Stronger by Ang Chris
Chapter 63

“Darling!” Lilianna came up and swept me up in her arms. “OH!” she looked down at my belly. “I hope you’re not trying to hide that because I can smell it on you.”

I flushed. “Only for a little while.”

“I think it’s the best thing I’m here; you need someone you can trust.” She huffed and brought her bags into the house.

“How has he been?” she asked me as she settled into one of the many vacant bedrooms that seemed to be filling up more and more by the day.

“He turned after seeing some of the information they had on me, and it confirmed that there’s a mole.”

She stopped. “He’ll string them up when he replaces them.”

“Yes,” I nodded.

“My husband may be stupid, but at least he doesn’t have a temper like yours,” she huffed, sitting down on the bed. “He’ll be worse since you’re pregnant, but I won’t lie; this might be exactly what we need. He’ll be cutthroat.”

“Who here worries you?” she asked me.

“All of the people he’s assuming I have a hard time believing. There’s one obvious, but I feel as if it’s a trap almost,” I told her.

“Who?” she asked me like she already knew the answer.

“Jessica. She was a woman—”

“She was a woman Grayson was tempted to wed before he heard of you. He wanted her for her dedication in the clinic, but she was playing him. He dodged a real bullet. She’s been a whiny b*tch since,” Lilianna crossed her arms.

“But you are right,” she sighed. “It’s blatantly obvious.”

“And she couldn’t have access to the things they had.”

“Hmmm,” she hummed. “Who’s she been spending her time with?”

I went blank. I had no clue, and some of the members of Grayson’s council were not bound to a female wolf. Matt and Leon both had no one and could have become loose-lipped with a girl they wanted to protect.

“They’re men; they want to protect a girl, and vicious females use that to their advantage. My advice, don’t count her out,” she agreed with my thoughts.

“How’s Steven?” I shifted the topic. I was surprised she had come here so quickly.

“Surprisingly active. He’s been training and fortifying our defenses. He’s planted a good amount of landmines around our lands. He’s asked me to call him once a day to know I’m alright,” she almost scoffed. “Apparently, even an idiot has some sense.”

“Well, we all have our days,” I shrugged.

Lilianna had not only taken me under her wing, but she disregarded Grayson’s orders, sneaking me past his borders and helping us grow.

“You need to go and spread some of those little lies and replace this rat,” she told me, and she stood and continued to unpack.

I headed out to drop the seeds of false intent with our suspects.

I spotted Matt and Aarron going into the training house. I wanted them separate, so I turned to look for Elizabeth.

She, as my guard, ended up replaceing me.

“Luna, please call for me when you want to leave your house. It’s my job to watch over you,” she scolded me.

“I’m still getting used to it, Elizabeth. I’m sorry I didn’t call for you,” I smiled at her to placate her a second.

I headed to the field to continue the harvest. Tomatoes were abundant, and I was not without work despite my secret agenda.

We talked about the harvest, the supplies for winter, the animals, the trade, eventually making our way to the topic of the war.

I waited for her to broach some question or other about it, thinking up a fib to tell her.

“How far do you think their alpha will go?” She looked almost scared.

It threw me off my plan. I hadn’t seen her like this ever.

“I don’t know,” I responded.

“I worry for you and the alpha. He is becoming a beast, and you need him, not his wolf. Especially now,” she hinted at what we’d left unsaid.

I felt like a monster for questioning her loyalty. She has been true to Grayson this entire time. Yes, she judged me when I first got here, but she was following his lead like any wolf would do. Was I going to do the same just because I was scared?

“You said you’d tell me,” she whispered in the faintest voice.

My mind turned back.

“The alpha will not give me a baby until the war is over,” I told her.

She nodded once in shock. “Sounds like something he would do. It makes sense to be safe during this time. Do not take it as a slight from him; he’s protecting you,” she told me.

I had been spending a lot of nights “working.” Only because I was nauseous in terms of eating pork.

“You’re right,” I looked down. “I just wish things were so different, that war didn’t rule our lives in any way.”

“If she isn’t the mole, she will never blame you.”

I kept my smile off of my face so I could continue this plan.

All of this had to come from me since Grayson had sent such a message. Whoever it was knew he was aware by now.

So now I would come in as a kind, naive Luna who effortlessly busted pretense.

Elizabeth traded with her husband as my guard so she could continue training the new warriors.

“Luna,” he nodded to me and kissed his wife on the trade-off.

“Good to see you are alright after Grayson’s rampage. He’s very angry that they shot their wolves to stop us from getting any information.” I gave another lie.

“No worries, Luna. He has every right to be upset and angry. He is just being a good alpha,” he smiled at me.

He followed me around, and I was not sure how to get a lie to him. His time as my guard was telling me I should call my mother and spout a lie to her for him to overhear.

“Mama, how are you?” I lowered my voice hardly enough.

“I’m alright, dear,” my mother questioned my false tone.

“I’ve been banned. We’ve lost out on a shipment of weapons,” I looked over my shoulder.

Aarron was leaning against the wall, paying no attention. Or making it look like that.

“Oh, that’s horrible, dear. Do you need us to send you some? Do you have any backups? What do you need?” my mother rambled.

“We’ll have to work on our own,” I continued. “How are you?”

“I’m fine. You are acting odd, though.”

“Oh, there’s fine, Mama. If you’re busy, I can call you later.”

