Chapter 77: A Compromise
Edrick
In her fit of anger, Moana threw a pillow, of all things, on the floor. She stood there silently after she did it, breathing heavily through flaring nostrils with her fists clenched at her sides. At that moment, she looked adorably small and helpless, like an angry child. But she wasn’t a child; she was a woman, and my actions had upset her.
For some reason, seeing Moana act so passionately made me want to hold her. Without a word, I walked past the discarded pillow and pulled her tightly into my arms.
She stiffened at first, shocked by my sudden display of affection, before she finally relaxed into me. Her petite body pressing against me made me feel warm all over, and for a long time, I just held her there in the middle of the living room. I didn’t want to get too close, but I couldn’t deny the feeling of her slightly protruding belly against me combined with her fluttering heartbeat. For a brief moment, I thought about our fated one night stand that resulted in her unexpected pregnancy. It started to make me a little aroused, admittedly, but I quickly pushed those thoughts back down and just focused instead of making the mother of my baby relax.
As I hugged her, however, I was suddenly alerted to an oddly familiar smell. I couldn’t quite place my finger on it at first, but it grew just a little stronger, and I suddenly came to the realization that it was the same scent that I picked up at the maze all of those weeks ago. Just as quickly as it came, however, it suddenly faded.
I stopped hugging her and pulled away, looking down at her with narrow eyes. That scent was so distinct, and it was sweet. That day at the maze, I thought that it might have even been my mate’s scent, but that was impossible; Moana was a human. Was she hiding something from me?
“What’s wrong?” Moana asked, looking up at me with innocent confusion written across her face.
She looked genuine. I didn’t think that she had anything to hide; maybe it was just some perfume that she used on occasion and it was nothing more than that.
“Nothing,” I said, shaking my head and taking a step back.
Neither of us spoke for a few moments until Moana finally said, “I’m sorry I got so worked up.” She solemnly walked over to the pillow that she had thrown on the floor and picked it up, setting it back down in its rightful place on the couch with a sheepish expression on her face.
I shrugged. “It’s alright.”
Moana stared at the floor for a little bit. My own mind felt as though it was whirling around with a million different thoughts. I knew that I was being a jerk for not telling my mother about the baby, and for making Moana feel so badly. But at the same time, I was a werewolf from a highly esteemed family. Even though I did like Moana and enjoyed her company, I could never be so forthcoming publicly with a human nanny.
“Well… Goodnight,” Moana said quietly before turning and walking toward her bedroom.
I stared after her for a moment, biting my lip as I watched her go.
“Wait.”
She froze when I called out to her, then slowly turned to face me.
“You know I’ll love our baby just as much as I love Ella,” I said, swallowing my pride. “I’m sorry that I made you think that I wouldn’t. My mother only put me on the spot yesterday, but… I know I should have just told her. If it’s important to you, we can tell her together tomorrow. But we can’t tell my father yet.”
Moana’s demeanor seemed to soften a bit at my words. She nodded slightly to herself, staring at the floor, before lifting her gaze to meet mine. “Thank you,” she said. “I’d like that.”
I managed a weak smile. Moana smiled a little in response, but quickly turned on her heel and retreated to her bedroom just as something indiscernible began to show in her eyes. I sighed as I heard her bedroom door click shut before I finally decided to try to get some sleep myself.
Sleep didn’t come easily, however. Even with my sleeping pills, I laid awake that night thinking about what I would say to my mother, and how she would react — especially when I would tell her not to say a word to my father. My mother was a kind and compassionate woman, but she also had her limits as a wealthy werewolf, and I wasn’t entirely certain that she would be particularly thrilled by the news. At the very least, there was some comfort in knowing that she would still support my decision. Not only that, but it was a comfort to know that it would make Moana happy. I didn’t want to cause her too much stress for the baby’s sake.
That night, as I laid awake, there was one other thing that kept floating through my mind.
What was that scent, and why was it so sweet to me?
…
The following afternoon, I kept through with my promise about telling my mother about the baby. We invited my mother out for lunch to tell her the news at a nearby restaurant, but told her specifically to come alone. I knew that she already had an idea about what we were going to tell her, but if she did, she didn’t say anything about it. I always appreciated that about my mother.
When we arrived, my mother was already sitting at a table outside. It was a well-to-do establishment that was heavily frequented by other celebrities, so I felt comfortable taking my mask off when Moana and I sat down.
“Hello, dear,” my mother said to Moana, squeezing her hand. Her eyes momentarily flickered down to Moana’s belly, but she quickly looked away and smiled. “I hope you don’t mind, but I already ordered tea.”
“Thank you, Verona,” Moana replied with a somewhat stiff smile. I could tell that she felt a bit uncomfortable in a wealthy establishment like this, but I’d made sure to have her get dressed appropriately, so she didn’t look terribly out of place. Of course, there were a few strange looks as it was rare for a human to dine here, but no one was going to make a fuss about it with my mother and I here.
The waiter quickly returned with our tea, then took our lunch orders. We made small talk while we waited for our food and ate pleasantly when our food came, but I could feel that the tension in the air was thick. The tension was only growing thicker by the minute as my mother no doubt began to come to her own conclusions in her head about why we were here, and Moana seemed to be getting impatient beside me, so I decided that it was time to get it over with.
“Mom, Moana and I have something to tell you,” I said, staring down at my plate as my heart quickened a bit. My mother raised an eyebrow when I looked up at her.
“You were right the other day. Moana is pregnant with my child.”
