You Rejected Me. Remember?

Months passed by. The pack was stable and prosperous. The Dark Howl pack grew in power and size and Cassy couldn’t have been more proud of the pack she grew up in. After what the Red Wings pack had to go through, Cassy and Elliot made regular trips to the different provinces of the lycan kingdom and all the werewolf packs under them. They couldn’t afford history to repeat itself.

She and Elliot visited the Dark Howl pack with their kids during the school holidays. Their pups rushed to play together in the open ground in front of the packhouse while the adults bonded on the benches outside. They were chatting and joking around when Astrea, Kiara and Zelda ran back to their parents with complaints.

“Mommy! They aren’t letting us in!” Astrea complained to Calli. Zelda, who was roughly five years younger than her, puckered her lips as she buried her face in Cassy’s bosom. Kiara, who was about Zelda’s age ran into Amara’s arms.

“What happened?” Cassy asked, brushing Zelda’s soft, blond hair with her hand. Amara held her daughter as she waited for an answer.

“They locked the door of the treehouse and said that girls aren’t allowed inside,” it was Astrea who spoke, unhappy about what the boys had done.

Pursing their lips and clicking their tongues, the adults went to see what the issue was about. The younger couples also followed them.

When the adults went to the treehouse, the boys, Cassy’s son, Alexander and Nolan’s Leo had indeed locked the door of the treehouse, preventing the girls from entering.

“Leo?” Ava called her son. “I thought Astrea was your best friend,” she said and her son peeked out of the window on the treehouse.

“Yes. That’s when Xander isn’t here,” he stated, looking at his mother.

“That’s not very nice, Leo,” Ava placed her hands on her h**s, and knitted her eyebrows, showing that she didn’t approve of what they had done.

“Leo, open the door,” Nolan called.

“No!” A little voice replied.

Sighing, “Xander? Why aren’t you letting the girls in?” Cassy called her son and this time a little boy with deep grey eyes peered through the window.

“It’s boy’s time!” He stated. “We are playing boy’s games,” he innocently stated.

“But girls also would want to play, right?” Cassy replied.

“Girls not allowed!” Xander called and disappeared inside. Elliot was about to say something when Miles shrugged it away.

“Let them be. Maybe we can find something fun for the girls,” He suggested.

Cade raised an eyebrow and glanced at his niece.

“Okay, it’s girl’s ice cream time!” He said, loud enough for the boys to hear. “Let’s go!” He winked at Astrea, Kiara and Zelda.

“Yay!” The girls cheered as they ran after Cade to go inside. Hearing Cade, the two boys peeked out of the window.

“Hey! We also want ice cream!” Leo shouted and soon, both boys were hurrying down the steps. Everyone chuckled as they watched the boys dash inside after the girls. Shaking her head, Monica grinned and glanced at Celeste and Amelia, who were finding the kids amusing.

“Kids,” Celeste laughed.

“We better lend Cade a hand,” Elliot chuckled and glanced at the dads.

“Let’s go?” He gestured to them and soon, all the men were going in to help Cade handle the kids.

“Do you think they’ll survive?” Ava smirked as she watched the fathers jog inside. “All five of them together?” She chuckled.

“They’ll be fine. The pups aren’t babies anymore,” Calli laughed.

When they went inside, Zelda and Kiara were on the verge of tears because they both wanted the same bowl. Astrea was silently eating her ice cream and the boys were being impatient because their dads wouldn’t give them ice cream already.

After solving the dispute, the adults managed to have some time to themselves. The men chose to take their fishing rods and hang out near the river, while they tried to catch some fish while the ladies hung out indoors. The pups settled to watch some kids shows on the TV and for a change, the packhouse wasn’t noisy. The kids didn’t look like they were upset a short moment back while they sat side by side, laughing together at something they saw on the TV.

“Kids are funny,” Monica said, chuckling as they watched all five of them sit side by side, their eyes glued to the TV screen.

“Oh the joy of having kids,” Cassy sighed heavily and glanced at her.

Cassy studied Monica’s face. She seemed to have a different glow on her face, something she didn’t notice before. She inhaled deeply just to be sure. Monica’s scent seemed to have changed a bit. Perhaps she was right.

“Izzy? Are you thinking what I am thinking?” She asked her lycan.

“Yup, she is expecting,” came the reply, making her smirk.

“Speaking of kids, I think I notice something I didn’t before,” she commented and waited to see her reaction.

Monica stared at the Queen blankly. Her deadpan look told Cassy that she wasn’t aware of it yet.

Chuckling, “innocent girl,” she mumbled and glanced at Ava, Amara and Calli.

“Don’t you girls think that her scent had changed a bit?” She asked the ladies. Calli sniffed the air, smirking and so did Amara and Ava.

“Yeah. Girl? Are you hiding something?” Calli grinned.

Monica felt the palpitations of her heart increase. “What?” She managed to gasp.

Gulping, she contacted Asena.

“Hey, Asena? What are they saying?” She asked.

