Chapter 784
Chapter 784
Chapter 129: Bonus Story–Welcome Home-Part 1
*Mila*
Warm lips pressed to my cheek, pulling me from my dreams. My eyes fluttered open and I looked up at Soren’s smiling face.
“Good morning, sleepy head.”
He put his newspaper aside, curled an arm under my neck, leaned down and kissed me. His breath held the faintest hint of fresh coffee.
I’d never been a big coffee drinker. Especially now that I was pregnant. But I liked the scent on his breath. Then again, he always smelled amazing.
I lifted a hand and cupped Soren’s face, a bright flash catching my eye. Pulling back, I saw the ring on my finger and a smile tugged at my lips.
It had been three days since Soren proposed, and I still had to convince myself it wasn’t just my imagination!
“It’s really great to see you smiling this early in the morning,” Soren asked, pulling my attention back.
I shifted my eyes to the window. It was almost noon. I had been so tired lately because of the baby.
“Early in the morning?” I giggled.
“Early for you,” Soren laughed. “Did you have a good dream?”
I shook my head. “No, it isn’t any dream I’m smiling about.”
Soren arched an eyebrow.
“No dream could be more wonderful than the life I’m living now.” I grinned and lay back on the pillows.
How could I not be happy? Everything that I ever wanted, a mate, a home, a family, and a peaceful life. I’d gotten it all.
Not only that, my mate was the most handsome, protective, and doting man I’d ever met. I tilted my head and just couldn’t stop smiling as I watched him.
Soren chuckled lightly and my heart fluttered.
“We should get up and start the day.” He threw the covers back and held a hand out to me.
My eyes barely saw his hand, glancing at his full, naked body as he stood at the edge of the bed.
“Mila, I would love to spend the day in bed with you,” he enticed, smirking, “but today we have to go shopping.”
My face heated but I was curious. “For what?”
“Well, for the baby. We need to get the nursery ready. And… for whatever makes you happy.”
“Uhh… I’m already happy.” I stood up and kissed his coffee scented lips again, thinking perhaps I would be happier staying in bed for the day. “But I suppose we do need to get the nursery ready.”
“How about this dress?” He held up a sky-blue maxi dress with elegant neckline ties.
“It seems a bit overkill for going shopping?”
“Trust me, it’s perfect.”
***
When Soren said, go shopping, I thought we were going to a furniture store in the trading center. There were quite a few there. Instead, we ended up at a gorgeous building by the beach, overlooking the ocean.
The lobby was elegantly designed and decorated, which made me think he took me to a luxury hotel by mistake, until a very friendly saleswoman greeted us and led us into an enormous showroom behind the lobby.
“We’ve got some really lovely floor designs and customizable murals that are wonderful in infant nurseries. And we have ones that can be for a boy or girl if you don’t know what you’re having,” the saleswoman said, sweeping her arm over the showroom of nursery plans.
They were like little office cubicles with sample nurseries set up inside. We could walk into them and interact with the furniture, and check out all the designs.
“So many options…” I whispered as we walked through the various samples.
We were the only customers there. Apparently, they were by appointment only to ensure their customers were treated with the most prestigious services.
The saleswoman took us to the back of the showroom where there were a few sample nurseries that were simpler, cleaner looking.
Smiling, I went right in and started checking out the furniture. It was all very nicely made out of sturdy materials but I could tell right away that they weren’t the average furniture brands or materials from other stores.
“You have a good eye, my dear,” the saleswoman smiled, “This timeless style is our signature design. They might have looked simple, but they were elegantly crafted by our master carpentry artists.”
I went to the crib and casually picked up the price tag.
My eyes nearly popped out of my head and I coughed, letting it fall.
“Mila?” Soren asked, coming up beside me.
“The price, it’s equal to half a year’s rent on our cottage,” I hissed so that the saleswoman wouldn’t hear us.
“But you like it?”
I ran my hand along the crib rail. It was so perfectly adorable. “I do, but—”
Soren nodded. “We’ll take this, and anything else that catches my lovely fiancee’s eye.”
“Great choice,” the saleswoman nodded, “Please excuse me. I’ll get the order written up for you.”
As soon as she stepped out of the mock nursery we were in, I hushed, “Soren, what are you doing? If we get the whole nursery here, it will cost the same as renting our cottage for five years!”
Soren shrugged.
I glared at him. “It is too expensive!”
“Mila, our baby is worth the best of everything.” He looped his arm around my shoulders. “You like the house?”
“Sure, I like it. It isn’t too big and the yard will be great for a toddler,” I said, nodding. I pulled away from him and looked at a changing table.
The price tag was almost double the crib, but Soren really didn’t seem to care.
“So, does that mean you want to stay in Marno forever?” he asked.
I glanced at him. “Um…Marno is nice, but I’m not sure we can stay hidden from the Alpha King here forever. It is a busy pack and his loyal subjects might see us one day. He probably already has spies here.”
