Chapter 25 - Babies???

For once, my words didn't bring misfortune and pain. Things did die down, by a lot. Within a few days, the packs agreed to the plan Alpha James came up with and any werewolves with abilities were discreetly grouped closer together. Wren and Ella moved into our packhouse along with Joshua and Kit. Joshua refused to leave Wren against the wishes of his pack. I didn't bother to question it. I understood why he'd be so clingy if his mate and sister were in a different pack, in danger.

Luckily—or maybe not luckily—we weren't attacked again. In fact, at the moment, we'd gone two weeks without anything. Just...silence. Which was good because it meant I finally had the time to bond with my mates and settle back into my pack.

Falling asleep next to my mates had become one of my new favorite things, though I don't think I would ever admit that aloud even to them. Having a beta suite had the perk of a bigger bed, which was good for us. I'd quickly learned that Evander really liked to smother you in your sleep and Aubrey was a restless sleeper. The solution was if I got stuck in the middle, I'd just crawl out and let Evander latch onto Aubrey, and both my problems were solved.

Despite that, I liked sleeping with them. Evander helped me to fall asleep by running his hands through my hair and Aubrey's warmth was soothing. Though, if I asked Aubrey, he'd say that Evander was warmer. Meh, they were both nice. Evander had also started to sleep more often than before. He said he did it to spend time with us, and sleeping was enjoyable, and I didn't argue with it; I liked having both my mates around.

I was slightly surprised we hadn't grown tired of each other yet. We'd been together nonstop for the past month or so now. It felt like a lot of time, but it went by so quickly. Despite that, I still felt afraid that they'd grow tired of me. They were kissing a lot. I guess after that first time, and the talk, they became more comfortable with it. Aubrey would often peck Evander at random times and Evander liked to kiss Aubrey goodnight no matter if he was already asleep or not.

And it seemed they weren't the only ones getting all lovey-dovey. Meals were the worst. The entire friend group was coupled up now. Marie and Ryder had never really been ones for PDA, but after Rin, Erin, Joshua, Wren, and my mates started showing it, even they followed. Within two weeks, Erin and Rin had become even more affectionate. I thought they were already mushy, but now they were nauseatingly affectionate.

Like right now.

"Can you like, not do this in front of my food?" I asked with a frown.

"Stop being such a grandpa," Erin huffed. "We're not even doing anything."

I guess they weren't really doing anything. Rin was in Erin's lap and my best friend kept nuzzling the dragon's neck. At least they weren't feeding each other. That was just...ugh. But, they were still all over each other and kept kissing each other and laughing to themselves. We're supposed to all be having a regular meal in our favorite spot in the forest, but these couples were ruining it.

The pack had decided to do our monthly get-together for the full moon. It was an attempt to keep up some normalcy and to relax a bit. Currently, my friends, including our mates, were all seated in the clearing we used to love as children. Erin and I had felt the need to show our mates one of our favorite places so it worked out.

We'd set up a picnic blanket on the ground instead of using the large rocks in the clearing we used to sit on as kids. We'd brought a portable lamp with us that we lit as it became darker and darker as well.

Everyone was huddled up. Marie and Ryder were together with Ryder's head in her lap as they played with each other's hands. Wren was wrapped in Joshua's arms, between his legs, while the beta had his back against one of the rocks. Even my mates were cuddled up, though they were cute and were just leaned against each other. I was next to them, of course, but I was eating, so I wasn't going to be all gushy.

With a sigh, I gave up. It wasn't like they'd ever stop even if I did point it out, but Goddess, they had their entire lives ahead of them to be like this, so why now? Evander chuckled from beside me and I glared at him, but he could tell I wasn't serious. "Let them enjoy themselves," he said softly.

"Whatever," I grumbled.

"Marie and I have something to tell you," Ryder suddenly said, still laid out with his head on Marie's lap.

"What is it?" Wren asked.

"Do you want to tell them or me?" Ryder whispered and Marie shrugged.

He grinned and sat up, only to put a gentle hand on his mate's stomach. "We're having a baby."

Woah, what? I gaped at them in shock, but the others were clapping and giving their congratulations. I bit my lip and remained silent. I was afraid of giving the wrong reaction. This was obviously a very happy occasion for them, but now? With the Eye still out there, ready to attack at any given moment? Sure, we'd had some peace the last few weeks, but it was only temporary. There was no way they'd just give up and leave us alone. No, they were planning something. So, I worried about my friends having a child and risking that at the moment.

"We know it's not a good time," Ryder said softly, drawing my attention back to the group. "We understand that it's dangerous, but we've wanted to start creating a family for a little while now and when it finally happened, we couldn't think about giving up this chance."

Marie looked at me and offered a small smile. "I can tell you're worried. You haven't been very good at keeping your face straight lately," she pointed out. Damnit. "We're going to be careful. I'm barely six weeks along."

"I know you will be careful," I said. "Doesn't mean the Eye will be." Marie looked down. "But... congratulations, anyway. I know you will be a wonderful mother," I added.

She smiled, but her mate pouted. "Am I not going to make a good father?" He asked.

I scoffed. "You're still a child, what do you think?" I said, and he laughed.

"I'm glad you guys are supportive. We were so excited when we found out," Ryder said, a smile still on his face.

"I'm happy for you, Ryder, Marie," Wren said. "You deserve it."

As the group continued to talk about the pregnancy, I happened to glance over at Wren and Joshua. Wren had a small frown on his face after he first congratulated the couple. I wanted to ask him about it, but it quickly disappeared and he was smiling again.

Once it got dark enough for the moon to be visible, we all headed over to the rest of the pack for the run. Aubrey was bouncing around in excitement. He was excited to officially meet my wolf. I was happy to show my mates, too. They'd seen him in passing before, but they'd never interacted with him before.

