And Then There Were Four
Chapter 84

James

The next morning I knew something was definitely wrong with Ivy. She wasn't acting herself, and when she came downstairs to get breakfast, she was quieter than usual.

I could feel she had bad dreams every time she closed her eyes, but she acted as if nothing was wrong. Even though I knew there was.

Just don't think she knew how to confront us about it, or maybe she didn't want to.

Since we completed the mate bond, we could read each other easily. However, the problem was Ivy liked to keep herself cut off from us more than we would have appreciated. At least when she was awake. She didn't do it because she didn't care. She simply did it because she said she felt it was an invasion of privacy, which was understandable considering she didn't grow up in our world.

"Did you still want to go into town today and look for some nursery stuff?" I asked, trying to judge whether she was up for doing anything.

Her eyes met mine for the briefest of moments, and as if she was pushing away an external force clouding her mind, she nodded her head and let the small smile of joy creep across her face.

"Yes, definitely. I'd like to get started on everything. I mean, I know there's a lot that you guys are going to do for me, but I really want to be part of it."

I was happy she was excited about the twins arrival, because from the conversations I and the guys have had, we were concerned she was regretting her decision to be with us and to have our children.

For the past three months, she had done nothing but shrug off the topic of the unborn children or anything that had to do with babies.

Hale and Talon simply explained to me she regretted her decision to be with us. She was young. Her schooling had been changed. Her whole life had been upended and completely rerouted, and now to top it all off, she was pregnant with not just one baby but two. She was a new mother, and she would need time to adjust to it.

"Great. I'm not sure if the twins are still coming-".

"No, Hale and Talon are still on patrol. They did night shift, but unfortunately, Murphy and the other guy that we've got running have both come down with some mysterious cold," Damien said as he entered the kitchen.

"Cold. They're werewolves. How do they have a cold?"

Ivy's question caused Damien and I both to chuckle. "Just because they're wolves doesn't mean they can't get sick. Certain ailments trigger us, just like they would any normal human. The difference is that we tend to get over it a lot quicker than humans." "So, you're telling me you guys have had an actual regular cold before?" Her brows furrowed in confusion as if she just could not wrap her mind around this.

"Let's get going before you confuse yourself more. I will explain everything in the car on the way there."

Rolling her eyes, she smiled and hugged Damian. The soft interaction with them as he kissed the side of her head made me slightly jealous, but I was going to spend the day with her, so I couldn't hold it against him.

We were all mates, after all. Even if I didn't like to share.

Leaving his arms, she moved towards me, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, and grabbing her purse. The sweet smell of her wrapped around me, and with it, I could sense the children growing within her belly. Children that could have been there because of me.

"Come on, James," she said with an amused glance as she opened the garage door.

Following behind her, she made her way towards the car, and as we climbed in, I couldn't help but stare. "Are you okay?"

Her question pulled me from my thoughts, and chuckling, I nodded. "Yep, I'm good."

"Okay, then," she replied sarcastically with a smile of her own. "Let's get going then."

15 minutes later, Ivy and I were heading down the highway towards the center of town to do a bit of shopping. It had been a while since she had properly been out, but that wasn't because she didn't want to go. Instead, it was because there were security issues Damian wanted her kept close for.

"So did they ever replace the rogues or whatever near the

pack's north end?"

"No," I replied. "Damian said that he thinks they were passing by, but the twins think otherwise, so they have been on top of patrol like you wouldn't believe."

"Is it something I need to worry about?" She caused me to glance at her to see her biting her bottom l!p with her brow furrowed. "James?"

"Uh-no. Everything is fine, but we always take precautions to protect the pack."

Silence filled the space between us for a moment as we both looked ahead. "You mean to protect me..."

That was what I meant, but I didn't want her to think we would neglect the pack's protection over her. Even though we would do it if we had to choose. It wasn't because we were heartless... She was our mate.

"It isn't like that, Ivy. Of course, we would do anything to protect you, but protecting the pack is protecting you. People are growing on you being here, whether you choose to see it," I pointed out, giving her a knowing glance that caused her to roll her eyes. "They don't like me being here, James."

"Of course, they do. You're their Luna, Ivy. They just have to get to know you," I said, trying to reassure her further.

"You know, for as sweet as you are, you really need to learn that you svck at lying."

Gasping, I feigned hurt from her comment, and that expression alone caused her to burst into a small fit of laughter. "I do not," I replied firmly, trying to seem serious.

"Uh, yeah, you do." She glanced at her phone. "I haven't heard from Kate in a while... Do you think she is mad at me?"

"Mad at you? Why the hell would she be mad? That woman literally threatened to neuter me at one point if I hurt you."

Thinking about that conversation had my balls aching. It was like it had only happened yesterday, and in reality, it happened two months ago. Two months that not a day went by when I didn't think about it.

