My Name is Not Cupcake

"Nova, wake up!" Minnie said loudly as she burst through the door. I groaned as Elias growled.

"Minnie," he warned sternly.

"Oh, come on, Eli. It's already noon and we have a lot to do before the ceremony. Starting with the dress," Minnie pouted.

"If she wants to sleep, let her sleep," Elias said. I sighed and sat up.

"I'm awake," I grumbled. Minnie smiled and pulled me out of the bed. She dragged me to the bathroom and closed the door behind me. Just in time, too. I felt the acid rise in my throat. I positioned myself over the toilet just as the bile bubbled out of my mouth. I coughed in between throwing up. The morning sickness hadn't been too bad. It was on and off so I guess I couldn't complain. I felt Elias' hand on my back.

"Are you okay?" he asked. I chuckled and went to the sink.

"Elias, we've been over this. It's just morning sickness," I said before I brushed my teeth. He kissed my cheek before Minnie took over. Elias started to back out of the bathroom. I rinsed my mouth and set my toothbrush back in its place. I shot him a warning look.

"You are not leaving me right now," I said. Elias hesitated but eventually stayed put.

"Make sure you wear a strapless bra and shave everything," she said. I blushed before she left the bathroom and I was left with Elias. I turned my glare on him.

"You were seriously about to leave?" I asked. He shrugged and moved closer to me.

"It looked like a girl thing," he said unsurely. I sighed and wrapped my arms around his neck, bringing him closer to me.

"You're not leaving me today," I said softly before I kissed him gently. His hands rested on my hips before he kissed my head.

"I'll be in the room," he gave in. I smiled lightly before he left the bathroom, closing the door behind him. I quickly got showered and ready for the day. Elias was waiting in the room as promised. He was already dressed and ready to go. He took my hand in his and we went down to meet Minnie. She dragged us into town to Anna's Tailor shop. I was fitted and asked a series of questions before we went to get me maternity clothes. Afterwards we stopped for a bite to eat. Elias was minding his p's and q's. He was gentle and cautious, as well he should have been.

"I'm getting tired," I said with a yawn. Minnie smiled knowingly.

"I remember when I was pregnant with Rhett. He is the best thing that's ever happened to me. Enjoy it while you can, Nova," she said. I found myself smiling slightly. It wasn't perfect, but I knew I would love this baby. "If you're up for it, maybe you could have Rhett for a few days to practice. You and Eli. Lord knows he'll need the practice," she joked.

"Minnie, I'm great with kids," he defended himself. I laughed.

"Yeah right. You couldn't even handle when we had Alana and Anya for a day," I pointed out. He pouted.

"That was different... plus, the ending wasn't quite as planned," he said vaguely. I remembered.

"Being good with kids and taking care of kids is completely different," Minnie said, coming to the rescue. "Lucky you have a sister-in-law with a baby," she said, pointing her fork at him before finishing her food. After we were done eating, we went back home. I went straight up to our room and collapsed on the bed. I sighed and draped my arm over my face. I felt the bed dip before my arm was removed from my face.

"I set up another appointment for us to find out the sex of the baby," Elias said before he kissed my cheek. He laid down next to me and held my hand in his. I sighed and closed my eyes.

"When?" I asked.

"Two days," he said. I chuckled.

"You're so impatient," I noted. "It doesn't matter anyway. I don't want to know," I said. He sat up and looked at me surprised.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"I want the gender of our baby to be a surprise... so it will be," I said.

"Nova, please, come on. I can't wait another six months to find out if we have an Alpha or a princess," he said. I chuckled and placed his hand on my stomach.

"One, I'm only two months pregnant, so it's more like seven months. Two, our child is going to be Alpha; regardless of the gender, so it doesn't really matter anyway," I explained. Elias sighed.

"Female Alpha, won't happen and never will," he said.

"You should have faith that our baby, whether be male or female, will be strong and confident enough to lead this pack and take on whatever life throws at them," I said. He hesitated before he smiled gently.

"You're incredible, you know?" he said. "Okay, fine. As much as it's going to kill me, we don't have to find out the gender of our baby just yet," he said.

"And?" I probed.

"I'll think about this whole 'girl Alpha' thing, but I'm pretty sure we're having a boy," he said. I smiled and pulled him into a deep kiss. He pulled away breathless and stared at me. "What was that for?" he asked. I only smiled.

"That was for listening to me," I joked. He smirked.

"I should listen to you more often," he said. I laughed and rolled onto my side.

"You should... goodnight, Elias," I said. He turned off the lights before getting into bed with me.

"Goodnight, cupcake. I love you," he replied. I drifted off the sleep with a smile on my face.

