Chapter 14 - Layla

Layla could have slapped him. She wished she had. Zander inviting himself to move in with her was practically the last straw. To be mated was one thing, to be married another, but to actually live together…

It was uncomfortable. Layla had been alone for so long that she just couldn't get her head around all that was happening.

Her wedding night wasn't at all as she'd expected. She had never really imagined getting married at all, not when most of her life she had been avoiding the bad guys of the old Nightstar pack. But after Zander's proposal, even with her reluctance to actually say yes, she had imagined it would be far more romantic.

Instead, Zander had dropped her at home, kissed her goodnight and headed back to the manor to make his final preparations for moving in. It was odd to Layla. Shouldn't they have consummated the marriage or something?

It was a stupid thing to get hung up on considering her current state, and yet hung up on it she was. Had Zander married her out of duty? Maybe having sex just the one time really had been enough for him? How was she supposed to live with a man who had married her out of duty, a man who didn't truly want her?

Everything is such a mess! she thought as she fell asleep that night, but when she awakened the next morning, she oddly felt better, well-rested for perhaps the first time since she had learned of her pregnancy.

And for once, she didn't feel sick to her stomach. Perhaps it was the smell of food wafting through the open bedroom door. It made her stomach growl even as she wondered, who the hell is making food at seven in the morning?

Clambering from her bed, where she had most definitely slept alone, she wondered whether maybe one of the other she-wolves had taken it upon themselves to cook the happy couple breakfast for their first morning together. It sounded like something Bonnie would do. She was always determined to make sure their pack had the best now that she was the alpha's mate.

It made Layla's stomach clench to think of how she was going to have to disappoint her with the fact that Zander wasn't even here.

Where is he? Layla wondered, feeling a little lonely. Maybe she should have encouraged him to stay the night, but she had still been angry with him for inviting himself to live with her.

She pulled on her robe and stepped into her slippers before heading downstairs. As she did, she realized that food wasn't all she could smell. The scent of cleaning products filled the air, and with a furrowed brow, Layla realized that the floor had been swept and mopped.

When she entered the kitchen, she was astonished to find not one of the she-wolves, but Zander instead.

"Good morning, wife," he welcomed her with a smile, picking up a mug of fresh steaming coffee.

Layla blinked, certain she was imagining things. The room was the tidiest she had ever seen it, everything put perfectly in its place, dusted, mopped and sanitized. The only things out of place were a couple of cardboard boxes set by the back door.

"I hope you don't mind, I straightened up a little and made breakfast," Zander said, holding out the coffee mug to her.

"I…I can't drink—" Layla began, placing her hand on her swelling stomach.

At that, Zander smirked and said, "It's decaf."

Layla blinked again. This couldn't be real. He was being too damn perfect. If this was his version of ‘straightening up,' she feared to see what a deep clean might look like.

"What's the matter?" Zander asked, scowling when Layla failed to speak. "Don't you like coffee?"

Oh, how little we know of each other, Layla thought, cringing. "No! I love coffee. I…I'm just surprised is all."

"Surprised I can make coffee?" Zander asked, brow raising.

Layla shook her head and gestured around the room, "Surprised by all of this."

Zander shrugged. "I'm a morning person." His words made Layla yawn, and he added, "But from that, I'm guessing you aren't."

"At the moment, I'm more a no time of day kind of person," Layla admitted, stroking her stomach again. "This baby is kicking my ass."

At that, Zander crossed the room and stopped before her. Holding out his hand, he asked, "May I?"

Layla was surprised he had stopped to ask. She was so used to the handsy nature of the old pack males that it was a most refreshing change. She smiled and took hold of his hand, laying it on her stomach.

Their gazes met as they held her stomach together, and Layla felt an odd fluttering in her chest. The urge to kiss him was almost uncontrollable, but she hadn't yet quite forgiven him for turning her entire world upside down.

As if he, too, was still feeling a little awkward, he stepped away, cleared his throat and asked, "What would you like to do today?"

Layla sighed. What she wanted nowadays didn't really seem to matter. She would have liked to go off on a messenger run, to feel free, but Jack had forbidden that, and she was certain it wasn't safe for a pregnant werewolf out there alone.