“No, no, Annette. What is it you are doing? What’s wrong?” she huffed.

“I love you too, Mom. Bye.” I smiled and hung up the phone.

The work done on the keep was almost completed. It would be our safe house in case of nearby attacks.

The keep had been built for housing those who wanted a lot of power. The basement was lined with silver so we could hold our captured wolves in prison and we didn’t want anyone interfering with our plans.

It contained rest, food, blankets, defenses, restrooms, fire, and anything else needed to be sustainable during the war.

I nodded to him and walked back into the house, heading down to the basement to check it for supplies and be sure it was ready for the pack. It had to be.

My life seemed to be nothing but lies right now. I was using them to protect my child. I was spouting them to replace liars. I have been trained to be like this, and sometimes the guilt crept in.

I walked into my house and was greeted by a fabulous scent. I wandered into the kitchen.

“Are you hungry, dear?” Lilianna asked as she stirred a creamy pot of soup.

“Full of vegetables.” She nodded to my stomach.

I didn’t have much longer until I’d start showing. Wolves grew bigger faster and stayed in the womb longer. By next week, I’m sure my pants would already feel tighter and the button would give way.

I’d had too much to eat, but any mothers in the pack would be the same. They knew the struggle. I did my best to continue and bumped into that little mole, Jessica,” she looked at me with a smirk. “And?”

My eyes reddened. “What did you say?”

She shrugged as she poured another ladle of soup. “That you and Grayson were expecting. She’ll love that even if she isn’t the mole,” I growled.

Lilianna let out her musical laugh. “Exactly. If she is the mole, she will not hesitate to whisper it on.”

“Alright,” I nodded.

“She would never have believed it from you anyways. Anything you’d said, she hates you,” she said as if it was a compliment.

“Well, that’s nice. Thank you,” I gave her a small glare.

“You need to be selfish, Annette. You need to be territorial. You have Grayson; that much anyone with eyes can see. But that doesn’t mean people won’t try and come for the two of you. That much is obvious. If and when they do, don’t ever think about their feelings,” she turned serious and stared at me in the eyes.

“I want to be a good Luna…but I also want her thrown out on her ass,” I whispered.

“You are a good Luna, but remember that you have something people would kill for.”

I finished  my bowl and headed up to my room to sleep and mull over what Lilianna said. Even if she isn’t the mole, I doubt she’ll take this baby of mine in stride. I remember what she’d said to me before my binding. "You deserve this life."

This is my life.

As I lay in bed, the weight of Lilianna’s words settled over me. I needed to be more assertive, more protective of what was mine. My mind raced with thoughts of the mole, the potential threats to my family, and the steps I needed to take to ensure our safety.

Morning came too quickly, and with it, a renewed sense of purpose. I was determined to uncover the traitor and secure our pack’s future.

“Annette,” Grayson’s voice pulled me from my thoughts. “We need to talk.”

I looked up to see him standing in the doorway, his expression serious. I nodded and followed him to his office, where he closed the door behind us.

“What is it?” I asked, already knowing this conversation would be difficult.

“I’ve been thinking about what Lilianna said,” he began, his eyes locking onto mine. “About being more cutthroat.”

I nodded, waiting for him to continue.

“We need to be on the same page. I can’t do this alone, and neither can you. We’re stronger together, and we need to start acting like it,” he said firmly.

“I agree,” I replied, my resolve strengthening. “What’s the plan?”

“We need to keep a closer eye on Jessica and anyone else who might be a suspect. We can’t afford to let our guard down,” he explained. “And we need to be ready for anything.”

“I’ve already started planting seeds of false information,” I informed him. “We’ll see if anything comes back to us.”

“Good,” he said, a hint of a smile touching his lips. “We’ll get through this, Annette. Together.”

I nodded, feeling a surge of determination. We were in this fight together, and nothing would tear us apart.

As the days passed, we continued to strengthen our defenses and keep a watchful eye on our pack members. I spent more time with Elizabeth, who proved to be a valuable ally. Her loyalty to Grayson and me was unwavering, and I was grateful for her support.

One evening, as the sun began to set, I found myself in the garden, tending to the plants. It was a peaceful moment, a brief respite from the chaos that had become our lives.

“Luna,” Elizabeth’s voice broke through the tranquility. “I’ve been thinking.”

I looked up at her, curious. “About what?”

“About the mole. I think you’re right. It’s too obvious to be Jessica,” she said, her brow furrowed in thought. “But if it’s not her, then who?”

“I’ve been wondering the same thing,” I admitted. “There’s someone we’re overlooking, someone who’s hiding in plain sight.”

Elizabeth nodded, her expression thoughtful. “We’ll figure it out, Luna. We have to.”

As the weeks went by, the tension in the pack grew. We continued to train, to prepare for the inevitable conflict that loomed on the horizon. The bonds between us strengthened, and I could feel the pack’s unity solidifying.

One night, as I lay in bed next to Grayson, I felt a sense of peace wash over me. Despite the challenges we faced, I knew we were doing everything we could to protect our pack and our unborn child.

“I love you, Grayson,” I whispered, snuggling closer to him.

“I love you too, Annette,” he replied, his arms wrapping around me. “We’ll get through this. Together.”

And in that moment, I knew we would. We were stronger together, and nothing could break the bond we shared. The future was uncertain, but with Grayson by my side, I felt ready to face whatever came our way.