*Isla*
I didn’t crawl back into bed until well after dinner, which was nothing more than whatever stew was leftover from the massive meals the kitchen had been cranking out all day for the warriors currently taking up the lower part of Maddox’s castle and the sweeping grounds inside the gate.
It’d been chaos all day. First, I’d died in childbirth. Then, I’d come back to life. Then, I had barely a moment to wrap my head around the fact that I’d had a son before having to go track down my mate to tell him that I was, in fact, very much alive, and the diamond we thought would only restore peace to the hearts of the Alphas harbored secrets we didn’t have time to unravel.
Now, I’m resting with my back against the headboard, Isaac’s tiny frame swaddled in my arms, his mouth slightly parted and dribbling with milk. Moonlight drifts through the windows, the curtains fluttering in a soft, humid breeze.
Maddox said we’d rest together tonight, that we’d finally have a moment of peace in our home before we’d have to separate again.
But, the duties of an Alpha King called him away again after a rushed supper, and now I am alone.
I take a deep breath and close my eyes for just a moment, a soft smile spreading across my face as sweet, sweet silence settles over the room.
“I need your advice,” Maddox says as he comes through the door, shutting it firmly behind him. I open one eye as he moves across the room, tracking mud in his wake. He’s covered in it, and I know he still hasn’t showered since I asked him to earlier in the day. He’s been too busy, of course, with enemies still lingering in the forest outside the castle walls.
“On what?” I breathe, looking down at Isaac, who is still sleeping soundly in my arms. I run my finger over his perfect cheek, smiling to myself as his mouth puckers and relaxes with the touch.
“I’m considering taking Mystica with me when I return the diamond to the temple,” he says as he rifles through the dresser, tossing clothing to the floor. “Can you spare her?”
I sit up a little straighter, furrowing my brows as I watch him pull article after article of clothing out of the drawers and drop them into a pile on the floor. I’ve never seen him so frazzled in my life.
“What’s going on with you?” I ask. He pauses in whatever the hell he’s doing, which is still very much a mystery to me, and looks directly at me.
“Packing for the journey–”
I sigh heavily and swing my legs out of bed, careful not to wake Isaac as I carefully lower him into the bassinet tucked beside my bed. I stride over to the bathroom without looking at Maddox and dramatically turn on the facet to the shower, reaching inside as I test the temperature.
Maddox comes to the door, looking down at me as I adjust the temperature so it’s scolding enough to practically burn the battle filth off of him.
“You’re not taking Mystica,” I say as I get him a washcloth and a fresh bar of soap. “I need her, and Poppy too.”
“She could be helpful–”
“She is more helpful to me,” I argue. “I already agreed that I wouldn’t go. But don’t leave me here with no support.” I reach for the glass bottle of rose and lavender shampoo Mystica makes for me from time to time. I furrow my brow, saying a quick prayer to the Goddess that she has more before setting it on the ledge in the shower.
Maddox scoffs, giving me a wry smirk.
“I’m not that dirty.”
“You’re not getting within a foot of our bed until you shower,” I say firmly. “That’s final.”
Maddox lets out a soft sigh before shedding his filthy clothes. I walk away from the shower, gathering his garments and tossing them unceremoniously into the hamper. “Why do you want to take Mystica with you, anyway? She’s so old.”
“Like Seth and Trinity… I believe this journey could show everyone’s true colors.” He steps into the shower, scrubbing with the soap as he rinses away the long night and day of battle. “Plus, she may know more about the diamond than she’s letting on.”
“I doubt it, and Mystica has done nothing to ever make me question my trust in her,” I argue, turning to face him as he stands in the shower, my hands placed on my hips. Maddox only growls, his teeth bared as he continues to scrub.
“This is hotter than necessary,” Maddox growls. I just smile, exhaling deeply as he relaxes into the water.
“I need Mystica here, the entire pack does. She’s the best healer we have.”
“Then she stays,” he says, closing his eyes as he leaned his head against the wall of the shower. “I don’t like it though, Luna.”
“I don’t like the idea of being separated again, Alpha,” I say, leaning on the edge of the shower with my arms crossed. He reaches out and takes my hand, his thumb grazing over my palm.
“This has been the best and worst day of my life,” he says, the conversation shifting.
“I can relate,” I reply with a little laugh. He looks exhausted, and I pray that we can both get at least a few hours of sleep tonight.
“I’ll have to leave first thing in the morning as long as the threat to the castle has been dealt with,” he says, over at me.
“I know,” I whisper, my heart cracking around the words.
He reaches up to smooth my hair away from my face with his other hand, then leans forward, straightening up to brush a soft kiss over my lips.
“Take that robe off and get in the shower with me,” he commands in a whisper against my lips.
“I just had a baby, Alpha King. Mystica said I shouldn’t partake in… sexual pursuits for several weeks.”
Maddox arches a brow, then grabs me by the waist and pulls me against his body, my silken robe clinging to my skin.
“Hey!” I protest, but then giggle unexpectedly as his hands grip my hips, his mouth locking onto my neck.