I pulled them behind some bushes to get a little more privacy. I quickly realized that this would put more pressure on me, but I pushed the thought aside for now. "Um, can you please turn around a second?"

"Of course," Evander agreed and they both turned around.

I quickly stripped off my clothes and shifted. After shaking out my coat, I stepped forward and nudged Aubrey's hand. He gasped and they both turned around. "Oh my goodness, you're so pretty," he exclaimed, kneeling in front of me.

My wolf licked his face and he giggled. I felt a hand run through my fur and I knew it was Evander. "You're much larger than I thought," he mumbled.

I let out a huff. Well duh. I was a werewolf. And a beta. We walked around the bush and met up with the other wolves waiting to start. I nudged Aubrey's hand again and prompted him to climb on my back. He climbed on and clung to my fur while Evander walked beside us. We were in the back of the pack because I didn't want to run very fast with Aubrey on me. When Alpha James signaled the start, we took off.

Aubrey squealed from on top of me and clung to my fur tighter. I heard footsteps behind me and Evander was keeping pace with me. I figured he would be able to, being a vampire and all. Whenever I'd jump over a fallen branch or thick tree root, Aubrey would laugh loudly. Evander had a small smile on his face from what I could tell and it made me happy. They were enjoying themselves. Good. This was an important part of my pack's life, so I wanted them to enjoy it.

Something about the wind rushing past me and the gentle sparks of my mate on top of me made this run feel much better than others. More...magical. The giddy feeling that welled up inside of me urged me to run faster. Alpha James was right yet again. A run was a good idea.

A little while later, we arrived back at the lake. By then, I was more than ready to take a dip in the lake and cool down. Aubrey slowly got off me with a crazy grin on his face. "That was so much fun! It felt like I was flying," he said breathlessly.

I huffed and nudged both their hands. They followed me to the lake and I jumped in. A lot of other pack members were also around, but some were making their way back to the packhouse. After paddling around for a bit, I exited the water and shifted. My clothes and a towel were ready for me in the hands of Evander as soon as I pushed my hair out of my eyes. "Thank you," I said softly and dried off then put my clothes on.

"You're quite beautiful as a wolf," he commented.

I ducked my head down to hide the flush of embarrassment that spread across my cheeks. "Uh, thank you."

"I wanted to talk to you and Aubrey about something," he said, bringing my attention back to his face.

"Oh? About what?"

"I think we should head back to the room first."

"Alright," I complied, frowning.

What would he need to talk about that had him wanting to go back to the privacy of our room? We walked back to the packhouse once we found Aubrey. He was still as bouncy and excited as always. He walked between us, swinging our conjoined hands back and forth. It brought a smile to my face to see him so happy.

When we got to our room, I closed the door slowly and looked at Evander. "Well? What did you want to talk about?"

Evander sat down and hummed thoughtfully. "I'm not very sure how to bring this up, but that conversation your friends had earlier. With the pregnancy."

Oh. "Yes? What about it?" I asked hesitantly, already afraid of what he would say.

He patted the spot next to him on the bed and I carefully sat down. Aubrey sat down next to me and grabbed my hand. Evander reached out and covered our conjoined hands with one of his own. "You're a beta, correct? So, would you not need an heir at some point?"

I swallowed. "Yes, I will. But, all that means is that my bloodline needs to be carried on."

"I can carry it right?" Aubrey asked.

"You can, I'm sure," I agreed with a nod. "But, I'm not...you know..." I trailed off awkwardly. "I'm not going to get you pregnant."

"Yes, that makes sense. Then alternative methods can be done, correct?" Evander asked.

"Yeah," I answered. "He can be artificially inseminated if he wanted that."

"Really? When can we do that?" Aubrey asked with a smile.

"Um, I don't really know," I muttered. "Maybe in a few years?"

"You're both in your mid-twenties. Do you not feel like you are ready yet? Or is there something more to it?" Evander asked carefully.

I looked down. I didn't want kids if I was being honest. How could I make a good father? I didn't even have-

"Aaron?" Aubrey asked softly. "Are you okay? You're crying."

What? I blinked and watched as a tear fell from my eye and onto my lap. I was crying. Goddess, why was I crying? I wiped at my eyes with my free hand. "Sorry," I mumbled.

"Don't apologize. But, if you don't mind me asking, why are you crying?" Evander asked.

I just need to be honest with them. "I don't think I would make a good parent. My family... I feel like the way I grew up would make me a horrible father. If I raise a child the way I was raised, I don't think I could live with that."

"What do you mean by that?" Aubrey asked.

"Do you know why you haven't met my family yet?" I asked quietly.

"I never wanted to pry so I never questioned it," Evander answered truthfully.

"Well, it's a long story, but I-"

"We have time," Aubrey said. "Please, tell us if you want to."

"Okay," I whispered, preparing myself. "I've never really talked about it before. Erin knows, only because we grew up together, but I don't even think Wren or Ryder fully understand my family situation."

"We're listening," Evander said.

With a sigh, I gathered up the courage to tell my mates about my family.

~~~

I'm finally back! I'm still super busy but I at least found some time to sit down and write some more. I apologize if the quality of chapters dips at any point. Good news though! With the time skip, things should pick up a bit more. I've realized that these three have such a slow relationship that y'all deserved to see a little more domesticity XD that's just kinda how they are though.

Anyway, Aaron is finally going to reveal his family history! Honestly, there wasn't much I could do with the telling of the story because it didn't match what I was going for, so if you want more about baby Erin and Aaron, read the extras I have posted! I plan on adding to them and eventually putting them in a separate book.

Stay tuned for more insanity and thank you so much for reading!

Please vote, share, and comment if you like it :)