“To what? To tell your pregnant mate who’s being threatened that you might know who’s behind it? To include me in decisions that directly affect my safety and the safety of our children?”
Knox’s jaw clenched. “I’m going to figure out who’s behind this. I’m going to deal with them. You don’t need to worry about it.”
“The doctor literally just said I need to reduce my stress. How am I supposed to do that when my own mate is keeping secrets from me?”
“This is different.”
“How? How is this different?”
He didn’t have an answer for that. Of course he didn’t.
“Fine,” he said finally, his voice tight. “Here’s what’s going to happen. You’re going to have ten guards watching you at all times. You’re not leaving the house for the next few days. Neither are Rowan and Thea. Everyone stays inside where we can protect them until we figure out who’s behind this.”
I grimaced. Ten guards. House arrest. This was exactly what I’d been trying to avoid by keeping the messages secret. But I also remembered what the doctor had said. The warning about premature birth and complications. The fact that my stubbornness could cost me my baby.
“A couple of days,” I said, negotiating even as I gave in. “I’ll stay inside for a couple of days. Let the guards follow me around. Keep the twins home from school. But I’m not staying locked up forever, Knox. A few days to figure this out, and then we reassess.”
Knox looked ready to argue, but something in my expression must have convinced him this was the best deal he was going to get.
“Fine. A couple of days. But if we haven’t caught whoever’s doing this by then, we’re extending the lockdown.”
“We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.”
Hunt took that as his cue to leave. “I’ll coordinate with the guards and set up a rotation schedule. We’ll have the house locked down by morning.”
“Thanks, Hunt,” I said.
He nodded once and slipped out, leaving Knox and me alone again.
Knox stood by my bedside, looking down at me with guilt and fear and love all mixed together on his face. I knew there were things he wasn’t telling me. I knew he and Hunt had been sharing significant looks all night. I knew that whatever was going on was bigger than he was letting on.
But right now, I was exhausted. My body ached. My eyes could barely stay open. And despite everything, despite the secrets and the fear and the uncertainty, I missed him.
“Come here,” I said softly, patting the bed beside me.
He hesitated. “You need to rest.”
“I need my mate. Now get in the bed before I make you.”
A ghost of a smile flickered across his face. He kicked off his shoes and carefully climbed onto the narrow hospital bed, arranging himself around me so that my back was pressed against his chest and his arms wrapped protectively around my belly.
“Sleep, baby,” he whispered against my hair. One of his hands slid under my belly, taking some of the weight the way he always did. “I’m here. I’m not going anywhere.”
The exhaustion finally won, and I drifted off with Knox’s arms around me and his heartbeat steady against my back.
8
— • —
Knox
“Any news?” I asked Lucio before entering my house.
The guard stood at attention by the front door, his posture rigid and his expression carefully neutral. Weeks had passed since the threats started escalating, and Lina was now officially on week thirty-four of her pregnancy. She was also officially losing her goddamn mind at being stuck inside for so long.
None of us had expected the lockdown to last this long. When I’d first told her to stay inside for a few days, I’d genuinely believed we’d catch whoever was behind the threats within a week. Maybe two. But then more threats showed up. Notes left on car windshields. Dead flowers delivered to the coffee shops. Anonymous messages sent to pack members warning them to stay away from the Luna if they knew what was good for them.
Each new threat made me more paranoid. Each new incident convinced me that my mate was in danger every second she spent outside these walls. So I’d pushed for her to stay inside longer. And longer. And longer.
