Chapter 217

Ava

I lay with my head on Chris’s chest, listening to the steady rhythm of his heartbeat. The stress and fear of the past few days seemed to melt away in the comfort of our bed, replaced by a deep sense of contentment. Chris’s fingers lazily traced patterns on my bare shoulder, sending pleasant shivers down my spine, peppering the occasional kiss along my temple or cheekbone.

“Ava,” Chris said softly, breaking the comfortable silence. “I need to apologize.”

I tilted my head to look up at him. “For what?”

He sighed, his hand stilling on my shoulder. “For getting so mad at you over Patrick. I was out of line. I know it wasn’t your fault, and I shouldn’t have taken my frustrations out on you.”

I considered his words for a moment before sitting up, pushing a few stray curls out of my eyes. “I understand, Chris,” I assured him. “You’re under a lot of pressure. Being an Alpha isn’t the easiest job in the world, especially with everything that’s been going on lately.”

“Yeah, well… That’s still not a good excuse,” he said firmly. “You deserve better than that.”

I narrowed my eyes slightly. “You’re right, I do. And I forgive you this time, but I want you to know that if you ever take your anger out on me like that again, I won’t hesitate to leave. I love you, but I won't be anyone’s emotional punching bag.”

To my surprise, Chris grinned. “Good. I would expect nothing less from you. You’re a tough cookie, Ava. It’s one of the things I love most about you.”

I nodded, flashing him a triumphant smile. He paused for a moment, his tongue wetting his lips, before he suddenly said, “When you bowed to Winston like that… What was going through your head?”

I furrowed my brow for a second, recalling that moment. “Honestly…” I shrugged. “It was all kind of a blur. I knew that I wanted to appease him, make him realize that we were on his side. I wanted to show him that I had respect for him. But…”

A shudder worked through me as I recalled the events after that. “I guess I got a little overzealous with my attempts to ‘fix’ him.”

There was a long silence, and Chris said nothing. It was true; I supposed I had gotten so comfortable with our tour of the packs, helping the Alphas fix their issues and win them over, that I had forgotten that some people simply don’t want to be fixed. That some people are comfortable being stalwart in their ways and that maybe it’s better to just let sleeping dogs lie.

It didn’t feel good coming to that conclusion, but there wasn’t much that I, or anyone else, could do about it.

“Can I ask you something else?” Chris suddenly asked.

“Ask away.”

He hesitated for a moment before continuing. “When we were talking about having kids... were you serious about that? About wanting to start a family soon?”

I felt my heart skip a beat. “Yes, I was. I know I’m in my mid-thirties now, and if we want to have children, we shouldn’t wait too long. Do you... do you still want that?”

Chris sat up, wrapping his arms around me and pulling me into his warmth. “More than anything. I want to build a life with you, Ava. A family. I always have.”

I couldn’t help the smile that spread across my face. “So, what are you thinking? Should we start trying?”

Chris chuckled. “Well, maybe we should get married first? I mean, if that’s something you want.”

I blushed a bit at the thought. “It would be nice, but… I worry that my biological clock is ticking, you know?”

“Fair enough,” Chris said. “But if we’re going to do this, I want to make sure we do it right. You deserve the best pregnancy experience possible.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Oh? And how do you plan to ensure that?”

Chris grinned. “Well, for starters, I think we should take you to the clinic for a checkup as soon as we can. Get some advice on having a healthy pregnancy at your age. Maybe start you on some prenatal vitamins.”

I couldn’t help but laugh. “Look at you, all prepared. I like this attentive side of you.”

“Get used to it,” Chris said, pressing a kiss to my forehead. “I plan on being very involved.”

A thought suddenly occurred to me, and I let out a dramatic sigh. “You know, if we do this, I won’t be able to indulge in my prized homemade wine for nine whole months,” I teased. “More, if I breastfeed.”

Chris’s body tensed slightly, and before I could say anything else, he was untangling himself from me and getting out of bed. Without a word, he walked out of the room, leaving the door swinging in his wake.

“Chris?” I called after him, hopping up onto my knees. Had my comment been inappropriate? Had I hurt him somehow?

But before I could spiral too far into my concerns, Chris reappeared in the doorway a few minutes later, a mischievous grin on his face. In his hands, he carried a tray laden with a bottle of wine, two glasses, and what looked like a hastily assembled charcuterie board.

“What’s all this?” I laughed, sitting back down.

Chris set the tray down on the bed and climbed back in beside me. “Well, if you’re going to have to give up wine for nine months, we might as well enjoy it while we can, right?”

I laughed, reaching for a glass. “I like the way you think, Alpha.”

Chris poured the wine and we clinked our glasses together. “To new beginnings,” he said softly.

“To new beginnings,” I echoed.

As we sipped our wine and nibbled on cheese and crackers, Chris reached over and turned on the small radio on the bedside table. The soft, crackly notes of a jazz song filled the room, and I felt myself relax even further as I sipped my wine and sank back into the pillows.

“Oh, I love this song,” I murmured, shutting my eyes and swaying slightly to the music.

Chris’s eyes lit up. “Me too. I didn’t know you were into jazz.”

“There’s probably a lot we don’t know about each other yet,” I said, thinking back on our time in Moonshine—how he had divulged an interest in the paranormal that I had never heard him mention before. And of course, I still hadn’t told him about that terrifying experience I’d had as a little girl.

“Well then,” Chris said, refilling our glasses, “why don’t we fix that? Tell me something I don’t know about you.”

I thought for a moment. “Okay, here’s one. When I was a kid, I wanted to be a veterinarian.”

Chris laughed. “Really? What happened to that dream?”

I shrugged. “I grew up and realized that it’s not all about healing animals, and that sometimes you have to put them down,” I replied with a shudder. I recalled delivering that calf with Leonard, though, and couldn’t help but smile.

Chris nodded, sipping his wine.

“Your turn,” I said as I popped a grape into my mouth. “Tell me something I don’t know about you.”

Chris was quiet for a moment, his expression thoughtful. Then, his face turned a slight shade of pink. “I’ve always wanted to learn how to play the piano. But I never found the time.”

“It’s not too late,” I said, grinning. “You should learn so you can serenade me. At our wedding, of course.”

Chris’s face flushed even more, and for a moment, I swore I saw his green eyes flick to the pocket of his discarded trousers on the floor. His leg twitched as though to get up, but then he settled down into the plush pillows and grinned.

“Yeah,” he said, taking a long sip of his wine. “Maybe I will.”