My mom, Becky, and Joy all shared tips and their experiences of being pregnant. It was helpful and a little scary. I was looking forward to having more talks like that with my mom during her and Dad’s stay.

“I think Finn will ask Dad about how not to piss me off,” I told them. Everyone giggled.

“It’s a good idea,” Mom said.

“Mark came close to losing his life, or his privates, a couple of times,” Joy said. “Remember when I made him sleep in the pack house for a week?” she asked my mom. My mom laughed.

“I do. I remember he was being stubborn and not apologising. I told Ron to make him see sense or join him to sleep in the pack house,” she told us.

“It wasn’t ideal to have the Luna and the Beta mate pregnant at the same time,” Joy giggled.

‘Carol keeps giving you looks,’ Sam mindlinked me.

‘Relax. As I understand it, she and James are a thing. I’m guessing she has heard about our past. You know her better than I do; do you think she poses a danger?’ I answered.

‘No, she isn’t aggressive. She has always been the shy type since she was a pup,’ he told me.

‘Then just ignore it. At this point, I think we all will be happy if James finds a mate.’ My dad and Mark joined us. They brought refreshments with them.

“Amie, I made sure to bring some lemon squares for you,” Joy told me.

“That was sweet of you,” I said. I had loved them since I was a child and eagerly reached for one. The moment I bit into it, I felt my body object, and the smell of lemon made my stomach turn. I froze.

‘Amie?’ Sam mindlinked.

‘I’m okay,’ I told him while I tried to force the soft cake down. I really didn’t want to offend Joy.

“You should give this a try, Sam; they are divine,” I told him out loud and passed the lemon square to him.

“Um, sure. Thank you, Luna,” he said, taking it from me.

‘Just get it away from me. I can’t stand the smell,’ I told him. Sam looked around for a moment, then he devoured the thing in one gulp.

“Amazing,” he said. I giggled. When the smell wasn’t as close to me, I didn’t feel as nauseous, even if my stomach still objected to me forcing the bite down. Both my mom and Joy looked at me.

“You look a little green around the gills, Armeria. Are you sure you are okay?” my mom asked, taking my hand in hers. The sound of scraping chairs made us all turn around. Finlay, Elder, and James had all stood up as one, and Finlay and Elder were heading towards me. James looked as if he wanted to join them but held back.

‘Red, is something wrong?’ Finlay asked, as he touched my cheek and made me look at him. Joy, who was sitting next to me on one side, moved to make room for him. All focus was on me.

“I’m fine,” I told him out loud and relaxed into him as he sat down next to me and placed his arm around me.

‘Your mom is right, you don’t look alright,’ he insisted in our link.

“I think the pup doesn’t like lemons. I got a serious case of nausea when I took a bite out of Aunt Joy’s lemon squares. I usually love those,” I told him, feeling disappointed to have to skip out on the plate on the table. “It’s okay now. Sam got rid of it, and your scent is calming me.”

How did he get rid of it? Finlay wanted to know. I told him, and he smiled.

“Don’t let me hold up the signing. Get back to work,” I told him out loud and kissed his cheek. “That goes for you as well,” I said to my brother. They both returned to James and Jake to continue the discussions.

Chapter 116-2

“Have another,” Joy told me and reached the plate with lemon squares out to me.

“Thank you, but the lemon scent is making me feel a little off,” I confessed, and she paled.

“I’m so sorry; I had no idea.”

“It’s okay. I didn’t know either. I guess the pup is starting to make its presence known,” I told her. “Carol, have you had one? They are amazing.”

“They are,” Carol agreed. “I always enjoy them when she makes them for the full moon celebrations.” I nodded, and Joy passed the plate to Carol. We talked about easy things, things which wouldn’t upset the renewed bond between us. They had greetings from pack members who wanted to say hi. I tried to include Carol in the conversation. She was a nice wolf, and I could see her with James; they would be good together.

‘Sweetheart, we are ready to sign,’ Finlay mindlinked me.

“Excuse me a moment,” I said and walked over to the kitchen table with Sam trailing behind me. Finlay reached out his hand and helped me down on his lap. I watched James as I got comfortable. He remained unbothered, and I relaxed. Finlay handed me a copy of the final agreement, and I read through it. It was a fair alliance agreement, and I smiled. “Looks good. Should we sign?” Finlay and I both signed for our pack, and James signed for the Eagle Forest pack. Jake and Elder signed as witnesses.

“Now that is out of the way, let’s celebrate,” James said. It was a great idea, and we set the table and cooked a meal together. Cooking with my mom and Joy again brought back memories, and when Finlay joined us to help out, they both praised him. The meal was simple but well-made, and everyone grabbed a plate and took a seat where there was room. This was always my favorite part of a new alliance agreement; the part when the packs mingled and got to know each other. I was sitting in Finlay’s lap, to save on seats according to him, when Mino came walking over on unsteady legs.

