The Silver Wolf (Diana and Talon) novel Chapter 197

Chapter One Hundred Ninety Seven

Talon entered the examination room beside Diana, one hand resting lightly at the small of her back as though he expected her to suddenly lose her balance. Diana noticed. Of course she noticed. She noticed every single time he hovered.

Every time his eyes dropped toward her stomach. Every time his hand moved instinctively toward her waist as if he needed to reassure himself that both she and their pup were still there.

Normally, she might have teased him for it. Today, however, she allowed it. Mostly.

The healer looked up the moment they entered and immediately stood from behind her desk.

“Alpha King. Luna Queen.”

Her gaze moved between them with mild surprise.

“I would have come to you if you had simply called for me.”

Talon gave Diana a look. A look that clearly said, See? Even the healer agrees with me.

Diana narrowed her eyes at him before he could say anything. Unfortunately, Talon still spoke.

“You know your Queen, Healer.”

He sighed dramatically.

“She would never be caught dead summoning a healer to come to her just because she felt a little unwell.”

Diana slowly turned her head toward him. Talon immediately realized his mistake. Inside their shared mind, Fenrir groaned.

“Why did you say that?”

Talon mentally frowned.

“Say what?”

“That.”

Fenrir sounded deeply disappointed in him.

і

“You know our mate. She does not like anyone implying she is weak.”

“I did not call her weak.”

“You implied it.”

“I absolutely did not.”

“You did.”

Fenrir paused. Then added seriously,

Chapter Opened Mistety Seven

“Stop talking before she gets angry.”

Talon almost rolled his eyes.

“You are suddenly giving relationship advice?”

“Yes.”

Fenrir’s answer was immediate.

Clams

“Because Diana is not the only one who will shove something unpleasant somewhere painful if we annoy her.”

Talon nearly choked. Fenrir continued calmly.

“Artemis might bite us too.”

Talon could practically feel his wolf considering that. Then Fenrir added,

“I like Artemis biting us when she is playing.”

A pause.

“But when she is angry, it hurts.”

Talon closed his eyes briefly. Of all the powerful wolves the Goddess could have given him, he had been blessed with this one.

Diana folded her arms across her chest.

“I am not a weak wolf, Talon.”

Her voice was sharper than usual. Talon immediately returned his attention to her.

“I know.”

“I do not need to summon a healer every time I feel slightly tired.”

“I know that too.”

“I am perfectly capable of walking to the hospital myself.”

“Yes, my love.”

Her eyes narrowed further.

“And I am perfectly capable of deciding when I need medical attention.”

“Yes.”

Talon was agreeing with everything now. It seemed safer. Diana looked almost offended despite his quick agreement.

Then something else seemed to occur to her. Her expression changed.

“Wait.”

Chapter Opendred Ninety Seven

Claim

Talon stiffened. There was something about the way she said that single word that made both him and Fenrir uneasy: Diana pointed toward him.

“Is that why you let me sleep earlier?”

“What?”

“Because you think I am weak?”

Talon stared at her.

“No.”

“Is that why you did not wake me when you were supposed to?”

“No.”

“You came into our room because you were supposed to take me to the healer.”

“Yes.”

“But instead of waking me, you climbed into bed and went to sleep beside me.”

“Yes, but-”

“So you thought I needed extra rest because you think I cannot handle everything happening?”

Talon’s eyes widened.

“No. No, no, no.”.

He crossed the small distance between them immediately.

“My mate, that is not what I meant at all.”

He reached for her hands. Diana allowed him to take them, but the expression on her face clearly warned him that he needed to choose his next words carefully.

“You are not weak.”

Talon squeezed her fingers.

“You have never been weak. And I will never think of you as weak.”

Diana stared at him. Talon continued quickly.

“You fought more than fifteen feral rogues almost by yourself. You survived poison that would have killed another wolf. You ran miles while injured because you were determined to reach the Rogue Kingdom. You stood against Thorne. You fought Rafe. You have faced things that would have broken most wolves.”

His expression softened.

“I know exactly how strong you are.”

The anger in Diana’s eyes eased slightly.

Chapter Opetked Ninety Seve

But?”

Talon hesitated. He knew there was always a dangerous but when speaking to his mate.

“But being strong does not mean you never need rest.”

Diana opened her mouth. Talon immediately continued.

“And being pregnant does not make you weak either.”

That stopped her. Talon gently rubbed his thumbs over the backs of her hands.

“It means your body is doing something extraordinary. It is protecting you and our pup. And if that means you need more sleep than usual… Then you sleep. If that means you need someone to check that you and the pup are healthy… Then we come here.”

His expression became more vulnerable.

“Not because I think you are weak. Because I love you.”

Diana’s anger slowly disappeared. Inside her mind, Artemis huffed.

“He saved himself.”

Diana almost smiled.

“Barely.”

“He learns quickly.”

Talon had no idea that both Diana and Artemis were discussing his survival.

The healer, who had been standing quietly nearby throughout the entire exchange, cleared her throat. Loudly.

Both Alpha and Luna turned toward her. The healer gave them a polite smile.

“So…”

She gestured toward the examination bed.

“Before the Alpha King says anything else that gets him into trouble…”

Diana laughed. Talon frowned. Even the healer was against him now.

“…perhaps you could tell me what brought you here.”

Diana took a slow breath. Her emotions still felt unusually close to the surface. Only minutes ago, she had been perfectly calm.

Then Talon made one innocent comment and suddenly she had felt offended enough to argue. She frowned slightly.

Was this because of the pregnancy?

They had only discovered it a short while ago. Yet now that she knew, it was almost as though every

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Chapter Opetonáred Ninety Seven

symptom had suddenly become more noticeable. The exhaustion. The dizziness. The strange emotional shifts.

Was she imagining them because she now knew she was pregnant? Or had they always been there and she had simply ignored them?

Diana looked toward the healer.

“I apologize.”

The healer smiled gently.

“There is nothing to apologize for, Luna.”

Diana sighed.

“It recently came to our attention that…”

She glanced toward Talon. His entire expression immediately softened.

“…I may be with pup.”

The healer’s eyes widened. For one heartbeat, her professional composure disappeared completely. Pure happiness filled her face.

“With pup?”

Talon smiled proudly.

“That is what we were told.”