~

The next few weeks passed in a blur. The constant checkups with the doctor told us that the baby was perfectly healthy. I was officially three months pregnant. Minnie let us practice with Rhett, as promised. Elias needed all the help he could get. It was good. We were getting along fine and things were finally looking up for us. Before I knew it, it was time for the Luna ceremony.

Anna's Tailor shop made me a dress that was completely white. Because of the protruding belly, it had a high waist and flowed the rest of the way to my feet. Minnie had a cluster of girls do my hair and makeup. It was really unnecessary if you asked me, but no one ever asked. Plus, Minnie said the ceremony was tradition, and I wasn't trying to mess with tradition in this particular sense. Once I was done-up, Minnie led me to a clearing in the woods. It was surrounded by tikki torches. The people were barely visible in the glow of the fire. There were twinkle lights surrounding the pond at the edge of the clearing. Minnie led me to it. She didn't tell me much about the ceremony, just a summary. Elias was standing by the water and a priest was waiting for me in the water.

Elias smiled when he saw me. He gave me a quick kiss before he helped me into the water. The priest held onto me gently as he held a hand up to the pack.

"Tonight, we welcome Novalyn Moore as Luna of the Rigor Moon pack. Is there any reason why this woman should not be Luna?" the priest asked. It was silent for a moment before he continued. "Novalyn Moore, you have chosen to accept your role as leader, mother, and giver. You shall be of kind heart and pure spirit. Should you choose to accept it, you are agreeing to be the mother figure to the pack. You shall put the needs of the pack first and rule beside our Alpha with a kindred spirit and gentle hands. Do you accept?" he asked. I took a shaky breath.

"I, Novalyn Moore, of sound mind and free will, accept my role as Luna of the Rigor Moon pack," I recited. Minnie made sure I knew that part. The priest pinched my nose and submerged me under the water for a second before I resurfaced. Everyone cheered as Elias helped me out of the water. Elias wrapped me in a towel and kissed me gently.

"I'm proud of you, cupcake," he whispered to me. I felt myself smile. Elias was back as Alpha, I was Luna, and we were having a baby. Afterwards, there was a celebration. I was free to wear anything semiformal. Minnie dressed me in a simple, long, grey sundress, which I was grateful for. Heading back out to the party, I was stopped by Nolan. I smiled and hugged him.

"Nolan, what are you doing here?" I asked. He smiled back at me.

"Alpha Elias invited me to your Luna ceremony," he said. I felt hands reach around me to rest on my stomach and immediately knew whom it was. I smiled at Elias.

"You did that? You invited my brother?" I asked. Elias kissed my head.

"Yeah, I knew how much it would mean to you. Your dad, Alpha Peter, and his pup, Mason should be around here as well," he said. I turned in his arms and smiled at him as my eyes started to water.

"You did that for me? You're not mad still?" I asked softly. He cupped my face in his hands and kissed me gently.

"I would do anything for you, cupcake. Plus, I'm confident in us, and if I learned anything, it's that the more I try to rein you in, the wilder you want to be. I can't control you, I know that, so I'll give you what you want and hopefully that'll be enough to keep you here with me," he explained. I smiled as a happy tear ran down my cheek.

"Of course it's enough. It's always enough," I promised him. I kissed him gently before I turned back to Nolan.

"Let's go find dad," I suggested. Nolan cracked a smile and nodded.

"Of course," he said. We found Peter and Dad over near the refreshments. I gave them each a quick hug. I turned and was immediately brought into a hug. There was two sets of growling. I let go and smiled at him before Elias wrapped an arm around my waist.

"You're getting bigger," Mason said as he put his hand on my stomach. I chuckled and looked at my stomach as well. I forgot that the last time he saw me I wasn't showing at all.

"I am. I'm glad to see you here," I said honestly. He smiled and dropped his hand; a girl at his side immediately picked it up. She was pretty. She was as short as me. She had wavy scarlet hair and narrowed brown eyes. Her full pouty lips were pulled back over her elongated teeth as she growled at me. Mason looked at her and blushed.

"Oh, Nova, this is my mate, Jessica," he said. I smiled at her.

"Finally! It's nice to meet you, Jessica," I greeted her.

"Jessica, this is Luna of the Rigor Moon pack, and my best friend, Nova," he introduced me. Jessica stopped snarling and bowed her head respectfully.

"Luna... I apologize," she said. I only laughed.

"It's okay, really," I forgave her. Elias kissed my head and held my hand gently. I turned to Mason and smiled.

"I'm happy for you, Mason," I said honestly. My brother touched my stomach gently.

"Do you know if it's a girl or a boy yet?" he asked.

"We want it to be a surprise," I answered. Elias scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Okay, I want it to be a surprise," I chuckled.

"That doesn't surprise me," Nolan chuckled as he shook his head at me. The party was good. I met a lot of the pack members and it was good. The people were so nice. They all called me Luna and were very respectful. We partied until I couldn't party anymore. Elias was practically carrying me by the end of the night. I was determined to see the last person out. Mathias and Alexa stayed with us all night. Alexa touched my stomach gently.

