Chapter 462: Unnatural

Chapter 462: Daphne

They are playing with fire. Genuinely, how long do these two expect to keep it hidden that they have pregnant wolves?

Honestly, the secret has been kept longer than I thought was possible. Kai’s baby mama is now I think four or five months along, and Rylan’s princess is on three or four months. I do not know exactly because I genuinely do not care.

They come sneaking in here at awkward hours. Both wolves are in this house because Clarrissa needed a friend. They are good friends, being in similar circumstances after all.

I am actually even more surprised these women are letting themselves be dirty little secrets. Like, grow some backbones, ladies.

It probably helps that Redmoon is isolated, so they can keep this secret this long. But sooner or later, it will not be a secret long.

I am just curious.

Will it be before or after the babies are born?

I pat the System by the window as I notice a large duo—a black wolf and a brown wolf—come out of the woods into the house. It is 1 AM no surprise there.

Hands wrap around my waist.

I open the window. The crow flies away. The System has gotten better at reading the room.

I turn to face Elara.

"Should you not be asleep?" I ask.

"Should you not be asleep with me?" she says sleepily.

"Sorry." I kiss her forehead. "I got carried away painting."

"Mmm." She burrows closer. "Come to bed."

*

**

Well their pregnancy problems aside, a 5 hour ride from where the packs are situated, I stand and watch the progress, of Lyra’s amusement park.

I only had 7 months after all, I stand with a work best and watch the progress, and construction constantly happening.

I had to pay double and triple for the labor and materials. Well, I made a promise, so I have to keep it.

The site is sprawling. Cranes tower overhead. Workers shout in a dozen different languages. The skeleton of a roller coaster curves against the sky. A carousel frame sits half-finished.

I did not cut corners.

I walk through the site. The ground is muddy. The air smells of sawdust and metal and sweat.

The project manager sees me and comes rushing, starting a conversation.

"Ms. Han! Ms. Han!" He is a stout man with a clipboard and a permanent look of mild panic. "The roller coaster track is delayed. The supplier in the next state sent the wrong gauge of steel. We can either wait two weeks for the correct shipment, or we can—"

"Two weeks?" I cut him off.

"Yes, ma’am. I am sorry. The supplier—"

"No." I hold up a hand. "Get the correct steel. Fly it in if you have to. Overnight it. I do not care what it costs."

He blinks.

"Ma’am, that will be—"

"I do not care what it costs," I repeat. "Just get it done."

He swallows.

"Yes, ma’am."

He scurries off.

I watch him go.

The crow lands on my shoulder.

Which is not helping my image. I probably look like an evil boss. Having a pet crow probably makes me look cartoonishly evil.

I sigh.

"Really?" I ask the crow. "Right now?"

[The host’s aesthetic is not my concern.]

***

Elara

My brother is not discreet at all. It is obvious they are sleeping together. But he is also happier than I have seen him in a long time.

"No, Father," I say firmly.

"It is different." He leans back in his chair. "You are not the Alpha, so it does not matter what your mate is."

"So because he is Alpha, he has to sacrifice his personal happiness?" I stand my ground.

"Yes," my father says.

I stare at him.

"He has given everything to this pack," I say. "His time. His energy. His life. And you want him to give up the one person who makes him happy?"

My father is quiet.

"Father—"

"It is not about happiness," he says. "It is about duty."

"To whom?"

"To the pack. To the lineage. To the future."

I shake my head.

"Eric has given enough for Redmoon," I say. "There is no Alpha among the packs that is as hardworking as he is."

"That is his duty," my father says.

"Fuck duty." I snap.

"Elara—"

"No." I step closer. "You do not get to shut me up. My brother is happy. For the first time in years, he is actually happy. He smiles. He laughs. He does not drink himself to sleep every night."

My father is silent.

"He has spent his entire life serving this pack," I say. "He has never asked for anything. He has never complained. He has never demanded. And now, when he finally finds something that makes him happy, you want to take it away?"

My father looks at me.

"You will not say anything to him," I say, "or I swear to the goddess, Father, you will not just lose your son, but your daughter as well."

"It is duty!" he snaps.

"Will him being with who he loves make him any less of a capable Alpha?"

He is silent.

"Will it?" I press.

"He has to set an example," he says. "He cannot be with...." He can’t even bring himself to say it.

"Is that what you think of me and my mate too?" I ask. "Are we a bad example?"

He does not respond.

Ha.

It hurts more than I thought it would.

"I would expect this from anyone else," I say, "but not from you."

"It is unnatural," he says.

I feel my heart crack.

"Mother would never have thought this way," I say. "She would just have been happy that her children were happy." I pause. "I wish it was you and not Mother."

"Mother would never have thought this way," I say. "She would just have been happy that her children were happy." I pause. "I wish it was you and not Mother."

He looks hurt.

I do not take it back.

What about my feelings? Our feelings?

I am glad Eric did not hear this. Unlike me, he would give in to Father. He would swallow his pain and sacrifice his happiness for the sake of "duty."

There is nothing unnatural about love.