SWNOVELS Chapter 151 –
Saoirse's POV
One month later
It has been a month now since Asher was born. He is such a handsome baby, and looks like Jaxon made over. Being around Asher made me even more eager to meet our twins. I am much larger than Cara is, but it isn't just due to my being pregnant with twins. Dr. Gurin had told Cara that she would be pregnant much longer than her sisters, or I would. We are all pregnant with Alpha babies except Cara. It is known that Alpha heirs grow faster in the womb than in a normal werewolf pregnancy.
On her last doctor's visit, Cara was told that she would be having a human pregnancy. She was not happy that her pregnancy would last at least forty weeks. Cara was disappointed, as it would put her giving birth at least two months after Luna had her baby. I know Cara was a little frustrated by it, as she was pregnant before Luna. She has mentioned that fact several times to us, she has a cute baby bump, whereas I am almost immobile.
I felt huge, and my feet and ankles were so swollen. Yet, Robert still thinks I am beautiful. He loves wrapping his arms around me and lovingly stroking my stomach. He is so proud of the fact that I am carrying his pups. He tells me every day how happy he is, and our bond is stronger than it has ever been. The incident with Clay drove home to Robert how he almost lost me and our pups. As terrible as that day was, something positive came out. Robert makes sure that he tells me and shows me how important I am to him each day.
I didn't think I needed him to do that initially, but I got used to it quickly. According to Robert, words of affirmation are my love language. Robert had asked me a series of questions one day. He has been reading baby books and self-improvement books. He wants to be a better man for me, and the fact that he is still trying to do so months later makes my heart flutter with happiness. He is not just saying how important the babies and I are to him; he is showing us, too.
His love language is physical touch. He likes for me to be more intimate with him, but it is beyond purely physical intimacy. I automatically assumed sex, but that was not the case. Hugs, touches, and kisses are his favorite things. I now understand that was how Adra was with him, minus the kissing. She would touch or hug him as she sensed he needed it. It also returned to his childhood being the forgotten child for a while.
He had to help me with learning about this. I had known nothing about a love language at all. This was new to me, but if he needed it, I wanted to give it to him. James had been much more restrained around me than Robert was. James didn't like me to be affectionate with him in front of others. In hindsight, it showed that although he found me attractive, he didn't like the judgment of others in the pack. Any affection he ever gave me would have to be shown indoors, even a quick peck on the lips.
They all knew that he was sleeping with me, as I was pregnant with Cara, but I was still shunned. Some of that was because of Emily and all the mean rumors she spread about me. Thinking of her, I had to smile. She and her daughter Lisa had been found guilty by the Werewolf Council. Emily had stolen a lot of money from Kamaria, almost a million dollars. She was going to jail for ten years. That was going to hurt her. She was used to the finer things in life, and she had already been suffering for the last few months.
After Jaxon's insistence, the Werewolf Council spoke with Anton. They didn't believe that he could read minds and had put him to a test. He spent three hours answering their questions until he had convinced every last one of them that he could read their minds. They then brought Lisa in and questioned her. Anton was behind the glass in another room. He spoke in the earpiece of one of the Council Members. Lisa started out very cocky but ended up in tears.
She couldn't understand how they knew she was lying. She was angry and frustrated each time one of her lies was exposed. She finally exploded and asked, "Yeah, so what? I planned on doing it, but I hadn't done anything yet. Since I didn't carry it out, I haven't broken the law. Jaxon and Anton had been there for both interviews. Paxton infuriated with what Lisa planned for Kamaria, had told the Council every dirty thing he had on her. Starting from years previous. From the first year she was Luna, Lisa had been angry at Paxton, telling her she only had twenty thousand dollars in her shopping allowance. She decided to go around him. She went to the pack accountant and had another fifty thousand added to her card. So, for each trip she made on her bi-yearly shopping trips, Lisa spent much more than he authorized. The money had been taken from the pack's general fund. One that ensures that the food and electrical bills are appropriately paid. The packs use a lot of power, and those bills are high. The pack may make a lot of money with their businesses, but those incidents were not reported until Lisa was arrested. Each year, there was a deficit. The deficit was corrected with an infusion of money from former Alpha Hugi. They never realized what had caused it until the accountant told them after Lisa was arrested.
