Chapter 43 - Mia
Chapter 43 - Mia
When the limo comes to a stop, Niko gets out first along with the five warriors following us, then he
walks over and opens the door for me. Two warriors walk ahead and stand at the door, then he walks
me inside the restaurant with three of them at our backs.
I have never felt like a mafia queen as much as I do now.
Another sliver of pain shoots up my belly and I breathe through it, making sure not to worry Niko or he’ll
take me home. It’s normal…just normal.
“Alpha Nikolaos, Luna Mia, welcome,” the beautiful blonde hostess greets us with a bow of her head.
“I’ll lead you to your table, follow me.”
The restaurant is fancy and in Mediterranean decor, not too fancy but not too cliche. Black, golds, and
various shades of blue adorn the decor and it gives me a warm feeling instead of an out-of-place one.
The hostess leads us to a private table in the back and Niko pulls out my chair for me before sitting
down.
“I’ll send Marta over shortly, she’ll be your server this evening,” she says and is about to walk out when
I stop her. She looks a tad fearful, but I give her my warmest smile.
“What is your name?” I ask and she looks like a fish out of water, her cheeks going red.
“Uhm, I’m Alice, Luna,” she says with her hands clasping tightly in front of her.
I sigh, feeling awkward that she seems scared of me. “Thank you for leading us to our table, Alice,” I
say and her head whips up in surprise.
Her mouth hangs open slightly and she flounders when she says. “I-it was a pleasure, Luna!”
Niko is chuckling silently as I watch her leaving our table, the surprise wafting in her scent palpable.
Why was she so shocked that I thanked her?
“She’s not used to Lunas being kind to her,” Niko says when he sees the frown on my face. “You’ve just
earned her loyalty, little rabbit.”
“By treating her like a person?” I ask incredulously and he nods.
“People in the service industry aren’t used to kindness, much less kindness from people in authority.
You asked for her name and then thanked her personally, she’ll make sure to tell others that the
SilverCrest Luna is a wonderful person,” he explains and it actually makes sense to me.
Who would have thought a small act of kindness could cause a domino effect like that? I was just
giving what I never got.
Marta arrives soon after and takes our orders. Lately, I haven’t been as hungry as I used to be, just
more tired and sluggish. It doesn’t help that my belly is so huge when I have a tiny figure.
“You’re eating like your nickname lately; are you okay?” Niko asks when he sees me picking at my
pasta.
I nod. “I think it’s because I’m so close to giving birth; there’s just no appetite,” I explain, and his worried
frown deepens. He doesn’t say anything further, though, but I can see it’s bothering him.
After dinner, he takes my hand across the table and shoots me a smile that has my heart pounding in
my chest.
“You look beautiful, kardia mou,” he says, running his thumb over the back of my hand. “It’s to be
expected, though; you look beautiful in anything.”
I will never get used to being called beautiful, especially not by a man as beautiful as him. My face
flushes and a self-conscious smile covers my lips because I never know how to respond to
compliments other than a ‘thank you’ squeak.
“I realize we didn’t exactly start out like a normal couple; but then again we weren’t exactly born to
normal people, were we?” he says with a sad chuckle. “So I want to start by giving you everything you
deserve, and I think the first step is this.”
My heart pounds when he gets to his feet, then it explodes when he drops down to one knee in front of
me. “Niko…” I stutter with a hand in front of my mouth. “What are you doing? We’re already engaged!”
He shakes his head. “That wasn’t a proper proposal; I was forced to do it,” he says, taking my hand in
his. “I want to do it the right way, Mia, starting with asking for your hand the way I should have done in
the first place.”
I try to level my breathing, feeling silly for freaking out when we’re already engaged. But this…it feels a
thousand times more special for some reason!
“I never told you this, but I wasn’t supposed to be in that alleyway the night you ran into me. I was at
one of my gentlemen's clubs for a meeting and slipped out to get some air because the overbearing
scent of sex was getting too much for me. I could have gone out front or sat in my car, but something
pulled me towards the back alley. The longer I thought about it, the more I realized that I was being
pulled towards you.”
He shakes his head and chuckles. “I know I’m sounding like a romantic piece of shit, but I don’t mind
coming across like that to you. I was meant to find you, Mia, we were meant to meet in that alley.”
Silent tears slip down my cheeks and ruin my makeup in the process, but I don’t care. My Alpha is
pouring his heart out to me right now, and I am floating on a cloud of anxious happiness with the way
my heart is beating.
He takes my hand and kisses it. “So Mia, my Luna, my love, my heart…” he trails off and pulls out a red
velvet box, popping it open to reveal a ring that takes my breath away. “Will you be my queen and rule
at my side forever?”
I draw my hand to his cheek and nod. “Forever and even after, my Alpha,” I say with a trembling bottom
lip and the smile on his face makes my heart melt into a puddle.
