"That would explain my weakness and tiredness... but why now? When I don't want to see him... After everything that happened..." Tears came to my eyes.
Nova... Close your eyes and listen well.
She put her head to my belly and I did what she asked me to do. I was sitting in concentration when suddenly I started hearing something. The quiet beating of a small heart. I took a deep breath. I embraced my belly, immediately falling in love with the baby.
Our little puppy. Stellar said, fawning over me. It was a very strange feeling. I thought I would be angry with him or start to despair. However, after hearing his heartbeat, everything changed. I felt a nice inner warmth like when I was with Ethan. A smile appeared on my face.
"Our little puppy" I repeated after her. Suddenly, Stellar sensed something, turning towards the water.
Aziel is coming. She looked at me.
"They can't find out. At least not now. Can you do something about it?" I asked nervously.
Don't worry, until you agree, I will block them. They won't smell it. No one will notice. She brushed against me and started walking towards Aziel, who had just emerged from behind the trees.
"Stellar" He walked up to her, rubbing against her body, happy to see her.
"Aziel…thank you. You helped me a lot" She let him fawn over her. Tails wagged happily.
Seeing them happy together made me feel a little sad. I could cuddle with Ethan too. Be happy with him. I was pulled out of my thoughts by two wolves licking my face.
"Hey! That's enough" I laughed, defending myself against them. I embraced both wolves, cuddling their fluffy fur.
"Nova... Ethan is in a lot of pain... He would like to see you" Aziel turned to me, placing his head on my lap. The smile disappeared from my face.
"Now he knows how much I suffer because of him" I stroked his head. "I'm sorry Aziel but I'm not ready to meet him. Not yet" I was trying to denied myself.
"I see... However, I don't know how long he will be able to endure. He became very nervous. Everyone is afraid of him. He becomes more and more angry. He is unable to control it. I will do what I can, but I don't promise anything" He explained.
Hearing this, I felt sorry for him. But none of this would have happened if he had been honest with me. I was more sad than angry at him. One stupid situation and everything fell apart. I knew I would regret it, but I was worried he would do something stupid.
"Aziel? Can you bring him here? Just this once... for a while?" I asked uncertainly, looking at Stellar if it would be okay. She nodded, confirming that I had nothing to worry about.
"On it" Aziel, satisfied, stood up and disappeared between the trees.
"Are you sure?" She leaned her head against mine while sitting next to me.
"He hurt me a lot... but I miss him, Stellar. I want to see him for just a moment..."
When we heard footsteps, we both looked towards the trees. Aziel and Ethan emerged from behind them. Aziel must not have told him anything because he stopped dead in his tracks when he saw me sitting next to Stellar.
"We'll leave you two to talk in peace. Call me when you want to come back" Stellar got up and walked away with Aziel, leaving us to ourselves.
"Are you just going to stand there? You don't have much time" I said angrily, looking away from him, secretly happy to see him.
"Nova... Is that really you?" He slowly started walking towards me.
"Were you expecting someone else?" I grumbled.
I felt him cuddle into me from behind, wrapping his arms around me with his muscular arms. He rubbed his face against the back of my neck, trying to confirm that it was me. I missed his warmth so much. I immediately felt so good, so safe.
"Nova... my Nova... it's really you... my treasure.." He hugged me and kissed my neck and shoulders. I wrapped my arms around him, letting him enjoy me.
"Nova, I'm begging you, tell me where you are. I'll go crazy if I can't be with you" He begged. I was silent.
"Nova…. please forgive me. I know what I did was incredibly stupid. The moment I decided to be with you, I should have told you everything, explained everything. I was a fool. I know what I did was wrong and that it hurt you very much. But understand, honey... Nothing ever happened between me and Roxan. She rejected me because she had someone else and wanted to stay with him. The fact that she came back because she changed her mind meant nothing to me. I then let her go with someone else... But now she's crossed the line. I killed her Nova" He snuggled closer to me. "I killed her because she wanted to take your place. No one will ever be able to take it. It's yours forever. I love you Nova. I'm crazy about you. I want to spend every moment with you. I need you. I'm begging you, come back to me"
Hearing the despair in his voice, I almost burst. It hurt me that he was suffering so much, but I was afraid to come back. I needed time to be able to trust him again.
"Ethan..." I rested my head on his wide chest. "I can't come back to you yet.."
"Nova, I'm begging you!"
"Shhh" I turned my head to him. "Let me finish. After all this, I don't know how to trust you again. How do I know you won't do it again? I need time. I want to be sure that everything you're telling me is true. When I'm ready, I'll come back to you" I said sadly.
"Nova... the time spent without you is a real torture. Because I don't know where my partner is, I can't control myself. I'll go crazy without you" He tried to convince me.
"You know I'm fine. You know I'll come back to you. Try to hold on for me" For us. I thought, knowing he wouldn't hear. "Don't go crazy... Aziel will tell us everything when you start doing something" I warned. "Remember, I'll be back. Stellar" I exclaimed, closing my eyes.
"Nova!" I heard before I woke up in my bed. I sighed heavily, knowing that I had to sort everything out again. The news of my pregnancy surprised me. How Ethan will take it, I don't know. However, I know that when I can no longer hide it, I will have to show myself...
Luckily, Stellar came back and I felt much better. She shared her energy with me and the baby in my belly. I no longer felt tired or weak. I could work peacefully without worrying about anything.
After returning to the club, everyone was worried about me, but seeing that everything was fine, everyone returned to their duties.
A few days later, we met Aziel again in a dream. He fawned over Stellar like a little puppy. Their joy was visible. Once they were enjoying each other and Aziel was lying between me and Stellar, I could finally hear how Ethan was doing.
"It's hard for him... but he's trying. But please remember that in the long run it will get worse and worse" He explained, placing his big head on my lap. I hugged him, knowing that I would have to come back soon. Aziel shuddered, placing his head against my stomach.
"Nova, you..." He looked at me in surprise, and I looked at Stellar, who growled at him warningly.
"He shared his power with me and I with you and the little one. He must have sensed his power in you" She guessed.
I grabbed Aziel's muzzle with my hands, looking pleadingly into his black eyes.
"Aziel, I'm begging you! Don't tell him anything!"
"You have our puppy. Do you know what it means? Come back to us. We have to take care of you!" He begged.
"I promise I'll come back, but please don't tell him. If he finds out now without knowing where I am, he might go completely crazy. Who will stop him then? Give me another week. After a week I'll call Ethan and tell him where I am" I've given up.
I couldn't run away from it forever. The lack of trust still hurt, but I tried to convince myself that he would be better for us, that he wouldn't hide anything from us anymore. Maybe he'll even be happy to hear about our puppy...
Aziel promised not to talk about anything for now. Over the next few days, I struggled with my hesitation to return sooner or later.
Part of me was afraid of all this, worried about my life with Ethan. I knew I couldn't be with anyone else but him. Part of me screamed to go back to him and feel his presence, his warmth, his love.
I decided that I would talk to Tim at work tomorrow and tell him I was resigning. I will trust him. I trust that he won't hurt me like that again. The next day, while at work, I had a pleasant surprise.
I heard from the employees that Gamma Barret came to check how the club was running. I would be terrified, trying to hide in corners, if I wasn't convinced of coming back. However, in this moment it was very convenient for me...