The Hidden Luna Queen 2

"Yes," he finally chimed in, addressing the visibly disappointed clerk. "I'm afraid I'm useless when it comes to fashion or jewelry, so I thought I'd enlist the help of His Highness and his... remarkable intuition." He... could have been more convincing, but his performance would have to suffice for now.

The clerk exchanged a look with one of his colleagues out of the corner of my eye. It was more than apparent he was still very skeptical, but to his credit, he didn't press the matter with us any further. "Forgive me, sir," he said with a smile before turning to Burke. "What style of ring are you looking for?"

Burke looked pitifully lost. "... Where does one begin?"

"How about we start with the band of the ring? We have gold, stainless steel, rose-gold..."

Burke peered at me. "What do you think, Xaden?"

"Well," I hummed, pretending to appear disinterested, "you can never go wrong with silver."

He nodded, following my lead.

"Are you... sure?" the clerk questioned with some worry. "You would fare much better with stainless steel or even titanium." Silver was, unfortunately, a rare metal in our lands and, even so, one that was scarcely used. Most werewolves had some minor aversion to such a pure substance-a flaw even the Moon Goddess herself couldn't reverse. But it mattered not.

If silver was what Maeve wanted, she would get it.

"No, he's right," Burke interjected. "My intended happens to love silver."

After a moment, the clerk slowly nodded. "Silver, it is!

He then led us to a corner of the store with a small selection of silver rings. He offered to pull out every single one for us to inspect, but, while they were all beautiful in their own way, they weren't what I envisioned giving to Maeve. That was, until one ring, in particular, caught my eye.

It was small... a mere fragment compared to that which Isabelle wore, but it wasn't the size that stood out to me. It was the iridescent gemstone attached to the simple silver band. The same shade of blue that swirled deep in Maeve's eyes shone from one angel, interwoven with the same violet that glowed in her mother's one-of-a-kind crystal at another angel.

I saw Maeve in this ring, and I was... mystified.

"That," the clerk said, noticing my intense focus, "is cut from one of the most rare gems in our stock." He pulled out the ring from the glass case with careful, steady hands and held it up for us to take a closer look. "Behold, the Amethyst of Artemis." "It's beautiful," Burke commented from somewhere beside me. "And you say it's rare?"

The clerk nodded emphatically, leaning in close as if to tell a forbidden secret. "They say it was mined in a country of ages past, whose people haven't been seen in generations," he murmured, gazing intently between the two of us and the gem. What you see here is likely one of the last remaining remnants of a long-missing civilization."

That sounded a lot like a bullshit story for naive customers. The things a desperate clerk would come up with to sell precious, lovely merchandise such as this were limitless. But, still, for some reason...

I couldn't take my eyes off this ring.

There was a prolonged moment of silence before the clerk broke it by clearing his throat. "Shall I take the silence to mean you like it?"

It was astonishing, but I was actually at a loss for words. What could one possibly say when they found the perfect ring for their mate?

"You know what?" Burke suddenly said. "I think this is the one. I'll take it."

"And I'll pay for it," I interjected, startling the clerk. "It's a gift to my friend and his betrothed." I smiled, mostly to myself." May they always be happy together." MAEVE POV

I awoke in my bed to the sensation of something brushing against my cheek.

Warm. Solid. Gentle. Ticklish, making my nose crinkle.

I was still half asleep, curled up in a comfortable pair of cotton pajamas, when I raised my hand to swat at whatever was touching me. Imagine my surprise, then, when I suddenly felt another hand enclose mine. My shock did not last, however, once I realized whose it was.

I'd recognize this hand anywhere.

"Xaden..." I murmured, fluttering my eyes open as his familiar, handsome face slowly came into focus above me.

Yes. There he was, still dressed in his lovely work attire from before. A vision, as always, even in the comforting darkness of the bedroom.

He leaned down, pressing a kiss on my forehead. "Tired, were you? I thought I saw something different in your eyes earlier." I hummed. "It was a long morning. I just needed a nap."

The corners of his lips lifted into a small smirk. "It seems you did. It's well after five."

-In the evening?!

A quick glance out the nearby window confirmed that it was, in fact, well into the evening. The pale blues and whites that once streaked the sky were gone, tinged instead with deep purples and oranges, wrapping around the setting sun in a warm goodbye embrace. I reddened in embarrassment. I must have been more out of it than I thought. This pregnancy was taking quite a toll on me. "I'm sorry," I said, wincing sheepishly as I groggily propped myself on my elbow, tufts of dark hair falling in my face. “I didn't mean to sleep for so long."

"Nonsense," he dismissed, tucking my loose hair behind the shell of my ear. "It warms me to see you rest so soundly. I would've let you sleep for the rest of the night, but I couldn't help myself. I missed you." And cue the butterflies. They always fluttered incessantly whenever he said things like that.

I let my head fall into his hand, savoring his sweet touch. "It's only been a couple of hours."

"I know, but I couldn't help but feel that our moment earlier was cut short. I just..." he slowed as an uncharacteristic blush lightly dusted over his face, taking me by surprise. "I wanted to see you before it got too late, and hear how your day was." I couldn't help but smile a little at that. I loved this gentle side of him, and felt ever so lucky to know I was one of few people graced to witness it.

"So, tell me." He gazed at me, open and expectantly, once he helped me ensure I was fully sitting upright in the bed. "How was your day?"

"Well..."

I described, in detail, the unorthodox lesson I'd had with his mother earlier that morning, while Xaden listened with rapt attention, clinging to my every word and offering his thoughts when he found openings. Of course, I also reluctantly brought up the following altercation between his father and brother, which, unfortunately, was not a surprise to Xaden, although he admitted that he believed things would always be like this between them.

The thought left me with a dull ache in my heart. I wanted to help more somehow, but there was little to nothing I could do.

"I admire you wanting to help my family," Xaden said, pulling me out of my thoughts, gazing warmly at me, "but it's not your burden to fix. I hope what happened didn't tarnish the rest of your day."

I shook my head. "It was a lot... but I'm satisfied knowing that I was there for him if he needed it. Besides, there was something else from this morning that I wanted to share with you."

After all, I saved the most important part for last.

"I had my first doctor's appointment at the women's clinic today. Everything is looking good so far with the baby, thankfully, but she had me take some tests just to be absolutely sure. All in all, I really think she's someone I want to keep seeing.” His face fell ever so slightly. "What? You had an appointment?"

Admittedly, I was taken a little aback. That was not the reaction I had been expecting.

"Yes... I... I had my first prenatal check-up for the baby," I repeated slowly, suddenly worried that I had somehow misinterpreted something. "I scheduled it yesterday and they were able to squeeze me in this morning."

"... I see."

Why did he look so crestfallen?

"I thought you were alright with the idea," I said, confused. "Wasn't that why you brought it up in the first place?"

"It is, and I absolutely am," he answered without a moment's hesitation. "It's a marvelous idea, and I'm so proud of you for taking the initiative and scheduling that appointment," he said as he rubbed my knee, the gesture calming me down a tad, though I knew there was more he wanted to say than he was letting on.

"But...?"

He huffed. "But I was hoping to be able to go with you." "You were?"

"Of course," he said, as if any other alternative was completely unthinkable. "I want to know everything. How he's doing, how big he's growing-how you're feeling, and what steps we need to take to make this as easy and as pleasant for you as possible. I want to know how I can best help you both."