That got her on the radar for embezzlement as well. Although much less than her mother took over the years, three hundred thousand was a large amount of money after deliberating amongst themselves for three hours. The Council decided that both Lisa and her mother needed to each receive ten years. The majority of their decision against Lisa was based on testimony against her for abusing a member of her pack. There were a great number of pack members there to testify.
I had been surprised at Paxton leading the way on that. He admitted what he saw Lisa doing to Cara. He had the pack doctor come and testify to what Cara suffered, detailing her medical records. Although Cara was a witch, she was still a member of the Kamaria pack and, therefore, was supposed to be protected. I was proud that Paxton had finally pulled his head out of his ass and was doing better.
Jaxon had told us that Paxton had been allowed to visit the pack I told him his mate was living at, the Grey Stone Pack. She was the daughter of the Beta, named Danielle. She had a twin brother named Donny. Paxton still had no Beta, and their older brother held the title of Beta at Grey Stone. Paxton allowed Donny to come to Kamaria with Dani to make her feel calmer about the move. That had been two months ago.
Donny was now the current Beta for Kamaria and was doing an excellent job for the pack. Dani was pregnant, and Paxton looked relaxed and happy. Anton told me he quickly peered into Rex and Paxton's thoughts. Both had given up their former obsessions for Brenna and Cara. Both Paxton and Rex were entirely devoted to their mates, which gave Jaxon and Alexei a great deal of relief. They didn't want to be worried about them returning to try to take their mates from them ever again.
I sighed as I rolled over on my bed. I had been trying to nap for the last hour but couldn't. I have been drained lately and needed one, but I couldn't get comfortable. Tossing and turning, but still exhausted. I couldn't sleep as my back hurt. I was glad that Robert would be here in a little while. I needed him to rub my back. It has been hurting, a low continual ache in my lower back for over twelve hours. I was miserable, and in frustration, I got out of bed and headed downstairs to make some decaf tea. I needed something to soothe my nerves. My tea kettle sounded to let me know my water was boiling. I had just turned it off when I felt my feet were wet. I looked down to see that my water had just broke. I was a little stunned. My first instinct was to go upstairs and take a quick shower, but the pain that suddenly hit me told me that we didn't have a lot of time here. I linked Robert and told him to get to the pack hospital before linking Cara. I didn't hesitate and teleported myself to the hospital. They were surprised at my sudden appearance at the entrance to the hospital but got me into a wheelchair and paged Dr. Gurin. I just relaxed in bed, waiting for Cara and Robert to arrive.
I knew that Dr. Gurin would be pleased. He had noted every aspect of my pregnancy and was involved with Cara's pregnancy. There wasn't a lot of information on witches and their pregnancies. We usually stayed to ourselves, and at least eighty percent of the time, we were mated to other witches. So, it was rare for Dr. Gurin to have access to not just one but two witches. The fact that our pregnancies were so different was something that he was ecstatic about.
He spent a great deal of time writing in his notes. He is always very thorough with the questions he posed to us. He seems to care about the health and well-being of all species. Vampires are not always considered to be trustworthy, so I understood why he couldn't have a control group for pregnancies. They would always be suspicious of him and his questions. They would also be fearful and protective of their babies. I could understand that, but I trusted Dr. Gurin.
I read his mind. I knew he cared very deeply about the mothers and babies having a safe pregnancy. He is very focused on learning about other species, especially when a couple is going to have a hybrid. He is very focused on and spends a great deal of time with Cheryl and Anton's twins. He is still noting his findings in his notebook. I have to say that I find the twins fascinating as well. They have the strengths of both wolves and vampires. When they grow up, they will be very formidable.
I had been around them a lot when I was staying with Cheryl. I could tell some of the strengths they each had. Different but complementary to each other. The whole pack is interested in them, but I can tell that the twins usually stick with each other when playing. I could see that some of the pack children were jealous of them and made it clear they didn't want them there. It is understandable to envy others who have more gifts, but it's not the twin's fault. I can also sense some influence of the children's parents in there. I hate it for them, but no one has acted out yet.
If they are smart, they never will because, from what I have sensed, they will be very sorry if they cross them. The twins will not stand by and allow others to torment them. They get along now, but they will not allow the petty jealousy to continue when they get older. They are brilliant kids. I hope our twins are just as excellent as their aunt and uncle when they grow up.