HOLLOW

•TWENTY-THREE•

•Natalie's POV•
•

"Are you okay?" Athanasios let his hand reach up to place a gentle finger under my chin. My eyes closed on their own as I nod. The feeling of his skin against mine calmed me. I don't think that I'd ever really get adjusted to this new life. I would often think about the day where all of this becomes normal in my eyes. When the sound of bones breaking and reforming no longer made my head turn.

"You know... I would let myself die before anything happened to you or our pups." My eyes shot open as his voice became a whisper in my ear. I hit his chest lightly. "Don't say that. I don't know what I'd do without you." My heart sunk at the thought of going through the rest of life without my mate. It sounded dreadful in my head.

I let my hand grab onto his free one in case he really did slip away from me. "If it wasn't for the pups, I'd take my life if I didn't have you." He says. I shake my head and hold onto his hand tighter. "I don't want you to do that. If I ever do die, you better not even think about it. Your pack needs you, Orion needs a friend, Socrates needs someone to sing karaoke with, and our pups need someone to tell them about their mother."

He laughed. "I can't wait until Orion gets friends. Maybe he'll stop bugging us."

"You two are very rude." Both of our heads snapped to Orion who was standing at the doorway. "Do you just walk around stalking us?" Athanasios questions. Orion stared at his shoes before looking up abruptly. "Maybe. Anyways... What are you having?" He almost let out a squeal as he walked over to us.

"Two girls and a boy." A grin appeared on his face and he turned around and practically skipped away. Before he disappeared out the door he turned to us and pointed a finger between us. "By the way, I ship this." He then continued his skipping. "Use your money responsibly!" Athanasios called out of the door. "My money!" Orion called back.

I looked at Athanasios with questioning eyes. "What is he doing?" I ask. He looked back at me and shook his head. "He's going to order a bunch of stuff that our pups definitely won't need." I snickered and shook my head as well. "Let him have his fun."

_____

"So! I have printed the baby shower invitations! How do they look?" Orion shoved a very vibrant invitation in my face. "Why all the glitter?" I question. The paper was so glittery I had to squint my eyes to look at it. Socrates peeked around me to see what he had printed. "Oh Goddess," He said disapprovingly. "Is Natalie or Barbie having a baby shower?" Orion gasped at his response making me giggle at the two.

"It needs to stand out!" I rolled my eyes at his excuse and looked at it once more, grimacing. "Throw it away. Just print the one I picked out." He huffed and shoved it in his garbage can before leaving the office.

"What a baby." I rolled my eyes at the door that was just now closing. Socrates snickered just before the door was knocked upon. "Enter!" Athanasios yelled to get the message through the thick wooden doors.

A man entered and I assume that he was a messenger or something. He bowed to us before carrying on with his message. "Alpha, there are about three hundred items waiting for you in the trucks." My eyes almost popped out of their sockets. Three hundred? Ridiculous. A growl ripped through his chest as he stood up.

I didn't miss how the poor man jumped a little. "Do you have any idea who ordered them?" He questions. The man looked at the sheet of paper he was holding, searching for the information. "It says the order was made by Beta Calathes." Another growl escaped his form at the new information.

He looked to me and held out a hand, expecting me to come and join him. I quickly got up from my seat and slipped my hand into his awaiting one. I felt the warm trail of sparks climb up my arm. They never failed to appear.