Sighing deeply, she said with longing, "I guess I'd like for everything to just go back to normal."

Was that hurt she saw in Zander's gaze? She bit her lip and immediately started to correct herself, but before she could do so, he asked, "What does your normal look like? I usually head out for a walk or training around this time."

Again, Layla was surprised. Zander seemed to be full of them. "You don't seem like the type for walks. Runs, maybe, but not walks."

Zander shrugged and ran his fingers through his hair. "I like to feel free, and a walk helps me clear my mind and remind me of my surroundings."

"Remind you?" Layla asked.

Zander looked down as if he were a little embarrassed. Then he looked her in the eye and said, "When you've been in the army as long as I was, sometimes you need a reminder that you aren't living in a war zone anymore."

Layla gulped. She had never heard anyone express exactly how she was feeling. Of course, she had never been in an actual war zone, but the old Nightstar had often felt like one, and it was the main reason why she had taken to being a messenger.

"I…um…I think I can imagine how that feels," she admitted. "Things around here didn't exactly feel safe before you and Jack and the others did what you did."

Zander almost looked bashful. It was the first time she had seen such a look on his face, but it was gone so quickly that she didn't get a chance to comment on it.

He reached out and took hold of her hand. "From now on, you'll always be safe, so long as I'm around."

Layla wanted desperately to believe him. His warm touch was so welcoming that she took a half-step into his arms. But she had only ever had herself to rely upon. It was going to take a lot more than those few words to truly make her trust him.

Clearing her throat, she stepped away again and pointed toward the staircase. "I should freshen up and get dressed. I usually tend my garden first thing in the morning."

Zander glanced out of the kitchen window and smiled. "I noticed you have a lot of plants."

Layla shrugged. "It"s a hobby of mine."

She held her breath, half-expecting him to taunt her about it.

"Many of them are medicinal, aren't they?" he asked instead, and Layla gasped.

"How did you know that?"

Zander cocked a brow and smiled at her charmingly, "You learn a thing or two when you have to live off the land during a difficult war."

The things he must have seen made Layla shiver.

"There's still a thing or two I don't know. Maybe you could fill me in sometime?" Zander suggested, and Layla's heart raced. He wasn't the first or even the second guy she had dated, but not one of them had ever been interested in her garden.

"I'd be happy to," she smiled, her cheeks growing hot.

"Let's eat," Zander suggested, gesturing to the plates of food he had set out on the breakfast bar. "Then you can go and freshen up and we'll figure out how we get through this first day as a married couple."

Layla cringed at that. Getting through the day didn't sound like a very good description of the first day of married life, and yet, oddly, his words were also a comfort. He looked at her with respect, which was far more than she had ever received before, and for the first time she imagined what they might be like together.

A team. It was an odd thing to think, yet it felt better than anything else they might have been. She was independent. He was strong. Maybe if they could get past their differences and find some common ground, they might actually make something of this mating situation.

Having washed and put on a summer dress that seemed to be the only thing she could get into with her bloated stomach, Layla headed back down the stairs to find that Zander was no longer in the kitchen.

Oddly enough, he had already managed to clean away everything from their quiet yet pleasant breakfast and there was no sign of him. Not until she heard the sound of thudding and grunting coming from the back garden.

Heading for the kitchen window, she caught sight of him at the far end of the garden. On the wooden deck where she sometimes lounged on a towel in the sun, he had placed a training dummy. And he was hammering at the poor thing as if he wanted to destroy it.

Dressed in nothing but shorts, his feet bare, Zander kicked, punched and slashed at the dummy with just about every close combat fighting move Layla had ever seen.

Sweat glistened off his gloriously tanned skin, and every inch of muscle rippled as he moved. The effort he was putting into training showed in the sounds he was making, sounds that made Layla's stomach flutter with desire, for they were awfully close to the grunts and groans he had made in the woods that night when they had conceived the small life growing inside of her.

Damn, he was so hot it was hard to take her eyes off him. Whether it was her or her pregnancy hormones, she wasn't sure, but she wanted him more than ever. And that was just as infuriating as before. How were they supposed to get to know each other, how could she learn to trust him, if all they did was fall into bed with each other?

No, she told herself firmly, I have to control myself.

