converse
verb ~ to engage in conversation

I nodded mutely and Phoenix's hand fell to my back, as usual, guiding me from his office. The heavy door shut gently behind us, and we made our way down the hallway to the staircase. We thankfully passed only a few wolves, who bowed their head at our passing. But somehow, by some cruel fate, we bumped into Charlie on the last flight of stairs, exiting his room. I narrowed my eyes when he sniffed and grinned.

"Again?" He laughed. "In the office? Man, you guys are like horny teenagers. Do I need to separate you? Make Phoenix sleep in another room?"

Phoenix grumbled. "Very funny."

Charlie grinned again, "Just saying, hard to mistake the stench. You horny teenagers."

We couldn't get another word in before he ran past us down the stairs.

"Is he fifteen or twenty-seven?" I rolled my eyes.

Phoenix chuckled and we began to ascend our stairwell. "I'd say fourteen."

I giggled, entering the hall and going towards the bathroom. I ran the shower and stripped off of my clothes, placing them in the wash basket. I noticed it was rather full, so reminded myself to take it down once I was done, in hopes that a machine was free. I tied my hair up, not in the mood to get it wet before turning to face the hot water. I eyed Phoenix stood in the doorway, contemplating my next move.

"How can...wolves smell that we..." I mumbled, my voice disappearing in thought.

Phoenix was stripped of his clothes when he laughed. "They can smell us on each other, but in particular the wolf can smell...it."

I frowned, feeling rather gross. "Is it only males? Why can I never smell it?"

He nodded, "It's mainly a male wolf thing, a way other wolves can show that the female is theirs. Some females can smell it, but mainly on male wolves. Your brother constantly mates your friend."

"Gross!" I groaned like a teenager. "That is some kind of wolfy curse... I'm gonna have to start wearing anti-wolf perfume..."

Phoenix growled, pulling me into the shower with him. "Never. I love how you smell of me constantly. The only thing I hate is how much you wash it away."

I blushed, the water cascading down my shoulders as he grabbed the soap. I knew he was only teasing me, but I felt a strange butterfly feeling flutter up my chest at his pride. He was possessive, and he loved how I smelt, despite the... animalistic and gross way around it. It made me feel weirdly safe, even if he was just a moody male.

Cel barked. Wolves rely heavily on smells, Phoenix always smells of us. I love it too, makes others know he is ours.

I smiled to myself at her contented approval of our mate. He is ours, even if he didn't smell.

She barked a laugh as I glanced to Phoenix to find him washing whilst I just stood in the water in my own world. I watched the water drip from his skin and down his chest, envious of his good looks. He continued to wash himself, not bothering me. He had come to recognise when I would drift off into my own mind, and I appreciated how he didn't force me to snap out of it. I eventually shuffled to grab some soap myself and start to slowly lather my skin.

"So... you know you asked Kate about chances of pregnancy?" I wondered and his eyes snapped to mine. "We have never even discussed children."

He breathed heavily out of his nose as water dripped down his face. "I know. I'm sorry for bringing it up. Most wolves end up pregnant after their first heat, so I just wanted to know."

"Well, we have only been together for like, three months and I've only known you for six, it felt rather sudden," I explained with a frown.

"Do you not want children, Nova?" He wondered abruptly.

I tensed, my heart pounding in my rib cage. "I do... just not...right now."

I saw him tilt his head from above me but kept my gaze focused on washing my arms.

"Why not right now?" He asked.

I sighed, stopping my slow attempt at getting clean. "I know it's the whole wolf thing to have pups right away, but I feel like I want to live a life with you. Maybe, the whole not-happened thing is just a way of nature agreeing with me..."

His jaw clenched. I knew his primal instinct was to seal our bond with children; it was the wolf way. Mate, have babies, live happily ever after with heirs to take over once you're too old. Being an Alpha was engraved in his core beliefs. My hesitation, I feared, would most likely be only mine.

"I see." He grumbled, before stepping out of the shower.

I felt guilt eat at me at his forlorn expression but continued to wash myself now I had the hard part of the conversation out of the way. "I know that's probably not what you want..."

