Chapter 11

"How was it that you were able to get the house with this massive bathtub in it?" I asked.

They had to have built the cabin around the tub. There was no way it fit through a typical doorway. Had I been designing such a small space, I'd probably have skipped the tub in exchange for a pantry or linen closet. But now that I was here sitting in it, enjoying it with my mate, I saw its inclusion for the genius move that it was.

I leaned back, wrapping my arms around my mate. The warm water was still between us. The orange-citrus-scented bubble bath he had poured in the water permeated the air. Thomas leaned against my chest, his head resting near my shoulder. He let out a contented sigh.

The bubbles clung to our skin, and the water sloshed between us. This was my new favorite way to relax at the end of the day. Warmth, comfort, and my mate. What could be better than that.

"Sheer luck," he said. "Asilo was a pride before I arrived, but it was very young. This house was empty, and so I began my rehabilitation here. This room was weirdly closed off, so no one knew what was inside. The others hadn't bothered to figure it out because they didn't have the time. So when I started remodeling, I opened up this room and there was the clawfoot tub. From there, we put in a full bathroom. So voila! Here we are."

I'd have thought that story weird. Who left a room blocked off like that? But Ralf had told me stories of a couple of spaces they'd discovered in the hotel when Steelwick was newly there and they weren't unsimilar to this one. I chalked it up to people being weird. There was no reason to dissect it past that.

The clawfoot tub he spoke of was a massive piece that both he and I could sit in comfortably. In its day, it had to have cost a pretty penny. Now it would be astronomical. They didn't make masterpieces like this anymore.

The first time I'd seen it, I had pictured a scene exactly like the one we were experiencing right now. Reality far exceeded the expectation. Having my mate in my arms, just the two of us enjoying each other's company, was absolute perfection. We weren't thinking about his work or my work – we were simply being. It was a celebration of sorts.

The two of us were going to be dads. I still hadn't allowed myself to fully believe the good news. How could we be this lucky? We hadn't officially even decided to try and grow our family yet, and here we were with our baby on the way.

"The others make fun of me quite a bit, seeing as cats don't usually like water. But I love it."

"Me too. Even in my fur I like to swim."

"Same. I love this tub and spend a lot of time in it. It works great to loosen muscles after a tough yoga session." He turned to try and face me. "We should ask Mortimer if this is okay for baby."

"Mortimer is part of this pride, right?"

I nodded.

"So he knows full well that you live in this thing, right?"

Another nod.

"Then he'd have told you if it were an issue."

He settled back into his comfy position. "I hadn't thought about it that way. I'll still ask, but only because if I don't I'll feel like I missed something off my checklist."

My mate and his schedules and checklists. I needed to be more like him in that regard. I tended to binge work when things were due, and that wasn't healthy for anyone.

"I love how we keep finding things we have in common. We both love swimming. And maybe it's not the most alpha trait that I have, but I do enjoy baths, especially with you." I kissed his neck, my lips lingered on his skin, and my tongue flicked over his mating mark. He practically purred.

"It is far better with you in here with me, that's true.

We were quiet for a moment, just enjoying being together in this relaxing space.

"In a few short months, we'll have a little cub running around." I placed my hands over his still-flat belly. We were submerged in the water, and the bubbles moved as I adjusted my position.

"We will," he said. "I'm very excited. Fate really shone down upon me with their favor when they sent me you."

"You're wrong." He whipped his head around. I grinned at the incredulous look on his face. "It is I who they gifted the most amazing gift of all… you."

He rolled his eyes. "I suppose both of us won."

We stayed there in the warm water talking about our visit with Mortimer. The vitamins were a given. I'd expected them. But then he gave us tonics and elixirs in case he got sick to his stomach or if he ran out of energy. He also discussed the right kind of socks he should be wearing if he was on his feet all day. Socks? Who knew they were a consideration when pregnant. And the appointments. It looked like Mortimer was going to become a close family friend. That worked for me. He had a grandfatherly quality to him that was both comforting and sweet.

"I know it's really early, but what do you think of the name Sarah for a girl or Stephen for a boy?"

He wrinkled his nose. "Hmm. Karolina for a girl maybe? I kind of always liked that name. Benjamin for a boy."

I sucked in a breath. "Are you sure? I'd love nothing more than to honor my brother that way, but I don't want to just because you think we should."