"I almost forgot about that," Ivy hummed to herself as we pulled into a parking spot in front of the local shopping complex.

Amongst them were several clothing stores, hardware

shops, and baby centers. I had hoped we could get a variety of things on our outing today to keep Ivy preoccupied for the next few weeks while the twins took care of our border issue.

It was honestly the main reason I took her out today.

Damian and the twins held a gathering with pack members to review protocols and other safety measures. I explained to them that Ivy would want to be present, but Damian said no.

He didn't want her to worry in her condition, and I knew very well if she found out later, she would be more than pissed about it.

Hopefully, she just wouldn't be pissed at me.

"So, which store do you want to go to first?" I asked as we stepped out of the car into the slowly warming air. "The baby outlet... or maybe the department store..." Taking a moment, Ivy glanced around and settled her eyes on a hardware store.

"I want to look at paint swatches," she said enthusiastically as she made her way towards Harders Tools and Paint.

"Paint?" I replied quickly, catching up to her. "We're painting?"

A softened stare of amusement crossed her face as she laughed. "Yes, James. Painting is something that you typically do."

"You know Damian isn't going to like odd colors, right...."

"Oh, I know," she chimed as she opened the door. "That's why I'm doing it."

Fvck. Of course, she was doing it on purpose.

Debating with myself, I watched her look at the swatches going between blues and pinks to shades of green. Should I tell him now and save his wrath for another time?

Or should I say f**k it and let her do it, then watch him explode?

The internal struggle was real, but in the end, I let her have her fun and do what she wanted to do. It would make for a much more entertaining evening.

"So, what are you thinking?" I asked as I stepped closer, looking at the swatches in her hand. "Traditional baby colors?"

Laughter escaped her as she shook her head. "No. I want more earthy tones."

"Oh, my god! Ivy, is that you?!" A voice shrieked from the other side of the store.

I watched Ivy freeze for a moment before turning to look towards the person, and the sensation of dread and irritation flooded her. "Sasha... it's been ages."

The brunette girl strode towards Ivy quickly before her eyes went down as she looked down at the growing bump that Ivy carried. "Oh, my god. So it's true... you're pregnant.".

"What do you mean, it's true?" Ivy asked, a bit more bitterly than I thought she wanted to sound.

"Oh, well, there was just word going around that you dropped out of school because you got yourself knocked up. I didn't want to believe it, but when Caleb disappeared, and then you did, a lot of us wondered,"

"Wait, what?" I said, staring at the girl in confusion. "What does Caleb have to do with anything?" The girl was quiet for a moment, as if embarrassed she had even said anything, and with her hesitation, I became more and more enraged. "Oh, please forgive me," she muttered, flipping her hair

over her shoulder. "A couple of students on campus have been gossiping about how close you and the professor were before, and one person saw you guys get in a car together at one point because she lived near him. So she assumed that y'all were together." A low growl emitted from my throat as Ivy grabbed my upper arm. She stared at me, shaking her head as if to tell me she would handle the situation.

"I don't know who told you that, but you're misinformed. Caleb was a horrible man and very abusive to other women. Thankfully, I wasn't subjected to that, and I knew when to get away. That's why he left."

- Ivy's words caught me off guard. I could tell she was lying a bit, but she was being honest about other things. Staring at lvy, I watched how rigid her posture was while speaking with the woman and seeing her uncomfortable didn't please me.

Caleb was dead, as well as the girl who helped him. It was one of the memories | tried hard to forget, yet I constantly felt reminded of the past.

"Oh!" She gasped in shock. "I can't believe that no one told me. I'm so sorry to think that the two of you-"

"It's fine," Ivy snapped with a smile. "People don't always get their facts straight before making assumptions."

"That's true," she nodded before glancing between Ivy and I. "So you two are together?"

"Yep. She belongs to me," I claimed before wrapping an arm around Ivy's waist and pulling her closer to me. "My forever, and always."

"If you will excuse us, we really need to look at the paint and move on to the next store," Ivy said with a sickly sweet smile on her face. "I'm sure you understand."

She slowly slid from me before taking my hand and turned towards the sections of paint swatches, ignoring the woman. The mysterious woman stood there for a moment before finally giving up and turning away.

"I can't believe people think that " I muttered before Ivy quickly cut me off.

"Don't think about it at all. People are going to gossip no matter what we do, and honestly, I don't want to pay it any mind because all it will do is irritate me further."

Oh shit. She was pissed about what Sasha said. Not wanting to see her day ruined by a bunch of gossip, I leaned forward, kissing the side of her head.

"Okay, sweetie. What color are you thinking?"

At this point... it was going to be whatever she wanted.

Even if she wanted the entire store.