12. Chapter 12

I sat outside with my mate at the picnic table. I lived for being outdoors these days. I wasn't sure if it was feeling so at peace and comfortable here or if being pregnant with a centaur's baby was at play. The centaurs were tied to the land in a way others, not even shifters, were. It would make sense that their children would be too, even at such an early stage in life.

Since things weren't ready for me to sculpt quite yet, I spent a lot of time sketching or reading, almost exclusively outdoors. Most of the time it was with my mate by my side. We were pretty much on an extended honeymoon phase, and I couldn't be happier about it.

I wasn't sure how things would be when we started to spend time away from each other. Would the heart song hurt? Would it make concentrating on the tasks at hand difficult? Would it comfort me? There were so many possibilities, and I'd discover it soon enough. As much as I loved Apollo, there would come a day when I'd want some omega time with the others.

We spent a lot of time making love anywhere and everywhere that we could. If we were anywhere but our forest, we would have been arrested or part of a viral video by now. But we weren't. This was our space, and we had complete freedom to do as we wished here, even if it was sometimes enough to make even the squirrels blush.

Apollo sat across from me, sketching on a piece of parchment. He claimed he was no artist, but everything he did in the house proved otherwise. It was its own masterpiece.

I tried to explain to him about notebooks or even using a computer to sketch out his designs, but he felt that he worked best with a piece of charcoal and a piece of personally made parchment paper. Whatever made him happy. I snuck a peek at the paper he was drawing on. There were several designs on it already. He wasn't wasting a smidgeon of the parchment he'd made.

"What exactly are you working on?" I leaned in a little closer. "How many toys do you think our children need?"

One of the drawings I could make out was definitely a duck that had wheels for feet and a rope to pull it with. It was adorable and unlike anything I'd ever seen before. But also, paired with all the other similar items he had on the page, it was a bit much.

"I'm not going to make all of these." He rolled his eyes, a habit he learned from me. "At least not yet. And besides, they have cousins that I can make things for as well."

"Maybe we should stick with the essentials first?" Because at this point, we had nothing for our little one. Sure, they weren't going to be here today or anything, but my pregnancy was going to go by in a flash. At least that was what both Marcus and Maddox said. "Or I suppose we could buy a crib from the store if you would rather work on the toys."

Apollo scowled. "I will make our child's crib just as I made our bed."

I grinned. "Of course. But hey, maybe I could take you to a store so that you could get an idea of what's out there?"

His scowl deepened. "It is not safe for you to go out to a store. Not yet."

I hated that he was right. Gods did I hate it.

As much as I loved the forest and my family here, I couldn't be imprisoned by it. It would slowly deteriorate my feelings until I no longer saw it as the beautiful place that it was.

And as much as I wished it didn't, the outside world had been calling to me. It had Cheetos, and I was craving Cheetos or maybe one of those super-salty pretzels they sold inside the mall. My mouth watered just thinking about it. Then again, hadn't I read that salt was bad for me while I was pregnant? Would my ankles swell?

"I really would like to take you to town sometime. If nothing else, you could get ideas from the outside world and things you could build or things we could add to our family." I wasn't trying to be a dick, but it'd been simmering in the back of my mind all day and talking it out was probably for the best—for both of us.

"If you wish to do this, we can make it happen."

That was easy.

"But only once your old Alpha is caught."

Or not. I couldn't understand how my former Alpha had been able to evade everyone for this long. But then again, I hadn't considered him particularly adept at hunting, and he kept finding me every "safe" place that I went until here. So maybe I was underestimating him all the way around.

I nodded. "Yes, I understand." I really needed Steelwick to work faster or better or for the asshole to mess up and get caught already.

"What is it about these stores that you like so much?" He set his parchment down. He wasn't being argumentative. He truly wanted to know.

"Aside from junk food?" Which was currently on my mind far more than it should be. I blamed the pregnancy hormones.

"We'll get back to the junk food." He wasn't a fan of the chips that Tomas brought, but I was sure I could win him over with Cheetos.

"I don't know, I just like window shopping… I guess. Sometimes I'll see designs at stores that have been mass-produced, and I'll realize just how cool it is that I can make individual one-of-a-kind pieces." Only with better quality and a bit of my own personal flair. "Even if they can mass-produce them way faster than I can make my own pottery, sometimes I get ideas, improvements that can be made. You could do the same with some of your woodworking."

I loved to sculpt, but also, throwing pottery was a passion as well, and seeing the crappy cups they sold for big dollars had me wanting to make good ones for all the people. I'd been playing around with a handleless mug design when everything went to shit. Maybe I would start with that when my supplies were here.

"Can't we watch television for these same ideas? Or browse the internet?" He was trying to be helpful, and I loved him for it. But also, it amused me to no end, and I couldn't help but laugh.

Apollo had taken to watching TV with me. We were working our way through a couple seasons of shows that I enjoyed and had now shared with him. "It's different when you can see it in person," I said, a smile spreading over my face. "Each piece has a personality that no screen can adequately capture."

"I will take your word for it, mate," Apollo replied. His phone buzzed.

He frowned at it, and I was afraid it was going to start on fire. I was beginning to love that scowl.

"Would you like me to answer it? I can tell them that you are busy and see what they want, and if it's important enough for you to call them back," I suggested, with a smile.

His frown bloomed into a smile. "That would be lovely, mate. Thank you." He returned to his drawing.

"Hello," I answered.

"You are not Apollo." Terran's voice echoed over the speaker.

"No, I'm not Apollo. He's busy at the moment. But did you need to run something by him?" I had no issue playing secretary for my mate. Whatever made him happy.

"Franklin is coming here. He's the healer from Fractured Fang, and he's bringing some herbs and exchanging them with Luan. But, being that you are expecting, he can also do a quick ultrasound for you."

"Really? That's exciting. That's worth calling for." I had assumed I wouldn't be able to get one being out here in the middle of nowhere. I was over-the-moon excited to catch a glimpse of our little one.

"My brother is not busy, is he?"

I bit back a chuckle. I didn't think this ruse would last long. Apollo's brothers knew him well enough to know the real reason he wasn't answering the phone.

"He just wanted someone else to have to do the talking. Didn't he?" Terran continued.

"Sorry, that's a secret between me and him. I can't reveal that kind of information." My mate grinned at me, his eyes sparkling. I blew him a kiss. "Thank you, Terran. Do you know when we can meet with Franklin, or should we just come over whenever?"

"He will be arriving when the sun is highest in the sky tomorrow. Any time after that should be fine."

His words amused me. Even with a cell phone in his hand, Terran wasn't using actual clock times. It wasn't just him. All three of the centaurs had an aversion to keeping time like normal. I knew it drove Marcus insane. I kind of liked it. I wasn't late for anything ever because there was no exact time that I needed to be someplace.

"That'll be perfect. We'll be there. Thank you, Terran."

"Take care, Walker."