His Retribution

Chapter Three

Azalea

I laid on the bed panting as I came down from the high Liam took me to. Goddess, this man was my everything. With pregnancy, came an incredible level of horny that he was determined to keep up with. He kissed his way up my stomach from his position between my thighs until he got to my mouth. “Feel better, kitten?” he asked. I smiled and nodded my head. He gave me a wry smile. When he finally reached my face, he peppered kisses all over it, making me laugh. He held himself over me. “Do you want to go back to sleep for a bit, Little Luna? You barely slept,” he asked, concerned.

“No, I’m okay. I am only a little tired,” I reassured him.

“You’re going to bed early tonight,” he said, giving me a serious look. I gave him a small smile and nodded my head. Liam always made me feel so loved and cared for with his fussing over me.

“We need to figure out what to do with Missy,” I said, giving him my own serious look. He sighed.

“I know,” he said as he rolled to the side of me and pulled me onto him. I rested my head on his chest. Luckily, my baby bump wasn’t so big that this was impossible yet. “I think we need to lay down some rules about her spending time with Vlad.”

“I agree. But how do we do that without pushing her away?” I asked him.

“I think we should make it so they can only spend time together here, at the pack house. That way someone can have eyes on them,” he said. I thought about it for a moment. There was still more than enough room at the pack house that they could spend time together. There would be eyes on them in some form practically everywhere. Liam and I would be able to know she is safe at all times.

“Okay. I think that should be reasonable. But for how long? You know she is going to ask,” I said.

“At least a month. She turns 17 in only what 3 or so months now?” he thought.

“Yea. 3 months and a week,” I told him. There was a knock on the door interrupting us. Liam shifted so I was now laying on the bed and climbed out. He pulled on his shorts before opening the door. He turned back around and came over with a tray of food. I sat up as he set it down on the bed. I smiled at him, but my joy was short lived. The scent of the scrambled eggs hit my nose and I dived out of the bed. I rushed to the bathroom, vomiting as soon as I neared the toilet. Liam was behind me quickly, pulling my hair back away from my face and rubbing my back. He waited patiently for the heaving to stop and me to calm down. When I sat back on my legs, he went to the sink and brought me a glass of water.

“Eggs?” he linked. I nodded my head.

I sipped the water while Liam left the bathroom. Probably to get rid of the eggs for me. After a few minutes, I felt a tad bit better and hoisted myself up to stand. I went to the sink and was brushing my teeth when Liam came back in. He stopped behind me and gently rubbed my back. “Better?” he asked.

“A little,” I linked, my mouth full of toothpaste.

“I’ll have someone bring you up some toast,” he said. I spit the toothpaste out and swished some water through my mouth.

“Thank you,” I said when the taste was gone. I turned around and he pulled me against him.

“Three for three with the eggs,” he whispered. I nodded. “Let’s go lay down for a while longer. We can talk to Missy later. Felix said she went to her room after breakfast and hasn’t left.”

“Okay,” I said. Liam bent down and gently scooped me up, carrying me back to our bed. I sighed, resigning myself to his attentiveness. He laid me on the bed, climbing in next to me to hold me gently. I breathed in his wonderful forest scent, hoping it would be enough to make the nausea completely pass. We laid together for a while before he spoke.

“Will you stay in bed today?” he asked.

“No,” I simply said. He let out a big sigh.

“Will you at least sit at your desk and not overwork yourself? No pacing and running around the pack house. No baking or games with the children?” he pled.

“Alright. I will stay in my office but only until dinner,” I agreed. “And I am walking to and from my office!” I knew he was going grumble, but I was not going to give up walking just because of a little morning sickness. Liam didn’t argue and simply began to rub soothing circles on my back. My eyes grew heavy as we cuddled each other. Liam kissed the top of my head.

“Sleep, Little Luna,” he whispered. “I’ll wake you in a bit.” The nausea was passing, and my stomach was settled again. I let Liam’s scent lull me back to sleep.

Missy

Felix was knocking on my door around lunchtime. I planned to just stay in my room until Lea and Liam came to yell at me but the longer I waited, the more nervous I became. I felt like things were only going to get worse the longer they waited to yell at me.

I opened my door to the giant, grumpy bodyguard Liam had almost always watching Lea. He always had the same hard, unwavering look on his face and the scar on his face only made him more unapproachable. But I knew he was a giant softy. I didn’t say anything as he glared down at me.

“Luna’s office,” he said shortly. I swallowed the lump in my throat and nodded. Liam must have sent him to come get me. Lea never asks Felix to get her things or do her favors. I followed him down to Lea’s office. He stood next to the door giving me a curt nod. I knocked on the door.

“Come on in, Missy,” Lea’s voice said. I opened the door slowly. Lea was seated behind her desk and Liam was sitting on the corner of it. Lea looked calm while Liam looked frustrated.

I walked in the room and stood in front of the desk, looking down at the desk so I could avoid direct eye contact. “Missy, can you look up please?” Lea asked nicely.

I timidly lifted my head. “Thank you. We are not going to yell at you. We just want to talk to you. Why don’t you sit down?” she said gesturing to one of the chairs. I sat down and held in my hands in my lap.

“Missy, why didn’t you tell one of us if you wanted to stay out later?” Liam asked surprisingly gently.

