From his tone, there was a lot of meaning behind those words, but for now, he couldn’t quite unpack everything that was happening. But he knew not to look a gift horse in the mouth. “Thank you, Alpha. I don’t know what to say.”
“Just say you’ll win her over.” He rose up from his chair. “I don’t know how you did it, being away from her all these months. It would have driven me crazy.” His gaze flickered to the frame on his desk, the one Delacroix knew contained a photo of the Lupa and his son. “I can’t even stand to be away from them during the day. Now,” the Alpha patted him on the shoulder. “Let me give you a little push in the right direction.”
As the Alpha told him what he had planned, Delacroix couldn’t help but grin as hope bloomed in his chest. You better watch out, cher. He was coming for her, and coming fast and hard. Mika wasn’t going to know what hit her before it was too late.
Chapter Ten
“Well, it’s not like there’s any use hiding it now,” Mika grumbled to herself as she strode into HQ. She had thought of bundling up in loose sweaters and jackets, but as she got dressed this morning, she said, fuck it, and put on a tight sweater dress and leggings.
As soon as she got to the command floor, a hush came over the room. Several people quickly scrambled to their desks, and one of the junior analysts accidentally ran into one of the glass partitions as he stared at her belly when he walked by.
“Something the matter, Ryerson?” she barked.
“N-n-no, ma’am!” The young man rubbed the growing knot on his forehead as he scampered away.
Head held high, she headed straight to her office. She’d had a long day yesterday—and an even longer night—and now today wasn’t going to be short either. Work had piled up in her absence, and she was going to have to put in extra time. Not to mention, it was obvious no one was going to get any work done, not when everyone would be talking about how the boss came back from Russia knocked up. Hopefully, all of this would die down in a few days, and they could all get back to the important work of, oh, what was that again? Oh yeah, saving their very existence.
Focusing on work had always been the way she coped, and so the morning went by quickly as she plowed through the pile of emails, paperwork, and calls. Her stomach growled by mid-morning despite the huge breakfast she’d had. But that was the consequence of having a True Mate baby. She was starving all the freakin’ time.
Thankfully, she still had two ham and cheese bagel sandwiches in her purse. She unwrapped those and made quick work of them, then washed it all down with a swig of coffee right before her conference call with the Toronto Alpha. By noon, she was starving again. Hmmm, maybe a pepperoni pizza would be good for lunch.
“Really?” She stared down at her belly. “We haven’t even been in America for twenty-four hours. Don’t you miss caviar and borscht?”
“Hey, sweetie!” came a cheerful voice as the door to her office opened. Alynna walked in, two large paper bags with “Emerald Dragon” stamped on the side. “I brought lunch.”
She looked up and raised a brow. “You could knock.”
“I’m your mother.” As she placed the bags on the table, the smell of orange chicken, fried rice, and egg rolls wafted into her nostrils, and her stomach growled audibly. “See? I came just in time.”
“For my noon feeding,” she said with a sigh.
“Aww, baby.” Alynna walked over to her side and squeezed her shoulder. “I know what it feels like. You’re starving all the time. Your body is changing. Feet swelling. Nausea. Don’t worry, if you have any questions, I’ll be happy to answer them. This is my first grandchild after all.”
Though she wanted to be mad at her mother for just barging in here, Mika really couldn’t. After all, she had kept her pregnancy a secret from her. When she and Joe had been trying for a baby, she always knew her mother would have been the first person she would have given the news to. “I … thanks, Mom.” Before she could say anything else, a knock interrupted her. “Come in.”
The door swung open, and Mika readied herself for some emergency or another fire she had to put out. But she was not prepared to see Delacroix casually walking into her office. “What are you doing here?” She shot up to her feet. “You’re not allowed in here.” Her wolf, on the other hand, seemed to disagree, as the little bitch practically rolled over and showed her belly when he walked in. And it didn’t help that he looked incredibly handsome and sexy with his hair slicked back, wearing a dark, well-fitting suit, the usual uniform for the Alpha’s bodyguards. Did nothing look terrible on the man?
He flashed her that devastating smile. “Of course I am, cher. I’m allowed wherever you are.”
She marched over to him, ignoring the way her stomach fluttered with happiness at the sight of him. You’re just happy he’s not dead, she told herself. Now you can kill him. “I don’t know who the hell you think you are, walking in here like this, but you better leave in the next second or I’ll have someone throw you out into the East River.”
“I know exactly who I am, cher. I’m your new bodyguard,” he said cheerfully.
“Body … guard? You’re joking, right?”
“Non, I wouldn’t joke about such a thing. The Alpha himself assigned me to guard his cousin after the attempt on her life by our enemies. I’m supposed to stay close and make sure no danger comes to you.”
Her jaw dropped all the way to the floor. “No.”
“Oui.”
“Lucas …” Her hands clenched tight.
