My Eternal Mate

LYRA

"Five minutes and thirty seconds," Jaxon beamed at the small she-wolf, making the girl whimper in her wolf form, as she slowed her pace.

"She is fast, but there is no progress," I heard Evan comment by my side.

I frowned. "Her dream is to become a fighter," I reminded him, giving him a pointed look. "Perhaps running isn't her best, but we will access her again in a couple of weeks to determine the next step."

Jaxon strutted towards us in that moment, glancing at me and shaking his head. "Honestly, I get it," he told me. "But that wolf is putting herself under a lot of stress to reach these goals. At this point, I'm not sure if it's safe anymore."

I bit my lip, completely understanding where Jaxon was coming from. Training she-wolves could be quite upsetting, especially when they were like this one— petite and inexperienced. Her dream was to become a fighter, after she had watched her big brother fight.

She had been training for two weeks straight, showing slight improvement, but not enough to make me want to risk putting her on the front line. She had a lot more training to do, of course, but normally the two-week trial was enough to prove the skills of a wolf.

"I will speak to her," I told the pair of men, nodding for them to continue with training the rest of the wolves as I made my way towards the she-wolf in query. "Alyssa."

Alyssa, bowed her head, before she shifted back to her human form, standing before me completely nude. "Luna," she said, respectively.

"Come, sit down," I told her, walking towards the tree stump, and took a seat. Sighing, I eyed her as she stood beside me, not sitting out of respect. "I can appreciate all your efforts in the past two weeks."

Her brows twitched but her eyes remained on the floor, and I could see how my words were already affecting her. She was so young, only recently having turned eighteen and received her wolf not long ago.

"Please, Luna. Everyone keeps telling me that I am not good enough," she whimpered, tears falling from her eyes. "It's the only thing I want."

My heart ached for her, especially as I sat there, watching her as she cried silently.

"I can see how much this means to you," I promised her, reaching my hand out to comfort her. "You're so young, Alyssa. I don't want to kick you off the team, but you need more training."

"I will do everything I am asked," she quickly added, lifting her head to glance at me with pleading eyes. "I promise, I will never let you down."

"Alyssa, I'm not concerned because you aren't where I expect you to be," I told her, frowning. "Your safety matters to me and I have to make sure that you know how hard training is going to be. How time consuming and physically demanding it is."

Her eyes fixed back on the ground again, and she nodded. "I know. I have seen how hard Adrian works, but I can't imagine myself doing anything else, Luna."

I let my eyes rake over her body briefly, noticing that she was stronger than what the wolf gave her credit for. She was just young, and required a lot of training. I wanted to give her the chance, because her determination convinced me so.

"Fine," I told her. "Go along for now. If at any point, you feel overwhelmed, you will let me know right away. Okay?"

Her head lifted to look at me and I watched life return to her eyes as she nodded, frantically. "Thank you, Luna. I will never forget this. Thank you," she cried, bowing her head a couple of times before she disappeared, and shifted to her wolf before my eyes.

I sighed for a minute, wondering if there were any other wolves that I should have spoken to, in case they needed support but the ones that I trained all seemed to fit in and enjoy their training.

Placing my hands on either side of the tree stump, I was about to lift myself up, and managed half way, when I felt a sharp pain in my stomach, making me wince in pain.

Instantly, I pushed myself back down on the tree stump, and took a deep breath when my eyes widened at the sight of the red-ish liquid trailing down my leg.

'Alexander,' I tried to mind-link him, but my wolf's lack of attention meant the connection between my mate and I was weak.

It was almost like the connection was broken and I couldn't try get in touch with him. By this point, I was becoming slightly light headed, as the pain continued, and more liquid trickled down my leg.

"Jaxon," I muttered, in shock, panting slightly, as I eyed both my legs.

"Lyr, you alright?" I heard Jaxon ask, as he rushed over to me. He must have noticed the pool of blood forming by my legs, before he exhaled sharply. "Jesus, Lyr. You need a doctor."

