Pregnant With Alpha’s Genius Twins
Chapter 282

"Are you okay?" I ask, closing my book and turning towards him.

That night, Victor is quieter in bed than usual. I barely notice at first, exhausted as I am, but then, as I curl up next to him and open my book, I realize that he's not dozing or looking at his phone but instead is simply staring at the ceiling. "Hmm?" he asks, snapping out of his reverie. "What?"

"I asked if you were okay," I respond, putting a hand on his chest and frowning at him. "It's not like you to be so...pensive. Not even when we were really grappling with the big questions in the forest."

He sighs and turns to me, laying his head down flat on the mattress. "We need to talk, Evie," he murmurs, patting the bed beside him. My eyes go wide with surprise - not worry, not really just...I thought that most of our big conversations were behind us. "Uh-oh," I say, laying down next to him so that our eyelines are even. "Sounds serious."

"It is," he says, sighing and closing his eyes.

"Then we need the fort of protection," I murmur, grabbing the duvet and dragging it up over both of our heads, tucking the end of it behind the mattress and then using one hand to hold it up over us so that we don't get smothered in it. "What?" Victor asks, watching me. "What are you doing?"

"The fort," I say, shrugging. "It's something the boys and I used to do when they were scared, when they were littler than they are now. Make the fort of protection for serious talks, because nothing bad can happen in here."

Victor smirks at me, charmed a little, I think - and I smile back, pleased that I can still charm him. He reaches out a hand, laying it on my cheek. "It's nothing to be scared of, though."

"The fort is for serious things too," I offer simply. "It's a multi-functional fort."

"Well then," Victor says, chuckling and nodding. "Let's use it." I smile at him, waiting for him to start. "Evelyn," Victor begins, closing his eyes again and taking a deep breath. "I have been...talking. To Annabeth Prath. About..."

I bite my lip, starting to get anxious. "The school?" I prompt, hoping that that's all it is - but knowing, deep down, that it's more than that.

"No," he says, opening his eyes and looking at me. "About taking a bigger role in politics. About...making a bid. For Supreme."

"Supreme?" I ask, my eyes going wide. He nods slowly and gives me a minute to process this information.

I roll on my back then, pulling the blankets away from our faces, suddenly needing air. It's my time to stare at the ceiling now, putting it all together.

I mean, in some ways this is not a surprise at all. Six years ago people had been throwing around Victor's name a lot as a candidate for the Supreme Alpha - the equivalent, really, of the King of the wolves, the leader of all of the packs. But in those past six years, things have really changed. To begin, well...our affair ruined his chances, a little bit, once it was exposed. He had had to do a great deal of work to rehabilitate his image, and making Amelia his Luna had been a big part of that.

But beyond Victor's personal drama, amongst the packs no one had been declared Supreme. There was too much competition, and no one had really been able to make the case that having a Supreme Alpha would actually benefit all the packs. Instead, each pack had managed itself and come to form a kind of pack council that would work to check power when someone went too far.

It had worked, too - at least for the past dozen of years or so - to not have a Supreme. And it's not like it's an inherited title - when the last Supreme had died, his own children were not deemed fit to step into his place. A couple of others - Victor included - had made it clear that they wanted to be considered for the spot, but no one had been chosen.

But now? With my father's pack and Willards effectively gutted of leadership and already under Victor's control? With his two sons set to inherit all three?

Victor was, already, the most powerful Alpha in the nation. It could make sense for wolves to recognize that supremacy, to gather beneath his banner.

But was this...where did that leave me...

"Evelyn?" Victor asks, tentative. "What are you thinking?"

"I don't know," I breathe, turning to look at him. "It's just...I mean, I know I wanted to be Luna, to lead our pack. I just didn't really think about it might be like to be the Luna. Of all the packs. Is it... is it too much?"

"I don't know," Victor replies quietly, staring into my eyes. "That's what we have to decide."

"What did Annabeth say?" I ask.

"That she'd support me," he replies simply, as if it's a small thing. But it's not - not really. Annabeth holds an incredible amount of political sway within our world - if she supports Victor for Supreme...it's one hell of an endorsement. She's one of the ones who has for years suggested that we didn't need a Supreme, that packs were better left self-governed.

"Oh," I say, exhaling the word as I look back towards the ceiling. "So, what you're saying is that it's less of a bid than a...coup."

"Of sorts," he replies.

"That if you want it," I say, my voice wondering, "that you can just...take it."

He hums his agreement, letting me know I'm right.

"And you're asking me...whether or not you should reach out your hand and grab it."

My mate is silent and I turn to him, totally shocked. I mean, I know that the two of us have been having a lot of long talks about equalities between Alphas and their Lunas but this...this is unheard of.

An Alpha with the opportunity to seize power in a kind of bloodless coup for Supreme, asking his Luna if she wants him to do it? And that, if I say no, he really just...won't?

"Victor," I whisper, shaking my head, "this is...you've wanted this for a long time. I can't be the one to decide."

"You are the only one who can decide, Evelyn," he replies, reaching out a hand and placing it on my stomach. "I can't do it without you, and I won't do it if it's not what you want."

I stare at him, thinking. Ever since I ran from my father's house, I've always wanted a simpler life - for me, for my boys. A largely anonymous life, where we did good work and pursued our passions free from the systems of power that so frequently rope people - like my sister, and my mother, and me until I escaped into lives that don't make them happy.

And now, Victor was asking me if I'd be willing to do...the complete opposite. To become, effectively, not just a wife and a mother, not even just a Luna. But...a Queen.

"Victor," I say, seriously. "I...can I have some time to think?"

"Of course, Evie," he says, moving the hand on my stomach to the far side of my waist and using that grip to pull me closer. He buries his head against my shoulder, closing his eyes. "Of course you can have time. All the time you need. And I want you to decide whatever is right by you. Please leave what you think I want out of it. I want what you want."

"All right, Victor," I murmur, lowering my nose to his hair and breathing in his scent, closing my eyes and letting the warmth of it wash over me. "All right. I won't take too long, I promise." "As long as you need."