"You've got a strong girl in there," Alexa said with a smile. I smiled along with her.

"I think so, too," I agreed with her. Elias rolled his eyes.

"Boy. He's going to be a strong Alpha," Elias said.

"Damn right," Mathias agreed.

"Matt," Alexa scolded him. Elias and Mathias only laughed together. It was a good family moment. Alexa took my hand and started leading me towards the house.

"Mom, where are you taking Nova?" Elias asked.

"To bed. This isn't healthy for a growing baby. Nova needs sleep," Alexa said. She took me upstairs without another word from Elias. She ran a bath for me and set up a nightgown on the bed. I soaked in the tub and washed up before I got dressed. Alexa rubbed oil over my stomach until I started dozing off. Elias came in the room and just got in the bed beside me. Alexa kissed my hand before she smiled at me.

"Get some sleep, my daughter. We'll catch up more later," Alexa said softly. Elias pulled me into his side. I had no problem curling into him as much as I could with my baby bump.

~

The next few months passed faster than I was ready for. Elias and I were practicing with Rhett. Elias was slowly getting the hang of it. My stomach was expanding more than I was expecting. I expanded all the way to eight months. Our little baby was growing so quickly and he or she was healthy and thriving. My stomach got so big that I couldn't see my feet standing up. I wobbled like a balloon, my feet were swollen, and I couldn't even sleep comfortably anymore. I was always tired and cranky. I got weirder food cravings and mood swings.

I wobbled down the stairs to the kitchen to grab a bite to eat. I opened the fridge and grabbed a banana with some hot sauce...

Yeah, the cravings were that weird.

"Hey beautiful," Elias said as he entered the kitchen and kissed my cheek. I felt my lip tremble as my eyes watered. I burst out in tears. Elias frowned and quickly pulled me into a hug. "Oh crap, Nova, what's wrong? Is it the baby?" he asked. I sobbed as I nodded.

"I'm fat and swollen and you just lied to me to make me feel good... You must really love me," I cried. Elias hesitated before he chuckled and kissed my head. I cried against his chest for no reason at all.

And there go the mood swings...

"You are more beautiful than ever, cupcake. I'm not lying," he chuckled. Elias chuckled while I cried. He laid me down on the couch as he began to rub my feet with a smile ghosting his lips.

"It's not funny!" I glared at him through my tears. He couldn't help but to laugh.

"I know, honey," he smiled. I huffed a breath before I sniffled and wiped my cheeks. Alexa and Mathias walked into the house hand-in-hand. They frowned when they saw us.

"What's wrong?" Mathias asked immediately. Elias smirked at me before turning to his parents.

"She cried because she thought I was lying to her to make her feel better," he explained with a chuckled. A few more tears slipped out as I sniffled.

"He said I was beautiful," I cried in a small voice. Mathias and Alexa laughed as they sat at the other couch. Alexa held one of my hands in hers.

"Hormones?" she asked. I nodded before I turned and glared at Elias.

"This is your fault," I snapped at him. Elias only chuckled as he shook his head at me and continued to rub my feet. I finally calmed down and closed my eyes. Elias' parents talked with Elias while I relaxed. I felt an uncomfortable push in my lower regions before a flow of liquid escaped from between my legs. My eyes shot open as I tried to look at my crotch. I couldn't see over my stomach.

"What's happening?" I asked out loud. Elias' wide and shocked eyes met mine.

"Your water just broke," Alexa answered. My hands flew to my stomach.

"Oh no. No, it didn't. It couldn't have. I'm not ready yet! The baby isn't due for a few more weeks!" I said, trying to sit up.

"Let's get you upstairs," Elias said frantically. The pressure increased on my pelvis as I gripped the couch in pain.

"Hell no! Are you crazy? Take me to the hospital right now!" I yelled at him. Elias froze and looked at his parents before he looked at me.

"A homebirth isn't that bad, Nova. I heard it was actually better because you'll be more comfortable in a place you recognize," Elias said. I glared at him.

"We're going... to a hospital," I practically growled at him.

"You two didn't discuss this before now?" Alexa asked bewildered.

"No!" we said simultaneously, never looking away from each other. I felt a contraction and held back the need to push as I grit my teeth. Elias froze and just scratched his head. Alexa huffed a breath and rolled her eyes as she helped me up.

"For heaven's sake, child. Now is not the time to ponder," she said as she helped me towards the door. I couldn't stand up all the way. I hunched over as I placed a hand on my back. I cried out as another contraction hit me.

"Now, let's go now," Mathias said urgently, snapping Elias out of it. We all piled into the truck and Mathias sped to the hospital.