The Imperial Wolf Series Books 1-3
Chapter 84

Kate

POV

I awake in the arms of Erick. He is sleeping so soundly. I cannot remember the last time he was actually sleeping when I woke up. He must be at peace for the moment. Austin is home, Cassie is here not exactly willingly, but she is here. The house is complete and operating.

The pack has been pretty quiet. Several of the she-wolves have been by the house with food for us and gifts for the upcoming baby. Things feel normal, and it is terrifying.

I roll over to Erick. I kiss his lips softly and let my fingers run through the scruff of his bread. He smiles and opens his eyes.

"Goodmorning," I say to him. It takes him a moment to become completely awake.

"Goodmorning, Kate," Erick says.

Erick moves closer to me, holding me tightly. His hand makes its way to my baby bump. He rubs my belly, and our baby begins to move about inside me.

"He is awake," Erick says.

"Or her," I say.

"Or her. I do not care as long as our baby is happy," Erick says.

"I cannot believe you slept so late," I say to him, moving closer to him.

Realizing how long he has been in bed, Erick gets out of bed. I pout. "I was hoping you would lay with me a while," I say.

"I cannot, even though I would love to lay here with you all day. I have to set things right with Cassie and Austin," Erick says.

"Don't do it today. Just let things go for today, please. Let's just have a nice peaceful day as a family, and tonight you and Cassie can talk, please," I say to Erick. Erick leans down and kisses me. "Okay, just for today. I have to sort out how we are going to do this with Cassie and Austin tonight," Erick says.

Erick goes to leave the bedroom. "Wait, I need help out of bed, please," I call to him.

Erick comes back to me and helps me up. "I go it from here. Let Meaghan know I will be done in a bit," I say.

Erick leaves me to try to get ready for the day. This is going to take forever. I was not this big with baby Belle. I rub my baby bump. Please only be one in there.

I manage to finally get dressed and go down the stairs to try to eat something. Meaghan is playing with baby Bell and Levi in the living room. Cassie and Austin are on the porch. I know she feels out of place and wants nothing to do with us. I remember those feelings. It is that horrible despair that sent me over the edge. I do not want her to feel this way. I do not want her to be trapped here. "Where is Erick?" I ask Meaghan.

"Business with Raven and John. He said they would be back. Something is going on with the Martin boys, nothing unusual," Meaghan says.

"Those boys need to grow up and straighten up their act. I swear, maybe Erick can straighten then out eventually," I say.

Meaghan laughs. "That is never going to happen. They will act like kids until they die," Meaghan says.

"Is she talking to you, any?" I ask Meaghan. Meaghan looks back at Cassie on the porch with Austin.

"No. She fed Austin and took him out. She has ignored everyone all morning. She is pissed off at John for lying to her, Erick for being Erick, me for breathing, and well, you know why she is pissed at you," Meaghan says. "Where is Isabella?" I ask.

"She went to the cabin. She said it was too tense in this house, and I do not blame her. Cassie is hard to be around," Meaghan says.

"I am going to try to talk to her," I say.

"Be careful; you are too close to having that baby to be upset," Meaghan says.

"I know. I just want things to settle. Erick is going to talk to her tonight. See if they can come to an agreement about Austin to make them both happy," I say.

"Good, I think he should... never mind, it is not my place," Meaghan says.

I sit down beside Meaghan. "No, please voice your opinion. Erick never wanted this pack to be afraid to voice their opinions," I say.

Baby Belle moves into my lap as if to listen to us talking. Cassie pauses. She is unsure if she should speak her mind or not.

"I understand why Cassie was nervous, and I think Alpha Erick should take that into consideration. That is all. She loves that boy," Meaghan says.

"I agree," I say.

I ponder everything for a moment. I need to choose my words carefully with Cassie. Erick is not here, and I am not sure I could handle her in my current state if things got out of hand. I do not want to get too upset, and the white wolf come for me. I only need to talk to her. I want her to know how I feel.

I set baby Belle down with Levi. I take a deep breath. It is now or never. She may leave, and I never see her again. I need to get these things off of my chest.

I go out the door and sit down beside Cassie. She does not even look my way. She keeps talking to Austin and just pretends I am not here.

"Cassie, I wonder if we might could talk," I say.

Cassie's hand grabs at the fabric on her pants. I can tell she is stressed and worried. Her worry is for this little boy she considers her child. We are all just obstacles.

"Sure, Luna, how can I help you?" Cassie snaps at me. I ignore her tone, and there is no reason for me to respond to the hostility.

"I want you to know that I am sorry for everything, the wolf, Desire, and you not feeling safe here," I say.

"Well, that is good to know; I feel better already," Cassie says.

