The Alpha Emperor’s Resurrection

33: Aurelia

"Daddy?" I asked as soon as I got through the door and found him pacing in the hallway.

He flung his arms around me and hugged me tightly, and for a moment I was afraid that something might have happened while we were gone.

"You were gone for longer than I was expecting, infantula. Is everything OK?"

I smiled, it was the only sign he needed that my appointment with the doctor had gone well.

"They don't have any concerns, which is as positive as things can get at this point. We need to decide where we're going to live sooner rather than later, though."

"What do you mean?" he asked nervously, and I felt Robin rest his hand gently on my lower back.

I had been dreading talking to my father about the fact we might not be staying at the Villa for much longer. He was inevitably going to feel like a burden, and he wouldn't understand why things couldn't just stay the way they had been since he came back.

"Robin and Saga belong to a pack, daddy. They can't both just run away. Saga needs to leave soon - she's supposed to take over from her parents eventually - and I want to go back with Robin so we can raise the baby with more support. Talia stopped interacting with other wolves a long time ago, but I don't want that for my family. We'll need to find a doctor, and I would like time to settle in properly before the baby is born."

My father looked dejected and I wished that I hadn't said anything, but there was no point avoiding the subject, and it felt as if we had all been pretending things didn't have to change for our own reasons.

“You’re serious about moving, aren’t you?” Robin asked quietly as soon as I lay down on our bed.

“I’m too tired to think about that right now,” I lied.

“Baby girl…”

I smiled and moved across so Robin could sit next to me, as if I wasn't terrified of making a major decision, or feeling guilty about the fact my father felt like a problem we needed to solve.

“Will you still call me that if we have a daughter?”

He thought about it for a few seconds, seemingly taking my silly question seriously.

“It suits you. I don't see why I wouldn't call you that anymore.”

“You don't think we're having a boy, then? A lot of men seem absolutely sure their firstborn is going to be a son.”

He sighed and lay down beside me, staring up at the ceiling.

“I don’t give a fuck.”

The response felt cold, and I knew that wasn’t the truth.

Something was bothering him.

“Are you worried about where we’re going to live? Or is it something else?”

“I’m fine, Aurelia.”

Hearing my name used so bluntly stung; it felt like I was being chastized, and I tried not to let it get to me.

“You don’t have to be excited all the time, but you seemed happy when we got back, and now you’re not. Did I hit a nerve?”

“I’m fine,” he tried to force a smile, but he was clearly not OK and I wanted to know what was hurting him.

“You really don’t give a f**k?”

He flinched at the question.

“I didn’t mean it like that; it’s not that I don’t care about you and the baby, I just don’t give a f**k whether it’s a boy or a girl. I really don’t. As long as you’re both healthy, and I’m alive to see it…” he trailed off, and I rolled onto my side so I could rest my cheek against his chest.

He wrapped his arm around my shoulder to hold me closer, but he didn’t say anything else; I knew what was bothering him now.

“Your father would definitely have been proud of you.”

“Don’t. You can't possibly know that, unless you knew him. And if you did," he sighed, "I really don’t want to know. Please.”

I had never met his father, but the few things Robin had mentioned about him were enough for me to have a fairly clear picture of the guy.

He was a young, inexperienced Alpha - arrogant, overly confident, and ashamed of falling in love with Robin's mother because she had no status. He was ultimately willing to die for her, and for his unborn son, and his sacrifice told me everything I needed to know about the sort of man he was.

“I don’t need to have met him to know that, baby boy. Any man would be proud to have a son like you.”

“An irresponsible playboy?”

“Talented, strong, attractive, charismatic, loyal, living a life a lot of humans would kill for and a lot of wolves have killed for.”

He let out a soft laugh, and I felt his body relax against mine.

“You make me sound like a hero.”

“Maybe you are,” I said, brushing my lips against his, and he returned the kiss tenderly. “You are to me, at least. And you will be to our child, too.”

“You’re determined to give me an ego.”

“You deserve an ego,” I said, my voice soft as I snuggled closer to him.

His heart raced beneath my hand, and he tensed - he was trying not to let his ego get to him.

“Baby...” he whispered when I climbed onto him and ran my hands under his top to push it away.

I traced my finger over one of his tattoos - a blended Alpha and Omega symbol with the Alpha symbol reversed.

