LILY Nine Months Later “This one’s different.” I gripped Ace’s hand tighter as another contraction rolled through me, stronger than the ones that had been coming and going all morning. “Different how?” he asked, his voice steady despite the worry I could see in his eyes. “More intense. More…” I paused, searching for the right word as the pain peaked and then slowly faded. “More urgent.” We were in our bedroom, where I’d insisted on laboring for as long as possible. Dr. Jake was downstairs with Helen, who was watching Emma and Aiden. The plan was to head to the hospital when things got serious. But something told me we might not make it that far. *She’s coming,* Elisa said excitedly in my mind. *Our daughter is ready.* “How far apart are the contractions now?” Ace asked, glancing at his phone where he’d been timing them. “Four minutes,” I breathed, feeling another one building. “Oh God, here comes another one.” This time, I couldn’t stay quiet. A low groan esca
LILY Two Years Later “Mama! Mama!” Emma’s voice carried across the backyard, filled with the kind of excitement that usually meant trouble. “Aiden healed my wound!” I looked up from the herb garden I’d been tending, my hands still dirty from planting. Emma was running toward me, her three-year-old legs pumping as fast as they could carry her. Behind her, Aiden toddled along on his chubby two-year-old legs, his face beaming with pride. “What happened, baby?” I asked, immediately scanning Emma for injuries. She thrust her hand toward me, the one that had been scraped and bleeding just minutes ago when she’d fallen off her bike. I’d been about to clean it when she ran off to find her brother. Now, there was nothing. Not even a mark. My breath caught in my throat. “Emma, sweetheart, show Mama where you were hurt.” She pointed to her palm, completely unblemished. “Right here! It was bleeding and it hurt really bad, but Aiden touched it and made it all better!” *Holy
"Mama, baba smile!" Emma announced proudly, pointing at Aiden who was indeed giving me his first real, intentional smile. Two months. My baby boy was two months old already, and every day brought discoveries. The way his eyes tracked movement now, how he responded to my voice, the little coos that sounded almost like he was trying to talk. "He's getting so big," I marveled, lifting him from his bouncer to cuddle him close. He smelled like baby soap and that indefinable sweetness that all infants seemed to carry. *He's perfect,* Elisa said warmly in my mind. *Growing strong.* Emma climbed onto the couch beside me, carefully patting Aiden's tiny hand. "Good baba," she said seriously. "Emma sister." "The best sister," I agreed, kissing the top of her head. These quiet moments had become my favorite part of each day. The three of us together, no supernatural drama, no pack business, no emergencies. Just normal family life. Well, as normal as life could be when you were ma
Three days. It had been three days since Elisa first spoke to me, and I was finally walking without feeling like my legs might give out. The joint pain had faded to a dull ache, manageable now that my wolf and I were working together instead of fighting each other. I could make it downstairs for meals, hold my children without trembling, even help with basic household tasks. But Elisa was getting restless. *I want to run,* she said for the tenth time this morning as I finished braiding my hair. *I want to feel the earth under our paws, smell the forest, stretch our muscles properly.* *Soon,* I promised, though I wasn't sure I was ready. The idea of shifting terrified me. What if something went wrong? What if I got stuck? What if I couldn't control it? *You can do this,* Elisa encouraged. *I'll be right there with you. We'll do it together.* A knock on the bedroom door interrupted my internal debate. "Come in," I called. Ace entered, already dressed in clothes he did
Pain. That's all I knew for the first three days. Every joint in my body felt like it was being torn apart and rebuilt from the inside out. Even breathing hurt. The pills Dr. Jake had given me helped, but only barely. They took the edge off the agony, made it bearable instead of unbearable. But I still couldn't get out of bed for more than a few minutes at a time. "Mama hurt?" Emma asked for the hundredth time today, her small hand patting my arm gently. "A little, baby," I managed, forcing a smile. "But Mama's getting better." She'd been glued to my side since the transformation began. Ace would carry her to her own room for naps and bedtime, but the moment she woke up, she'd toddle right back to me. Like she could sense that something fundamental had changed. "Emma stay with Mama," she announced, climbing carefully onto the bed beside me. The mattress dipped under her weight, sending a fresh wave of pain through my joints. I bit back a groan. "You can stay, sweethear
The soft click of Aiden's nursery door closing echoed through the hallway. Lily moved slowly, her hand trailing along the wall for support as she returned to our bedroom. Three days. It had been three days since Dr. Jake's visit, three days of watching my mate grow weaker by the hour. She paused in the doorway, silhouetted against the dim light from the hallway. Even in the shadows, I could see how fragile she'd become. Her clothes hung loose on her frame, and her skin had a translucent quality that made my heart clench. "He went down easy tonight," she said, attempting a smile. "I think he's finally adjusting to sleeping in his own room." I stood from where I'd been sitting on the edge of our bed, crossing to her in two quick steps. My arms came around her waist, pulling her against me. She felt so small, so breakable. "Are you okay?" I asked, pressing my lips to her temple. She leaned into me, her hands resting against my chest. "I'm tired. But I'm okay." *Liar.* I co