Chapter 14

Noel

Nearly everything was packed up and put away. The owner of the cabin had said that he liked the decorations and that we could leave them where they were. He had another couple coming to rent the cabin after us, and he wanted to keep it up, so we didn’t have to take it all down and put it away. That saved us a lot of time and heartache. I couldn’t imagine having to put away all of the beautiful decorations.

I had used up as much of the food as we could and now packed any leftovers in the cooler, as well as the tons of baked goods I had put together. There were separate plates for various people: Garrick’s parents and his three Betas, along with the little trinkets we had picked up at the festival. My makeshift bag was of little use, so I put my things in Garrick’s bag.

There was something so domestic about sharing luggage. Like we were well and truly immersed in each other’s world that keeping our items separate didn’t make any sense.

“Are you about ready?” Garrick asked. He came up the stairs and stood next to me. He chuckled when he saw the suitcase lying open on the bed. “I don’t think my suitcase has ever been this organized. You know, when we get home, we’re just tossing all this in the washer?”

“I know, but it’s organized this way. I’ve got lights and darks separated.”

He kissed my temple. “Thank you. That’s very smart. Do we need anything else from up here? I can carry it all down and put it in the truck for you.”

Garrick was insistent that he do all the heavy lifting. Not because he didn’t think I was capable, but because he liked to take care of me. I saw it in his eyes every time he did any little thing for me. Yesterday I’d needed him to grab a pan from a high shelf and his eyes had lit up in delight at being useful to me.

I looked around the space. There was a lot I would miss about this place. Especially the bed where we had shared our first heat. Garrick had already mentioned coming up here again. It could be our place where we vacationed.

“I think we have everything.”

“Do you want to eat anything before we get on the road?” he asked.

My stomach twisted at that thought. “No, food doesn’t sound good.”

He sat on the bed and pulled me into his lap. “I know that you’re nervous about meeting my family and my pack, but there’s really no need to be. They are all going to love you. You’re amazing.”

That all sounded great. And I believed him. Yet I couldn’t keep the worries from swirling around in my mind until they consumed my very being. “Garrick, I can cook and I can clean, but I don’t know anything about being an Alpha Mate. You’ve been trained for this role your whole life, and it never even occurred to me that this would be a role I would have someday. I am going to do a lot of things wrong.”

“I know you haven’t prepared for it. But that doesn’t mean you won’t be great at it. You’re a natural.”

I snorted. “And how exactly have you seen me be anything like any sort of Alpha Mate?”

“Well, for one, you listen to my ideas. You have great ideas that you’ve given me. You’ve shared your feedback on all the notes I’ve taken. You’ve listened to me talk about each of my Betas, my family, and any other pack member. You even went so far as to put together treats for all of them for when we get home.”

“It’s the least I could do,” I said.

“And I saw you at the festival. Everyone there was a stranger to you, yet within moments of meeting people, you had them telling you their life story. You listened and asked questions about things that interested them.”

“I was just being friendly. I love hearing about other people.”

“And that is what will make you an incredible Alpha Mate. Trust your instincts,” he continued. “No, you’ll be amazing. We’ll be amazing together. They shall build a statue in our honor.” His voice boomed as if he spoke to a crowd, and he raised his fist in triumph.

I laughed at that. “I don’t know you as well as I would like. I’m sure we’re going to learn a lot about each other once we leave this little cocoon we have here. But I do know for certain that you do not want a statue in your honor.”

“No,” Garrick said, snuggling into me and inhaling my scent. “But I wouldn’t mind if they made one of you—one that’s maybe perfectly proportionate.”

His hand gripped my backside, and I squealed.

“I doubt you’d want others to look at that.”

“Good point, mate,” he said. “Let’s scrap this statue idea. Maybe we’ll just go with a plaque. We can put it right at the drive when people pull into the territory, and it will say: Here lives Garrick and Noel, best pack Alpha and Alpha Mate to have ever existed.”

I dissolved into a fit of laughter at that idea, and Garrick tickled my sides. After a while, we just lay there catching our breath.

My stomach rolled again, and I almost had to bolt for the bathroom, but then the nausea went away just as quickly as it arrived. That wasn’t the first time I’d experienced the sensation this morning. I hoped it was the last. I really didn’t want to spend the day trapped in a vehicle while my stomach revolting.

“I guess I don’t do well with anxiety,” I said. “I feel like I could throw up.”

“It could be that other thing we talked about,” he said. “Your heat did get over with quickly.”

“What? No, do you think—?” I bolted upright, my gaze searching as he lifted a brow. I put my hands over my stomach as if I would learn something through touch. It provided no insights.

“It is a possibility,” he said. “When we get home, I can take you to our pack healer. They can run some tests. We have a lot of equipment for that sort of thing. We can do a pee test or blood test. Plus, we have the Doppler thing that hears a heartbeat. We share an ultrasound machine with a neighboring pack”

“It’s too early,” I said.

“No, it’s not. Not when it comes to fated mates and sharing a heat. The fact that your heat ended after just a few days… Mate, you’re probably pregnant.” Garrick’s face lit up like his words fully registered once he said them out loud. “We’re going to have a pup.”

I grinned, despite the fear and anxiety I had about the future. A pup with Garrick would be absolutely amazing.

“Do you think so?” I asked.

“I do. Let’s get home so we can find out for sure.” He leapt to his feet and pulled me along with him, standing me up carefully, like moving me too fast might be dangerous.

“Okay,” I said. “Let’s go home.”