Chapter 40: Baby Shower

KOL

“Remind me again why we have to be here,” I grumbled to Diego, munching on sandwiches.

“Because Liv said we have to be here, and your wife threatened to murder us if we weren’t here,” he grumbled, shuffling uncomfortably.

“She’s your sister,” I muttered, spotting a heavily pregnant Liv waddling over to us.

“Hey, guys! We’re gonna do the gender reveal soon. Come on!” she squealed, dragging Diego over to a pair of chairs in the center.

“Come on, baby. You look like you swallowed wolfsbane,” Gia laughed and grabbed my hand and followed them to the center.

“Okay, yay! Thank you, everyone, for coming!

“I asked my mom and mother-in-law to set up a balloon with either pink or blue confetti, so in a minute, we’re going to burst it and find out if we’re having a prince or a princess.”

Liv clapped excitedly.

I laughed at Diego’s expression and wrapped my arms around Gia, pulling her close. She snuggled into me and kissed my cheek. “I love you,” she whispered.

“I love you too.” I stroked a strand of hair off her face.

“Hey, when all this is over, I need to talk to you about something.” She kissed me gently.

“Okay, you guys ready?” Liv squealed before I could press for more from Gia. They stood in front of a big black balloon with a large pin.

“Okay, on the count of three, you guys pop the balloon! One…two…three!!” Frieda and Milly called out together. They popped the balloon.

My hands shot to my ears once the women started screaming as pink confetti flew everywhere.

Diego smiled and kissed Liv to stop her screaming momentarily before she hopped in her mom’s arms, screaming excitedly.

Gia clapped happily beside me. “I can’t believe it!” she screamed. “Congratulations, you guys! A princess! Oh, I’m so excited for you!”

Once the screams had died down, I pulled Gia aside. “What did you want to talk about, babe?”

She looked around nervously “I think we should talk about this later, babe.” Her eyes darted to the side, and she stroked my arm gently.

“You’re worrying me, babe. What’s going on?” I pushed her.

She looked around again. “Okay, okay. I’ll tell you now, but please stay calm. I don’t want to take away from Liv and Diego today, okay? Promise me!”

She looked up at me, and I nodded to her silently. “I wasn’t feeling well the last few days, so I went to visit one of the pack healers.”

I grabbed her arms and stared at her. “What’s wrong? Why didn’t you tell me?”

She shushed me. “I didn’t want to worry you.” I opened my mouth, but she put a finger to my lips, shushing me.

She glanced around again and motioned for me to lean in closer. “I’m pregnant, Kol.” My mouth fell open, and she grinned at me.

“You promised to stay calm, Kol! We can celebrate later, okay? I don’t want to take from them!”

I closed my mouth and nodded. “You really are?” I whispered gently, clutching her stomach.

She laid her hand on mine and grinned, nodding slightly. “The healer thinks I’m about eight weeks, so it’s too soon to tell anyone yet,” she mumbled softly.

Frieda came running over before I could say anything else.

“Can you believe it? A princess! Oh, I’m over the moon! I always thought this family needed more women.” She winked at us before darting off to Raphael.

I clutched Gia to me and kissed her passionately. “Hey, hey, whoa, whoa! Children present, people. Keep it PG!”

I laughed and turned. “Jax! Beau! What are you guys doing here?”

Jax reached out and shook my hand. “Ah, we got wind of a new royal member, so some of us figured we would come and see everyone!”

I looked around and recognized some of the wolves from the rogue attack. “Well, welcome, guys! Make yourselves at home!”

“I don’t believe it,” Gia spat beside me, storming off.

“Hey, G! What’s up?” Liv called after her before freezing on the spot, wide-eyed. I followed her gaze and stiffened.

I tried not to get involved in girl problems between Gia and her friends, but I remembered her talking about Emily. That was the day we’d found out Liv was actually a badass.

Diego stood at my side and watched silently as the Emily girl came closer. She looked down at the ground, shuffling her feet.

“Hey, Liv. I just wanted to say I’m sorry, give you this gift, and congratulate you. I don’t want any trouble. I’m serious. I’ll head off now.” Gia turned to Liv, her face showing nothing but murder.

“Wait,” Liv called. Gia growled, and Emily froze, her eyes still on the ground. “Why don’t you stay? You made it this far.”

“You have got to be kidding me,” Gia spat.

Liv just waved her hand. “Come on, G! You know how short life is. Petty shit needs to be in the past. Emily? You want a drink?” Liv smiled.

Gia’s expression softened slightly. Emily smiled and shrugged her shoulders. “Um, yeah, sure. Thanks, Liv.” I watched in shock as the girls wandered off to get some juice.

“Girls confuse me, man.” Diego shook his head. I nodded silently, my mouth still open in shock.

I felt Beau shuffle uncomfortably beside me. “Mate,” he muttered. Diego growled and launched himself at him.

“Hey, hey, HEY! I don’t think he’s talking about Liv! Diego! Calm down! He’s met her before. He knows she’s your mate! Beau, man, you wanna help me out here?” I snarled at him, but he didn’t hear me.

He just stared after the girls. Diego was clawing at my arms, trying to escape my grasp. I snarled again and took a deep breath.

“EMILY, GET YOUR GODDAMN ASS OVER HERE NOW!” I roared using my alpha presence to make sure she followed the order.

Everyone froze, and all eyes were on us. “DIEGO, ENOUGH,” Raphael roared, and he froze. Frieda and Milly looked on, wide-eyed, Liv looked embarrassed, Emily looked shocked, and Gia glared at us.

Beau shuffled again nervously. Jax placed a hand on his shoulder. “Care to explain what the hell is going on here?” Gia growled at me.

“I think Emily is Beau’s mate.” I motioned to him; his eyes were fixed firmly on Emily. Gia just nodded. Diego was still fuming silently.

“Emily, come here.” She waved her over. The girl walked over so slowly it took everything I had not to roar at her again.

“Um, hi?” she mumbled.

Beau shuffled again, clearing his throat. “Mate,” he muttered, clutching her.

“Easy, Beau, don’t freak her out,” I warned him, watching her reaction.

“Mine,” he snarled, pulling her closer.

She shuffled uncomfortably in his arms before looking in his eyes. She gasped and leaned closer. “Mate,” she whispered.

“Well, looks like we have more to celebrate today, then!” Liv smiled. ~God, that woman has the heart of an angel!~

We all said a cheers to the happy couple and celebrated late into the night.

As I held Gia close, I kissed her gently. “Can you believe that in a few months we will be having one of these for us?” I mumbled in her ear.

She giggled, hugging me closer. “I know! I can’t wait!”

She snuggled into me, burying her face in my neck. I nestled my face into her hair and inhaled her scent. Straining my ears, I could just about hear the faint heartbeat of our baby.

“I love you so much, mama wolf.”