Boxes

Rain's P.O.V.

When Annie walks in pushing the trolly with our lunch, the delicious smell instantly reaches my nose, and my stomach starts to ache, begging for food. She handed everyone their plates before telling me I had extra protein and veggies, which I am grateful for since I missed lunch. Then she sits at the table with Odett, and we all began to eat.

Suddenly, Zion asks about the online shopping spree where Jess and I spent a small fortune on things we need for the twins and a few surprises for Odett, making my body freeze at the mention of it. I didn't expect him to find out about it this quickly, and I instantly became nervous. Is he going to be mad at me when he finds out we spent almost thirty thousand dollars on everything they will need for the first six months?

"Well, I guess the cat's out of the bag now!" Jess links me as she laughs, having way too much fun with this. I narrow my eyes at her in an attempt to shut her up, but it only makes her laugh even harder. I take a deep breath, calming myself.

"About that. I knew we wouldn't be able to have a baby shower for them and that they would be here soon, so I decided to order everything we needed for them. Granted, I didn't think they would be here in the next few days." I say nervously and wait for his reaction.

"That was probably a good idea. I have been so wrapped up in everything else going on, and I have neglected our family's needs. I'm sorry for leaving you to take care of everything by yourself." He says, and I'm shocked that he's not mad. Does he know how much I spent?

"You might not be saying that when you find out how much I spent," I say, placing my empty plate on the coffee table in front of the couch we're sitting on.

"My love, you could spend everything I have, and I would care less as long as you and the kids have what you need." He says as he places his hand on my thigh, making tingles from the bond explode through my body.

"I'm glad you feel that way because I spent almost thirty thousand on everything," I say, staring down at my hands.

"That's pretty cheap." He says, making me jerk my head up to meet his eyes in shock. I think we have different definitions of cheap. He shrugs his shoulders. "What? I thought it would be more."

"We definitely have different definitions of cheap," I say with a laugh. I'm glad he's okay with how much I spent, but now it's time to get my payback. "There's one more thing."

"What's that, my Queen?" He asks.

"I need Orian to bring everything up and put everything together when it all arrives," I say, giving him a nervous smile, making Orian choke on his food while Jess laughs so hard she can't breathe.

"Why me?" He questions. I look over at him with my brow raised.

"Don't worry, you can use the elevator to get everything up here," I say, making his face go pale, and now even Zion is laughing. He couldn't possibly think I would forget how he made me walk through the entire castle while still injured.

"As you wish, my Queen," Zion says with a smile once he's composed himself enough to speak.

"You're so cruel, my Queen. But I accept your punishment." He says.

"That's good because it wasn't a choice," I say while laughing.

"I tried to warn you. My sister holds grudges like no other!" Jess says once she finally catches her breath.

"Don't worry. You won't have to decorate anything. Just build it all. By yourself. No help from anyone!" I tell him.

"But I did offer to help you." He says, trying to defend himself.

"You're right. You can have one person help you." I say before quickly realizing something and follow up my statement. "Other than my mother or the witches."

"Ohhh, no fair." He whines. "How did you know that would be my choice?"

"Because I'm not stupid. Just stubborn." I say, making everyone laugh.

"Fine, I volunteer Zion." He says quickly with a smile, making Zion grunt in irritation, but he doesn't refuse.

"Are you okay with being volunteered?" I ask Zion.

"I wasn't going to let this idiot build anything our children will be in without my help anyway. Plus, he'll know how to build everything when he and Jessica decide to welcome children of their own." He says, making Jess gasp as her face goes red with embarrassment.

"I'm glad to hear that because everything will be delivered by this afternoon," I laugh.

After lunch, we discuss the plans for the council meeting, where they will stay, and where their warriours will be housed for the time being. I have to admit when Zion told me that many of our warriors offered their extra rooms to the incoming warriors, I felt a surge of pride for how open and accepting our people are. Maybe they will understand why I have been hiding after all.

"What are you thinking about, my love?" Zion asks, pulling me from my thoughts. I look around to see everyone looking at me curiously. "You've been spaced out for quite a while."

