The Lycan Kingpin's Captive: A Baby For The Beast novel Chapter 44

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.

“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 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.”