CHAPTER TWO HUNDRED & FIFTY THREE
Maggie’s POV
I woke up dizzy. The ceiling above me was unfamiliar and it took me a moment to understand where I was or how I had got there.
The first thing I heard was Nolan’s voice. He was speaking quickly and his tone was tight in the way it got when he was worried about something he could not control.
“What happened to her? Why did she collapse?”
“Her body is under a lot of stress. She needs rest and time,” another voice responded.
“Stress does not cause someone to collapse like that, doctor. It has to be more than that,” Nolan responded.
I lay still and listened and tried to work out what was wrong with me. My head ached and my mouth was dry. I felt weak and just did not feel right. Maybe Nolan was right. Did I pick up a cold? Was the mad rogue infection airborne?
‘Stop,’ my wolf hushed. ‘You are overthinking. You are fine.’ I was not entirely sure I believed her, but I did not have the energy
to argue.
Then I heard Talia’s voice. “Nolan, calm down. The doctor said she is fine. He wouldn’t lie to you.”
I did not know what had caused me to collapse. I remembered I had been so angry with Talia for saying Mason wasn’t right for me. Then, suddenly everything went dark without warning. That was all I could remember.
I turned my head. Talia was on the other side of the room speaking quietly with Nolan. She noticed me move and broke off the conversation. She came over and pulled a chair beside the bed and sat down.
“You’re awake. How do you feel?” she asked.
“Confused,” I said honestly. “And weird, I guess, Luna.”
“I have something I need to tell you, Maggie. I want you to stay calm, but you are going to be a mother,” Talia said.
“What?”
“You’re pregnant, Maggie.”
I gaped at Talia. I didn’t know what to say. I felt excited and frightened at the same time and I could not decide which was
stronger.
Nolan walked over and all the excitement faded away when I saw his expression. He looked disappointed and I understood why.
By our tradition, a mate mark comes before anything else. It tells the pack who a she-wolf belongs to, and it tells her who is responsible for her. To be pregnant and unmarked meant one of two things. Either the she-wolf stepped out on the mate bond, or the male had not done right by her. Nolan would be thinking about the latter.
“Who is he?” Nolan asked grimly.
I felt uneasy and I could not tell how much of it was about Mason and how much of it was about not knowing what Talia had or had not told him about what happened in the study. I looked at her quickly. Her expression gave me nothing back. I did not know if that meant she had stayed quiet or if she was simply waiting to see how I handled this first.
Nolan pulled up the second chair and sat down across from me. “How could you allow this to happen?”
“Nolan, calm down,” Talia interjected.
“No, Talia. She needs to hear this,” Nolan said. “Maggie, you have not been marked, and you are pregnant. I need to know who this man is. I think of you as a sister. I have been responsible for you over a long time. And I need to know he is treating you the way you deserve before I can let this go.”
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I felt my throat tighten. The way he said it, without anger, made the situation worse. I couldn’t believe that i almost betrayed his trust again.
“His name is Mason,” I finally said. “He is a warrior and he has been with the pack for some time. He intends to mark me. It has just not happened yet.”
“I want to meet him today,” Nolan said firmly.
“He plans on marking me on…”
“No, Maggie. This is not a request,” Nolan interrupted. “Bring him to the pack house this evening.”
“Or we can go to them,” Talia suggested. “I think ordering him to the pack house may come off as a threat, don’t you think?”
Nolan frowned. “If he cared about Maggie properly, he would not be scared to meet with me.” Talia raised an eyebrow and Nolan sighed, “Fine. What did you suggest?”
“Maggie, will go home early today,” Talia said. “Rest this afternoon. We will come to you for dinner tonight, Maggie, and we will bring gifts with us.” She held my gaze. “I think you will be pleased.”
Talia was watching me carefully and I understood what she was trying to imply. She had not told Nolan about the map, and she still intended to give it to me once she met Mason. I reached forward and took her hand in both of mine.
“Luna,” I managed. My voice came out smaller than I intended. My eyes were filling and I stopped trying to hold back the tears.
“Why are you crying? Did you think I was going to run him out of the pack?” Nolan questioned.
“No, I just…”
“Nolan, every small thing is going to make a woman cry for the next several months. It rains, cry. A flower wilts, cry. That is just pregnancy,” Talia interrupted and I laughed despite myself.
Nolan stood and put his hand briefly on the top of my head, the way an older brother would. I leaned into his touch. “Clara will handle your tasks today,” he said. “You are to go straight home and not to overexert yourself.”
“I understand. I will prepare a proper dinner, and I will have everything ready before you arrive.”
“Good,” he said. “We will see you tonight.”
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