Talia, Damon, Maya, and Caden pretended not to see Mindy and Gideon kissing like no one was watching.
Gideon groaned and Maya rolled her eyes while suppressing giggles that were bubbling in her stomach.
"You are next," Talia said to Maya. "Are you making plans for your time off?"
"Caden has it all figured out," Maya said.
Maya was smiling, but the truth was that she was anxious. She had heat a few times since Caden marked her but a baby didn't happen. Maya and Caden told themselves that the timing was not right, the Dark Howlers pack needed them as their Betas, but those were just excuses after they found out that Maya was not pregnant.
Maya hoped that Talia had the power to fix whatever was wrong because most of the couples got pregnant during their first heat and by the second one nearly everyone had a baby. What if she can't have a baby? Will Caden love her less?
"Oy!" Caden exclaimed, and Maya jolted.
"Maybe you should take that home!" Caden grumbled.
Gideon's hand was under Mindy's shirt, and it was getting steamy.
Werewolves are licentious and without shame, but this was the living room of the packhouse with people right there!
Gideon groaned in displeasure when Caden popped their lovey-dovey bubble. He was hard and ready and… this was not the place!
"How about we move to one of the guest bedrooms?" Gideon said to Mindy like no one else was there.
Mindy giggled. She gave him a smacking kiss on the lips before straightening her shirt. "Now that we know I'm pregnant, we should see Doctor Travis. Can he do a checkup this early? I also want to call home and tell my family. Maybe we should do something special tonight?"
There was a silent promise of many pleasures in Mindy's words, and Gideon's throat went dry as his mood was fluctuating.
He wanted to make it special, but he also wanted to make it NOW! However, he couldn't disappoint his pumpkin-infused princess, so he released a long breath with, "We will do what you want. How about you contact Travis and your family, and I figure out something special for tonight?"
Mindy agreed.
She hopped on her feet and hurried to Talia to give her a hug.
"Thank you, for telling us about the baby," Mindy said.
"You are welcome," Talia responded with a smile while patting Mindy's back. "You probably shouldn't jump and rush like that. What if you trip and fall and get hurt?"
Seeing that Mindy didn't move, Talia asked, "Mindy? Are you OK?"
Mindy sniffed the air around Talia's head. "Why is your scent different?" Mindy inched away and narrowed her eyes at Talia. "You had your heat also. Are you pregnant?"
Talia gaped at Mindy. It was supposed to be a secret, but it seemed that an Alpha nose was not to be underestimated.
Talia couldn't lie. "Yes."
"What!?" Maya shrieked. "You are? When did you find out!?"
"Last night," Talia admitted guiltily. "We were having dinner and I got sick and… it was pregnancy sickness."
'CRASH!'
A loud clatter and glass breaking were heard from the door as Zina dropped the tray from her hands.
"What did you say? Who is pregnant?", Zina asked breathily.
"She is," Talia and Mindy said in unison while pointing at each other.
Talia exhaled helplessly. Now Zina knew also! So much for keeping secrets.
Zina was hugging Talia and Mindy, and Maya joined in the girly hug while Caden and Gideon patted Damon's shoulder.
"Alpha pup is a big deal," Shaman said. "We should…"
"Keep it a secret," Damon interrupted whatever Gideon was about to say next. "We have a lot of enemies, and Talia's condition is delicate. We want to conceal the truth about her condition as long as possible."
Talia stepped next to Damon and leaned on him. "We hope you will help us."
"Of course," Zina said right away and gestured like she was locking her mouth.
She was feeling guilty because everything pointed at her as the source of the information leak that reached rogues about Talia attending Tanya's party with Damon.
"No need to be so stiff," Talia said while looking at Zina. "We won't be able to conceal this for long, but even if we get a few weeks, we will be grateful." She hoped that she won't vomit randomly because then people will figure it out before her stomach starts showing.
"Did you think when we will have your Luna ceremony?" Maya broke the silence. "Now that you are pregnant, maybe we should get the ball rolling. If your belly is sticking out, we won't be able to conceal your pregnancy and there will be a lot of people in attendance..."
Talia's ears started buzzing. The Luna ceremony!
She didn't care about being a Luna, but she wanted people to acknowledge her as Damon's mate, and that meant as his Luna also.
"There is nothing wrong with having her ceremony after the pup is born," Damon said and he looked at Talia. "That's only a few months away."
Talia knew he was saying that because he picked up her anxiety.
"No. We can't wait five months, Damon." She turned to Maya. "How much time it will take to organize it?"
Mindy snapped her fingers, to get everyone's attention. "You will become the Luna in the largest pack in North America. It can't be rushed or shabby because people will wonder what we are trying to conceal." She touched her nose. "We can organize it in one month if we hurry. By then, your stomach won't show, and we can pick you a dress that has ruffles in the stomach area."
Maya shook her head in disapproval. "This is not about the dress, but about her shifting into her wolf after the Luna ceremony. Alpha and Luna will need to lead the pack run."
"Do we need to?" Talia asked and turned to Gideon. "We led the pack run once. Can that count?"
Gideon rubbed his forehead. "Elders won't approve. However, with Mindy being pregnant and Maya's upcoming heat, we can twist that into Luna standing with her friends, like you want to support them, while Damon leads the guys."
Mindy clapped excitedly. "That is a great idea. Let's come up with something special that can get females to stay in human form while guys run."
Zina's eyes flashed when she got an idea, "How about a competition where guys hunt and females need to bake something?"
Talia liked this. "If we go with that approach, we don't need to rush. I will pick a ruffly dress, and the ceremony can be held two months from now."
Damon frowned. "I thought you wanted it to be sooner."
She thought that also, but with Maya's heat coming, and Mindy being pregnant, Talia couldn't push her friends to focus on organizing her Luna ceremony.
Gideon cleared his throat before speaking, "First two months are critical for the pup to develop properly. Talia should avoid stress and straining herself."
Damon's frown deepened as he remembered how skinny Talia was when she arrived. Years of malnutrition and poor living conditions took a toll on her.
Talia hugged Damon. "I'm not saying that we should wait two months, but let's not rush it either. I will work with Maya and Mindy to come up with timelines on how much time we need to prepare everything, and then Gideon will pick an auspicious date."
