CHAPTER 3 Underlying Jealousy

Allen and Greyson were seeing to the packing of the car and after listening to their bickering for longer than she cared to admit, Lexi had given both of her mates a strongly worded piece of her mind before stalking off, leaving them in a moody silence.

She decided to drop by Ann's room before picking the baby up from the wet-nurse that had been employed in the newly installed creche, knowing full well that she would be busy overseeing the packing of her and Adam's belongings from her bedroom, ready for transport to the palace.

She knocked briefly on the open doors before sauntering in with a grin on her face and letting out a loud laugh when she caught sight of Ann's clearly annoyed expression as she struggled to get out of the armchair that she had previously been seated in.

"Are you okay there, Queenie?" Lexi inquired half mockingly and half out of genuine concern.

"Do I look like I'm okay?" Ann moaned as she sat back in her chair in defeat and reached for the smoothie that sat at the side of her, sipping on it angrily.

"I'm not even two months into this pregnancy and already my body doesn't want to do what I tell it to. I have this little bump already that just gets in the way of everything, and if I don't get to sip on the heavenly concoction that is this mango and strawberry smoothie then I get so emotional at the unfairness of it all that I just burst into tears." She fumed as she continued to sip angrily at her drink.

"Look on the bright side bestie, only another three months to go, AND you get those bazookas to boot," Lexi said lightly as she poked at her chest, "Some people pay a fortune to have knockers that big." Lexi winked as she took a seat next to her.

"These?!" Ann exclaimed incredulously as she looked down at her swollen breasts, "Don't even get me started on these! My back is KILLING me from carrying these around and every time that baby screams, I turn into a damn milk machine. It's like there's a tap that's automatically turned on every time a baby or small child cries and I've had to resort to stuffing my bra's with uncomfortable padding to absorb the damn leakage."

Lexi stifled her laughter as best she could but a small snort still escaped as Ann turned to her furiously and narrowed her eyes.

"Just you wait. It'll be your turn soon with the whole baby drama and I'm going to take great pleasure in seeing you suffer as much as I am right now."

"I see you're in a wonderful mood today, Queenie. So glad I dropped by to say goodbye before we took the harlot's baby off your hands and delivered it to the waiting arms of your ex." Lexi retorted sarcastically.

Ann froze and her bottom lip trembled slightly.

"Wait. You're leaving today? You're taking that poor little baby to his shit head of a father today? What if he's awful to it?!" Ann whined as her face began to crumple and tears began to fill her eyes.

"Oh for fuck sake Ann, talk about emotional." Lexi commented dryly as she rolled her eyes and reached across for her friend's hand, "Could you imagine if you had to face Brad like this? You'd either be a blubbering wreck or you'd be clawing at his face. It's a much better option that I take the baby to him. Besides, even though Brad is a complete tosser, you know his wolf will take good care of the little thing."

"I'll be pleased when these stupid hormones have settled down. It's making things really difficult. Instead of getting angry now, I'm just bursting into tears. It's pathetic." Ann moaned miserably, "And now you're leaving me to go and have fun with your mates."

Lexi snorted loudly.

"Yeah, a whole heap of fun that's going to be with those testosterone-fueled furballs." Lexi grimaced sarcastically, "I'll be surprised if they haven't torn each other's throats out on the way there if I'm honest."

"Can they really get in that much trouble on a four-hour drive?"

"Listen, they're already arguing about what to take, how to pack it and who gets to sit where," Lexi sighed, "I've already hijacked one of your drivers for the journey just so they couldn't bicker incessantly about who was driving and who was the better driver out of the two of them. It's exhausting honestly. I may as well be traveling with two small children and a baby at this rate. I doubt I would be able to tell the difference"

Ann's expression softened as she smiled at Lexi.

"I suppose there's more to argue about when you have two mates. I'm sure there's a little underlying jealousy underneath it all as well. Greyson must resent the amount of time that you and Allen have had together."

"Yes, but it's not like I'm pushing him away. That's all Greyson's doing. Ever since we got back he's always too busy to sit and work things out, or he's training."

"Well, I suppose it's hard for him to adjust Lexi. He had such grand dreams of his mate being his one and only and now he has to share you. It's a lot to wrap your head around if you think about it."

"I'd rather he let me wrap my legs around him," Lexi muttered bitterly as Ann laughed suddenly.

"Allen not enough anymore?" she smirked, slurping loudly on the remains of her smoothie.

"Listen, Allen is perfect for scratching the itch that calls for him, Queenie. You try having two souls that crave their mates and one of them doesn't want to share. It's fucking torture." Lexi hissed as she ran her hand over her face wearily.

"Well, perhaps the three of you being forced to have time together won't be a bad thing. If they clash, you know how these males are, they'll fight it out and it'll be over and done with once they've decided who's more dominant."

Lexi stared at Ann incredulously for a moment.

"Right. Because you can really see either Allen or Greyson backing down…"

Ann grimaced as she realized that was never going to be an option, and leaned forward, patting her hand in commiseration.

"I'm sure you'll find a way to keep them in line." Ann said with a sympathetic smile, "Let's face it, if you can't… then there's no hope for the rest of us is there?"

"Thanks for the pep talk." Lexi snorted as she stood and stretched whilst Ann watched her friend's unhindered movements with envy. "When are you planning on moving to the palace?"

"In the next day or so… probably tomorrow if I'm honest. I don't have the patience to deal with all the snarky comments from the Elders against the changes that I'm making, nor the grabby hands from everyone I pass who think they have the right to caress the royal belly." Ann growled.

"Well, I'm sure they learned their lesson pretty quickly," Lexi sniggered before sighing regretfully, "As much as I would love to stay and chat and watch you kick some poor Elder's ass, I'm gonna have to love you and leave you, Queenie." she smiled sadly.

Lexi reached down and helped Ann to stand, before pulling her into a tight hug.

"Stay safe, Queenie, and don't do anything I wouldn't do," Lexi whispered as she felt her heart pull suddenly.

Ann smiled, remembering clearly the same exchange on the day that she had got into Adam's car for the first time, her heart pulling painfully.

She never would have believed it if someone had told her that only a few short months later, she would be married, mated, and expecting triplets to the man that she had agreed to a contract marriage with after discovering her fated mate's betrayal.

Not to mention having claimed her birthright from her corrupted father as the Alpha Queen after uncovering her stepmother's involvement in the Excidium Coven's plot to enslave the shifters once more.

Ann suppressed the laugh of disbelief at the thought of everything she had been through with her best friend firmly at her side.

"That doesn't rule a lot out really, does it?" She whispered back.