Last chapter :)) hope you all have enjoyed reading this story because I've had fun writing it !!!
Sage's POV:
"Keep him away from me," Cameron growls, glaring at Ronaldo. "I'm not getting in that thing!"
Ronaldo scowls back at his mate.
A lot has changed between them in the last two months, but the only thing that seems to be consistent is their ability to bicker. Now, they're definitely falling in love, but Ronaldo is stubborn and Cameron is defiant and neither is willing to give in.
I'm leaning against Ashton, watching them bicker as my mate runs his hands up and down my belly. The pups will be here any day now and I cannot wait to no longer have them growing inside of me. Being pregnant isn't the worst thing ever, but it's definitely something that makes me feel useless.
"You're the one who didn't listen to me and decided to get covered in mud, Cameron!" Ronaldo grumbles, taking a step toward his mate, but Cameron is a quick little guy and manages to stay out of Ronaldo's grasp.
"It was a puddle! How am I supposed to resist jumping in a puddle?!"
Ronaldo fakes a movement and grabs Cameron's wrist, pulling the younger Alpha to his chest. "You need a bath. I don't think Alpha Sage appreciates the pack house having muddy footprints everywhere."
"Do you mind?" Cameron asks me.
I sit up, wincing as I do so. "No, but you're cleaning up all the muddy footprints on the floor."
He groans as Ronaldo scoops him up. "I don't want a bath," he whines.
"Too bad."
"You're so mean to me."
"I'm cleaning and doting upon my mate. Most wolves are happy when their mate does that."
Cameron drapes himself dramatically across Ronaldo's arms. "Oh, to have a loving mate..." he sighs, before peeking up and smirking at his lover.
"Fine, you can take a bath alone."
"Wait, no! I want you to cuddle with me and clean me," Cameron whines, leaning up to kiss Ronaldo's cheek. "And maybe help me mop up the mud that I left all over the floor?"
Ronaldo scoffs at his brat, but he kisses his forehead. "Maybe, if you behave," he murmurs, but I can hear it and I'm sure Ashton can, too, if his scoff says anything.
"Don't scoff at them, I say that to you sometimes."
"It's just makes me cringe when I hear them say it," he responds, kissing the back of my head and pressing his nose to my neck. "I can't wait to meet the babies..."
"Me either," I whisper.
Ashton continues to rub my belly, the gentle touch making me purr and lean further against him. "You just don't want to carry them around all by yourself and want to start training again," he jokes, because he knows my irritations with carrying the babies even though I love them.
"Yeah, looking like a blimp is not really appealing."
"You're a beautiful blimp."
I lay my head back and make eye contact with my mate, a smile growing on my lips. "If it was anyone else saying that, I'd probably cry," I say, pulling him closer and kissing his lips. "But because I know you, I know you're trying to be sweet and it's adorable."
"Baby, not everyone can pull off the blimp look."
"Yeah, I'm just special."
Ashton tilts his head back and laughs loudly. "Super special."
I'm so in love with this idiot.
Owen walks into the living room with Wyatt sleeping in his arms and sits down by my feet. "Ronaldo and Cameron need to know when to shut the fuck up. They're railing each other so loudly that they woke Wyatt up and he slept really bad last night."
"Their room is on a completely different floor," Ashton points out, his eyebrows furrowed.
Owen growls. "I'm aware."
"We'll ask them to keep it down," I offer and Owen smiles gratefully.
"Have you two chosen names for the puppies yet?" Owen asks, not daring to reach out for my belly because Ashton might try to bite his hand off.
I nod. "Yep. They're a surprise, though."
"I won't tell anyone," Owen promises.
"The surprise extends to everyone except myself and Ashton."
He pouts, but he doesn't stomp away or do anything childish because he's too busy cuddling his baby. Because I'm so close to having my babies, Ashton has taken time away from Alpha jobs so he can focus on me and our babies.
Which I appreciate, because without his comfort and encouragement, I don't know what I'd do. Probably just cry all the time and beg the moon goddess to get him to give me attention.
I cuddle further against Ashton's chest when the land line phone starts ringing.
"I have to answer that, angel," Ashton murmurs, kissing my neck and scooting away. "I'll be right back."
I whine childishly, but it doesn't dissuade him.
He answers the phone and hands it off to me a few seconds later. "It's your mom."
I take the phone, excited because I haven't heard from her in a couple of weeks. "Hi, mom!"
"Hey, sweetheart, how have you been?" she asks, and she sounds so refreshed and happier than when she was in the pack without my dad.
"Very pregnant," I mumble. "Ready to not be pregnant. Tired. Sore. All the fun baby making stuff."
She laughs. "Don't worry, honey, they'll be born soon and you'll get to have a whole new adventure."
"I look like a blimp."
"You'll miss carrying them. They don't cry when they're growing."
I chuckle. "I was not that bad of a baby, mom."
"No, but you did throw fits when you were little."
Ashton is listening in on the conversation and he sits back in his spot behind me. "You threw fits?" he asks, kissing along my neck.
"Don't act surprised, Ashton!" my mom calls over the phone, so I put it on speaker. "Your mate was quite the whiny child when he didn't get enough sleep!"