"Look, I know you are not my biggest fan, and I am fine with it. I only want you and Erick to get along so that you two can come to an agreement over Austin that will make you both happy. I am not important in this situation," I say.

Cassie's face turns red. She is angry with me. I feel threatened by her. I try not to feel this way, but it rushes over my body. I start to count to calm myself 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. As I am counting, Erick pulls up. He comes upon the porch to see what is going on with Cassie and

me.

"Is everything okay?" Erick asks.

"Yes, everything is fine, sweetie. We were just talking about Austin," I say.

I rush past Erick and go into the house. I cannot be around her. She infuriates me. When I walk past baby Belle, she feels my pain. She immediately shifts into her wolf form and darts out the door and straight into Erick's arms. She begins growling at Cassie. "Meaghan, if you are not afraid to, please go get my baby. I cannot go out there around Cassie," I say to Meaghan.

"Yes, Luna," Meaghan says.

Meaghan goes outside. Cassie and Erick are arguing. Meaghan has a hard time, but she manages to convince baby Belle to come back to me with her. By the time Meaghan hands me, my daughter, I am calm. Baby Belle sees me calm and shifts back into her human form.

"Is everything okay out there?" I ask Meaghan.

"No comment," Meaghan answers me.

"Maybe we should go see Isabella for a while, let them work it out," I suggest.

"Luna, that is a great idea," Meaghan says.

Meaghan and I pack a bag for the babies and walk fast the fighting on my porch. Raven and John are both standing there with no idea how to handle any of this.

"One of you should take Austin in the house, so he does not have to watch this," I suggest as I get into a car with Meaghan.

Raven takes the initiative. He takes Austin into the house as Meaghan, and I leave.

"That got tense fast," I say.

"You should have heard the two of them this morning. They went into Erick's office. They were loud," Meaghan says.

"Really," I say.

My mind wanders off to why Cassie and Erick were in the office alone. What were they doing in there so loudly? Stop; he is not having an affair with her. You cannot keep doing this to yourself. Now, the image is burning in my brain of Erick and Cassie together. What if all of this is a show? What if he really loves her?

"Luna, are you okay?" Meaghan asks.

I snap back to reality. "Yes, I am fine. I felt a little strange for a moment. Probably all of this stress," I say.

Meaghan reaches for my hand. "You can tell me if you see him. I am on your side," Meaghan says.

"I know you are on my side, and I appreciate you so much," I say.

We pull into Isabella's cabin. Isabella comes out to greet us. Meaghan and I get out of the car and take the babies into Isabella's cabin.

"We are escaping the drama," I say to her as we go inside her cabin.

Isabella comes rushing toward me as soon as I put Belle down. "You saw him, didn't you?" she asks.

"Not exactly, I heard him," I answer her.

"How do you feel? How is the baby?" Isabella asks.

"I feel okay. The baby is fine. I just need to get away from the stress going on in my house, but now I have left Erick alone with Cassie, and it makes me angry," I say.

The same images flash through my mind. My husband and Cassie together will not stop going through my mind. I cannot control my thoughts. I begin to cry. Isabella takes me into her arms.

"He is toying with you, child. Do not let him win. You are too close to having this baby. Try to breathe through it. You can win this battle," Isabella says.

Baby Belle begins to shift back and forth from human to wolf. Isabella looks at Belle. "Belle, stop that," Isabella says.

Baby Belle immediately stops shifting and lays beside Levi. I look at Isabella, she does not look good herself, and here she is fretting over me.

"Isabella, what is wrong with you?" I ask her.

"I have not eaten since the first day I was here. I am not going to make it much longer," Isabella says.

"You can feed off me," Meaghan volunteers. Is there anything she isn't willing to do for this pack?

"I only need a little to get me through the next few weeks. The baby will be here soon, and then I have to go," Isabella says.

The reminder that we agreed to help her leave this earth leaves a bitter taste in my mouth. I do not want to be without her. Isabella sits beside Cassie. She takes her wrist and drinks. Cassie does not fuss or act like it is painful. I know it is, but she wants to help Isabella.

"Now that we are all back to normal, how about some tea?" Isabella asks as she goes toward her little stove.

"I would love some," I say.

"Me too," Meaghan says.

The three of us go into the kitchen to make our tea. We begin to chat, and everything seems normal. The babies fall asleep next to each other. Then I see him, the white wolf. He is circling the babies. "Isabella," I say to her.

She is already on it. As she gets to her feet, there is a loud noise coming from the direction of my house. It almost sounds like a bomb.

"ERICK!" I scream.

"Stay here with the babies," Isabella says. She leaves the cabin at vampire speed to see what is happening.