Mated To The Mafia Werewolves

At exactly 5:30 AM, Arabella and Thalia set out from the latter’s residence, shrouded by the early dawn to avoid drawing attention.

Arabella shifted in her seat, a hand gently cradling her stomach as she felt a twinge. Wincing, she stole a glance at it.

“What’s wrong?” Thalia asked her gaze briefly on Arabella before scanning the room.

They’d been driving for nearly an hour, yet the lingering fog veiled the sky. But Arabella’s concern wasn’t the weather. It was Blaze. Upon waking earlier, she’d received a disconcerting message from him.

The fact that she couldn’t reach him unsettled her. She hoped he was alright, but her worry extended to something more profound.

It was her baby.Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive © material.

“I told you not to bother about Cole,” Thalia said. “He will come to us, and I am sure he would have suggested the same thing.”

“It’s not about Blaze,” Arabella replied, trying to dismiss Thalia’s concern.

“Then what is it?” Thalia pressed.

“My baby,” Arabella confessed. “It’s been unusually active, and my stomach has suddenly grown.”

Last night, there had been little evidence of her pregnancy. Despite Thalia saying she was showing earlier, she hadn’t noticed any changes.

Now, it was unmistakable. Arabella couldn’t understand having such a prominent baby bump at just ten weeks.

“Arabella,” Thalia called again; concern etched in her features, her eyes drawn to Arabella’s discomfort and the hand cradling her belly. “Are you feeling unwell? Maybe I should pull over.”

“No, no, don’t,” Arabella shook her head. “I’m just amazed.”

She lifted her shirt for Thalia to see, and Thalia’s eyes widened.

“That’s quite sudden,” she murmured. “Did Blaze do something to you last night besides fucking you know?”

Thalia was vulgar, and she wondered if she could get used to her choice of words.

“No,” Arabella’s cheeks flushed, shooting Thalia a glare, though she detected a playful glint in her eyes.

“It’s strange how you’ve started showing so suddenly,” Thalia observed. Then, her tone grew serious. “Is this something we should be worried about?”

“I don’t know,” Arabella said. “But for the record, I feel it, alive and moving. So I don’t think it’s something to worry about unless I start hemorrhaging.”

“I’ve never been pregnant before,” Thalia shrugged.

“You should give it a try,” Arabella quipped, her voice tinged with sarcasm.

Thalia glanced at her, then back at the road before shaking her head. She had pondered having a child, a little version of herself and a little Sandro.

Thalia winced as her thoughts drifted back to him. She’d envisioned many scenarios with Sandro, but he was the very reason she was on the run again. Unfortunately, it wasn’t for noble reasons, as she had done before.

Still, she doubted if she would want a child with Sandro. Sandro was cruel. She couldn’t bear the thought of raising a child who might turn out like him. While the opposite was possible, she couldn’t trust it.

“You should keep your eyes on the road if you want us to get there in one piece!” Arabella’s voice snapped her back to attention.

“Shit!” Thalia swerved just in time, narrowly avoiding a log blocking the road. “What the heck was that?!”

“That could have been easily avoided if you hadn’t been lost in thought,” Arabella pointed out.

“No, not that,” Thalia breathed out. Her eyes darted to the rearview mirror, but whatever she had glimpsed after the log had vanished.

“Did you see something else?” Arabella inquired, checking the road.

Thalia nodded, “But whoever it was, they’re not there anymore.”

Could she have imagined it? Thalia wondered. She took a deep breath, gripping the wheel tightly. Anxiety washed over her. She’d felt watched earlier, and now it had intensified threefold. How could someone be observing them while they were driving? It didn’t make any sense, and it certainly didn’t sit well with her.

Thalia’s knuckles whitened from her tight grip on the wheel. She spoke through gritted teeth. “Brace yourself, Arabella.”

“What?” Arabella asked, looking at Thalia, whose gaze was fixed on the road. “What’s happening?”

“I’m exceeding the speed limit,” she stated. “I don’t want you to go flying, hence the warning to brace yourself.”

“Alright,” Arabella said, though she was puzzled by Thalia’s sudden shift in demeanor. She suspected something had occurred, perhaps triggered by her mention of pregnancy.

Arabella gripped the handle just as Thalia accelerated.

“Hold on, Arabella,” Thalia urged. She caught sight of the figure again. Maybe she shouldn’t keep glancing at the mirror, but she couldn’t help it.

“Believe me, I’m holding on for dear life,” Arabella ground out through gritted teeth. “I really hope today isn’t my last!”

“This isn’t the time for pessimism,” Thalia snapped, navigating the winding road.

“You’re absolutely right,” shot back Arabella. “If you’d explained why I’m hurtling toward a potential demise, maybe I’d feel more at ease.”

“I told you, I saw something,” Thalia insisted. “It’s not my fault you can’t see it!”

Arabella winced, her free hand clutching her stomach as the car jolted, and she gasped through the sensation.

“Did you actually get a driver’s license?” Arabella inquired. “You should be sent to prison for driving like this!”

Thalia’s eyes widened as they approached another log in the road. Arabella squeezed her eyes shut, breathing heavily through her mouth, waiting for Thalia to navigate around it.

“No, I just waltzed into the licensing office, charmed everyone there, and voila, got it done, piece of cake,” Thalia retorted, her tone dripping with sarcasm.

Arabella grimaced, shaking her head.

“You’re the road queen, but could you at least let me focus on driving instead of acting like a nervous wreck?” Thalia quipped.

“I’m not a nervous wreck,” Arabella shot back, glaring at her.

It wasn’t that she was entirely afraid; it just felt eerily similar to her situation with Blaze when they were forced on the run. She half-expected gunfire to erupt, but she hadn’t spotted any other vehicles approaching.

“We’re almost there,” Thalia announced. While she didn’t let up on her speed, she skillfully avoided any potholes along the way.

They soon reached the pack house, which wasn’t visible, but Arabella was immensely grateful that they had at least gotten to their destination.

As soon as Thalia found a safe spot to park, Arabella gasped for breath, clutching the door handle for support.

Her body ached, her backside felt numb from the prolonged sitting, and she trembled as she got out of the car.

Glancing at her watch, Thalia remarked, “It was only a three-hour journey. Don’t act like it’s a major ordeal.”

“Why don’t you try having a sudden watermelon-sized bump appear on your stomach and then hit the road to make sure you don’t meet an untimely end from reckless driving? I’m sure you’d have plenty to say if you were in my shoes,” Arabella retorted, straightening up.

“I never encouraged you to get pregnant,” Thalia replied, aghast at the idea of being in Arabella’s position.

“Fine,” Arabella huffed. “Let’s just move on from here.”

Thalia nodded, taking the lead as they made their way towards the pack.