Wild Pleasure Business (Part 1)

Thea’s POV

The weekend had passed pleasantly. Nothing particularly exciting happened, but I thoroughly enjoyed the time spent with Seraphina and Maximus. They were temporarily staying in our city for me and Leo (and I suspected partly for Kane too), which I truly appreciated. They were the kind of parents I’d always wished the Sterlings could be: loving, caring, considerate, and absolutely without that cold-blooded obsession with bloodlines or discrimination against the wolfless. The Sterlings were the complete opposite, except when it came to their attitudes toward Aurora and Roman. Honestly, they treated even Sebastian and Damien better than they ever treated me, despite claiming I was their daughter.

The more time I spent with Seraphina and Maximus, the more I accepted them as my parents. Being around them, I started to understand why Kane worshipped them so much, even though he wasn’t their biological son. When you’re surrounded by real parental love, that feeling is indescribable—not the kind of authority maintained by status and fear, but genuine care.

“Where the hell is she?” Sophia asked irritably, interrupting my thoughts. We were waiting for Iris at a coffee shop, and she was late as usual. That woman had absolutely no concept of time, despite being a future Luna of Sterling.

“She’ll show up. Probably just running a bit behind,” I mumbled with a mouthful of strawberry muffin. My pregnancy cravings had kicked in, and they were driving me fucking insane. All I wanted now were muffins and cupcakes. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner—I was living on them. Most other foods I tried tasted like chewing bark and were nearly impossible to swallow.

“We agreed to meet here at two,” she complained, irritation twisting her beautiful face.

I chuckled at her annoyed expression. “You’ll soon discover that Iris is almost never on time. The sooner you accept that, the easier your life will be.”

She continued silently fuming, and I knew why. Sophia wasn’t the type who liked being kept waiting. She was extremely punctual. She’d rather arrive an hour early than be a second late.

While she sulked, I continued eating my muffin. I was really fucking hungry all the time. It had been worse when I was pregnant with Leo. Back then, I could barely keep anything down, and no medication worked until around the sixth month of pregnancy. That’s also why Sebastian’s coldness had cut so deep. There I was, struggling to survive because I couldn’t keep food in my system, while he spent all day pining for Aurora, completely unconcerned that I was losing weight and my pregnancy was going terribly.

I was hospitalized several times in the Pack hospital because doctors were worried about my health and Leo’s, and Sebastian never once came to see me. I understood that he was heartbroken over losing Aurora, but was that really more important than your pup’s health? I was so stupid back then, even willing to make excuses for his coldness.

Pushing those thoughts away, I focused on my friend. She kept lightly tapping her foot against the floor.

“Okay, what’s got you so fidgety?” I finally asked.

“I have a business proposal I wanted to present to you and Iris, but since she’s absurdly late, I might as well tell you. The idea is driving me crazy,” she said after a moment’s pause.

“Alright…”

“This might sound a bit unconventional for Pack traditions, and not something people of our status usually venture into…”

The moment she said this, my interest was piqued. She was implying this wasn’t normal traditional business, and what kind of business would make her frown? This was new.

“Go on.”

“I think we should start a sex toy company together,” she said bluntly, her expression serious, her wolf eyes gleaming.

I choked on my muffin, unsure if I’d heard correctly.

“What did you say?” I gasped.

“A sex toy company,” she repeated. “Think about it. Sex toys are not only popular in the human world but are becoming increasingly popular in werewolf society. I bet seventy percent of she-wolves have them, whether single or mated. Even males are starting to accept them as a way to enhance the mate bond in bed.”

I stared at her, my jaw nearly hitting the floor. While werewolves were more open about sexuality than humans, this kind of “business proposal” still seemed too bold and absurd to me.

“What’s got Thea so shocked?” Iris’s voice suddenly cut in as she slid into her seat. I hadn’t even heard her approach. That’s how shocked I was.

“I just told Thea that the three of us should consider opening a sex toy company,” Sophia answered.

I expected Iris to take the same stance as me, but to my surprise, her eyes immediately lit up.

“Goddess above! That’s a brilliant idea!” she practically howled.

“Are you two insane?” I asked, but they completely ignored me.

“It’s genius. I mean, what woman doesn’t have those little things that bring pleasure?” Sophia asked rhetorically.

“I don’t.”