He sighed, his towel wrapped around his waist. "It's not. I do admit I wanted the cliché life with you Nova, after the rocky start to our relationship... But I understand."

"You do?" I wondered, turning off the shower.

He nodded. "We haven't had time to be ourselves and throwing a pup into this can ruin that. Plus, Alpha pups are stronger and the pregnancy will probably be quicker than your average wolf. Not only that but these bad feelings you have been getting, makes me think that perhaps you are right. Perhaps this is fate's way of stopping something bad happening."

I felt my stomach do somersaults and despite my wet skin, I embraced him. His arms came to fall on my shoulders and I sighed deeply. A deep rumble started in his chest as his warm hands held me against him.

"We will just let nature decide for us. If it's meant to be, it will be." He mumbled and I snuggled closer into his chest.

"Okay." I breathed, "Sounds perfect to me."

He chuckled pulling away from me to hand me a towel. I dried myself off being leaving the bathroom and going into the closer. I pulled on some clean underwear and another pair of leggings since my last ones were torn in two. At the thought, I eyed Phoenix with a scowl.

He caught my look and raised an eyebrow. "What now?"

"You tore my leggings in half." I pouted.

He smirked, his eyes flashing dangerously. "And?"

"I liked those, they were fleecy." I continued.

His smirk rose to a grin as he stalked his way towards me. "Oh yeah? What about the pair you're wearing right now?"

I giggled and turned to run, giving into the chase. I heard him chuckle, and I knew he was giving me a head start as I ran down the hallway and stairs; he would've caught me before I even left the room. Our wolves loved the chase, it was flirtatious and always riled Ares up when we would run. I loved to tease.

I clambered down the last flight stairs and tuned into the bond to find him coming up quick behind me. I shrieked and ran towards the kitchen, smelling Charlie in there already. Of course, he was eating. His eyes raised to me in curiosity when I came barreling through but widened when he took notice of Phoenix behind me. I darted behind him, holding onto his shirt for cover.

I know you are there Nova. His voice caressed my mind.

No, I'm not. You have the wrong wolf. I giggled.

He scoffed audibly and I peeked my head from around a frozen Charlie to see him giving me the are-you-serious look. I laughed again, ducking behind Charlie's back. He eventually moved, by shrugging, and continued with his meal.

Too distracted with Charlie's bowl of rice, I didn't notice Phoenix had moved until I felt the goosebumps on the back of my neck. I glanced upwards to see he was stood next to me with his arms crossed. I grinned at him, releasing Charlie's shirt.

"Okay, so I'm not very good at hiding," I admitted.

Charlie snorted, "You suck."

Phoenix's eyes twinkled as he smirked, about to retaliate a comment that I was able to prevent with a loud cough.

"Right! Lunch!" I laughed.

Phoenix rolled his eyes but turned towards the oven. "What do you fancy today, Nova?"

I opened the contents of the cupboards, eyeing up the food that lay there. I was hungry and couldn't wait much longer for food to cook. So I grabbed a bread loaf for sandwiches and rummaged through the fridge for some fillings. I ended up just sticking with some barbeque flavour chicken and salad, Phoenix having twice my portion.

We sat and ate with Charlie, who had long since finished his rice by the time I was halfway through my meal.

"You going to Kate after this?" He asked, leaning against the countertop.

I turned to face the clock and swallowed nervously. "My appointment is at three, so about ninety minutes."

He nodded and cracked his jaw with his hand, making me wince. "Not too long then. Defective or not defective, what's it gonna be? Is Charlie ever going to be an Uncle? Is this pack ever going to have a baby in it again? Keep watching and you'll find out."

I rolled my eyes at his silliness, swallowing a mouthful of food. "Oh, there will be a baby, just not mine."

I saw Phoenix and Charlie turn to me in curiosity but I shook my head. "Not saying. Just believe me."

Charlie pouted. "But I love babies."

"How would you know? You have never held one." Phoenix pointed out.

Charlie shrugged. "I don't see if much different than holder a loaf of bread and a dozen eggs."