I looked at him shocked. I was not expecting that. “Uh, well…” I said caught off guard.

“Missy although I am upset that Azalea stayed up late worrying about you, I am more disappointed than anything. You left the party early then disappeared. We asked you to be back by a certain time so we knew you were okay and you blatantly disregarded us,” he said.

Azalea reached over and put a hand on Liam’s arm. She did this whenever she was trying to calm him down. Our teachers at school had talked about how the mate bond can have this effect. “Missy, we are worried about your behavior lately. We know you have been skipping school with Vlad, honey,” she said softly. My eyes went wide. How did they find out? The school wasn’t supposed to notify your parents until 4 unexcused absences in a single semester and I made sure we only did it three!

“Missy, I am the Alpha of this pack. I am friends with your principal. He called me after the second one and asked if you were feeling alright,” Liam said, already knowing what was going through my head. I hung my head.

“I’m sorry…” I apologized.

Lea sighed. “We are worried sweetheart. We know how much you like Vlad, but you cannot be skipping school or staying out past curfew where we don’t even know where you are. Missy, you are our child and anyone could use you to hurt us. This pack is not without enemies…” she said anxiously.

“I really didn’t mean to miss curfew,” I said softly. They both waited for me to continue. “We were just having fun. I wanted to get away from the party and the pack. I’m tired of all the whispers. I left my phone in Vlad’s car and as soon as Damien linked me, we came back.”

They locked eyes for a moment. “While we aren’t mad, we are still disappointed. And there will still be consequences,” Liam finally answered. I sighed and nodded my head.

“For starters, you will not miss another class,” Lea said sternly. She was always serious about school. “You will also not be leaving the pack house unless you are going to school or attending training.” My heart sank. I would be trapped here.

“But, we are not forbidding you from seeing Vlad,” Liam continued. Hope blossomed in my chest for a moment. “You two will just need to spend your time here where we know where you are.”

“I guess that’s fair… but for how long?” I asked.

“We will see. Let’s start with the next month and we will reevaluate,” Lea said.

“Okay,” I said nodding my head.

“Missy, you can’t worry us like that again. It’s not good for Azalea to be up all night worried and pacing around the packhouse waiting to know your safe,” Liam said. I knew he was most upset about that part. Wolves couldn’t help but be extra protective of their pregnant mates. So far, Azalea has had some seriously rough times being pregnant, so it was understandable that he was upset she was worried unnecessarily.

“I’m really sorry. I won’t do it again, I promise,” I said. Liam nodded his head.

“I am sure you want to call Vlad so go ahead. We’ll see you at dinner in a bit,” Lea said with a soft smile. I nodded my head and got up from the chair. I stopped when I got to the door and turned around.

“I’m sorry I left the party… Happy Birthday Lea,” I said before opening the door and exiting the room. Felix was standing outside like usual; he was never far from Lea unless she was with Liam. He gave me a curt nod as I hurried down the hall back to my room. At least I could still see Vlad.

Liam

Missy left the office quickly. I turned to Azalea, but she already knew what I was going to say. “What whispers is she talking about? Does this have something to do with us?” she asked quickly.

“I was not going to do anything about it for the moment because I didn’t want to make things worse. One of her teachers mentioned that they have noticed that Missy doesn’t interact much with her classmates other than Vlad. They also think that she may be facing some bullying based on the fact that she is our adopted daughter but Junior will be the one to take over as Alpha when the time comes,” I said hesitantly. I wasn’t sure how to handle these rumors yet, so I did not want to worry Azalea or make things worse for Missy. Just like he thought, Azalea’s face fell and he could immediately feel her worry.

“Why would anyone care? Missy can’t be Alpha but that does not mean she is any less important!” Azalea said furiously. Her mood was changing quickly. I got off my perch on the desk and moved over to her, turning her chair to face me. I kneeled down so she was no longer had to look up at me.

“I don’t know sweetheart. But I didn’t want to make a big deal of it and make things any worse. The important thing is that we love her, and she knows that. She is well cared for and you are a wonderful mother to her,” I said calmly to her. I rubbed her arms softly, hoping to calm her down slightly.

Her large green orbs began to tear up a bit. “Now you made mate cry, idiot,” Gavin chastised me. Wow, how I did not miss these mood swings.

“Hey, hey. It’s okay, Little Luna,” I said. She just shook her head. I know this was all difficult for her simply based on how she grew up. I pulled Azalea into my arms and hugged her tightly.

“Why would anyone be cruel to such a sweet girl? Hasn’t she had enough to deal with?” she sobbed in my shoulder. I let her cry until she quieted down. It didn’t take long before she pulled away and grabbed a tissue from the box on her desk to wipe her nose.

“Missy is going to be okay. She has us and we won’t let anything happen,” I said firmly. Azalea nodded her head. I brushed her long, ginger locks away from her face. “Let’s go down to dinner a bit early and I will get you some tea,” I suggested. She nodded her head. I helped pull her up and wrapped my arm around her waist as we exited her office. If she wouldn’t let me carry her, I was still going to hold onto her. Felix followed as we made our way downstairs. I needed to figure out what the rumors and whisperings around Missy were so I could figure out how to put a stop to them quickly.