Amelia and Gabriel spent the next few hours taking turns getting reacquainted with one another with their limbs tangled, taking turns pleasuring each other, whispering declarations and promises, and reveling in the joy of impending parenthood. Again.

Amelia couldn't believe how well Gabriel was taking the news. She thought there would be more groveling on her part, yelling on his part, and overall displeasure. But this was so much better.

Gabriel had wanted to take things slow. He tried to multiple times. Not wanting to go as hard or as fast as he knew she liked it. Probably nervous over the child she was now carrying but he was quick to learn that pregnancy didn't make her fragile, it made her ravenous. She had to demonstrate just how much her body could handle by the numerous positions she guided them into. By urging him on, guiding his hand to wrap around her throat while the other fisted her hair.

Gabriel quickly realized that his mate being with child had created an insatiable beast, prone to submissive and dominant bursts. One minute she was riding him as though her life depended on it and the next she was begging to serve him, her head bobbing up and down, swallowing him deeper than he ever imagined.

Now they lay wrapped in each other's arms with the sheets in a tangled mess on the floor. Tray's of food that had been brought up hours earlier were left randomly around the room. Some of it Amelia had picked out, other's devoured, a couple outright rejected due to her few aversions. But Gabriel didn't mind it one bit.

The sun was just beginning to set outside, casting the room in soft orange and yellow hues.

Amelia's head rested against his chest. The soft graying hairs tickled her face as she breathed him in deeply, trying to infuse his scent into her blood, engrain it in her DNA. Tears pricked at the corner of her eyes, causing a sensation of burning pressure in her head as she tried to hold them back.

What made her think she should have stayed away for so long? How could she have gone so long without her mate? Without her other half? Her child's father. Why did she have to be so selfish?

"Stop," Gabriel commanded, causing her breath to hitch in her throat. "Don't do that."

"I thought we promised not to read each other's minds." Amelia sniffed, burying her face further into his chest.

"I made no such promise. Especially not when I can sense your distress. Your pain. Don't think for one moment I won't break down every barrier in your mind when I sense you hurting."

"I don't know if I should be pissed or incredibly turned on by that. Mostly pissed, but I understand the sentiment." Amelia rolled her eyes, suddenly not so weepy.

Gabriel squeezed her tightly against his side while his hand drew lazy circles against her expanding stomach.

"I'm not going to apologize for being protective of you. And I certainly don't mind reminding you that you are anything but selfish. You lived on your own for seventeen years with only yourself to rely on. Am I pissed you kept most of this pregnancy from me? You bet your firm ass I am. But can I blame you? Not for a single second. We've been under a lot of pressure since you took over the Wandering Moon. Trying to juggle both packs and the vampire's lurking on our borders has put everyone on edge."

Gabriel sat up on one elbow, disturbing her comfortable position against his body, forcing her to support her own weight looking up at him. His silver eyes pierced straight through her sea green ones, gazing straight into the depths of her battered and scarred soul he had spent the last two years repairing. The edges were still a bit jagged but he was a patient man.

Gabriel trailed the tips of his finger over her swollen belly, between the twin peaks, along her slender neck until his hand cupped her face. The calloused pad of his thumb brushed against the underside of her chin, lifting her head up further, bearing her neck to him in complete submission.

Amelia's heart raced in her chest. Her blood sang a song that called to him, serenaded the bond that pulsed between them like a living being tying their souls together in this world and the next. She pressed her knees together tightly as warmth pooled between her legs yet again. Nothing excited her more than the dominant, Alpha side of her mate coming forward. Even when her own Alpha blood demanded respect and urged her to refuse obedience, she ignored her animalistic side. Outside of this room, they were equals. Even if Amelia did bear powers of the Goddess. But in the bedroom. When it was just the two of them. The male before her was the only person she would ever submit too and it thrilled her to do so.

"I am just as much to blame as you are. Deep down I knew something was going on with you and I chose to stay away. You told me you were fine and I trusted that. Even though Emery looked like she was biting her tongue every time she spoke around me. Even when I could barely get two words out of Dominik and the other top wolves in your pack. I let it go. But I promise you this, Snow. Nothing is more important to me than our family. Than Emery and this baby, but above all, you. You are my top priority, always."

