Once Rejected, Twice Desired (Book 1 of Blue Moon Series)
Once Rejected, Twice Desired Chapter 69

Alexi POV

Maybe an hour after Matt left, I went back into Alaia's room. She was asleep, but it didn't look peaceful, and that hurt. My angel thought I hated her, and that was the furthest thing from the truth. I loved her with every breath in my body. I walked over and placed a kiss against her temple before I pulled up a chair and sat down next to her.

My hand instinctively found hers, and soon I was leaning over the edge of the bed with my head resting next to her belly. I didn't even realize that I had drifted off until I felt her small hand running through my hair. It had only been a few hours, but I had missed being this close to her. I had missed her touch. "Hi, angel. How are you?"

"I'm scared, Alexi."

That response got me moving immediately. "Scared of what? The doctor said you're healing just fine. It's much slower than a wolf should heal, but it's still healing. And there is no sign of infection. You are alright, baby."

She looked at the bandage on her arm then back to me. "I'm scared you'll never trust me again. And that we can never be the way we were before all this happened."

I really wanted to scoop her up and hold her tight, but she was connected to all the machines, and I didn't want to hurt her. So, I just leaned over and kissed her with all the love and passion I could. I didn't have the words, but I knew she could feel what I felt. She was my everything, and nothing would ever change that. "I love you, and I trust you. You just made a mistake, baby. It's not like I've never made any before. You forgave me for all of it, and I forgive you."

"You do?"

I had to laugh-she was so cute. "Of course I do. And besides, who am I to judge? I can't say if I would have done things any differently if I had been in your position."

She breathed a sigh of relief, and I watched a little of the tension she was still holding on to melt away.

"Now, are you hungry? I can get something brought to the room for you. What do you have a taste for?"

She smiled at the thought of food. I knew that she hadn't eaten since breakfast, and she was probably starving. "Could you ask Geoff to make me his spaghetti and meatballs? Or a pizza? He makes the best pizza. Or maybe-"

"I'll just ask Geoff to make you anything Italian. How does that sound?"

"Sounds good. Thank you, Alexi."

When she smiled at me, it felt like it had been years since I had last seen one. This incident had been agony, and I never wanted something like this to come between us again. I stood and walked toward the door. "While I'm gone, you start thinking about our wedding. I want to make you my wife as soon as possible." When I walked out, I felt like a weight had been lifted from my chest.

I wasn't watching where I was going and ran right into Xander. "s**t. Sorry, man. That's my fault."

"Where are you rushing off to looking so damn happy?"

I must have still been smiling, and not even realized it. "I'm heading to the kitchen to have Geoff make angel something to eat."

He looked at me suspiciously. "That's what's got you grinning like a fool?"

"I may have made up with our girl. I missed her, and I'm happy to have her back, that's all."

"I'm on my way to do the same thing. I feel like s**t right now, and I'm sure it's because of how I left things."

"I'll leave you to it. I should be back in a little bit with food, so don't go anywhere."

***

Before I made it to the kitchen, the smell of garlic bread hit me. If I wasn't hungry before, I definitely was now. I walked in to replace Geoff pulling a pan of lasagna out of the oven.

He must have been a mind reader or something.

"Good evening, Mr. Alexi. Are you here to take Ms. Alaia her dinner?"

I looked at him, stunned. Alaia and I had just finished discussing dinner five minutes ago, how had he already made an entire meal?

Geoff saw my confusion and laughed. "Ms. Alaia has a fondness for Italian food, and I know she hasn't eaten anything substantial since breakfast. Those little boys will drain her of all her energy if she doesn't eat enough, so I decided to make her something hearty and delicious for dinner. I see I was right on time." "Hell yeah, you were. This is perfect. I was coming to ask for spaghetti or pizza."

He laughed again. "Her usual requests. But I'm sure she'll enjoy the lasagna just as much. If not, I'll gladly make her whatever she wants." He proceeded to place huge servings of lasagna, Caesar salad, and garlic cheese bread into plastic containers and put them all into an insulated cooler. He added some drinks and sliced fruits before handing it over to me. "You make sure she eats that. And there is plenty more if she needs it. I made this just for her, so she can have all she wants." Geoff had a kind, father-like air about him, and it was evident that he loved Alaia like she was his own.

Everyone she met ended up falling for her; it was only a matter of time.

"Thank you so much. She'll be ecstatic to see me back so soon. We really appreciate this." I was on my way out when I turned back to Geoff. I had an idea. "Actually, Geoff. Could you do me a favor?"

***

Alaia POV

Both of my guys had come back, and they didn't hate me. I was so relieved and overjoyed; nothing was worse than the feeling of being alone. Xander was sitting by my bed, telling me about all that had been going on with the search for Vincent when I heard a light knock on the door. "Come in."