He removes the ring and slips it on my finger, and I marvel at how different it looks. It has twin bands,
the top one lined with diamonds while the bottom is smooth; in the middle is a dark blue teardrop-
shaped gem. The gem glistens and it mirrors a starry night, glistening in the light the chandelier gives
off.
“Niko…it’s beautiful,” I gush when he slips it on and I grit my teeth when another sliver of pain pierces
my belly. “I love it so much!”
Niko frowns and slowly pulls me to my feet, but I double over with pain and nearly cry out. Before I can
tell him I’m okay, I feel it….liquid slipping down my legs.
“Oh! My water broke!” I exclaim and Niko’s eyes grow to the size of saucers. I hear him calling out to
the warriors to bring the limo around, then I hear him over the mind link calling Dr. Lilah.
Is this what the pains were? Was I in labor this entire time without knowing?
Niko picks me up and carries me out of the restaurant with everyone looking at us. But the last thing on
my mind is worrying about the people around me. There’s a dull ache in my lower back and when Niko
puts me down in the backseat, a cold stab of pain rips through my body.
I can’t help the scream that comes out of me; my eyes are clamped shut and I feel Niko’s hand on my
back.
“It’s okay, Mia, we’re almost there,” he says and for the first time, I hear the uncertainty in his voice.
Dr. Lilah warned me of the pain, but I didn’t expect it to hit me all at once like this! Are my contractions
not supposed to come in spurts?! Why does it feel like Ares is bearing down more and more?!
We reach the pack house at lightning speed and Niko carries me inside again while another contraction
splits me in two. Dr. Lilah rushes out to meet us and looks at me and Niko, nodding. “Bring her inside,”
she instructs.
I don’t know how I got naked, I don’t know how they put me on that bed - all I can feel is the pain of
Ares wanting out right this instant. My legs are put up in stirrups and I can feel Dr. Lilah checking how
far dilated I am.
I happen to look down at that moment to see the look on her face and know something is wrong. “What
is it? Why do you look like that?” I shriek and try to sit up, but she shakes her head.
“Nothing is wrong for now, Luna, your contractions have only just started, correct? We’re still in the
early stages. You’re dilated fully, but I don’t feel Ares moving,” she says and I freeze.
What?
“What do you mean you don’t feel him moving?! I’ve been feeling him moving the entire time!” I yell,
then scream as another contraction pierces me, a dull ache in my lower back. “Do something!”
NoNoNoNo! This can’t be, I can feel him moving right now! Every time I feel pain it’s as if he’s rolling
around so what the heck is she talking about?!
Niko is holding my hand and kisses my fingers. “It’s okay, Mia, Lilah is here to help, okay?” He tries to
soothe me with gentle words but I can only scream out my pain and frustration. “Lilah, fix this!”
Those three words are said through gritted teeth and when I look up at him, I can see the worry and NôvelDrama.Org owns this.
fear in his green eyes. Ares moves again and I suck in a breath instead of screaming. Ariadne told me
to breathe through the pain when the time comes because screaming and crying out will only exhaust
me.
An hour passes and through contractions, crying, pain, and Lilah’s calming touch, she finally smiles
and nods. “Okay, Luna, when you feel another contraction, I am going to need you to push,” she says.
My eyes widen and I look at her as if she’s crazy. “Push through the pain? Are you-” I finally cry out
when a contraction hits me with no room or energy to push. “I can’t, it’s impossible!”
Niko kisses the side of my head. “You can do it, vasílissa mou; you’re stronger than I could ever be,” he
says, whispering encouragement and I look at him through bleary eyes. He thinks I can do this, that I
can bring our child into the world when I doubt myself. “Ares is waiting for us, let's welcome him home.”
I nod and allow myself to cry through the pain. Contraction after contraction, Lilah’s encouraging voice,
Niko’s tender words, and pushing when I feel like I can’t anymore.
“Niko…” I sniff. “I can’t do this; I can’t do it!”
He holds my hand and kisses my tears. “You made me fall in love with you when I didn’t think I could
love, you made me start facing my demons when I gave up. This should be easy for you, Mia…you can
do this, I know you can.”
I shake my head and when I feel Ares moving and splitting me down the damn middle, I hear a piercing
cry that causes my heart to still.
“That’s it, Mia!” Dr. Lilah cries out. “Keep pushing!”
With a tired, exhausted body, I hold onto the strength in Niko’s mark and the love I feel for him. With
one final push and a scream so loud that it hurts my ears, I feel Ares leave my body and fall back onto
the bed.
“Oh, Alpha Prince,” Lilah gushes before she places the crying, squirming baby on my chest.
“Congratulations Luna, Alpha; meet your baby boy.”