When they touch me (Shelagh Milano) novel Chapter 101

Chapter 101
ARTEMISIA

Returning to the pack house, I’m exhausted but also feel incredibly giddy.

I hurry to get to my quarters while the flimsy lingerie dress weighs heavily in the little bag.

Stepping into my quarters by forcing me not to burst into his office, I take a deep breath.

As I inhale, I notice that something is wrong quickly, my senses are on high alert as I smell various scents of people that must be standing in my bedroom.

“Oh, she is coming,” I hear Daisy whispering and as I step into my bedroom, my heart stops.

“What are you all doing here?” I ask the small crowd of women that is standing in a row, smiling at me.

I take a little step back, clasping my little bag with my indecent piece of clothing as I shudder because of the creepy vibe of this situation.

“Welcome, Luna Artemisia. We were waiting for you to get you ready for the marking,” an elderly woman says, stepping aside to reveal a long, white, linen robe lying on my bed.

I clear my throat, lifting my bag as I smile uncomfortably, “Well, thank you. But actually, I have organised something already.”

“It’s tradition, Missy,” Daisy hisses, and I take a deep breath to bite my tongue.

This is a special night, and she isn’t going to ruin this for me.

The elderly woman lifts her hand, pointing her finger towards Daisy admonishingly, “If the Luna has organised something for our Alpha, there is nothing wrong with us adjusting our traditions a little bit.”

“Let’s take a bath first, Luna,” She says, starting to steer me to my en-suite bathroom, and the rest of the women follow us chatting happily.

“Please don’t call me that,” I murmur beneath my breath, getting just a motherly smile from the woman.

In the bathroom, a steamy bath already awaits me. It smells incredibly good as the scent of lavender fills the air and I can’t wait to relax in it.

As soon as I’m out of my clothes, I let myself sink into the warm water and my muscles scream at the soothing feeling. I force down the moan that wants to bubble out of my chest as I don’t want to embarrass myself.

I feel a bit uncomfortable at them tending to me, washing my hair and scrubbing my skin with some awesomely smelling peeling.

But it is tradition, so I’ll just put up a good face on this and bear it.

As they are styling my hair, Daisy takes my hand to put another few of the coloured pills into my hand and I look up at her dumbfounded. “This will help for the baby.”

“I’m not going to take these, Daisy,” I say confidently, depositing them on a surface next to me.

“But you have to! It is important for the baby.”

Shaking my head, I press my hands between my thighs, “Cayden said I could skip them until after the official marking! Do you want to go and ask him about it? Or maybe I should call Fynn and let him know that you are forcing me to take something again, even if he doesn’t want me to take them.”

Mentioning Fynn always works as it gets everyone's face to go pale instantaneously.

“Alpha Cayden didn’t inform me about putting off the supplements, and neither did Beta Logan. I’m sure they will be deeply disappointed at your childish behaviour,” Daisy spits, and even if I get to swallow my gasp as I don’t want to give her the satisfaction, the women around me don’t hold back.

“Daisy!” one of them hisses, but I just wave dismissively.

“Let her! She is just anxious about my baby’s health.” I squint my eyes at her, tilting my head. “Aren’t you, Daisy?”

Daisy starts fidgeting around, probably because the realisation of what she has done starts kicking in. “Yes! Of course!”

“Don’t worry,” I say with a theatrically lovely tone. "I’ll do my best to take them regularly after my official marking ceremony."

She nods, looking very uncomfortable and I take a mental note to myself, wanting to remember to take the pills and store them somewhere safe so that they can be analysed as well.

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