Gabriel's words warmed her. Her chest felt as though if it expanded anymore she was sure her blood would coat the walls. He left her full and satisfied, yet dying of thirst and wanting. Moisture leaked from her eyes, running down her flushed face. But before they could fall and disappear in the linen of their bed, Gabriel leaned in and swiped his tongue up along her flesh, removing any trace of the tears.

Amelia was surprised by the gesture. Wolves hold the belief that tears carry memories and the emotions that are invoked just before released. It was deeply intimate and personal. Something they had never done with each other. That is until now.

She watched him with fascination as he closed his mouth, savoring the salt water now coating his tongue. Just as his eyes closed Amelia felt a rush of sensations flood through the bond from her mate. The trick with tears was one never knew which memories they could carry. It could be the memory of moments just before the tear escaped, or memories best left hidden and private. Memories of family and joy, or memories of loss and pain.

A part of her began to panic. There were so many memories, so many moments in her past when they were separated that he didn't know. That she couldn't bear to tell him. The people she had killed to keep her identity safe. The wolves she had butchered who had threatened her daughter's safety. How she had stolen and schemed just to keep them fed some months.

But the emotions flooding down the bond weren't ones of disgust or repulsion. They were of love, joy, and awe.

"What do you see?" Amelia asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

"The moment you found out you were pregnant," Gabriel said, his eyes still closed.

Amelia nearly snorted, surprised that out of all the memories that was the one he got. "Which time?"

"Emery."

"How can you tell?"

"Well, for one, you look much younger." Amelia lightly smacked him in the chest causing him to laugh. "Two. I could smell the chicken cooking. The very same rotisserie chicken that Ms. McKready is fond of making that sent you running for the bathroom."

Amelia's stomach rolled at the mere mention of that repulsive flightless animal, choking back the bile that was threatening to appear.

"I see we still have an aversion to the food group." Gabriel watched her intently.

"Unless you want me to vomit in our bed, I suggest you stop talking about it." Amelia warned.

Gabriel settled back into the bed, holding her firmly against the side of his body once more. "Noted. I'll ensure the kitchen's no longer prepare it until after the baby is born."

"Gabe, that's a bit extreme."

"Don't argue with me on this, Snow. We only have two more months until the baby arrives Goddess willing, and I will do everything I can to make sure you have a safe and comfortable home to bring her into. If that means that the pack has to forgo a certain food group for a few weeks, then so be it. You forget our packs will do anything and everything for you and our children."

Amelia allowed a deep breath to release from her lungs, threading her fingers through the fine hairs on his chest. His hand was back to rubbing softly over her pregnant stomach, completely entranced with the life growing inside.

"Are you nervous?" Gabriel asked quietly, breaking the silence between them.

"No," Amelia answered almost too quickly. But it was true. She wasn't. She was thrilled, eager, and excited. "Are you?"

"Would it make me less of a man to say yes?"

"Not at all. If anything it makes you a strong male to admit your fears."

"I wasn't there for Emery. She was nearly full grown when we met and I don't have much experience with babies or pups. But I am excited. I'm just nervous I won't be very good at it."

Amelia swallowed thickly, keeping her gaze fixed on the hair she continued to play with. "You may not have met Emery until she was nearly an adult, but you are an amazing father to her. As far as babies go, you'll learn and I'll help you. I didn't know anything about being a parent either when Emery was born. There was a lot of trial and error."

Memories of diapers being put on backwards, leaving the baby unsupervised on the couch for all of five seconds, and the ultimate debate between belly and back sleeping resurged in her mind and she allowed Gabriel in to see it all. The countless struggles, sleepless nights, battling a colicky baby, and the simple joy of having a newborn asleep on her chest.

As a new mother she was a nervous wreck. Learning on the run and living in ramshackle houses didn't ease her nerves. But this time around they would do it right, together.

Gabriel pulled her in even tighter, wrapping his body around hers until she was sure his sole purpose was to join as one, but instead he whispered, "Together."