Chapter 59

ALEXIS

It was quiet as I ran my fingers through Hudson's hair and watched him sleep peacefully. There were dark circles under his eyes, and his forehead was wrinkled as though he was having a bad dream.

I wasn't mad at him. Not anymore, at least.

He may have yelled at me and said things that should have never left his mouth, but I knew he didn't mean a single word. The moment he left the house, the anger that was travelling through the mate bond immediately stopped. I realized that he was never actually angry at me; he just needed to vent.

That was the reason why I was just disappointed in him.

There were so many ways he could have dealt with his stress and anger, and he chose to lash out. Perhaps he wasn't expecting to explode like that, but he did, and it couldn't happen again.

What would happen when our pup was born? We were going to having many sleepless nights and if he couldn't handle it now, how was he going to handle it in the future? He could not lash out at our pup – I would castrate him if he did.

I had to teach him a lesson, and the best thing to do was give him the silent treatment, or at least not say anything more than I need to.

***

I was browsing the internet for baby clothes when he finally woke up. He was knocked out for about two hours which was probably because his wolf was exhausted after all the roaring and punching.

He was drilling holes into the side of my head as he entered the kitchen and grabbed a cup for his coffee. I pretended not to notice him and continued to hum along to the radio. When he finished pouring his drink, he came up behind me and pointed at one of the dresses on the screen.

"I like that one," he said softly, his lips grazing my temple, causing me to purse my lips.

I wanted to be petty and scroll past the dress, but I had to admit, it was too adorable to pass. I reluctantly added it to the cart and continued to scroll down.

"Alexis, can we talk?" He asked hesitantly, sitting down beside me.

I didn't say a word.

His warm hand gripped my chin and pulled my attention to him.

"Don't ignore me, please," he pleaded softly, his voice trembling a little at the end.

I gripped his hand and gently pulled it off my face. He seemed hurt at first but when he realized that I wasn't letting go, he relaxed his posture.

"I can't imagine how you feel right now. You have every right to be angry, but don't ignore me. Slap me. Yell at me. Do anything, but not the silent treatment."

Clearly, this lesson wasn't going to work. The man was persistent.

I bit my lip and shook my head, "Hudson, this isn't about me. This is about you. I'm not upset that you yelled at me. I'm just upset that you yelled."

He stared at me, waiting for me to continue like he didn't know what I was trying to say.

"What would have happened if it was our pup sitting there that night?"

"I wouldn't have yelled," he said but he didn't sound convinced.

"No Hudson, you didn't have a single ounce of control. You would have yelled no matter who was sitting on that stool. That's something you have to work on. Not just for me or our pup, but for the pack."

He seemed to be pondering over my words, and I became much more relaxed when he nodded in understanding.

"I promise to work on that. And if I break it, you have my permission to chop my ears off for not listening to you," he said quietly, rubbing his thumb on my cheek.

I smiled softly and leaned over, kissing his forehead, "Thank you."

He gripped my face and kissed my lips before standing up, "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to sort some things out with the Council and plan a little something for my beautiful mate."

I blinked, "A surprise?"

He raised an eyebrow, "You didn't think I was going to grovel? Are you kidding me? I have some serious making up to do even if you're not angry at me."

"Bu–"

"No buts," he said, pressing a finger to my lips.

He leaned down and kissed my belly, "I'll catch up with you two later."

When Hudson said he would make it up to me, I was expecting it to be a cute little dinner. But from the looks of it, he had a completely different idea.

We were standing on a nicely lit trail that led up to a cozy-looking wooden cabin. There were small lanterns that brightened up the whole area so we could see everything before us clearly.

"I take it that you like it," Hudson said, smiling at my stunned face. He gently pulled my chin back up and kissed the corner of my mouth. I nodded my head slowly, still unable to speak or process his words.

He took my hand and led me to a tree stump that was beside one of the lanterns. On the stump, there was a small bouquet of purple carnations. Hudson picked it up and turned to face me properly.

"One of the meanings of carnations is fascination, which I think describes one of the first emotions I ever felt for you. I was fascinated by how you weren't like other she-wolves and how you stood your ground even in times of adversity. Besides my mother, you are the strongest she-wolf I know."

There was suddenly a large lump in my throat as he handed me the bouquet. It nearly felt like my heart was going to beat out of my chest at the rate he was going.

He led me to the next stump that had a little bouquet of pink chrysanthemums.

"These represent friendship, and I don't mean it in a friend-zoning way. While you are my mate, you are also my best friend, and there won't be anyone in this world who will know me like you do."

I took the bouquet from his outstretched hands and let out a shaky breath, trying not to burst into tears so soon.

The next stump had a bouquet of blue irises.

"Irises have a few meanings," he said, glaring down at the bouquet like he was deep in thought. Before he could open his mouth again, I surprised him by finishing his statement off, "They mean faith, wisdom, courage, and admiration."

His lips twitched as though he wanted to smile but he managed to keep his calm, serious composure.

"They do," he replied, "And in my case, they represent my admiration for your courage and wisdom, how you always have a nice comeback to bring me down a few notches. They also symbolize my faithfulness to you. I won't ever look at another she-wolf the way I look at you. That was the reason why I had the words 'his only' carved on your dog tag."

I didn't even have time to reply as he handed me the irises and pulled me to the last stump before the cabin.

The final bouquet was white orchids.

"Beauty," he said quietly, "They represent a rare and delicate beauty. You are rare because you make me feel things I have never felt for anyone else, emotions I thought that I wasn't even capable of. You are delicate because if anything were to ever happen to you, I would feel pain that is worse than being whipped by silver a thousand times. I would take that over losing you any day."

That was the last thing I needed to hear before breaking into tears. My arms circled his waist as I buried my face into his chest. He immediately wrapped his arms around me and kissed the top of my head.

"I'm not finished just yet," he whispered, pulling away slowly and wiping away my tears.

He turned around slowly and pulled the keys to the cabin out of his pocket. Once he unlocked the door, he grabbed my hand again and made sure I was right behind him as we entered the house.

The cabin wasn't as small as it looked on the outside. There was a good sized kitchen to our right, a nice living room with a warm fire going in the fireplace, and two doors which I assumed led to a bedroom and a bathroom.

"Last but not least," Hudson started, grabbing my attention as he bent over a table, "Roses."

He placed the little bouquet in my hand with the rest of the flowers.

"These don't just represent my love for you. They represent my appreciation. My appreciation for the fact that you stand by my side even when I'm being stupid. My appreciation for how much love you have shown me these past nine months," he said, swallowing hard.

His eyes were a little misty as he finally gave me a smile and picked up a large ribbon from the table.

"As much as these flowers are beautiful on their own, all together they make a breathtaking bouquet," he said as he tied the ribbon around the stems.

"But most of all, they represent a breathtaking person," he whispered, his eyes darkening to the color of clouds on a stormy day.

It was like he took the air from my lungs. I found it hard to breathe as we stared at each other intensely.

Finally, he leaned over and captured my lips with his in a hard, passionate kiss.I dropped the bouquet on the table and wrapped my arms around his neck as he picked me up and carried me to one of the doors.

"Let's get down to business, shall we?" He growled quietly.

I smiled against his lips, "What business?"

His fingertips dug into my ass, "The one with our clothes off."

"So we're strippers now?"

"If we are, then I better be the only one watching you," he grumbled, kicking the door open.

"I don't know. I kinda like having a large audience."

He pulled away and glared at me as if daring me to say anymore. I gave him a mischievous smile and pulled him back down for another kiss just as he started pulling my dress up.