“You came back from the dead, little flower, I think you can handle this,” he growls against my skin, and I tremble with sudden, undeniable desire. I slowly reach between us to undo the laces holding my robe together, the silken fabric falling free.
I’m totally exposed to him now, and his hands come up to gently caress my swollen, aching breasts with the gentlest of touches.
Even though the diamond brought me back to life and healed the incredible damage inflicted on my body during the birth, I still feel slightly out of sorts. My body is fuller, my breasts large and heavy even with Maddox cupping them between us. I’m softer, I feel, all over.
Does he mind that I’m different now?
A blush prickles over my cheeks as I meet his eyes, which are firmly fixed on mine.
“You’re beautiful,” he whispers, leaning in to kiss me. I sigh against him, a soft moan escaping my lips as his hands rove down my back. I close my eyes as he takes the wet robe and tosses it with a wet smack over the side of the shower door and runs his hands over the back of my thighs, scooping me up so that i’m straddling him and adjusting my position against him.
I can feel his length pressing into the apex of my thighs, the heat between us peaking as I tilt my head back, his mouth trailing kisses from my jaw to my breasts.
The memory of the first encounter between us flutters into my mind, how he’d come into my room smelling of cologne, tasting of wine as he pinned me to the bed and touched me like no man had ever touched me before.
How breathless I’d been, and how clouded I was by white-hot desire before we’d been rudely interrupted.
I still feel that way for him. I’ll never stop feeling that way for him.
His kiss meets my mouth again, and I rise up against him, the water raining down my thighs as I kiss him deeper, harder.
“Isla,” he moans against my mouth, sucking in his breath as I trail my fingertips over his chest and stomach.
“I want you Maddox,” I whimper, blinded by desire. “All of you.”
He takes a shuddering breath, closing his eyes as I stroke his length with a gentle, almost teasing touch. He leans his head against mine, his breath catching in his throat as I stroke him again, and again.
“Fuck, Isla,” he whispers, his brow furrowing as he rocks his hips against my touch and bites his lip. That look alone has me dripping with need as I lean forward, my breasts pressed against his chest.
His hand leaves the back of my thigh and slides along the tender, aching place between my legs. I lean my forehead against his, trembling under his touch. He slides one finger inside of me, then two, curling them slightly as he pumps them in, then out.
Water is splashing over the edge of the shower through the open door and onto the floor, the steam rippling towards the ceiling as I stifle the scream threatening to spill from my lips.
“P-please,” I whimper, riding the edge of oblivion as his fingers hits that spot over and over, my legs beginning to tremble.
“Come for me,” he says, his eyes locked on mine. “Right now, Luna.”
I do. I can’t help it. He tangles the finger of his free hand in my hair and pulls so I’m forced to look at him as wave after wave of pleasure rips through my body.
He chokes out a breath, heat flashing behind his emerald eyes as he drops his hand and takes me by the hips, his cock pressing into my core.
But then a sharp cry echoes past the open door.
“Oh, no,” I whisper. “Poor Isaac, he’s all alone–” I reluctantly slide down from his body guilt breaking through the pleasure still thrumming through my body. Maddox still has his hand pressed against the wall, his chest heaving as he holds my gaze and nods.
He doesn’t look too entirely disappointed, but I feel bad nonetheless.
I wrap a towel around my body and step over the puddles of water and past my sodden robe before padding quickly to the bassinet, where Isaac has his tiny hands balled into fists, his face reddened with fury.
I gather him against my chest and sit on the end of the bed, shushing and rocking him until he settles. I try to nurse, but he refuses. His diaper doesn’t need changing, either.
He still looks angry, though.
“What’s the matter, little one?” I whisper as his face screws up in scowl again.
Maddox crawls into the bed behind us, and I turn my head to look at him, seeing he’s now dressed in a pair of boxers. He kisses me on the shoulder, then the neck, then reaches around me to lay a hand over Isaac’s chest.
Isaac settles at Maddox’s touch, and I’m surprised to find myself… jealous.
“He likes you more than me,” I whisper, trying not to pout.
I pass Isaac to Maddox and rise from the bed to put on pajamas and a new, dry robe. All the while, Maddox successfully settles Isaac enough that he falls right back to sleep.
“How?” I ask. “How did you do that?”
“I don’t know,” he whispers, looking down at our son before his eyes meet mine in the dark. “It’s been a long day for all of us. I think you and I should rest, too.” He places Isaac in the bassinet and returns to bed.
“I'm sorry… that we–that you didn’t–”
He pulls me into the bed, wrapping his arms around me and holding me against his chest as I settle against my pillow.
“We have all the time in the world,” he whispers against my cheek, then kisses me right behind the ear before laying his head on his own pillow.
He’s asleep in an instant, but I find it impossible to even close my eyes.
Tomorrow Maddox travels into the unknown to return the diamond to its home to restore peace to our lands.
And tomorrow I face my biggest challenge yet.
Maintaining the peace at home.