"I was just thinking about when we have to reveal that I'm alive. What if they don't forgive me for hiding like a coward while all of this is going on?" I say. Zion pulls me to his side while rubbing his hand up and down my arm.

"They will understand because they know that you're not a coward. They will understand that you have to do this not only for our children but for them as well. Have faith in our people." He says as he places a kiss on the top of my head.

"I hope so. I just want everything to go back to normal again." I say before I get a notification on my phone. I reach over to see that the kids' packages have been delivered at the front gate.

"It's time to get to work, boys," I say, making Orian jerk his head in my direction as Jess starts laughing.

"Let's get this done so we can relax with the family the rest of the day," Zion says as he gets up from the couch after giving me a kiss and walking out of the suite.

"This is going to be hilarious!" Jess says as she comes to sit by me, and Odett climbs up on the other side of Sam as he sits on the other couch. "I hope he doesn't break anything."

"He better not. He's lucky I don't make him carry everything up the stairs individually." I say, only half joking.

"I'm with you! This is a brilliant way to get payback." She says, making everyone laugh.

"I'm just trying to teach him a valuable lesson," I say, laughing.

"Well, you are definitely doing a good job. He's been whining like a baby since you told him." She says, seeming to be more amused than anything.

"You're not mad, are you?" I ask her. Worried that she might get mad that I'm making her mate do something he doesn't want to do.

"Hell no! This is going to be fun to watch." She says while laughing. "If I start laughing, just know he's whining again."

As we laugh, the door opens, and Zion and Orian walk in carrying two large boxes. They place them on the floor in the living room before walking out to grab more. While they went to get the other boxes, Jess and I decided to look at what was in the boxes. The boxes had no description at my request as a precaution and had everything delivered in Zion's name so the guards at the front wouldn't see that it was for babies since I'm the only one pregnant in the castle at the moment.

Jess and I started pulling things out and making sure everything came in as Zion and Orian kept bringing in the boxes. Once they had all the packages in, they began taking the boxes of baby furniture into the nursery while Jess, Annie, Evan, Odett, my mom, and I started pulling out the clothes and bottles we ordered so that we could wash everything before putting them in their designated areas.

Every once in a while, we could hear Orian mumbling about a part not fitting correctly or having extra screws while Zion, James, and Sam would laugh and call him an idiot. I love how the guy's connection to each other reminds me of mine and Jess's connection, like they're a little family of their own. I never thought getting my revenge on Orian in this way would be so amusing, but it had us all laughing through the afternoon.

At some point, Annie left to start dinner, while Evan and Odett decided to make more cookies for dessert tonight. Zion came into the living room to find Jess, my mom, and I sitting in a circle surrounded by baby clothes. He laughed before telling me another box was delivered late, which I felt was odd since all the boxes had been accounted for.

"Did either of y'all order anything?" I ask them. They both shake their heads in response.

"All boxes have been accounted for," I tell him.

"Maybe Mia or Morgan ordered something for you." He says, not bothered in the least bit, as he makes his way out of the suite to retrieve the package. "I'll go grab it real quick."

"Okay, thank you," I say before he walks out.

"I'll text Mia and Morgan and ask if they sent you something real quick," Jess says, seeing how confused I am. She pulls out her phone and sends a quick text before putting her phone back down beside her.

Before she even received a reply from them, I got a link from Zion saying that he was going to place the kingdom on lockdown. He sounded tense, but when I asked what was happening, he said to stay in the suite with Jess, Evan, James, and Odett, and he would explain soon. Suddenly, the guys rushed out of the nursery and out the front door after stopping and telling my mom that she was needed in Zion's office immediately without any reason as to why or what had happened.

"What's going on?" Jess asks me.

"The Kingdom is going into lockdown," I tell her.

"What? Why?" She says in shock.

"I'm not sure. Zion says for us to stay in the suite." I say before looking at James and Evan. "Do you know what's going on?"

"No, my Queen. We were only told to stand guard by your side." James answers.

"What the hell is going on?" I ask no one in particular.