When We Were Mates (Demetra and Emris) novel Chapter 241

Chapter 241

Luna Demetra.

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“Thank you.” I take my colorful drink from the tray and rest my head back against the sun lounger by the pool. The cushions are soft and I sink into them like they’re hugging me back.

Tomorrow evening is Slade and Sabrina’s bonding ceremony and the Lion Pride pack house is in full beautiful chaos right now… everyone doing something, everyone moving, everyone with somewhere to be. I just need to breathe Getting worked up is not good for me and it’s definitely not good for the baby. I stare at the pool through my sunglasses, the afternoon sun is still fully committed to being present, and I’m genuinely considering whether a nap is possible when I hear-

“MOMMY!” “MOMMY!”

No. It can’t be the kids. They’re skies away with Aunt Scotty. Except Aunt Scotty told me just three days ago that she wouldn’t be missing the wedding for anything. So, I push the sunglasses up from my eyes into my hair and guess the two children see running toward me.

One looks like the kid I gave birth to. And the other looks like her brother. Is that… Milo and Amira!? They are absolutely, genuinely, actually Milo and Amira!!

I’ve not even put my mind into it when they both launch themselves at me simultaneously.

“Hi, Mommy!”

“Kids!?” I say, and it’s from a place of half joy, half shock, half where’s Aunt Scotty, half she wasn’t even supposed to bring them. “Oh jeez, it’s really you guys! Hi, my adorables!”

I pull them both in and kiss them over and over, Amira setters her head on my shoulder and Milo climbing directly onto my lap.

“Mama. Mama. Mam. I can fly a plane.” Milo announces.

“Really? Did you fly it yourself and come home?”

He nods with complete seriousness. I just open my mouth, and the laughter that comes out is a first real one in days. I rub both their backs and kiss them again.

“Mama. Mama. I know how to growl like Daddy now,” Amira says proudly.

“You do?”

“Milo taught me.”

“Oh my little wolves.” I tickle them both and they shriek and squirm.

“Where’s Papa?” Milo asks. “Aunt Scotty said he’s coming for the wedding. We get cake right?”

“AND ICE CREAM?!”

“Sure.” I look up at the balcony and catch Slade looking down at me shaking his head slowly. I mouth where is Scotty at him but I don’t think he can read lips.

“Have you gone to say hi Grandpa and Aunt Allison yet?”

Both little heads shake no. “Go on, go on, go say hi!” I exhale, watching them run along to see who gets there faster.

I bite my lip to find Aunt Scotty. When I do find her, she’s in the sitting area with an open luggage that looks like that cake I

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15:09 Wed, Jul 15

Chapter 241

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craved a lot when I was in Paris pregnant with Amira. I don’t want to look at it too much. Aunt Scotty gets up, smiling, to come hug me. I let her, shutting my eyes for the first three seconds.

“I heard you’re pregnant,” she giggles.

“And I didn’t hear you were bringing the kids back.”

“They wanted to come home.” She grabs my hand, bringing me forward to the luggage of cakes, and damn…I knew it was that cake from the very wrapper. “Look… over a hundred pieces. From Paris. You craved these constantly when you were pregnant with Amira.”

“Aunt Scotty!” I pout because she’s not listening to me.

“You’re happy!” She opens her arms again and I go back in.

Slade appears from somewhere and reaches toward the luggage.

“Let me try one of those-”

“Don’t touch my cakes!” I yell.

“Whatever. You’re not gonna have a slice from my wedding cake either.”

I stick my tongue out at him.

“How old are you? Two?” He looks at me.

“Stop arguing with a pregnant she–wolf, Slade.” Aunt Allison comes in. “And shouldn’t you be at your bachelor’s night or something?”

“We’re getting to that. What about you girls?”

“I’m not sure. Sabrina is not here yet,” I say.

“Is Emris coming?” Allison asks, and Slade looks at me like he thinks I know the answer to that.

“I heard his emotions are not back,” Aunt Scotty whispers like she thinks I’m not there to hear it.

“Well, I invited Silver and Seth.” Slade says.

“Now that the kids are here, won’t he wanna see them?”

“Of course he’ll wanna see them.”

“Demetra, get him here.” Allison’s voice is firm. “He’s a part of the family.”

“Amira and Milo are yelling Dad, Dad, Dad!” Tiffany says, coming in with a baseball bat, and I just slam my hand against my ear. I don’t respond to any of them. Instead, I go straight into another sitting area where the kid finds me and begin to orbit me like small planets.

I have to raise both hands so they can run freely underneath them, still chanting. “Daddy, Daddy, Daddy is coming!”

I check my phone.

Wren is asking if I’m here yet. I reply yes, sitting area. Tiffany texts the group chat that Sabrina is already on her way. Then Tiffany texts again “Craig and Timothy have a game tonight, should we go watch instead?” I type into the group chat while pacing the pillows the kids knocked down, Sabrina answer, depends what you want to do. Honestly a game night with wind in my hair and a massive popcorn sounds better than anything requiring heels right now. If the boys are doing their bachelor thing somewhere, the girls can have the better evening.

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15:10 Wed, Jul 15 KIKA

Chapter 241

“I’m hereee!” Wren comes into the sitting area.

“I brought the tiaras.” She wiggles a pink boutique bag.

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I sit on the couch and pat the empty space for her to be comfortable too. Wren and I haven’t even gotten into anything when Sabrina arrives. Teddy arrives plus Tiffany. And somehow within twenty minutes we’re all piled in the sitting area talking about the wedding, the outfits, whether everything arrived on time, whether the flowers are right.

Imagine my surprise when, while talking about that, I get a whiff. Then I hear that familiar chord of a resonant hum that almost sounds like a growl even when he’s not growling. It’s Emris, walking past the corridor with a Gamma/taking what looks like a gym bag that belongs to Him past the hallway, and him looking at me over his muscled shoulders with a look.

A glare, technically. Heavy–lidded.

He’s wearing a black snug, cut close to the body that was clearly not selected with anyone else’s concentration in mind. It wraps around his biceps like it was tailored specifically to make that argument, showing the definition of his lats, the curve of his spine, the way his waist narrows into that V that makes my mouth dry.

The tattoos running up the back of his neck disappears into the short hair growing back from the shave. Everything is summarized into slow motion. His shoulders alone could anchor a ship.

My throat burns like it’s the very first time I’ve been in the same building as this man and my body has just discovered what a mate bond does to your nervous system.

Except we’re arguing.

We’re arguing and we’re in love. Like an enemy vs lover thing… and we’re both in this house pretending to be fine. I have to sit here in a tiara with my friends discussing wedding timelines while he walks through corridors looking like that.

Wait. Did the air conditioner stop working?