Wildling

I gradually come out of the throws of sleep. My eyes open to the most beautiful sight. Ember’s sleeping on her back, propped up with a pillow as her hands hold her swollen belly protectively. Her mouth is slightly open, and she is snoring softly. I will never get over how utterly amazing she is. She is giving me a child, my own pup. It’s hard to believe a life is growing inside her right now. I can watch them grow and feel their movements. They react to my voice which makes both Ares and I swell with pride and love. I take the time to study Ember’s form. She has bags under her eyes from lack of sleep and looks exhausted but is still the most beautiful woman in my life. She alternates yelling at me for making her like this and yelling at her body for have to pee every two seconds. I’m not really looking forward to how painful labor will be for Ember, especially since I won’t be able to do much to help, but she has taken everything in stride. Whenever she does yell at me in frustration for being an incontinent balloon, the twinkle in her eyes gives away how truly happy she is to be able to have our pup. I wouldn’t change anything for the world.

She has officially gone through and hopefully finished the nesting stage. I’m currently drowning in throw pillows and fluffy blankets that ordinarily; Ember wouldn’t care about. She has scrubbed the entire house from top to bottom multiple times. As much as I tried to stop her, she would wake up in the middle of the night and do it anyway. According to her, “I don’t clean right.” How is there a right way to clean? Clean is clean.

I love just watching Ember when she’s not aware of me. I constantly catch her rubbing her bump while speaking softly to our pup, telling them of the outside world. I love the way she has to widen her legs, almost squatting, to bend over to get something. She has a cute little waddle now, which she claims makes her feel like a bloated penguin. I happen to love watching her waddle about the house rubbing our baby in her belly.

We don’t know the gender. We both decided to let it be a surprise. We could only ask that it be healthy. Personally, I want a little girl. Daddy’s princess who is the spitting image of her mom.

We have painted the nursery as a forest theme. Dark and light greens and browns. Trees grow on the walls and Ember did her best to paint little animals on the walls. Honestly, they look more like furry stick figures. She even painted Ares and Aoralia who looked like a drowned rat and a Pomeranian, respectively. (She hit me for that comment.)

I’m on cloud nine and can’t help but constantly put my arms around Ember, rubbing her stomach. Something about seeing your mate swollen with your pup just fills you with pride and makes you honestly a little horny. Up until now, Ember has been as sexually motivated as me. But now she is uncomfortable and swollen.

Her back has been hurting a lot and she sleeps fitfully, always trying to turn to a comfortable position. Her due date is any day now and we are busy making final preparations. My parents have gone a little out of control having their first grandchild to spoil. My mother has been amazing, cooking for us when we are to busy or tired and keeping Ember company when I’m gone. Ember always feels a little embarrassed in accepting help, but I can tell she secretly enjoys it too. She spent a large portion of her recent life alone. She thought all her family was gone. She loves having a family again. Alex still lives with us and has been coming out of his shell more, making friends. He will always make time for Hope though.

There was a time he was playing soccer with his friends and little Hope came running to him right in the middle of the game. He stopped everything and scooped her into his arms, giving her his full attention. His friends were irritated but he promptly shut them down. I’m proud of him for not giving in to peer pressure. He keeps his values and will be a great uncle to our child.

Ember began shifting next to me and pops up with a sudden gasp. I look at her wide eyed.

“Em? You ok?” She glances at me nodding.

“Yup. My water just broke.” I jump out of bed at her words.

“What?! Oh my god. We have to go to the clinic and meet the doctor. I have to-” I’m busy rushing around. Hopping into pants and struggling to put my clothes on quickly. I didn’t notice Ember just remained in bed calmly staring at me in amusement. “Ember let me help you get dressed. Did we pack a bag? Did we buy a car seat?” I ramble off my thoughts that are suddenly more panicked than I care to admit. I thought we were prepared but now I can’t even remember if I packed an overnight bag for Ember.

Ember struggles to sit up, swinging her legs over the bed and standing up. “Jax, baby calm down. We have plenty of time. The contractions are far enough apart, just take a deep breath.” She strokes my cheek, making me pause. I let out a deep exhale trying to calm myself. I need to be calm for her. She’s the one who has to push a baby from her vagina and she’s trying to calm me down.

We get to the clinic and the doctor is waiting along with Sean, Ash, Alex and my parents who are all bouncing around excitedly.

“Alright Ember let’s get you in a room and change into a gown.” The doctor ushers us into the room and gets Ember prepped with monitors and an IV for fluids. Then the waiting begins.

I hold Ember’s hand as she grips it tightly through ever contraction. I murmur soothing words of encouragement and affection telling her how proud I was of her. My amazing mate who is currently going through even more pain to bring our pup into the world. I don’t think I’ve ever admired someone more.

“Ahhhhhh!!!” Ember screams through an intense contraction. The baby has yet to make an appearance and if they don’t hurry up, I think I will have a broken hand soon.

“I think it’s coming!” Ember gasps out, sweat dripping from her forehead. I quickly link the doctor, who rushes back in to check her.

“Ok, the head is right there. That happened more quickly than I thought.” Ember glares at him. It has not been quick. She’s been in pain for hours.

I get on top of the bed and sit behind Ember. Wrapping my arms around her, I grasp her hands. “Just a bit more baby. You’re doing so well. I’m so proud of you.” I whisper into her ear as she bares down and begins pushing.

Ten minutes later, Ember collapses back into me as our pup slides from her body. A beautiful, newborn cry fills the air. I catch a glimpse of our baby as the doctor quickly cleans it off and wraps it in a yellow blanket.

“Congratulations! It’s a girl!” My heart soars and a grin lights up my face. The doctor places our baby girl in Ember’s arms. She smiles at her, looking down in adoration and love. My eyes mist over as I watch from behind Ember. Reaching around to graze my finger on my daughter’s cheek. Her eyes open and she gurgles at us. Ember let’s out a teary chuckle as she turns her head to look up at me. A tear slips from her eyes and I wipe it away, cupping her face. Leaning forward I press my lips to hers softly.

“Thank you for bringing our pup into this world.” She cries more at my words. I kiss her forehead and she leans against me. A few moments of blissful silence pass between us.

“So. Ready to get started on pup number two?” I grin at her horrified face. Little does she know I’m not exactly joking. I want more pups. As many as she wants to give me. I would see her swollen with my pups forever if I could.

She chuckles. ” Ask me in a few months.”

I can’t wait. We go back to gazing at our beautiful baby girl. Our little Sophia Rose.

A/N

The epilogue is still to come! I can’t believe it’s over.