I blinked slowly at him, trying to comprehend how that could relate to a baby. "I'm sorry, what? Eggs?"

"Well, yeah. Eggs are delicate so you can't drop them." He scoffed.

"And the bread?" Phoenix mused.

"It's about the same size, and all soft and squishy."

I laughed, "Well, the day you hold a baby, I will be there."

"Of course you will because it will be your baby, duh." He teased.

I inhaled deeply, a pang in my chest reminding me of the possibility that it may not happen. Although nothing was set in stone, nor confirmed, I couldn't help but allow my mind to wander to those darker thoughts. Of infertility, or struggles or miscarriages... It terrified me, placed a piece of hurt and worry in my heart I never thought I would have. Pregnancy can be hard, and many women get sick because of the pups taking so much energy; let alone Alpha pups. I don't even want to go into the statistics.

"Well, then it'll be a momentous day for us all," Phoenix spoke, drawing my attention back to him.

I smiled gratefully at him, happy he steered the conversation before my thoughts turned dark. I inhaled deeply, trying to settle my nerves and queasy stomach. I pushed my plate aside, too anxious to eat now that my mind had become focused on the appointment. I felt Phoenix's worry for me, his disappointment that I had lost my distraction.

My hand fell to his on the table and I squeezed it gently in thanks, he placed a kiss on my thumb in return, his gaze holding mine. His eyes told a million things, but one thing that he always showed me, was comfort. That it'll be okay.

Charlie excused himself once we began to tidy away our dishes, and Phoenix announced that we should go for a run before the appointment. I was rather apprehensive since I had just showered, but as soon as it was mentioned, I felt Celimene bristle within me. So I agreed, and we wandered our way out the house and to the treeline.

Once out of the prying eyes of the packhouse, I stripped off of my clothes and placed them in one of the many clothes storage boxes. They were nailed to the trees like birdhouses, so easy to access them and saves your clothes from getting torn or muddy. I shifted quickly, the cold autumn air nipping at my bare skin, and allowed Cel to take control.

She barked once we were on all fours, calling out to Phoenix who was still stood human, just in his boxers. He grinned at me, and I trotted over to run my wolf body along his legs. The skin sizzled under my touch, the mate bond working wonders as my fur tickled his skin. He chuckled, his hand running down my spine to settle on Cel's rear. She flicked her tail up in approval as he scratched her back, her tongue darting to lick at his side.

He laughed again, forcing her cold nose back as it poked his ribs. I felt her tail swish in delight at the sound, eager to make her mate laugh again she jumped up and pushed him to the floor. He fell with an oomph but Cel wasted no time in licking his face, her paws pinning him to the ground. He was laughing and complaining beneath us, eventually pushing us away roughly. Cel didn't mind, she merely leapt back to her feet, ready to retaliate.

Phoenix had shifted the moment she did, her body flying under his four paws as he leapt over her. She breathed a wolfy bark, skidding on the wet ground as her mate stood before her. I could feel the tension, the way they both gazed at each other. It had been a while since they had been together, completely in control. The tension was thick, and Cel licked her lips in excitement.

Ares grumbled, running his head down her neck and back much as Phoenix did. Cel barked in delight, nipping at his ear before licking his eye. Ares huffed, shaking his head with a snort. He hated it when she would lick his eyeball, I mean I wasn't too keen but whatever floated her boat...

Let them have control, Phoenix's mind floated weakly through the link. They haven't been together in a while. I have reminded Ares he has no more than an hour.

I thought the same. I breathed.

An hour was enough time for the two wolves to do as they pleased, and Ares was wise enough to know when a certain amount of time passed. Celimene was too hyper, nipping at his ankles as she felt the moment that we agreed to leave them be. So, with a gentle sigh, I disconnected from my body and fell to the familiar darkness of the in-between, leaving the wolves to do as they pleased.

***
OH charlie, I do love charlie

hey everyone missed youuuu

I'm still sick, but it's going. think everyone is sick lately wtf is that about hahaha

2498

Question of the Day:
Would you rather go for a walk on the beach, or a stroll through a park?
Beach for me!

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