The Alpha King Call Boy
Chapter 237

Fiona

"Me? Really?" Nina's eyes went round with true surprise. She pointed to her face, as if providing a helpful visual aid, when she repeated once more: "Me?"

"Yes, Nina." I shook my head at her silliness. "Of course." She looked back and forth between the three of us. Me, Alex, and the baby. "You guys would really trust me to do that? To raise Alexis for you?" Her jaw worked up and down a bit more, soundlessly. As if she'd run out of words. I almost laughed. I had not been expecting this much surprise when I asked my best friend if she would be willing to be my daughter's godparent.

"Yes," Alex answered firmly. He met and held her eyes, and I saw Nina's shoulders lower. Perhaps she needed to hear this from him, I realized, to really believe it. "There's no one else we trust more, Nina. But we also know that it's a big ask. Just know that there's no pressure on you to do this, this is only if you want -"

"I do," Nina interrupted, waving a hand to stop Alex. "Really, I do want to do it. I'm honored, you guys. Sorry, I guess I was just a little shocked there for a minute, I mean..." She trailed off, gazing at Lexi pointedly. "That is a princess right there. It just means a lot to me that you guys would entrust me with something so important-" Nina's voice broke, and her face disappeared into her hands.

"Oh, Nina." I was glad Alex was already holding the baby, because I had to get up and meet my best friend on the other side of the table. Isat down next to her and wrapped my arms around her shoulders.

"Fuck," she grumbled, giving my arms a quick squeeze and shaking off the little shimmer of tears welled in her eyes. She blinked them back'as I retracted my arms from her shoulders. "I don't know why that just got me so emotional," she said quietly. "It just means a lot to me, is all. And yes, of course I'll do it. I'm all in. Godmother to the tiny lil' Were-Princess, reporting for duty. At your service." She inclined her head, bowing a little. To the baby.

Lexi watched her enchanting, emerald-haired godmother with rapt attention,smiling.

It was hours later when Nina and I finally got some time to ourselves.

Lexi was down for her afternoon nap. The guys were in Alex's study on a video call with Brandon and Grayson, discussing some details about the pack's travel arrangements. And Nina was with me in my bathroom, doing my hair. She'd blown it out in sections and was now curling it expertly into a real work of art. We were going to get dressed up next and then meet the guys for a sort of going-away dinner that I think we were all hoping would help keep our minds off thoughts of tomorrow.

I'd been absolutely dying to know what had happened with Nina and Kayden, and at long last I finally got the scoop. Turns out, it wasn't just Kayden drama; it was good old fashioned boy drama, with several moving pieces on the board. Apparently, an awful lot had happened in the last twenty-four hours.

At first I was sad to learn that Nina and Kayden had decided to call it quits on their romance. But only for a moment. Because Nina seemed sincerely good with it. Her energy felt calm, confident and centered. She just seemed more herself than I'd seen her in a while, and it dawned on me: she had been needing to free herself from Kayden.

"I remembered what you were like," Nina said. She set my curling iron aside and turned it off. "When you were falling in love with Alex. Close your eyes, babe."

I did as instructed, because she was about to douse me with hairspray. I felt her hand resting lightly along my hairline, and then she set about spraying. Pssshhhhh.

"Even when you were still denying, in words, that you and Alex were really in love, you were so obviously smitten. That boy had you dead to rights, Fi, early on. You practically glowed when you talked about him. You couldn't say his name without smiling. I remembered all that, when I was trying to sort ouf how I felt about Kayden..."

"And you realized you just didn't feel like that about him."

"Yeah, pretty much. And it was a relief to hear he'd been feeling kind of the same. I just think if it'd been in the stars for us, there just would have been something... I dunno, just something more. You know?"

"I do." I met Nina's eyes in the mirror. She flashed me a beautiful smile, planted her hands on my shoulders and gave them a squeeze.

Perhaps it was the eye contact and the touch that triggered it.

Suddenly I got a rush of something from Nina, something... I hardly know how to describe it...

A vision? I wish-it was nothing so precise. Only a flash of a peculiar, specific kind of hope for Nina's future. A very certain hope that this type of love she was describing - the kind that smites, that gets you dead to rights - it was something that she would find yet. And maybe even soon.

Yes, I could almost see it in my mind's eye. There was something else ahead for Nina, in the way of love and romance. Something bigger and better. Something she would feel quite sure about when it finally made its way into her life.

Nina insisted on selecting my jewelry for the night, so I granted permission for her to raid my closet while I finished perfecting my makeup.

"oh. Fi," I heand her saying breathily from the other room. I glanced out and saw her pacing out of my dressing room with a flat, square box in her arms. "Where did this come from?" She had the lid off and was gazing down at the necklace admiringly. "Alex gave it to me on our wedding day. It belonged to his mother." Nina murmured some curses of disbelief as she laid the box down on my bed reverently. I finished fussing with my lipstick and met her there at the bedside.

"Have you ever worn it?" she asked. Her eyes were glued to the diamonds' sparkle, catching and reflecting their prismatic glow.

I shook my head. "Tell me where I am ever supposed to actually wear something like that, Nina."

"Uh, I am sorry," she said sassily, using both hands to lift the necklace into the air. The shine of all its many flawless diamonds was almost too bright to look at directly. "To a fancy dinner with your Alpha King husband on the night before he leaves for war, perhaps?" The girl had a point. I felt a smile tugging at the corner of my mouth as I thought about finally actually wearing this necklace. It did make me a little worried - it was so very precious - but I would only be wearing it in my own home. Just down the hall and back, essentially.

"I am putting this on you," Nina said sternly, like a warning. "It's happening."