{twenty-four}

Aria's POV

It's been 2 months without Damon, it's harder than I could've ever imagined. I've gotten into a routine without him, I'm not crying every night. But I'm still not used to waking up by myself, doing my royal duties without him, and going to royal meetings without him. Yesterday I went to my doctors appointment for the baby, it was weird not having him next to me. He promised to FaceTime me during the ultrasound but a fight had begun before he had the chance to tell me.

The war against my mother and her army was ongoing. Two days after Damon arrived in Spain, they attacked my mother's base. Both armies were very strong, a fight would begin and then my mother's army would run back and hide until they start another fight. Daniel and I have a nightly meeting call with Damon, updating us on everything. That's where we're headed right now. Daniel was supposed to keep me safe while the war went on, since both my mate and personal body guard were elsewhere. I've become closer to him and Claire since Damon's been gone. They would let me sleep in their Beta suite whenever the large Royal Suite was too much by myself. I was so grateful to have such thoughtful friends to keep me company during this time.

"How was your ultrasound?" Daniel asks, as we walk side by side.

"Good.." I said, I had gotten some news from the doctor. I was pregnant with twins, I should be excited but I couldn't help but want Damon to be here to share the news with him.

"Was Damon able to call you?" He asks, we turn a corner and see a few guards walking by. I wait for the guards to be out of earshot before I answer.

"No, a fight had begun before he could call me." I say, feeling my mood plummet to the ground.

"Is the baby doing good?" He asks, I could tell he was trying to keep a conversation.

"Yeah, the doctor said that the babies are perfectly healthy." I reply.

"Wait, babies? Plural? Two?" He exclaims, stopping dead in his tracks.

"Oh no, you weren't supposed to know that, how did I let that slip?!" I groan, I wanted Damon to be the first to know.

"Does Damon know?" He asks, continuing to walk.

"No, I found out today and haven't been able to call him yet." I say as we reach the conference room.

"I'll keep it quite but I'm not sure I can keep it away from Claire." He jokes, taking his seat across from me.

"I understand, I might come over after I talk to Damon." I say, dialing the number we were given to our base.

"You're always welcome." He smiles at me.

"Hello?" I hear the static noise from the phone.

"Hello, This is Queen Aria and Royal Beta Daniel." I say, putting a strong tone through my voice.

"I'll transfer you to the King." The man says. Every day it was different person who picked up the phone, Damon said it was whoever was closest.

"Aria? Daniel?" I hear my mates voice say, out of breath.

"We're here, what's wrong?" I ask, scared as to why he sounded hurt.

"Nothing, I was just too excited to hear your voice." He says. Daniel groans and I hear a slight groan from Collins through the phone.

"Enough with the love stuff, just give us an update." Daniel says.

"Fine, we had another attack an hour ago, they retreated much quicker though. They're getting weaker, we should be able to finish them in a few days if everything goes right." Damon says, Collins adds a few more things but all I can think about is how close I am to seeing Damon.

"Okay then we wish you luck! Bring us a quick victory. Now you two can have your love call." Daniel sighs, leaving the room.

"I'll talk to you in a few, bye." I say, hanging up the phone and quickly heading to the suite so I could talk to Damon in private.

I plop down on our big fluffy bed with my phone in hand. I dial Damon's private number and FaceTime him. He answers instantly.

"Baby! Goddess, I've missed you!" Damon smiles, as his face pops onto my phone. He had a few new cuts on his face but they weren't that bad.

"I've missed you too Dam!" I can't help but smile.

"How's the nursery coming along?" He asks, recently we've been having some renovations done to the suite. We were adding a few more bedrooms and closing off our bedroom so it wasn't a loft anymore. I would need to talk to the contractors and designers about adding an extra crib for the second baby.

"Good, they're almost done, I'll show you." I say, getting up from the bed. I turn the camera around so he could see some of the construction.

"Having a hallway upstairs must be weird." He says.

"It is, here's the nursery." I say walking into the room that was almost done.

"Wow, that's crazy." He states, the room was almost done, only needs a few more things.

"The whole suite looks really good with all the renovations." I say, walking back to our bedroom.

"I want to come home, I miss the castle." He says, laying down on his cot, inside his tent on base. "I miss you the most."

"Hopefully only a few more days." I say, being optimistic was the only thing I could do.

"Oh, how was the ultrasound?" He asks. "I'm sorry I couldn't call."

"It's fine, you had wolves to fight." I laugh. "But it went really well, the doctor gave me some news."

"Really, is it good?" He asks, I can feel him get worried through our bond.

"Yeah, she told me that we're hav-" I was cut off by an alarm blaring through the phone.

"Baby, I'm so sorry but I really have to go." Before he could hang up I heard a loud bang and then the screen went black. A sharp pain went through my left shoulder, but it wasn't my own pain. It was Damon's. My wolf was trying to reach him through our mind-link but he wouldn't respond. I started to panic as I felt the anxiety creep up on me. I know I can't be alone right now or I'll hurt myself.

I instantly head out of the suite and towards Claire and Daniel's place. I could feel my tears start well up in my eyes as I still couldn't reach Damon. I quicken my pace across the castle towards my Beta's suite.  When I reach their door, I pull it open right away, step in, and slam it behind me. My tears start to fall when I hear footsteps come down their stairs.

"Aria?" I hear Daniel asks, he shouldn't have to see me like this.

"W-where's Claire?" I stutter, not looking at him as he walks towards me.

"She's in the village, what's wrong?" He says, concern lacing in his voice. He keeps his distance from me but I couldn't hold it anymore. I take the few steps to him and wrap my arms around him.

"I was talking to Damon, w-when an alarm started and then a loud b-bang and then the screen went black." I ramble, squeezing him as he rubs my back.

"Have you tried mind-linking him?" Daniel asks.

"Yes, he won't answer and I can feel his pain." I cry, more tears falling down my cheeks as it begins to become difficult to breath. Daniel notices and moves me to lay down on their couch.

"Aria, take deep breaths, Damon is fine." Daniel says softly. Damon is the only person to ever see one of my anxiety attack. It was something I didn't want people to know but I can't help it now.

"I mind-linked Collin and Damon is fine." He says, I feel my eyes started to close. "Just go to sleep, it's okay."

With that I willing went to sleep, feeling the pain from mate with tears falling down my face.

()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()

Wow that was a lot! Also this was a super quick update!!

I've now decided that this book will officially end soon, it will have 3 more chapter plus and epilogue. If you guys have any requests let me know soon!

Thank you all for the support!! Hope you like this chapter!!

Word count: 1442