ONE

Chapter 31

"He's beautiful. He's got your soft pink lips and cute little nose." Derek said in awe as everyone left us to be alone.

"He's perfect Derek." I said looking up at him -and what I thought I would see as hate ,regret or distaste in his eyes - was nothing but absolute love and affection. I now more than ever knew he was in this for the long run and that this baby's blood didn't matter. He was born into a royal family and will be raised in the royal family. And it brought me nothing but pure joy.

"Do you wanna hold him ?" I said handing him over to Derek as he took him carefully, as if he was afraid he would break him or something.

"Hi there." Derek said as he squirmed under Derek's touch , almost as if adjusting himself and being more at ease hearing his voice.

"I love you Derek." I said as his eyes switched between mine and the baby's.

"And I love you Elena. I love you , the baby , our new family..." he said getting all sentimental making me think back to how the old Derek never would've said something this sappy. But it just made me love him even more. A knock sounded from the door as Penny stepped in, hovering over the baby in Derek's arms.

"He's so precious. " she said cooing as Derek and I shared a proud parent look at eachother.

"I'm so sorry to interrupt you , but I need his information for his birth certificate. Have you settled on a name yet ?" She said pulling out a paper as I looked over at Derek.

"Go ahead. You deserve this." I said with a smile.

"You sure about this Elena ? It's a big decision. "

"I'm sure. I have complete faith in you Derek and I know you'll do right by our son by picking his name. " I said while a smile spread across his face. He then blew out a breath saying his name as if he's thought about this for months already. He sounded so proud and sure when he spoke it , and I immediately loved it.

"His name is Elliott George,  Lauder." He said sounding proud as my smile only grew.

"I love it." I said while Penny wrote it done with a big smile herself and Derek sat next to me on the bed , as we both looked at Elliott with so much joy it was impossible to put it in any other word than that.

For the longest time I've dreaded this day and what it would hold , but now all I have is relief and excitement for what our future together will hold. I needed no other reason than this moment to know Derek loved me and that we were perfect for eachother.

The first night as parents was an adjustment to say the least. I've heard people say that you get used to the no sleeping , but I've never imagined they meant that would exclude me. Or so it felt like. Derek tried to be helpful but I knew as king he had duties to attend to in the morning so he needed more sleep than I did , so I took most of the shifts.  When morning came  I oversaw breakfast , running on 4 hours of sleep . My tiredness would be an understatement at this point.

"You should go back to bed my love, I'll have someone take over your duties." Derek said , directing me back up stairs.

"But Elliott -"

"I'm sure Penny wouldn't mind looking after her nephew for a few hours. And I'll check up on him too." He said while I couldn't help but give in. He was right , he was always right.

"Thank you." I said placing a kiss to his lips before going into our bedroom . Sleep immediately over took me as it felt like it's been days since I last slept a wink , when in reality it's been less than 24 hours. Going into Elliott's nursery , I see Penny at the window swaying him gently while I admired them from afar.

"She's a natural. " Derek's voice appeared behind me as his arms wrapped around me , caging me against his chest.

"I think she'll make a great mother one day." I said as a giggle escaped Penny's lips as she turned around.

"I can hear you , you know ?"

"I'm so sorry , we didn't want to bother you. " I said walking up to her as Derek followed closely behind.

"That's okay. He's your son anyway." She said with another giggle before handing him over to me. He squirmed under my hold as he let out a big yawn, opening his eyes.

"Morning sleepy head." I said while he looked around the room.

"Hey bud." Derek said , taking his small hand in his. This was a picture perfect moment I wished someone could've captured.

"I'll just escort myself -"

"Penny wait up ." Derek said as she stopped in her tracks.

"How are you settling into your new room and routine?"

"My room is very nice thank you , and it's taking some getting used to not to take orders but to give them. I sometimes still wake up at 4am out of habit. But I'll get used to it , I'm sure." She said with a smile.

"I'm glad to hear that. Remember, you are a royal. And deserve nothing less than I do. Don't forget that." He said while she smiled , nod her head and left the room. She was so strong and put together , it made me wonder if she would've still turned out like this had she been raised a princess and if ... she would've gone down a completely different path...

I'm leaving it here ! Thank you so much for reading. What are your thoughts on his name ? Let me tell you , I had some trouble myself but I like the end result anyway. Remember to leave your thoughts in the comment section below. Until next time, keep howling my wolves 🐺❤