NOTE: Thank you, dear Kendra Deck, for gifting a castle to this book yesterday. I love you!
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"Very well..." Sophie nodded. She turned to Leland and said, "Let's move to Hastings until..."
She didn't know until when. In this situation, it was probably best to stay there. It was close enough from the capital for Leland to undergo his mission and safe enough to keep attention away from their family.
Sophie was a local and she could start blending in more with the townspeople, meeting her old school friends in social gatherings, and keeping their family low profile. Luciel and Jan could also have a 'normal' childhood there and meet children their age. It would be nice to get them to learn how to live among humans.
The other lycan children around their manor in Livstad couldn't go because their parents stayed behind.
Sophie couldn't ask Leland to also take those families with them because their stay in Hastings wouldn't last long. Only until their manor was fixed or when the Blood River Pack toppled the government of Riga and took over power.
"I will make the preparation," Leland said. He patted Jan's head and smiled at him. He was pleased that Jan made Sophie accept his suggestion to move away from Livstad. She thought it was temporary, but if it was up to Leland, he would prefer to have her be as far away as possible. Until the Hannenberghs were no more.
Luciel was not too happy, but he didn't say anything. Jan was bored and he just wanted to get out of this room. Moving somewhere would be an excuse. However, he might change his mind if Luciel told him that Uncle Nic was their biological father.
Moving away from Livstad meant they wouldn't be able to see him again. Jan didn't know this fact.
***
After Leland told Lucas his decision to bring his family to Hastings, the Beta immediately made preparation.
As he was the second in command, he would be in charge of their people in Livstad, while Leland traveled to Hastings. Duncan and Max would follow the Alpha's family together with around twenty of their best warriors and one healer.
This was done so they would have enough security for Leland's family but wouldn't attract too much attention when they were traveling. People would think the group was just another noble family going traveling.
Once Leland was happy with their preparation, he went to their bedroom to rest. He was surprised to see Sophie was still awake despite it being already midnight. He thought she was already asleep.
"What happened?" he asked worriedly. "Can't sleep?"
Sophie shook her head and then yawned so wide. Obviously, she was sleepy but she intentionally stayed awake and waited for him.
"Why aren't you sleeping? You shouldn't wait for me," Leland said, walking toward her and then climbing the bed to sit beside Sophie.
She yawned again.
"I want to show you something," she whispered.
"What is it?" Leland was relieved because he didn't sense anything negative from Sophie. She was not stressed and couldn't sleep. It was actually the opposite. She was feeling happy.
What made her feel happy? Was she happy about their move? It didn't seem like it earlier.
Sophie smiled teasingly and then unbuttoned the upper part of her dress. Leland furrowed his brows, and suddenly his face blushed. Was she waiting for him to have sex before sleep?
He gulped unknowingly and suddenly felt his pants tighten. Sophie had unbuttoned her dress all the way to her stomach and turned to Leland, "You have to see this—"
Suddenly she halted her words. She had seen his blushing face. She could feel his temperature rise.
Huh?
Leland looked at Sophie like a boy found guilty of stealing candy. He didn't do anything wrong. He just misunderstood, thinking she was initiating sex, which was awesome, but apparently, he was wrong.
Sophie wanted to show him her belly.
Well, her beautiful bouncy breasts were distracting too, but now Leland was sure his mate wanted him to watch her protruding tummy.
"I-I..." Sophie was suddenly blushing too when she realized what her mate was thinking. She awkwardly pointed at her tummy and said, "The... the baby moved... I thought you want to see it."
"Huh?"
Leland had never seen babies move inside the womb before. When Sophie was pregnant with Luciel and Jan she never showed it to him because back then they were only husband and wife and in name, there was no love on her part, she only thought of him as her fake husband.
She kept everything to herself until the day she gave birth to her two pups and Leland admitted that he was also a lycan, the Alpha of Blood River Pack.
After they were married for real and Sophie was pregnant with his first biological children, he never experienced the phase because Morgan and Emery died stillborn so early in pregnancy.
So, he didn't understand what Sophie meant by 'the baby moved'.
He only stared at her in confusion.
Sophie didn't know how to explain it, so she just pointed at her tummy. "Watch... he moved several times already. I think, if you wait, you can see it—"
Before she finished speaking, suddenly the baby kick from the inside and startled Leland. His eyes bulged, making Sophie chuckle. She thought he looked so adorable.
"Does it hurt?" Leland asked worriedly and quickly rubbed Sophie's belly. "Gosh... That's gotta hurt."
He thought the kick was quite strong and was worried Sophie would be in pain. However, she only chuckled and shook her head, making him feel relieved.
"It's fine," she said with a big smile on her face. "I am used to it now."
"Oh..." Leland was still dumbfounded. He rubbed her belly and tried to detect any movement from the inside. "When did it start?"
"Uhm... I think two hours ago. I was so surprised," Sophie explained. "Pleasantly surprised. He didn't just kick. He would move around. You will see my tummy will move like a wave. It's amazing."
Leland was still in awe. He looked at her belly attentively, as if trying not to miss any single movement. His patience paid off when slowly Sophie's belly moved like a wave. Leland's eyes bulged.
"This...." He was at a loss for words. "This is amazing..."
He sat there, watching her without blinking. Sophie thought he looked so adorable. She moved forward to cup his face and then planted a kiss on his lips.
"It is amazing," she agreed.
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