"Call Alexander," I whimpered, already feeling tears form in my eyes as the pain radiating down my abdomen intensified, and I ended up crying out in pain, not seeming able to mind-link my mate.

My wolf was going wild inside of me, focused more on the pup than to communicate with me, leaving me in the dark as I cried in pain.

I must have been so crazily out of it, that when the doctor inserted a cannula in to my hand, I finally seemed aware of my surroundings. We were at the pack doctor clinic, with Jaxon by my side, worried.

"Alexander," I tried to whisper despite the pain consuming me, needing my mate to comfort me right now since I felt like I was dying. "Call Alexander."

"I have. He'll be here soon," Jaxon responded immediately, looking uncomfortable since he didn't know what to do. "What can I do for you?"

The doctor was uttering incoherent words, but the pain in my abdomen was my only focus, and I kept asking for Alexander, not understanding why he wasn't already here.

I was panting hard, feeling the pup kick in all directions, making me sigh in relief to know at least the pup was alright. I had searched enough about wolf pregnancies, and most wolves gave birth at two months; but I was only at 6 weeks. I had two more weeks yet to go. I couldn't be in labour.

As such, I wasn't sure what the hell was happening, until the doctor examined me and swallowed hard. He was about to speak when a familiar voice rang in my ears.

"Lyra."

Alexander's voice filled the entire place, making me whimper at his familiar voice, my wolf finally returning on her own at his presence. He rushed over to my side, and brushed my hair out of my face as he peppered kisses all over my face.

"Baby, breathe," he told me, gently, his eyes filled with concern, before he snapped his head to the doctor. "What is going on?"

"The Luna is in labour," the doctor said, sternly, preparing whatever tools he needed, making me frown.

"What? I still have two weeks," I cried loud, in horror, glancing at Alexander, worriedly.

My mate's jaw clenched before his eyes met mine and they softened. "Shh, baby. Let's try keep calm, alright? I am here."

"I tried to mind-link you," I told him, sobbing now.

Alexander held me firmly. "Alright, I know, baby. Just focus on the pup for now."

Tears flowed down my cheeks, and the pain continued to intensify. I wanted to respond back to Alexander, frightened to the core at how my body was responding to being in labour, when the sharpest pain radiated across my abdomen, making me scream out loudly.

Alexander held me close, peppered kisses and tried to comfort me. He would occasionally yell at the doctor to ease the pain that I was experiencing, but I seemed so out of it, my only focus was on the pup.

When my eyelids started to feel heavy, Alexander shook me awake. "Baby, you have to stay awake. Come on, a little longer," he urged, his voice unstable as he cupped my face to keep my focus on him. "Please, Lyra. You have to open your eyes for me, baby."

"Luna, I need you to push," I heard the doctor order. "One last push."

I wasn't sure what happened. I seemed so out of it and exhausted from how the pain had completely shattered my body, that when the low growls of an unfamiliar voice echoed in the room, I was completely shook.

"Baby, you did it," Alexander said, chuckling, his eyes filled with tears as he brought his face to peck at my lips. "My girl, you are amazing."

"The pup is here?" I asked, confused, feeling detached and confused at what had happened.

"Indeed," Alexander confirmed, a bright smile on his face as he kissed my head, before he manoeuvred around the bed.

A second later, he appeared with the small pup in his hands, making me immediately tear up again at the sight of him holding our pup.

"She is beautiful, like her mother," he told me, quickly glancing at me, grinning before his eyes travelled back on the pup in his hands. "Hello, gorgeous."

"She? Oh," I cried, feeling exhaustion completely consume me, as the thought of finally meeting our girl engulfed my mind.

Alexander placed our daughter in my arms, before he wrapped me in his arms and held me close. He placed kisses over my temple and chin, in attempt to comfort me.

"I love you," he murmured in to my neck, pecking my skin lightly. "You are incredible, Lyra."

I hummed in response, unable to verbally reply since sleep decided to engulf me in that exact moment, and I saw Alexander's frown before my eyes closed, as a deep slumber took over.