“Relax. We are fine,” Asena winked.

Grinning, Celeste stepped forward, placed her hand on Monica’s stomach and closed her eyes. After some time, her grin widened.

“Woman, you are pregnant,” she told her, taking Monica by surprise.

“What?”

Monica was undoubtedly surprised. She didn’t expect that to happen, at least not yet. But since they didn’t use contraception, she knew it was possible.

“Hey, you’ll be fine. I’m sure Cade will be super excited,” Calli caressed her shoulder.

Monica glanced at Calli who was grinning from ear to ear.

“I’m becoming an aunt!” She squealed and hugged Monica.

“Let’s surprise him?” Ava suggested.

“Yes! Surprise him!” Amelia chirped in.

The girls spent the rest of the time planning a good way to surprise Cade.

When the guys returned, the ladies were excited to play a game with them. After grumbling about being hungry, they followed Monica into the kitchen when they were told that they could have food after the little game.

“Okay, guess what I’m trying to tell you, okay?” She said.

Cade shrugged, and the others nodded. She opened the oven and showed a single bun inside it. The men glanced at each other, confused.

“What?” Miles asked.

“Wait? Do we have just one bun for dinner? That won’t be enough!” Cade exclaimed.

Monica glanced at the ladies and all of them burst out laughing.

Nolan frowned and looked around. “What is so funny? We are starving,” he stated.

“Wait,” Monica said, catching her breath. “Let’s try again,” she wheezed.

She once again opened the oven and showed the bun inside it.

“What do you think about this?” She asked them through her chuckles.

“What?” Irritated, Cade stepped forward and peeked in the oven. He took it and looked at his mate, bewildered.

“This is a bun! Just one bun! And there are…so many of us!” He complained.

Giggling, “babe….put it in the oven,” Monica said.

The ladies were bending over in laughter, and it only added to the men’s frustration.

“What?” Cade grimaced.

“Put the bun in the oven,” Monica shrugged, grinning at him.

“Fine!” Cade mumbled and opened the oven. “I’m putting the bun in the oven….”

Cade froze. Narrowing his eyes he glanced at Monica who was grinning from ear to ear. Her eyes glimmered in excitement as she looked into his piercing blue eyes.

“A bun in the oven?” He whispered, a smile forming on his lips.

Philip’s eyes widened.

“You are pregnant!!!???” He shouted out loud.

Monica nodded and Cade’s smile widened to a huge grin.

“Yes!” Cade punched the air and lept towards his mate. He lifted her in his arms elated by the joyful news he had received.

“We are becoming parents!” He laughed.

After congratulating the couple, they proceeded to have their dinner together. That night, as they slept, Cade watched his mate sleep for a long time. His gaze drifted towards her flat abdomen which would soon grow in size.

“Aspen, we are going to be a dad!” Cade expressed his excitement to his wolf.

“Yes! That we are!” He chuckled. Cade glanced at Monica’s face. She looked perfect. Little snores escaped as she slept. Sighing in contentment, he ran his tongue over his lips.

“I think I just fell in love all over again,” Cade mumbled, as his heart swelled in delight.

***

Months passed by. Monica gave birth to a healthy boy whom they named Ace. Soon after she gave birth, Celeste and Amelia too found out that they were expecting and both of them gave birth to boys.

The following years went by in peace. The vampire kingdom kept close relations with the werewolves after they helped restore the peace of their kingdom.

Nothing special happened until Leo and Astrea turned sixteen. Astrea shifted into a strong alpha female who resembled her father’s wolf, Adolphus. But the problem was, Leo didn’t shift. His wolf didn’t wake up and there was no sign of a wolf in him.

“Maybe he is a lycan,” Ava told her mate, Nolan. Both of them discussed the matter.

“Yeah, maybe,” Nolan agreed.

Ava pursed her lips. “Let’s send him to the kingdom to train?” She suggested. “Cassy will be delighted to have him there,” she said.

“Yeah, but what if…. I mean…. We aren’t sure if he is a lycan,” Nolan stated.

Sighing, Ava nodded. “But I think it is going to be fine. “We didn’t know I had a lycan until Nala woke up. Training him won’t hurt. It will do good,” she assured him.

He smiled and pulled her closer to him. “Did I tell you that I love you?” He smirked as he whispered.

Giggling, “about a million times?” She replied, smacking lightly on his chest.

“So we will send him, right?” Ava asked, hopefully.

“Hmm,” Nolan mumbled. “But I need you now. We will discuss that later,” he whispered into her ears.

***

“Be good and come back,” Astrea hugged Leo.

He was leaving to go to the lycanthrope Kingdom so that he could train.

“Of course,” he sighed. Their young hearts ached when they had to say goodbye. They had grown up together and never had been separated since day one.

As Astrea watched Leo climb into the car, her eyes welled up with tears. Her chest constricted and her throat tightened uncomfortably.

“I’ll miss you,” she whispered, fighting against the salty water that threatened to roll out of her tear ducts.

“I’ll miss you so much.”

End