Chapter 243
L & Asher
One Year Later
It was hard to believe how much time had passed, even as I stood at my own wedding reception,
surrounded by the people I loved most in this world.
So much had changed in three hundred and sixty five days, and it wasn’t just my marital status. There
had been some uprising within the other packs in the country, but with Zeke as an ally and assuming
leadership over Bran’s pack, they were easy to defend ourselves against.
The packs that wanted nothing to do with this new world closed themselves off, shutting their gates and
increasing their security even though we had no intention on retaliating. It would take time before those
packs changed their ways of thinking, and despite what they believed, violence was not the answer.
Rather than wage war, we focused on our ownnds and doing all that we could to wee any
Vampire or Witch that needed a ce to call home. Towns simr to the Vampire’s safe haven were
currently being built on neutral territory.
Never in a million years could I have guessed the identity of the Vampire spearheading the entire thing,
N?velDrama.Org owns all content.
but I was slowly learning to love surprises.
Speaking of which-
“Well, look at this. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you look more like a Queen.”
Deacon’s grizzlyugh rumbled throughout the massive tent my reception party was being held under.
He emerged through the crowd of
Werewolves, Vampire’s and Witches that attended. The mixture of our kind brought a lightness to
everyone’s hearts. that had Asher and I grinning at one another throughout the night. “Spence and
Dina wanted to make it, but their little one is still learning to control his blood lust. Won’t be safe to have
him around for at least another six months.”
“It’s not a problem. They’re wee over as soon as their boy is able. I’m looking forward to meeting
him. He’ll have all the support he needs when he’s finally of shifting age.” I replied.
Wrapped around Deacon, wearing a floor- length gown of maroon silk, was his mate Bridgette. She
quickly winked in my direction before scoffing at my brute of an Uncle. The two would pick at one
another relentlessly, but the love and adoration between them was all too obvious.
“I disagreepletely. You saw her put that force field over our townst year.
Now that’s what I call a Queen.” Her giggle was warm and airy. She ced her hand on my arm and
said, “You look gorgeous, L. The gown is incredible.”
“Asher insisted on having it custom made. In fact, he insisted on spending the most amount of money
he could get away with.” Imented dryly, ncing at the man in question.
“Lucky he has such good taste then.” Bridgette winked.
A voice sounded to the far left, beside the bride and groom’s table that Asher and I sat at. It brought a
grin to my face, filling my chest with unimaginable warmth. Tonight was easily one of the best night’s of
my life, and it was partially because of this person.
“Oh, don’t let that brooding Alpha tell you he nned this get together. He might’ve signed the checks,
but the masterpiece surrounding you was a team effort.” Grandma’s huff was nothing short of stern, but
the soft tilt to her features exuded yfulness. “If we let these brutes have their way, they’d likely host a
fighting ring right here on the dance floor.”
She quickly wrapped me in her arms, whispering her congrattions in my ear before moving onto
Asher. Since getting out of the hospital a few months ago,
Grandma had been even more affectionate with Asher than usual. I liked to think it was her way of
reminding him he wasn’t to me, and despite the stoic way he held himself, I knew Asher enjoyed the
affection. 2
“Now that sounds fun. Wouldn’t mind duking it out a round or two. Someone has to teach these young
pups how to hold their own.” My Dad’s voice came next, still just as raspy but lighter than ever before.
Deacon’sugher was a sonic boom that made the people closest to us jump. While it was startling at
first, there was something infectious about it. Within seconds, we wereughing along side him.
“Can’t say I’d mind knocking some heads.” Deacon said, sharing a grin with my Dad.
“Good to know it’s not just the Werewolves that can be brutes.” Flora’s soft and whimsical voice trickled
through the crowd.
She waddled her way past the other party -goers, her stomach round and swollen from the life she
carried. In her hands was two tes stacked with pastries and various finger foods. Upon seeing her,
Dad rushed to her side to take the tes from her arms. There was an adorable blush that stained her
cheeks when she realized everyone was looking her way. 5
ire, Asher’s mother, appeared from the woodworks. She and Flora had be close friends over
the past year.
Between ire and I, we’d been there throughout the entirety of Flora’s pregnancy. It was the least I
could do considering my little sister was a short two months away from being born.