The door opened, and in came Geoff carrying a small table and a few other accessories. "Good evening, Alpha and Luna. I have your dinner for you. If you'd just give us a few minutes, I'll get it all set up for you."

I just looked on and nodded. I wasn't expecting a full dinner production. I would have been happy with a slice of pizza on a paper plate.

Geoff and the omega he had with him set up the table and neatly placed a white table cloth on top. A centerpiece of beautiful flowers was arranged in the center of the table before three place settings were laid out. Then came the food. Geoff pulled out the lasagna, salad, and bread, and neatly arranged it all.

When the smell hit me, my stomach rumbled and my mouth watered. I moaned out loud. I wasn't ashamed to admit it.

He popped the cork for a bottle of red wine, and after it sat for a few minutes, he poured two glasses and a third glass of grape juice. They quickly cleaned up everything and left the room. "I hope you enjoy your dinner, Ms. Alaia," Geoff added before the door closed.

The entire set up was terrific, and I almost wanted to cry, but I wanted to eat first.

"Wow. Alexi said he was going to get you food. I was thinking of a sandwich or something. I see I've got to step my game up."

"I think we both do. I wasn't expecting anything like this either."

As if on queue, Alexi entered in a clean button-down shirt and jeans. His hair was no longer messy and disheveled and was instead neatly combed back and away from his perfect face.

He walked over to Xander and me and smiled. "Today has been a pretty shitty day. I think we all can agree on that. So, I think we need a date night. We need to sit and reconnect. Enjoy each other's company for a while. And since our first date ended so well, I figured I'd try my luck again."

"This is amazing, babe. And I agree, we do need a date night. Thank you for putting this together for us."

Xander helped me from the bed and dragged all of my monitors over to the table before Alexi settled me in my seat. They then sat on either side of me, and we all dug in.

The food was incredible and seemed to melt in my mouth. "Alexi, how did you pull this off? You were only gone thirty minutes," I asked between shoveling the pasta into my mouth.

"Just good timing. Geoff had already made everything when I walked in. I just happened to have the date night idea, and he took it from there."

"You're two for two with planning dates, Alexi. The next one is all mine," Xander joked.

I didn't care who planed what. I was just happy to be having good food with my favorite guys in the world.

We really needed this.

"So, angel. Did you think about what I asked before I left? When is our wedding happening?"

I had been thinking about it a lot. And I knew that this was what I wanted. "How about in two weeks?"

Both guys dropped their forks and looked over at me.

"Two weeks? Why so soon? And you'll be too pregnant to even move at that point, little one."

"I don't need a big wedding, guys. I just need the two of you. And I want to be married before the boys get here. I thought it wasn't that big a deal before, but I realize now that it's important to me. They are due in three weeks; I want to be your wife in two." After a few tense seconds, Alexi finally spoke. "Well, if that's what you want. I'm positive we can make it happen."

"Great! I already found a planner who's a pro when it comes to shorter timelines. You guys won't have to do anything."

"I don't mind helping, angel. This is our wedding, too."

"Just be there on the day. That's all I need."

We went back to eating our dinner and talking about what we wanted the wedding to be like. It was nice to hear their ideas, and I was happy they both wanted to take an active roll in planning. I just hoped that we could pull it off without any extra outside drama. That would be a real accomplishment.

***

After dinner, Dr. Bennett came back in to check my arm. Everything was still looking good, but healing much slower than it should have been. "I'd like you to stay here at least until the wound starts to close. That way, we can actively work to avoid infection. Other than that, you and the babies are in perfect health. Make sure to continue to get your rest, though. Those little guys could decide to make an appearance any day now." Wait... what?

"What do you mean any day now? We've still got three weeks until they are due!"

"Yes, Luna, that due date was set when we thought there was just one little pup. But multiples typically come sooner. There is only so much space in your body. I've measured you, and it appears that our timeline has absolutely moved up. Plus, being that you're a smaller wolf, I'd expect them here anytime in the next week or so."

I wasn't ready! That was way too soon.

"But that won't work. That's not how I planned all this to go." I looked at the other faces in the room, but none of them held the answers I needed. How could I pull off an entire wedding in less than a week? This was a disaster.

"Calm down, Alaia. We'll be fine. Everything will be fine," Xander said while rubbing the back of my hand.

I picked up my grape juice and downed it, wishing it was something much, much stronger. "Okay, I've got this. It's no big deal."

"Don't worry yourself, Luna, they will come when they are ready. Don't stress over something you can't control."

To let me know who was really in control, both twins let off well-placed kicks at the same time.

One hit my ribcage, and the other my continuously abused bladder.

"I change my mind. It's not too soon, these little guys have got to go. The sooner, the better." Well, let's see what kind of ceremony I could pull together in a few days. Hopefully, they'd at least give me that, then they could make their entrance to the world and give me my body and bladder back.