if that makes sense."

He went to the driver's seat, getting in. As soon as his door shut, Marisol began breaking down in his car. "Jesus, is this like pregnancy hormones or real sadness? I don't know what to do, Marisol! Tell me what to do. Oh god, do you think the babies are also crying, like in your stomach?"

Marisol waved at him to drive, and he listened, pulling out of the driveway. "So? What happened?" He asked after a few minutes of silence.

"Remember how Grey is a Lycan?"

"No, Marisol," he deadpanned. "I fucking forgot that a human turned into a giant ass wolf while I was in booty short pajamas."

"He decided to commit to an Alpha challenge."

"What the hell is that? It sounds like a goddamn TikTok dance."

Marisol laughed, wiping her nose. "Someone from another pack killed a teenage boy from his. His name was Andrew. They kept infringing on our territory and eventually declared war for our northern territory."

"Why do your pronouns keep changing?"

"What do you mean?"

"His, ours...sounds like you have an identity crisis."

"Yeah, I don't know. I want to be apart of his life...I want...I want to be what they keep saying I am."

"But?"

"But I feel like they just call me their Luna because they're supposed to, not because they feel like I am."

"Jeez, what happened today?"

"He committed to his challenge. It's a challenge instead of a war. If he wins, he keeps the north and gets Pack Gifre's land."

"What if he loses?"

"The challenge is to the death. If he loses, it means he died."

"This is some heavy shit, Marisol. I gotta say, a week ago I was sunbathing on a naked beach, and coming home to this isn't great."