I was pulled into Asher’s arms, missing the yful jab Deacon tossed back at Flora that had everyone
breaking intoughter. Everyone seemed to be holding their own conversations, jumping back and forth
whenever someone poked fun at another. It was chaotic in the best way possible, and I enjoyed taking
a step back to watch the madness unfold.
ire and Bridgette were holding their own conversations when I caught Flora’s eye. As I took her in,
noting the mossy gown that hugged her body and showed off every inch of her rounded belly, I decided
that pregnancy suited her.
Asher’s silken lips skimmed my temple before moving to whisper in my ear.
“Do you regret it?”
Dad approached Flora from behind, stopping to rest his chin on the top of her head. His arms slid
around her waist, his handsing to rest on her swollen stomach. There was this dreamy look on my
Dad’s face that I’d never seen before.
The euphoria it filled me with was indescribable.
As I looked over her pregnant belly, thinking about the life my magic helped create, I realized I already
had my answer.
“Not one bit.”
Little did I know that nine monthster, I’d be weing my own child into the world.
Two Years Later 5
“I’m going to kill him.” I hissed, clenching my teeth as another jolt of pain wracked my insides.
I’d suffered through evil in many forms, became a Luna and a Queen, but it was this that threatened to
take me out. The pain of this little gremlin in my stomach, kicking and fighting to make her grand
entrance into the world, was nothing short of excruciating.
If it wasn’t for Holly and Breyona, I’d be waddling my way to the hospital alone.
“It’ll be okay. It’ll all be okay.” Holly, ever the peacekeeper, said soothingly.
She had her arm wound around my waist as she supported my right side. I couldn’t tell if the words
were to calm me or to calm herself.
Breyona, who supported my left, barked out augh. “I’ll help you kill him.”
Together, they hoisted me into the van, easing me into the seat. Between my swollen ankles and the
contractions, I could barely move without writhing in pain.
“Help me and I’ll make you Alpha.” I groaned, falling back onto the seat.
There was a handful of heartbeats in between each contraction, and that number was quickly dwindling
as they grew closer and closer together. Breyona started sucking in slow breaths, puffing them out in
awkward patters that she expected my agony riddled mind to follow.
She’d been studying childbirth thest six months and while I absolutely loved her for it, I had to resist
the heinous urge to mp my hands over her mouth to stop the huffing and puffing.
“Drive faster!” I howled at Giovanni, who clenched the steering wheel so tightly his tanned skin turned
white.
The stronger the pain became, the more time seemed to slip through my fingers. Looking back, the
moments leading up to giving birth woulde in sporadic shes. Holly, sitting at my right, dabbing
my sweaty forehead with a damp wash cloth. Breyona, whispering words of encouragement to remind
me what a bad bitch I was. Her words not mine.
And finally, the rage I felt towards Asher because he and Zeke chose this moment to go and visit the
council of witches elected to oversee the magicalmunity, just two towns over.
In his defense, he didn’t know my water would break just six hours after his departure, but when you’re
in the middle of contractions those details seem to slip through the cracks.
It wasn’t until I was in a birthing room at the hospital, with no less than a dozen staff members flitting
about, that Asher tore through the door. From where Iid in bed, snarling at anyone who came too
close, I could see the line of visitors piling up just outside the room.
At the front of the crowd was Dad, Flora, and their daughter, Penelope. Grandma stood at their side,
nked by Asher’s parents, Zeke, Tessa, Brandon, Ember, Tristan, Mason, and ra. The others at
their back were hospital staff or overly excited pack members hoping for a glimpse at the future Alpha
or Luna.
“You’rete!” I meant to snarl the words at Asher, to convey how furious I was, but a vicious contraction
tore through me so sharply that the words came out in an agonized yelp.
Asher skidded to a stop at my side, wasting no time as he smoothed the hair away from my face. There
was pain burning in his eyes, but it was overshadowed with awe and the innocent kind of joy that came
with watching your childe into the world.
His hand found mine, toying with the rings on my left hand. He made no mention of how drenched in
sweat I was, and instead whispered in my ear.
“You’re absolutely beautiful.”
Breyona leaned over the side of the bed, forcing a straw into my mouth. Her stern expression told me
to drink, and despite the pain tearing up my spine, I obliged.
