Thicker Than Ink

Sixty Two

"I know it's late... But I... We need to get some food into you before we lay down again... I... Please... For you... and the baby... I need you two to be fed and okay... Okay?" Silas's whisper breaks my heart... His tears sounding so very close to the surface that it makes me want to pull him closer to me so he knows that it's okay to break down whenever he needs to break down... And that it's okay for him to need me to take care of myself for a little while so he can focus on healing the trauma that's been dropped so harshly into his lap... "How about a few eggs and some toast? Or I could make you your favorite sandwich? We could both have one? But I can't put all of that cheese we normally do... And maybe we should put some kind of veggie on it for you... Like... Lettuce? Tomato or something?"

But I know he isn't ready to hear it... Right now he wants to worry about something other than himself... And he wants a distraction from everything thats happened... Right now it would make him feel better to be able to fuss over me and our baby just a little bit for the comfort of it all... And at the moment... I'm more than okay with that, both of us more than exhausted from the day we've somehow managed to survive.

And I don't need to be able to read his mind to know that...

Because I can see it in his eyes... My wolf oddly silent since I've shifted back... Not even a single whine letting itself loose in my mind over making eye contact with our distressed Alpha and mate... Something that has always been difficult until now, and not because we see Silas as somehow less dominant for struggling to cope with everything... If anything...

He's managed to show everyone what I already knew...

That he's a strong and sensitive man, and while he may need a lot of breathing room...

He cares...

He cares about everyone in his life and he cares so strongly that it truly has the potential to eat him up inside and overwhelm him... And he's strong enough to admit when he isn't okay...

It's that...

Suddenly I feel as if maybe my position by his side has been more solidified in my mind as his Luna and not just his mate...

I had held my head as high and strong as I had been able to manage, and I had kept it there until I was forced to crumble... And I was able to help keep my mate and my pack calm in the face of a tragic event that I'm sure will haunt us all for a very long time, even after we do figure out who shot Mason and why they felt the need to do so when the territory is clearly posted and recognized as an area where hunting is not permitted because of the protected species in the area...

Even though I know the rest of the of the pack is under the understanding that they themselves are the species of wolf that the towns around us and near us have been taught to leave alone and let be... But Liam had let it let slip while whispering to Silas while they both thought I was resting and asleep at the clinic that the real protected species here on our territory... Is Silas himself.

Timberwolves have always been rare... And they're even rarer now with the old war having cut short so many of the once-thriving family lines that had carried the very specific gene that causes the timber mutation... So the Were-Councils try and keep careful track of them and rope off the places that they find them wandering most often in an effort to keep any more of the massive wolves from coming to an end so that we might preserve the mutation just a little bit longer...

I hadn't really been in the best mental state to really digest what I had heard earlier... The whispers back and forth between them having caused me anxiety just even to listen to, the dots connecting in my head whether I wanted them to or not thanks to having a direct line to Silas's mind through the closeness of our mate-link...

It amazes me that he hadn't broken down right then and there when Liam had suggested that maybe a trophy hunter had seen Mason around when he was trying to convince his children and wife to welcome him back home instead of locking him out and refusing to update his set of keys... Because even for me, just the understanding that someone might have done such a horrible thing on purpose was enough to make me feel sick to my stomach... Which is why I need to try and put it out of my mind for the moment... Especially if I want to make sure to put Silas's mind at ease by nibbling on whatever it is he ends up making for the two of us...

"How about... We split an egg sandwich and then have a salad with it? I can make the salads while you make the sandwich? That way we can watch my sodium and we both still have full bellies before we lay down again?" I make my suggestion just as Daddy finally picks himself up off the bed where we had both sat down on in order to pause for a minute while holding hands and just having a moment of silence... His hand staying wrapped around mine so that way he can pull me up right after he's found his footing... The way he angles his aid turning me around in the process until my back is pressed against his chest, his arms wrapping themselves around my waist so that his palms can find my belly in order to palm the lower half of it with such tender affection that it almost makes me cry over how pure it is that he's seeking comfort from myself and his unborn child at the same time...

"Is that what you and my baby want?"

The moment is a sweet one despite the day having been so extremely bitter, but it still manages to give us both watered-down versions of a smile, Daddy's being felt when he presses his lips to the crook of my head just as I go to nod... His hold around my waist tightening just slightly before shifting us just a bit so that we will be able to actually walk into the kitchen instead of just standing wrapped up in our cuddle.