When they touch me (Shelagh Milano)

Chapter 101 ARTEMISIA

Returning to the pack house, I'm exhausted but also feel incredibly giddy.

I hurry to get to my quarters while the flimsy lingerie dress weighs heavily in the little bag.

Stepping into my quarters by forcing me not to burst into his office, I take a deep breath.

As I inhale, I notice that something is wrong quickly, my senses are on high alert as I smell various scents of people that must be standing in my bedroom.

"Oh, she is coming," I hear Daisy whispering and as I step into my bedroom, my heart stops.

"What are you all doing here?" I ask the small crowd of women that is standing in a row, smiling at me.

I take a little step back, clasping my little bag with my indecent piece of clothing as I shudder because of the creepy vibe of this situation.

"Welcome, Luna Artemisia. We were waiting for you to get you ready for the marking," an elderly woman says, stepping aside to reveal a long, white, linen robe lying on my bed.

I clear my throat, lifting my bag as I smile uncomfortably, "Well, thank you. But actually, I have organised something already."

"It's tradition, Missy," Daisy hisses, and I take a deep breath to bite my tongue.

This is a special night, and she isn't going to ruin this for me.

The elderly woman lifts her hand, pointing her finger towards Daisy admonishingly, "If the Luna has organised something for our Alpha, there is nothing wrong with us adjusting our traditions a little bit."

"Let's take a bath first, Luna," She says, starting to steer me to my en-suite bathroom, and the rest of the women follow us chatting happily.

"Please don't call me that," I murmur beneath my breath, getting just a motherly smile from the woman.

In the bathroom, a steamy bath already awaits me. It smells incredibly good as the scent of lavender fills the air and I can't wait to relax in it.

As soon as I'm out of my clothes, I let myself sink into the warm water and my muscles scream at the soothing feeling. I force down the moan that wants to bubble out of my chest as I don't want to embarrass myself.

I feel a bit uncomfortable at them tending to me, washing my hair and scrubbing my skin with some awesomely smelling peeling.

But it is tradition, so I'll just put up a good face on this and bear it.

As they are styling my hair, Daisy takes my hand to put another few of the coloured pills into my hand and I look up at her dumbfounded. "This will help for the baby."

"I'm not going to take these, Daisy," I say confidently, depositing them on a surface next to me.

"But you have to! It is important for the baby."

Shaking my head, I press my hands between my thighs, "Cayden said I could skip them until after the official marking! Do you want to go and ask him about it? Or maybe I should call Fynn and let him know that you are forcing me to take something again, even if he doesn't want me to take them."

Mentioning Fynn always works as it gets everyone's face to go pale instantaneously.

"Alpha Cayden didn't inform me about putting off the supplements, and neither did Beta Logan. I'm sure they will be deeply disappointed at your childish behaviour," Daisy spits, and even if I get to swallow my gasp as I don't want to give her the satisfaction, the women around me don't hold back.

"Daisy!" one of them hisses, but I just wave dismissively.

"Let her! She is just anxious about my baby's health." I squint my eyes at her, tilting my head. "Aren't you, Daisy?"

Daisy starts fidgeting around, probably because the realisation of what she has done starts kicking in. "Yes! Of course!"

"Don't worry," I say with a theatrically lovely tone. "I'll do my best to take them regularly after my official marking ceremony."

She nods, looking very uncomfortable and I take a mental note to myself, wanting to remember to take the pills and store them somewhere safe so that they can be analysed as well.

***

Vera, the eldest of the circle of women who came to prepare me, is the one who actually accompanies me into a big bedroom situated in the wing opposite where we are staying.

I hug my dressing gown closer as I feel coldness seeping through my skin and try not to concentrate too much on her long gown dragging on the floor, making me feel like she is bringing me to my execution.

'Cass?' I sigh, hoping for a nice word from her as she must be happy now, as we are about to be marked by an Alpha, but she just scoffs, 'Just don't fuck it up this time.'

I take a shaky breath, trying to calm my nerves and blend her out as she isn't being helpful at all.

My heart halts in my chest as we

finally reach the big bedroom. The

room is full of candles that are being lit by a bunch of Omegas. In the middle of the sea made of candles stands a huge bed, and I chuckle to myself as I think that I would be able to fit all my mates in here,

"Let me help you out of your gown," Vera says in a kind tone, tearing me out of my thoughts.

I let her unwrap my dressing gown, slipping it off me gently. "Get onto the bed, please."

Slipping out of my shoes, I proceed to sit on the bed, crossing my arms over my chest, I try to shield as much of my skin as I can from the Omegas who are looking at me curiously.

I clench my teeth, not wanting to have them chattering because of how cold I feel.

Cayden will have me warmed up in no time anyway.

"We will now leave you alone," Vera says after having taken a look around. "The Alpha will be here in a few moments. Are you alright? Do you need something?"

What if I told her no?

"I'm very much alright and I don't need anything else, thank you so much, Vera."

She does a deep curtsy, making me gulp. "Luna."

The people stream out of the room, leaving me alone with my anxious thoughts and my heart beats into my chest, risking suffocating me.

I try to relax, unwrapping my arms from my body to have it on display for him when he comes in.

I keep squirming in my seating position just until the door opens slowly, and Cayden steps in.

He is wearing one of his gorgeous smiles and his eyes scan me hungrily, reactivating my nerves and getting my nervousness to slide off me. As he steps closer, I have to force myself to sit still, and I concentrate on taking in his appearance. The linen pants and tunic he is wearing make me think of me being trapped in a cult all over again, and I laugh, making him do the same. "What is it?"

"Sorry, these clothes and all those candles make me feel like I'm about to be sacrificed," I say, making him grin.

"Yeah. They tend to go a little bit overboard in their excitement."

I clear my throat, positioning the strap on my shoulder. "Do you think I can ask you something before we... erm... start? Or do you think it will ruin the mood?" "Seeing what you are wearing, you would have to put in a lot of work to ruin my mood, my love," he says, grinning smugly, and I chuckle.

"Perfect then. Oh," I suddenly jerk up. "They are not eavesdropping, are they?"

"Goddess, I hope not," he answers, putting his hands into his pockets. "I'm planning to make you scream a few things that only I should hear."

Oh, my...

I force my smile down, lowering my gaze and he comes to stand in front of the bed.

"Today at the hospital... I can explain

it to you later, but I had a

conversation with William and he told me about not knowing of any sample you sent in for testing. Did you send it to someone else Fynn told me that you were going to test my spiked food."

He nods as he gets on the bed and crawls closer. My heartbeat picks up, risking exploding in my chest until he kisses me.

"I sent it to Corvina. She is a bit more

specialised in toxins than our hospital here and she will be coming into the pack's territory to check on Fynn anyway as we fear that Drake has gotten stronger by getting your blood. And we don't want to risk any bad thing happening during the ball. She will be bringing the results."

I smile at him, nodding. "Okay. That makes sense."

He caresses my face, pulling me in for another kiss.