Only she and Holly were permitted in the room considering they were the only two
I’d allow near me. Call it instincts or the horrors of the past, but some animalistic part of me was
already attached to this child and skeptical of anyone who tried toe close.
“I’m so sorry, baby. We got here as quick as we could. Fuck, I’m d we got here when we did.” He
panted, still drool worthy with his hair disheveled and hospital scrubs hanging off his muscr form.
If I wasn’t in such pain, I would’ve peed myselfughing when Asher, naked as the day he was born,
rushed into the room.
The doctor, a kind woman whose name
I’d already forgotten, guided my feet onto this metal contraption that left me wide and very much
exposed to the entire room. She rolled a stool over and situated herself front and center stage.
With every contraction, I unleashed my full strength on Asher’s hand, spitting and snarling as the pain
surpassed any and all thresholds. My incredible mate didn’t balk, not even once. Through every one of
my death grips, he murmured words of encouragement and reminded me that even covered in sweat
and gasping for breath, I was the thing he treasured most.
“Alright, Luna. Are you ready to push?” The doctor asked, peering up from between my legs.
I bit back a snarl. “Do I have a choice?”
“No, you do not.” She said, though not unkindly. “With that, lets begin.”
The doctor began counting softly, instructing me when to push and how hard. The nurses, who kept a
healthy distance, kept a monitor on my vitals. During contractions, they’d gone over breathing
techniques and how I should employ them as I pushed. At first, I hadn’t been paying much attention,
but I guess my brain stored the information somewhere because the second I began pushing, all of
their tips rushed to the surface.
Pain, so much pain that it shouldn’t have been possible, drilled it’s way through my body, carving a path
that ended at the junction where my legs met. My own voice rang in my ears, loud and shrill, higher
than I’d ever heard it before.
“Fuck, I’d kill for some painkillers.” I cried out, but it was useless. Morphine and epidurals were meant
for humans, not werewolves.
In any other situation, I would’ve forced my magic into reality, carving my pain out of existence, but
since bing pregnant my magic had been…wonky, to say the least.
Asher, doing what he could, attempted to distract me.
“Do you still think it’s a girl?” He asked.
We hadn’t gone through with a gender reveal. Both of us wanted to be surprised.
Gritting my teeth, I answered with utmost certainty. “It is.”
The lights in the hospital room began to flicker. Within seconds, the nurses started chittering nervously,
their eyes flitting to the corners of the room. In the midst of the agony of my daughter wing her way
into the world, I noticed the shadows that had slithered into view.
They clung to the outskirts of the room, very much visible as they closed in.
Their attention wasn’t on me, but on the sharp squeal that came from between my legs as I pushed one
final time and forced our child into the world.
“She’s so beautiful.” Breyona hupped; her cheeks red as tears streamed down her face. “She has
your hair, L. A full head of it.”
“It’s a girl?” I gasped, locking eyes with Asher.
My mate stared at the small bundle swathed in a little pink nket with nothing short of awe, his eyes
glossy and flecked with brilliant gold.
The doctor cradled our daughter, the future of our pack, in her arms before passing her over to a nurse.
My heart stuttered as I reached out for my daughter, but before I could utter amand, the doctor
was once again in between my legs.
A sharp sh of pain split my stomach in two, traveling down, down, down. It felt like a contraction,
only worse. That wasn’t possible, though. It couldn’t be. The shadows hadn’t left yet. They were still
there, creeping closer as they watched with silent interest.
“Oh, fuck. What’s happening?” I cried out, frantically looking Breyona and Holly.
Holly’s face paled as she stood behind the doctor, peeking over her shoulder. When Breyona joined
her, I thought my friend might faint.
“Oh my goddess…” Breyona gasped.
Holly’s eyes flickered up to my own.
You’re not done yet, L. There’s anothering.” 1
Seconds and minutes bled into one cacophony of pain. Voices merged into one, drowned out by the
screams that I still couldn’t quite believe wereing from me. It could’ve been hours that passed for
all I knew.
When a second wail hit the air, I waspletely void of energy, fighting sleep. with every breath I
forced from my lungs.
The shadows had retreated to the corners of the room, whispering in feverish voices that I only
managed to catch snippets of.
The doctor raised her head, her eyes watering as a smile graced her lips.
“Congrattion’s, Alpha and Luna. It’s a boy.”