Fated to the Warrior Wolf (The Hunted Omegas #3)

44. Leigh

FORTY-FOUR

Leigh

I barely slept the night after the tribunal. I was sick off and on, throwing up half the night, sweating and miserable the other half.

I never knew that pregnancy would make me feel like a living furnace, but apparently, it did. Whoo-fucking-hoo .

By the time the sun cracked over the horizon, I was awake, I was sweaty, and I was officially over being pregnant. Not over Petal; her I loved more than my own life. But the pregnancy itself? Way overrated. Zero stars, ten out of ten did not recommend. If there were a button somewhere I could push that fast-forwarded the next six or seven months and plopped a healthy baby into my arms? I would push that immediately.

But there wasn’t, so I was going to suffer through. And not tell Bri, because she was wasting a lot of energy she didn’t have on keeping me nausea-free. In theory, I had a week or so before it should fade, and I’d be in the second trimester.

Please, Goddess, let it fade in a few weeks .

If I was being honest with myself, though, I was also cranky about Gael. The woman last night had nearly pushed me over the edge. He was hot, yes, but she’d literally thrown herself at him. Some wolves got off on the violence, but I was not one of them. I understood it, but it didn’t do anything for me.

Granted, he’d done the right thing. He’d stepped away and clearly told her he wasn’t interested. So why did it still make me feel on edge? Was it going to be like this forever? Women throwing themselves at him, while I had no marks and no way to solidify my claim on him?

I was half-human. Plenty of men had thought in the past that made me an inferior mate. And yes, I’d heard the rumors over the years about hybrids who never found a mate. Who hadn’t? They kept me up nights.

But the thought of spending the rest of my days watching other women hit on my mate, markless? It made me want to puke.

Okay, so that was probably the hormones.

But still.

Even Nugget was hiding from my bad mood, playing with the curtains and darting away when I tried to scoop him up for a cuddle.

There was only one thing that would make me feel better. I needed a run to clear my head, and I needed it yesterday. It wasn’t quite light out yet, but that had never stopped me before.

I slipped into a pair of loose running shorts—that were a little tighter these days—and my favorite neon-pink sports bra and pulled my hair back into a ponytail before slipping into the hallway.

As I turned around to shut the door, a cream-colored envelope caught my eye. My name was on the front in a loose scrawl. I was tempted to tear it open, but the urge to run was burning in my muscles. I tossed it onto my bedspread for later and pulled the door shut behind me. It could wait, whatever it was. If it was urgent, the person would have knocked.

I was halfway through the foyer when a voice startled me from my thoughts .

“Good morning, Leigh,” Lucien said with a grin. “Looking electric as always.” He winked, and I rolled my eyes.

“Looking fat, you mean?” I pointed to the too-tight band of my running shorts.

He just shook his head. “Never. Just stunning.”

“What are you doing here so early?” I quickly changed the subject.

Lucien sighed. “IGC isn’t happy about the results of the tribunal last night. Kane’s already waiting for me in his suite to set up a game plan.”

“Lucky you.”

“Yeah, so lucky. Well, enjoy your workout.” He smiled again.

“Thanks.” I waved and walked on, ready to get to the outdoors. My wolf needed the freedom, and I needed the space from the weighty expectations that lived inside this castle.

Luckily, Mother Nature always provided. As soon as I felt the give of spongy green grass under my feet, I blew out a relieved breath. Blessed escape.

I’m fine, Petal’s fine, and I’m going to figure it all out.

The phrase became my mantra as I ran, letting my sneakers fly over the earth and leaving all my troubles behind.