And so, she took her time grabbing a tray with two glasses of fresh-made lemonade with lemons from her own tree before she headed outside and placed it on the garden table.

Zander seemed so intent on his training that she quietly started to go about tending her garden. Dropping down onto her knees by one of the beds, she started checking for any signs of dead or withered plants, removing any snails that had found their way past the measures she used to try and keep them off.

And as she worked, she idly turned her gaze every so often to her husband, astonished to realize how easily they had fallen into this. Strangely, it didn't feel awkward. It felt normal to go about her business while he went about his, content in each other's company.

She smiled, hoping it would last. Having decluttered and tidied up one bed, she moved to the next, and so on and so on until she reached the herb patch by the deck.

And that's when Zander finally stopped. He turned to face her, wiping sweat from his brow with the back of his hand as he asked, "So, how is your garden fairing?"

Layla couldn't help but smile. He actually sounded interested.

"Maybe you should try my lemonade and tell me?" she suggested, gesturing to the drinks on the table.

She watched Zander leap off the wooden deck and pick up both the glasses, bringing one to her before he took a swig.

Layla sipped her own, watching over the rim for his reaction. When his eyes widened and he gasped, she already sensed what was coming. "This is the best lemonade I've ever tasted."

"I wouldn't go that far," she said, blushing, though when she took another sip of her own, she knew it was close.

"Honestly, what did you put in it?"

"If I tell you that, I'll have to kill you," Layla said, jokingly. Zander scowled at her, and she bit her lip, fearing she might have said something upsetting. Of course she had; he had likely heard those words too often in his line of work.

But then, just as she was about to apologize, he started to laugh. "There's no need to look so scared. That was almost funny."

"Almost?" Layla said, feigning offense.

"Okay, it was funny, but I couldn't let you get one over on me that easily," Zander said, and they both laughed. It was only when she laid a palm on his bare chest that she realized she had closed the distance between them.

Swallowing past the lump in her throat, she took another sip of her drink before she admitted, "The secret ingredient is lavender-infused sugar."

Zander looked quite impressed, looking down into his empty glass. "I hope there's more. I'm suddenly thirstier than ever."

"I make a big batch every time I pick the lemons," Layla smiled, gesturing to her beloved lemon tree.

"You know, Layla, I have to say," Zander said, looking around the garden, "this place is truly impressive. Did you do all of this on your own?"

Layla's throat constricted. "Over the last few years, yes, but before that, my grandma helped."

"Where is she now?" Zander asked and Layla's chest tightened.

"She, um…she was a casualty of Karl's alphaship. I'd rather not talk about it."

"Shit, Layla, I'm so sorry." Zander placed his glass on the table and took her into his arms.

For a few seconds, she closed her eyes and simply enjoyed the feel of his arms around her, resting her cheek on his chest.

Then she pulled back and asked, "What about you? Do you have any family besides Jack and the others?"

She felt Zander cringe at that and knew she'd hit a nerve. When he released her from his arms, she wished she hadn't asked.

"Jack isn't blood, but he's really the only family I have. I followed him into the army after my parents died," he said, shrugging as if it was no big deal.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Layla said, reaching out to rest a hand on his forearm.

Zander shook his head and laid his hand on hers. "Don't be. My parents were never really that. They were always too caught up in their own business and arguments to care about me. Being fated mates didn't exactly work out for them."

Layla gulped at that. "What does that mean?"

Zander cringed and turned away. Layla was sure he wouldn't answer. She considered changing the subject, but then he looked back at her and explained, "They were free spirits, passionate and close, but they fought like cats and dogs. They couldn't see past their arguments enough to see anything else, and in the end, it broke them apart. My mother died before they could reconcile, and my father, he…well, he just couldn't live without her."

Bile rose in the back of Layla's throat. We fought like cats and dogs…

Yet they hadn't really argued since his proposal. Maybe things would be different for them. She could live in hope.

Zander grunted then, an incredulous look on his face.

"What?" Layla asked, furrowing her brow.

"I've never told anyone that before," Zander admitted, and Layla's heart skipped a beat.

Maybe, just maybe, she could trust him. Maybe their marriage, their mating, their living together could actually work out, after all.