Mario sashayed among the crowd with two glasses of champagne in his hands, and he was going straight for Tatiana.
"Aww…", Tatiana gushed at the sight of her trustworthy assistant, the relief she felt now that the ceremony was over, helped her relax. "Here is the man who made this possible."
Mario rolled his eyes exaggeratedly. "You made this possible. I made it fabulous!" He handed one of the glasses to Tatiana. "How about a drink now?"
"Absolutely!" Tatiana exclaimed and grabbed the glass, eager to down it when Talia grabbed her hand.
"I don't think you should.", Talia said. Liseli sneered into Talia's mind that pregnant women shouldn't be drinking, and Talia acted on an impulse.
"Is there something wrong with the drink?" Tatiana asked, and in the next moment, Maddox was next to her and glaring at Mario.
Maddox was standing a few steps away with Damon, Oliver, and a few others, but his attention was on Tatiana.
Talia could see that Maddox's fury was tangible as he was ready to punish Mario for the allegedly spiked drink, so Talia quickly spoke, "No, no! It's just that…" She inched closer to Tatiana and spoke in a whisper. "Should you be drinking in your condition?"
Tatiana didn't get it. "What condition?"
Talia glanced at Tatiana's stomach. "Don't you know?"
Tatiana sucked in a sharp breath when she realized... "Are you saying I'm pregnant?" Her hand instinctively moved to her perfectly flat abdomen.
Meg clapped excitedly. "Talia can sense these things. She told Yasmin that she was pregnant before anyone knew."
Talia smiled nervously. It was not about sensing but about Liseli, but Talia couldn't say that.
Mario covered his mouth with his hand. His expression looked like he was screaming, but no sound came out.
Maddox's jaw fell slack open. Did he hear this right?
Tatiana stared at Talia, silently asking her if she was sure, and wondering if that was the truth. A mother! She will be a mother! But she didn't dare show her emotions. What if Talia was wrong?
Kalina nudged frozen Tatiana with her shoulder. "Why are you so surprised? Didn't you have your heat last week?"
"You had your heat?", Varya asked. "How come Kalina knows about it, and I don't?"
"Why are you making this about you?" Kalina snapped at her sister.
Kalina wouldn't know either if Tatiana didn't call her to say that she will be late from Europe and that Kalina needed to handle some matters related to the preparations for the Luna ceremony. Tatiana thought she was sick because she had a fever, but then it turned out it was the heat, and Maddox was there already, and their flight back in the private jet was eventful.
Varya pouted. Now that Kalina and Tatiana were mated to Alphas in the US, the two sisters became closer compared to the other three, and today Daria and Lidia joined that group also, and Varya felt neglected. Varya wanted to complain about injustice, but to whom can she complain with those arguments?
Maddox was still processing the bomb that Talia threw at them. Was Tatiana really pregnant? With his pup? He will be a father?
Well, of course, he will be a father, he was working hard on planting his seeds into his strawberry-infused Goddess before, during, and after her heat, but he didn't think it would happen right now, so soon. He was not ready! Was he ready?
He stared at Tatiana's stomach like he could see inside.
"Max…" Tatiana called breathily. "Am I really…?"
Before she could finish that question, Maddox scooped her in his arms and walked toward the packhouse.
Maddox's eyes lost focus, and he ignored nearby people who attempted to approach them with congratulations.
People from the side commented how Alpha Maddox can't wait for some privacy with his Luna, but Tatiana knew that this was not about a quicky.
"What's going on?" Tatiana asked Maddox.
"The pack doctor will meet us inside. I want him to check. I want to make sure…" By now, they were in the side room on the first floor, and Maddox lowered Tatiana to sit on the sofa so gently like she might fall apart at the slightest pressure. He kneeled in front of her and leaned his head on her stomach.
Tatiana ran her fingers through his hair as a warm smile spread on her face. She could feel his excitement and happiness, and there was no need for words between them, not at that moment.
Tatiana relished the fact that she could make him happy, which made her happy as well. Now only if the pack doctor could confirm the pregnancy, that would be perfect.
Outside, the news about Tatiana's pregnancy quickly spread among friends who were standing there.
Meg, Mindy, and Maya were bouncing from excitement, and then Meg turned to Talia.
"What about me?" Meg asked.
Talia didn't get it. "What about you?"
Meg glanced at her stomach, and Talia understood.
'Liseli?' Talia called.
Liseli snorted. 'What am I? A pregnancy test?'
'If it's difficult, you can say so,' Talia remarked.
'Pregnant,' Liseli grumbled. 'And before you ask, the other two are not pregnant. The Shaman's mate will be in heat in five days, while the other in about a month.'
Talia understood that the 'other two' were Mindy and Maya, and she was unsure if it was wise to comment on the upcoming heat with so many people listening. She decided to talk to Mindy and Maya later and to focus on her pregnant Beta.
Talia grinned at Meg. "Congratulations, Meg."
"What did you say?" Kai asked breathily from the side.
Meg looked at Kai, and tears filled her eyes. "Baby, Kai. It's a baby."
Kai swayed a bit, and then he snapped to his senses to envelop Meg into his embrace and shower her face with kisses while she giggled.
After some time, Kai stopped and looked at Meg. "Do you want to visit your family?"
Meg glanced at Talia, silently asking for permission.
How can Talia say, no? She knew that Meg didn't see her family since she got mated to Kai, and now they had even a baby on the way. "Be careful. Don't travel alone. After this event, you can join Kalina and Tony to reach the Lightclaw pack."
Meg and Kai both thanked Talia, and then they started chattering if their baby was a boy or a girl.
"Aren't you going to do a test and confirm?", Varya asked the excited couple.
Meg refused. "No need. Our Alpha said that we are expecting, so we are expecting."
Talia was touched by this show of trust, and her eyes instinctively drifted toward Damon.
Damon held his hands in his pants pockets as a reminder that he shouldn't hold onto Talia. When he agreed to keep her real identity a secret, he didn't know it would be this hard to stay away. Well, he was not really staying away; there were no more than a few steps between them at any given moment, but he needed her in the touching distance. The lack of addictive sparks their bond provided was driving him crazy.
'How about we go and sit at the table?' Talia's voice sounded in Damon's mind, and he was quick to agree.
Damon and Talia sat at the same table where James, Cornelia, Meg, and Kai were. Tony and Kalina joined as well.
Damon stared at the food, wondering if it will be OK to put some of it on Talia's plate.
He jolted when he felt a squeeze on his knee, and he glanced under the table to see Talia's hand there, palm up, her fingers wiggling impatiently.
Damon smiled at the memory of how he used to do that to her whenever she was late with handholding.
His hand slid over hers, their fingers interlaced, and his heart was in place.