He sighed against me, and I knew he was moments away from falling asleep in my arms. "It's perfect. And now we have one more thing ticked off the to-do-before-baby list. Well, now that hard part of parenting is figured out, the rest will be cake."

I chuckled and kissed his cheek. "Yes, I suppose picking a name is the most difficult part. It's all downhill from here. That staying awake all night, pacing the halls to soothe their cries, the backaches you'll experience during pregnancy, and my absolute hopelessness to be able to help you – all of that is cake."

He laughed heartily. "Absolutely. I'm glad you understand."

I nuzzled my nose into his hair. The sweet-smelling scent tickled my nostrils. "I love you, Thomas."

"And I love you too, mate. So very much."

"I feel wholly unprepared for a child," he confessed, and I was right there with him. It was a lot to take in. "I suppose that's normal."

"Considering we only found out an hour ago that we were expecting, I do believe we have time to figure things out. And we are surrounded by people who have been through this before—multiple times."

Asilo was growing the old-fashioned way. It was a sign of their strength and health as a pride. It also made being here feel like family.

"So many children. I love how it's changed in that direction." He'd been here since before there were any pride members who were born here. What a difference he'd witnessed in his handful of years here. "I do wish I had some of the items from my own childhood."

"What sorts of things?" I asked.

"My parents saved everything. We had a spacious attic in the old house in Baxburg. My omega father stored everything up there. I think that he always longed for more children, but he was never able to have any."

I held my mate as he told me about his family.

"My alpha father was a talented woodworker. He only did it as a hobby, his main job being Beta of the pack. Before Easton took over, that was."

Just hearing his name had me on high alert. I hated that a man had so much power over me like that. The sooner he met justice, the better for all of us.

"Both my parents had passed by the time he took over. I imagine they'd have done more to stop him than what the other elders did."

My heart ached for my mate at losing so many people close to him at such a young age. Losing a parent was never easy, but to be that young and to go through that and then have someone like Easton taking control of your pride? My mate had been through so much.

"I had a wooden rocking horse with white yarn for a mane. I named her Silver, and I would spend hours on that thing rocking." He picked up the soap and moved it like the rocking horse as he spoke. "My father had to do many repairs because I played with it well past the weight limit." My mate chuckled, and I kissed his neck. I loved the sound of his laughter.

"Whatever happened to your home?"

"I'm not sure. Once the pride dispersed, the council took over the territory. I don't believe that they did anything with it. It would be crazy if the houses were all there, untouched."

I made a note to look into just that. I'd love to be able to provide my mate with some of his childhood treasures. At the very least, it would give him some closure, while at the same time giving our young something from their grandparents,

"What about you? Any memories from your childhood?" He set the soap back in the holder.

"Reading. My mother read to me a lot. She would put me on her lap and read to us for what felt like hours. We loved it." She made all of the voices, too. It was a live-action production of the words on the page. She made them come to life in a way that had me yearning to learn to read, and then when I had, reading everything I could get my hands on.

Thomas reached up and cupped my face in his hand, his fingers threaded through the hair at my nape. "I'm sorry they split up."

"It was for the best." I hated how true my words were. There was no denying your fated mate. For the first time in my life, I truly understood that.

The water started to cool. Like it or not, it was time for us to get out of the tub.

"I'll get us the towels." I stood up and stepped out of the tub and onto the mat. The towels were within reach once I was there, but not until then. "I'm going to put some hooks up so we can have them at arm's reach."

I looked around the bathroom. "I should probably figure out what we need to babyproof the place, too."

"You know they don't come out and start crawling around and getting into things." Thomas took my hand, and I helped him up and out of the tub.

"No, but the time goes by quickly." I handed him his towel. "And it's better to be prepared.

"Wanna run?" Thomas asked out of nowhere. "My beast wants to spend time with yours."

"I'd love nothing more."

We gave up on drying off and walked straight outside, both of us taking our fur. There was nothing to discuss. This was our beasts needing time together… to play… to cuddle… to celebrate our baby in their own way.

Thomas licked the side of my head and then bolted toward the tree line. A game of chase it was. If we had been going by speed, I probably had the advantage, but this area was still new to me. He knew every nook and cranny. Tonight was any cat's game, and the winner? It didn't matter. All that did was enjoying this time together in our fur.