It was on his hip, and I leaned down to kiss it softly; he shivered and let out a quiet moan.

“That one is different from the others,” I whispered.

“Yeah...that was the first one I got. The man who raised me- Saga’s uncle-has the same one, and my mother had it, too. It reminds him that he’s not special, and it reminded my mom that she wasn’t worthless.”

“And you? What does it remind you of?”

“Nothing, really. I just thought it was cool when I was growing up - Saga's uncle was one of the only wolves I knew with a tattoo. He took me to get it when I was 18; I didn’t know what to get, and I asked for that on impulse. He seemed proud, so I stuck with it.”

“It reminds you that people care, then?”

He was silent for a few seconds, then nodded.

“I guess it does, yeah.”

I leaned down and kissed his hip over the tattoo again; he shivered, and I sucked gently on his skin to draw a moan from him.

I glanced up at him, and he reached up to brush my hair out of my face.

“It doesn’t take much to cheer you up,” I teased, brushing my hand over his belt and resting it on the buckle.

“Alpha Energy,” he joked. “You know exactly how to handle that.”

He was trying to be sarcastic and self deprecating, but it was the truth.

“Well, I know you shouldn’t keep that kind of energy pent up - and I think we should find a release for you.”

“I have plenty of outlets. Until a few weeks ago, my entire life was a release.”

And now that had been taken from him, because of one particular release that I was entirely responsible for.

I shifted my weight slightly with my knees on either side of him; it made my hips roll just enough to distract him completely.

“In that case, you need to remember how important it is to keep your head clear,” I murmured teasingly. “I need you to stay sharp.”

He laughed, dryly.

“I’m sure you have plenty of ideas for that.”

“I take your wellbeing very seriously,” I smiled.

“You think too highly of me, baby girl. I’m not a powerful warrior in need of a distraction before battle; I’m just some guy.”

“And yet I no longer remember the names of the men you are comparing yourself to, while I will never forget you.”

His hands rested lightly on my thighs, and he gripped me gently, drawing a sharp breath when I undid the buckle of his belt.

“Everybody else is right, you know...you shouldn’t be with someone like me. You deserve more than I can give you.”

“Talia is the only one who really thinks that, and I’m not letting her ruin this with her negativity and paranoia. And you give me more than enough,” I smiled and glanced down at my hands as I undid his faded black jeans.

“You need more than s*x, for f**k’s sake. That isn’t going to be enough for long; you need stability, security-”

“-it’s enough for now.”

Robin sighed, and I ran my hands up to rest on his chest, then leaned down to kiss him. He wrapped his arms around me and held me close.

“I’m sorry I’m not more than this, baby. I mean it - you deserve someone better than me.”

“Talk to me,” I whispered against his lips. “And listen to me, because I’m telling you that you are enough. Caius was shocked about this, but I can hardly blame him, and he told me he only wishes he could help us more. He can see how we feel.”

How we feel.

The lamest possible way of telling him I loved him.

“We’re lucky we have him back. I love my family, but they aren’t going to know what the hell to say about this. I can see your father loves you, and I’m sure he’ll be able to help us with some stuff.”

I thought back to the first tentative sip of mint tea I had taken when Caius realized I was struggling with morning sickness; my father may have been struggling, but my daddy knew how to help his little girl.

“You know...”I sighed,"...maybe I’m paying too much attention to my own desires."

“You aren’t; you should prioritize yourself. I’m not complaining, Aurelia. You're beautiful, and I am happy to do whatever you want me to do.”

“But it’s not about what I want, is it? It’s about what we both need. I want you to be content and happy, too. You deserve that.”

He smiled and kissed me; we needed each other - to acknowledge that things were serious, and that it wasn't just because of the baby - but neither of us was ready to say that, yet.

“I think we should go out later," Robin sighed. " I don’t exactly need to, but...”

I pressed one of his hands to my stomach, silencing him.

“I can’t go out with you." As if he had forgotten; I just didn't want to go out to the forest and risk my mother challenging him as a wolf. "Perhaps you could go out with your sister?”

“I didn't mean it that way, baby girl. There’s a band I play with sometimes. They’re in the city tonight, and I think it might be fun for us to go, if you’re up for it?”