Terra: An Origin Story ✔

A Moon Born

"Apa!" Ethan's childish voice greeted me as I visited my pack's homes. My first stop was at the home of my loyal Beta, Elias, and his family. His 2-year-old male pup was giving me a toothy grin, and he had his arms outstretched as he bounced up and down.

He squealed when I picked him up. I let his legs dangle on my shoulders as he balanced himself using my hair. With both hands supporting his legs, I continued my rounds, greeting each family and asking how they were. Ethan behaved the entire time, filling me with a mixture of joy and sadness. I'd always wanted pups, but I'd accepted the fact that Selena and I would never have children of our own.

Imagine my surprise when I came home to a pregnant wife. It was distant but I could hear it—heartbeats.

"Pups?" I asked, horrified. This pregnancy put my love in danger—it was unheard of and I was terrified for my wife and my unborn children. "Sel, I'm not so sure about this."

Her smile vanished. I groaned, hating to disappoint her.

"Why not?" she asked.

"I'm not sure if it's safe," I replied honestly.

With a heavy sigh, Selena stood up from the bed and tiptoed to me, cupping her hands around my face. "I assure you this pregnancy will succeed. It was in my dream. Ilwa tells me it will be."

I eyed her, unconvinced. I remembered that when we had met, she had told me that I had appeared in her dreams.

Placing my hands on top of hers, I leaned over and kissed her forehead. This was happening, this was real. To accept it, I needed all the details. "Okay, tell me about this dream. Why do you have this? Is this part of your magic?"

Selena nodded slowly. "Sometimes I can see things that will happen—but only things that will happen to me. If I was all-seeing then I would be the Oracle." She chuckled. "Anyway, just trust me, okay? We can do this. We can have pups of our own."

She was full of hope, and I didn't have the heart to discourage her. Instead, I gave her a soft kiss and she responded with a groan. Then I traced small kisses on the side of her jaw down her neck to her shoulder. I left her for a moment to remove my shirt. She smiled softly as her hands went for the flimsy straps of her silk dress and let it fall to the floor. I took a moment to admire all of her before I reclaimed her lips. 

We spent the whole night celebrating the new addition to our family.