All Chapters of Alpha's Regret: The Forsaken Luna: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

Rhiannon's POVHalfway.The word echoed in my mind as I ran my hand over my rounded belly. Five months pregnant. Twenty weeks. The baby was the size of—I didn't actually know. But they were there, undeniably present, making their existence known with constant kicks and rolls."Stop fidgeting," Nyx said from across the cabin. She was carving something from wood—a cradle, I realized with a start."You're making a cradle?""The baby will need somewhere to sleep." She didn't look up, her knife moving with practiced precision. "Unless you plan to hold them constantly."The casual domesticity of it struck me. Here, in this cabin in the deadliest forest in three territories, we were preparing for a birth like it was the most normal thing in the world.Maybe it was."I could help," I offered."You can help by resting. You've been training too hard." Her golden eyes flicked up to meet mine. "I can smell the exhaustion on you."I wanted to argue, but she was right. My body ached in ways that ha

Rhiannon's POVI couldn't see my feet anymore.The realization hit me one morning as I tried to pull on my boots. My belly had grown so large that bending over was nearly impossible."Here." Nyx appeared beside me, kneeling to help with the laces. "Your balance is shifting again. Be careful when you walk.""I'm the size of a house.""You're carrying a hybrid baby. They grow faster than normal wolf pups." She finished the laces and stood. "How are you feeling?""Tired. Always tired." I pressed my hand to my lower back, which ached constantly now. "And the baby won't stop moving. Especially at night.""They're running out of room. It'll only get worse." Nyx studied me critically. "No training today. You need to rest.""I can still—""Rest," she repeated firmly. "You're seven months pregnant. Your body needs to conserve energy for what's coming."What was coming. The birth. In two months—maybe less if the hybrid development continued at this accelerated pace.Fear and anticipation warred

Rhiannon's POVThe contraction woke me before dawn.Different from the false labor. Deeper. Starting in my lower back and wrapping around my entire belly like a vice.I breathed through it, counting. Forty-five seconds before it released.I waited in the darkness, hand on my belly.Ten minutes later, another one hit. Same intensity. Same duration."Nyx," I called, trying to keep my voice steady.She appeared within seconds, lamp in hand. "How far apart?""Ten minutes. Regular.""Then we begin." She set down the lamp and helped me out of bed. "Walk. As long as you can. It'll help the baby descend."We walked circuits around the cabin. I leaned on Nyx when contractions hit, breathing through each one while she counted aloud.Forty-five seconds. Fifty. Sixty.They were getting longer.By midday, they were five minutes apart. The pain was intensifying—no longer just pressure but actual pain that stole my breath."I need to lie down," I gasped after one particularly brutal contraction."No

Rhiannon's POVIt happened during a thunderstorm.Soren had been fussy all day—refusing to nap, crying more than usual. I'd tried everything.Then the storm rolled in.Thunder cracked so loud it shook the cabin. Soren, who'd finally settled in my arms, jerked awake with a scream.And shifted.One second, I was holding my baby.The next, a wolf pup tumbled from my arms onto the floor.Tiny. Silver-furred. With those same gray-amber eyes, now wild with fear.He yelped—a high, terrified sound—and tried to run on legs that didn't know how to work yet."Soren!" I dropped to the floor beside him, reaching for him.He snapped at my hand—baby teeth, but sharp—and scrambled backward."Nyx!" My voice came out panicked.She was there instantly. "Don't chase him. You'll scare him more.""What do I do?""Shift. Match him. He needs to see something familiar."I didn't hesitate. Let my magic rise, let my body flow into wolf form.The world sharpened. Soren's scent filled my nose—milk and magic and f

Rhiannon's POVMonth SevenSoren took his first steps on a morning when frost covered the ground outside.I was folding laundry, keeping one eye on him as he pulled himself up on the sofa. He'd been doing this for weeks—standing, cruising along furniture, but never letting go.Until today.He stood, wobbling slightly, both hands gripping the sofa edge.Then he let go.For one heartbeat, he balanced on his own.Then he took a step. Another. Three tottering steps toward me before his legs gave out and he sat down hard.I dropped the laundry. "Nyx! He walked!"She rushed in from outside. "Walked?""Three steps!" I scooped Soren up, spinning him around. "You walked, clever boy!""Mama!" He squealed with delight.Over the next few days, walking became his obsession. He walked everywhere, tottering around the cabin with his arms out for balance. He fell constantly—onto his bottom, onto his hands, occasionally onto his face.But he always got back up and tried again."Stubborn," Nyx observed