“Hello,” I said and put my plate on the table. He looked up at me and then reached his hands towards me.

“Up,” he told me with a determined voice. How could I say no to that? With a little help from Finlay, I reached down and pulled him into my lap. “Yum,” he said, pointing at my plate.

“Yeah, the food is yummy,” I agreed.

“Yum, yum,” he said, a little more desperate. I looked over at Becky, who sat a couple of seats away. She smiled and passed me the plate with cut-up food she had prepared for Mino. I scooped up some food on a spoon and held it out for him.

“Nuhu,” he said, shaking his head and again pointed at my plate.

“Sure thing, little guy,” I told him and placed some mac’n’cheese on my fork and gave it to him. He happily ate it and then looked at me. I got the point and continued to feed him from my plate.

‘You never feed me,’ Finlay pointed out in a mindlink.

‘You are a grown man; you can feed yourself, Alpha,’ I told him.

“Is he bothering you?” Becky asked after a while.

“Not at all,” I told her, making sure my grip around his waist to support him on my lap was good.

“It’s okay to tell him no. He is eating your food,” my brother pointed out.

“I can eat when he is done.” My mom and dad were smiling at us. When Mino was happy, I ate the rest, and Finlay made sure to add some extra to my plate. My nephew seemed happy in my lap. I listened to the grownups talk. When it was time to get up, I placed him down on the floor and got up from Finlay’s lap. Mino grabbed my hand.

“Look,” he said, pointing to the living area.

“You want me to come and look at something?” I asked. He nodded, holding my other hand. When Mino noticed, he stopped and glared at where he was holding my hand. Both Becky and I giggled.

He tugged on my hand. I followed him, and Finlay followed me.

Chapter 116-3

“I think Mino would like to show his aunty without her mate,” Becky pointed out.

“But…” Finlay objected.

“You go and get things ready for the drive home. I’ll just spend a little extra time with Mino,” I told him.

“But I’m your mate,” Finlay told me and sounded like he was sulking.

“No one doubts that. I would just like a little more time with him before we need to say goodbye.” Finlay glared back at the toddler.

“Fine,” he agreed, and then he kissed me and looked at Mino with a raised eyebrow before leaving.

“Honestly,” I said to Becky, who was dissolving into laughter. Mino happily led me over to where Becky had put down his toys that had kept him busy most of the day. He tugged on my hand, and I got the hint. Both Becky and I sat down on the floor. Mino took out a storybook and handed it to me as he crawled up on my lap again.

“Oh my. He has taken a liking to you,” Becky told me.

“You are a sweet boy,” I told Mino and placed a kiss on his hair. “He reminds me of his dad. He was always sweet as well.” I opened the book and started reading. After a while, Mino fell asleep, and I stopped reading, and Becky and I sat and talked instead. My mom sat down on a couch nearby and joined in. It didn’t take long for Finlay and Elder to come walking in. “It’s time?” I asked.

“It is. I will take my son back now before he decides to go back with you,” Elder told me and reached down and took Mino from my lap. Finlay helped me up from the floor.

“I really appreciate you bringing him along. It has been such a treat to spend time with him,” I told his parents. They both smiled back at me.

“We were happy to. He is starting to get to the age where he can join in our calls. It will be good for him to have met you,” Becky said. I gave her a hug, and then I gave my brother and nephew a hug and placed a kiss on Mino’s hair. Finlay put his arm around me.

“Feel free to come for a visit anytime you feel like it,” he told them. We will look into coming down for a visit once the pup arrives,” he added. Elder and he shook hands. We left the corner of the living area and walked up to James, Mark, and Joy, who stood waiting.

“I’m happy we could get the agreement signed. I think it will be good for both packs,” James said, holding out his hand.

“I agree,” Finlay said. “We will make sure your pack members are safe while they are in our pack,” he added.

“I’m not worried.” I said goodbye to Uncle Mark and Aunt Joy. Apparently, my dad and Finlay had agreed my parents would ride in our car. Sam and Jake would drive my parents’. My mom and I were ushered into the back seat.

“Can we make a deal to only stop at every other rest stop?” I asked as we drove off.

“I don’t know, Red. I think it’s better to stop at them all,” Finlay said.

“It’s a long way. I think your mate is right. It’s not good for you to sit too long,” my mom agreed.

“Thank you, Melissa,” Finlay said.

“Dad?”

“I agree with them, pumpkin.”

“Dad! You are supposed to be on my side!” I objected. My dad chuckled.

“I’m always on your side, pumpkin. But it means I sometimes need to agree with them.”

I might just have gained two powerful allies in his struggle to pamper me silly.