"He's still whiny when he can't cling to me at all hours of the day," Ashton responds, laughing to himself and getting a glare from me. "Not that I'd ever want to change a thing about you, love."
I slide away from him. "Fuck you, no more cuddles."
"Oh, Sage, be nice to your mate," mom says, and I just groan.
"I'm going to get something to eat," I grumble. "Mom, you can talk to my mate and give him some pointers or something."
Mom laughs. "Okay, sweetie, I'll tell your mate how to handle three babies."
"I love you!" Ashton calls to me as I walk away and open the fridge.
As soon as I open it, my appetite fades and I don't even feel hungry anymore, but I still want something to chew on. My lovely mate has gotten me to stop chewing on ice because it's not super nourishing apparently, so I have to choose a real snack.
I grab a bag of crackers when I feel a warm liquid trickle down my leg. For a second, I'm worried that I peed myself, but when I open the leg to my shorts, I see that the liquid is clear and the scent is different.
"Ashton?!" I call, grabbing the counter as I try not to panic.
Why am I panicking? This is expected, but I thought I'd be good for a couple more days.
"What is it, angel?" he asks, coming to the kitchen.
I grab the phone. "Love you, mom, but the babies are coming so I have to go."
"Stay calm, honey, it's going to be okay!" she says before I hang up.
Ashton looks at the floor. "Well, Cameron can mop that up, too," he says, scooping me up. "Let's go see Evelyn."
I'm too nervous to talk so I just force a smile.
Evelyn is already getting everything ready when we arrive and she has Ashton lay me down.
"Congratulations, Alpha, you're going to have your babies today," Evelyn says, grabbing some tools and handing Ashton a glass of water. "Get him to drink this."
Ashton has me drink the water and I do so while trying to calm down because I'm scared this is going to be really painful. Of course, I want this to happen because I wanna meet the little brats but I'm anxious that it's going to be really painful.
"You're okay, Sage," Ashton whispers, putting his hands on either side of my head and keeping my focus on him. "It's all going to be alright. The babies are healthy and we're going to hold them soon."
I sigh deeply, and my breathing is shakier than I want it to be, but I can't do much about that. "Yeah, okay," I whisper.
"This will go very quickly, don't worry," Evelyn assures me. "It won't be super painful, because I'm giving you a numbing ointment."
Ashton lets out a low growl. "Let me do that."
"Oh, relax or I'll have a breakdown," I say and he focuses his attention back on me. "Evelyn is helping me."
He mumbles something under his breath.
After Evelyn applies the numbing ointment, I kind of fade in and out, only coming into full consciousness when the pain gets worse and I hear my first baby scream loudly.
I fly back into awareness and try to look, but Ashton redirects my attention to the baby who hasn't been born yet.
"Hey, don't move yet, baby," Ashton whispers, kissing my forehead. "The first one is all good, we just have to focus on his little brother."
I chuckle. "They're twins," I correct him with a breathy laugh.
"You're almost there, Alpha Sage," Evelyn says, assisting to deliver the second baby, who starts screaming just as loud as his brother.
"Okay, just relax, everything went well," Ashton tells me, helping me sit up after he wipes me down to get all of the gross ointment stuff off of me. "You're doing great, baby, now just relax a little bit."
I scoff. "Sure, once I hold my babies."
"Love-"
"Ashton." I say it firmly and make direct eye contact with him. "I will be holding my babies before I relax. Okay?"
He sighs. "Okay, got it."
Evelyn and Ashton speak for a brief second before two bundles are handed to me, one in each of Ashton's arms. It kind of worries me that he's holding the babies like that and not one at a time, but I trust him and I know he'll take care of them.
"Here you go," Ashton whispers, handing me a baby with bright green eyes that look just like mine.
He has Ashton's hair, though.
The other has my hair and Ashton's eyes, but other than that they look identical.
"This one must be Alder," I whisper, kissing his forehead.
After a lot of discussion, we decided to name one after my father, and the other one after Liam. Two of the best people either of us have ever met.
"Yep, and we got baby Liam right here," Ashton says, cuddling the other baby in his arms. "We're going to be awesome parents."
"Ash, they've only been in this world for five minutes."
He shrugs. "I'm not a liar, angel," he says, kissing Liam's forehead and cuddling him. "I can't wait to get these brats home."
"Not even ten minutes and you're already bullying them."
"Because I love them. Obviously."
Within a few hours we're allowed to take them home, both of them given a perfect bill of health by Evelyn. The entire time home I'm frantic, trying to make sure they're alright but Ashton keeps reassuring me.
I don't know what I'd do without him.
When we finally get to our room, we both sit on the bed, each of us holding a pup.
"I feel like shit," I say, cuddling baby Liam against my chest.
"You just popped these massive brats out."
"Yeah, but I didn't think I'd feel this tired."
Ashton helps me lay on my side and lays my two quiet babies next to me. "Sleep, my love. I'll be here when you wake up."
I hum and close my eyes, falling asleep to the sound of my wonderful mate whispering loving words to our two children.