Forever in the Past and Forever in the Future
Chapter 73

Bronx's POV

It's Sunday. I call it our "lazy" day. In other words, Kas and I! don't leave the apartment so James and Marco can have a day off. Most of the time, we are anything but lazy. Kas catches up on homework, tests recipes that I get to taste for quality control, and does chores she doesn't want to have omegas take care of, like laundry and cleaning the kitchen. I always tell her that is what they are there for but she says she is happy to do it so! let her be. : For me personally, it is a good time to catch up on pack matters and relax in front of the television. Kas likes to write any essays she has due on Sundays, so she gives them to me to read over when she is done.'

It is late afternoon when she is finished with her homework and other busy work, so she comes over to hang out with me on the sofa. She drapes her legs over my lap and looks hesitantly at the reality show about fishing boatslam watching.

"Sweetheart, can we talk about a couple of things?" she asks, trying to sound casual but I see right through it. It's rare for Kas to say she wants to talk about whatever's on her mind, so when she does, I give her my full attention. I have been able to sense something has been bothering her for a couple days now. I knew she would come around at some point, but I need to let her do it in her own time.

"Of course, Baby. What's up?" I shut off the television, "Everything okay?"

"Yeah, I was just thinking. Now that Codi is born, maybe you should try to quit smoking. Do you want her to remember your scent as cigarette smoke?"

"Excuse me?" The tone of my voice betrays my body language. This is about my bad habit? I start to feel a bit defensive.

"Well, yeah, I mean. Nothing about it is good for you and now that you have a niece who you will spend time with, I think maybe you could consider quitting," she looks at me as if it is just that easy to quit smoking. Just snap my damn fingers and it's gone.

"Call her bluff," Saint taunts. His mood swings have been so wild since he came back in December. After I died in Blood River and was able to be resuscitated I thought it would be kind of like a reset button for him, but it wasn't.

"Saint, this is our mate. Don't be an ass," I scold him.

"Okay, gently call her bluff," he tries to bargain. He's got a point, actually. °

"Alright, tell you what. I will quit smoking if you tell me what this is really about. Because I don't believe for a second it is simply about me, Codi, or about me quitting smoking," I look her in the eye, making her drop her shoulders in defeat.

"Fine," she sighs, her mood immediately changes to be more serious, "you know how earlier you asked if I wanted to have a baby sooner?"

"Yeah, I remember," my heart hits a hard beat. Is she changing her mind about waiting?

She clears her throat and avoids making eye contact.

"Uh oh. Something's wrong," Saint growls.

"When I was in France, Lady Camille said she had done some research about my lineage. At least for the lives she knows about. And uh, she says there is a possibility that I won't be able to have children. She isn't quite sure because of how unique our situation is," She says with a little frown. My sweet little mate sounds like she is going to cry and I'm not sure how to stop it before it starts. She looks at her hands while she explains the circumstances and potential solutions she and Lady Camille discussed. When she finishes, she looks up at me and there they are, all the tears. My heart starts breaking at the sight, so I reach over and wipe them away, then pull her onto my lap.

"Baby, hey, don't cry. No. Hey, if it doesn't happen, it doesn't happen.

We're in this together forever, remember? We can try the things Lady Camille suggests if you want or we can always adopt or something. It doesn't matter to me as long as I have you. Little shack in the back o the territory, remember? You don't need to cry. Please don't cry," I reassure her while I hold her close to my chest. Asl say it, I realize I am not just reassuring her, I'm reassuring myself as well. I clear my throat and wipe my own eye once I'm sure she is more calm. "Thank you for understanding, Sweetheart," Kas says, kissing my hand. I want to ask her so many more questions, but I can feel how bad this hurts for her to talk about, so I decide to drop it and change the subject. "Now, what else did you have on your mind? Hopefully, something not as heavy," I ask.

"No, not as heavy at all," she says witha smile. She then tells me about Lady Camille's viewpoints on replaceing her sisters. "Kas, how is that not heavy? Darkness? Not accepting their fate?" I ask, "That's not heavy? Seems like lead weights to me."

"Bronx, I want to at least research and see who I can replace. Safely and carefully," she justifies to me. She sounds so confident.

"Okay, so how do you want to do that? What have you thought of in that beautiful head of yours? I can tell you have had a lot on your mind the past few days, sol am glad you are finally telling me what's been brewing up there."

She looks at me and smiles, "Thank you for your patience, Sweetheart."

She gets up and grabs her laptop, then sits down beside me. She has a page of notes typed up. My little researcher. "Well clearly, a bunch of people need to agree to this but hear me out, Mister CEO of MasonCo. What if Lenora creates a position for Musu in the International division of MasonCo and we give her a special project where her responsibility is to search out the Menae? It could be funded by the Werewolf Historical Preservation Society since it is technically research about the Moon Goddess and her offspring. That way there isn't even that much coming out of your pocket. Once the bakery is making money, I can help fund the research also. Whatever isn't covered by the Society," she looks at me and smiles proudly.

"Not to mention, it's like, a perfect fit for Musu. She's smart, well-traveled, friendly, and she already speaks seven languages. She can do the research through the company and when she gets a lead, she brings it to us. From a security standpoint, you and Lenora can decide how we proceed. If you don't think it is safe to contact the person, we move on. I mean, we will have to fill Musu in on all the details of my history but she seems like she would be the perfect fit. Besides, she's going to need a job, right? Why make her search for one, when we can offer her one?"

I sit back and look into the distance with a smile on my face, "How the Hell did you get to be so cunning?" I look back at her to see her smiling broadly.

"I learned it from this weak old wolf I know," she teases.

That's it. Tickle fight. I pull her into my lap and start tickling mercilessly so I can hear my favorite sound in the world.