“That’s a good bet.” Soren nodded and stroked his chin.
“I’m not sure there is anywhere safe for us to go.” I sighed and moved away from the changing table. “Hey, don’t change the topic. We were talking about the furniture. It’s too expensive.”
Soren ignored my protest on the price and only responded to my comment about the Alpha King. “That’s only if we keep hiding. I think that the only way to resolve the threat is to confront the threat. Hiding isn’t a permanent solution.”
I creased my brow. “How?”
“Well, the reason he wanted you dead was because you were the only one capable of using the Blade of Souls.”
“But the sheath was ruined so the Blade of Souls couldn’t be used as a whole any more. Nor have I planned to use it against him anyway,” I pointed out. Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.
Soren smirked. “Exactly. If I were you, I’d make him aware that the sheath was totally destroyed so that he knows it is useless, even if you are alive, or any of your children. We wouldn’t be a threat anymore.”
I mulled over Soren’s words, nodding slowly.
“You know, that didn’t exactly answer my question about staying in Marno,” Soren reminded me.
I met his eyes and smiled shyly, my cheeks turning red. “I only like Marno because you’re here.”
Soren raised his eyebrows. “Well, I knew that already,” he said cockily. “Well, in that case, I’d like to invite you out for a date, beyond Marno, tonight.”
“A date?” I tilted my head and teased him, “I don’t know, that depends on how sincere you are.”
Soren laughed and shook his head. “Lucky for you, you have the matebond to help you test me out. Why don’t you tell me how I feel about you?”
Closing my eyes, I reached out my senses and was immediately surrounded by the overwhelming mixture of emotions from him.
Soren projected tenderness, admiration, and love. I felt an intense desire from him, to protect me and support me, and give me everything that would make me happy.
“So, how did I do? Am I sincere enough for you to go on a date with me?” Soren’s voice broke into my thoughts.
Tears brimmed my eyes and I blinked them back quickly. I tried to talk and my voice caught in my throat. I cleared my throat and tried again.
“You called it. I really don’t know how I got so lucky.”
Soren grinned. “I’ll take that as a yes.”
The saleswoman came back with our order form.
“The furniture will be ready in a week. I just need your signature.” She handed the form to Soren.
“Thank you.”
“You two qualify as our pristine VIP guests. We do offer a black car service for VIPs. Is there somewhere we can take you?” she asked, taking the form back.
“Actually…” Soren smirked and winked at me. “Could you arrange a boat rental for us?”
“Umm…” The saleswoman smiled after a short pause. “Sure. I will happily arrange that.”
Soren took my hand. “Come with me.”
I didn’t even hesitate, grabbing his hand. What did he plan that was so secretive?
Soren glanced over his shoulder at me and winked. “You’ll find out,” he responded to my unasked question, thanks to the mindlink.
We got to the docks where there was already a beautiful boat for us. The services the furniture store provided to their customers were indeed unparalleled.
“We’re going to a small island off the coast,” Soren explained as he put the life vest on me, “I’ll drive. Please take a seat and enjoy the ocean.”
I nodded with a smile as my fiance drove the boat away. One hour later, a small island came into sight.
The beach was bathed in the orange afternoon sunlight. Not far away from the coast were small hills covered with little wildflowers. The island wasn’t big, three or four acres maybe, but it was absolutely adorable!
As soon as we got off the boat, I kicked my shoes off and ran through the frothy surf.
“This is so lovely.” I turned to Soren and hugged him. “Thank you for bringing me here. It is a very peaceful date.”
Soren chuckled. “Mila, this isn’t our date. We’re still in Marno territory. I’m just waiting for transportation.”
“Another boat?”
Soren shook his head and nodded to the sky.
I followed his gaze and stepped back. Some large, metal bird-like machine was plummeting toward us from the sky. As it got closer, the thunderous, whirring noises pounded against my eardrums, louder than anything I’d ever heard.
The giant metal bird thing landed heavily in the water, sliding through it like a boat, and sending up large plumes of water that splashed back down.
I stared at it as the machine got closer to us. The engines were just gurgling now. It pulled right up to the dock.
Too shocked, I couldn’t say a word.
Soren took both my hands and tightened his grip on me. “Mila, take a breath. There’s nothing to worry about.”
I exhaled, not even realizing I was holding my breath. “What is that!?”
“It is called a seaplane.”
I shook my head and stared at the weird contraption. It looked like some method of transportation that could… fly?
“I’ve never… this is… new…”
“It is probably the only plane in this realm right now. In my home realm, they are quite common. Thomas and I had to work pretty hard to get the right materials and people to build this thing. Pretty neat, right?”
I just kept staring at it. The engine idled and it rocked gently on the waves. I noticed that instead of feet, this “seaplane” had giant flotation-like pieces. They must have been hollow metal, that helped keep it floating on the water.
There were glass windows around the exterior. Suddenly, the door opened and I jumped back clutching Soren’s arm but immediately relaxed when I saw the person exiting the seaplane.