© Amber Kalkes 2015
Song———}
"Generation Landslide" By Alice Cooper
*T W E N T Y – S E V E N *
"Are you ready?"
Wren turns around and glares at me from her position at the bottom of the stairs. She's dressed in a pair of black yoga pants, a black Ramones t-shirt that obviously belongs to Jack and a black skullcap on her head. She looks so irritated I almost have to laugh because the reason is just ridiculous. What did she expect with only a month until the baby is born? Of course we were going to a baby store to stock her up with essentials!
"I have never been less excited for anything in my entire life." She mutters as she takes a bite of the grape flavored Popsicle in her hand.
"Get over it." I tell her with an eye roll, "You need things and I told you about this trip a week ago. You've had time to mentally prepare."
She shrugs, "I thought I would come up with an excuse by now."
"Well you didn't so say goodbye to Jack while I go get Mary from wherever the hell she is."
Wren's face goes from irritated to all knowing in five seconds flat, "Oh I'm sure she's somewhere around here."
I arch a brow, "Meaning?"
Wren shrugs and starts heading for the stairs with a clearly fake innocents about her, "You know how it is with these kids these days, Ruth. If I were you though I'd check the entertainment room."
"The what?"
"Down the hall, third door on the right." She says with a dismissive wave as she climbs back up the stairs still feasting on her frozen treat. I glance at her belly, my goddess it's gotten huge. She looks nearly seven months pregnant now!
Shaking my head I start for the entertainment room, which I've never even heard of before a moment ago, to find Mary. I actually haven't really explored the mansion much. I've preferred to stay in our room most of the two months we've been here mostly due to my own nerves. I haven't had a lot of mingling time with the pack members and the ones I have run into don't think much of me. I don't really blame them. Some woman claiming to be a witch just comes in, steals their Beta and worms her way into being friends with the Alpha? Not cool. So for their comfort and my own I've been sticking mostly to myself.
When I'm outside the room Wren pointed me to I pause. The door is closed mostly but there's a crack of space between the door and the frame. Through it I can see two figures. One obviously being my sister and the other being some guy I've never seen before. I cross my arms across my chest and just watch the two before Mary suddenly launches herself at the guy and starts kissing him. That's when I decide to step in. Pushing open the door I throw him away from Mary with a wave of my hand causing him to hit a couch with a grunt.
"What the hell!" Mary yells, her lips all red from her make out session.
I point at her and narrow my eyes, "No. You do not get to ask me 'what the hell'. That is my question. So enlighten me Mary, what the hell?"
She stands up straighter but her cheeks redden, "I didn't do anything wrong."
"Well what about Jake or Jim or whatever his name is? I thought you were dating him."
"Jared." She says lowly, hesitantly glancing at the guy, "And we broke up."
"When?"
"Uh, about an hour ago."
I snort a laugh, "Well you sure do move on fast."
"It's not like that." She whines as she runs a hand through her hair, "He was being a dick and acting weird so I asked some friends of mine from back home what was up."
"And?"
"Diana said she saw him making out with Hannah McGrath at some party."
I relax my stance a little when I see the tears rimming her hazel eyes, "Okay, so he cheated on you and you broke up with his worthless ass. I get that. What I don't get is how this guy ends up in the mix."
The guy in question is on his feet and I get a good look at him. He's older than Mary but obviously younger than me, maybe in his late teens at the most. His dark brown hair is buzzed down giving full view of his crooked nose and brown eyes. He has the grace to look an embarrassed but it doesn't stop him from sneaking adoring glances in my sister's direction. I let out a groan as I realize what this means and feel a headache coming on.
"How long?" I ask while staring at the ceiling.
Mary doesn't seem to get it but the guy catches on quick, "Since I had to take her to town."
"Wait, what's going on?" Mary asks, still confused.
I put my hands on my hips and nod towards the guy, "Remember what I told you about mates?"
She frowns, "Yeah? So?"
I just give her that look. The look that says 'piece it together idiot'. Both her mate and I watch her face as it dawns on her. She snaps her head in his direction as she stares wide-eyed at him with both shock and I think a little fear. I drop my hands from my hips and approach her as slowly as I can before taking one of her hands in mine.
"Mary." I call softly, making her look up at me reluctantly, "Honey, this isn't a bad thing. To be honest I'm glad you have someone who can be everything you need and want. Some people search their whole lives for something like this. And..."
"Kyle." The guy supplies with alarm written all over his face.
"Yes, Kyle won't force you to do anything you're not ready for, right?"
Kyle nods quickly, "I would never force you."
"See?" I ask, trying to catch her eyes, "All the time in the world. It's overwhelming, I know that but you have to be open to all possibilities."
Mary's eyes are shifting around as she processes. I feel my heart clench when I see a tear roll down her face. She's scared, goddess who wouldn't be scared to find your soul mate at such a young age. Hell I found Brandon in my early twenties and the whole thing felt insane. Grabbing her chin I make her look me in the eyes as I speak because she has to know that this isn't the end.
"Mary, you have time." I tell her softly, "But don't throw away the only chance you and this boy could have at true companionship and love."
"I...I don't—"
"Just ask for time, Mare, that's all you need and that's exactly what he wants to give you."
She searches my face, "He won't be mad?"
"With you? Never for long."
"Mate bond?"
I smile as I let out a small and relieved laugh while nodding, "Mate bond."
"Okay." She whispers, "Time, I can do that."
I wipe away her tears and kiss her cheek, "Good now go tell him before he has a heart attack. I'll be in the entry with Wren. You sure you still want come with?"
She scoffs before sniffling, "Are you kidding? I'm not missing the big tough Alpha in a room bathed in pastels and snooty sales women."
"Fair enough." I nod, "Just be honest and open minded with him. He's just as scared as you are."
She nods and I take that as my sign to leave. Turning away from her I narrow my eyes on Kyle who looks like he's holding himself back from interfering. Pointing a single finger at him I keep my voice low and calm.
"You felt what I did just did to you. You hurt her in any way and you won't survive that without missing some limbs. You understand?"
"Y-Yes ma'am."
Giving him one last warning glare I leave the room. I hear some murmurs from the room as I leave but I don't actively listen. I can't really do much about Mary's decisions. I've given her all the best advice I can and that's all anyone can really do in a situation like this. We all have our own paths to follow.
When I make my way back to the front of the house again Wren's already there smirking at me, "Find everyone okay?"
"A little warning would have been nice."
Wren laughs before pouting, "But that would have ruined all the fun."
"You're an ass." I mutter.
Now she really starts laughing hard.
"I thought that was your pet name for me."
"What is this grand central station?" I grumble before turning to face Brandon whose looking far too amused as he stands on the staircase, "Did you know?"
He lifts a brow, "About?"
"Mary and Kyle."
"Kyle?" Brandon asks Wren, "Kyle Jones? As in got punched in the face by you Kyle? As in almost got kicked out of the pack Kyle?"
Wren smirks, "One in the very same."
"Whoa, he almost kicked out of the pack?" I ask with wide eyes, "For what?"
"He made a poor choice but he's earned my trust back over the last six months. He's one of my top enforcers now." Wren enlightens me as she casually inspects the tips her nails. Peeking up at me she shrugs, "I wouldn't worry too much about him fucking this up. Besides it's not just you he has to answer to."
"So what exactly are you two doing?" Brandon asks.
"Five" I correct quickly, thinking of the two enforcers Jack insisted us bringing, before raising my voice. "If Mary can stop sticking her tongue down her boyfriends throat and get out here!"
Mary comes running into view with her cheeks red and her lips swollen all over again. I roll my eyes as both Brandon and Wren laugh. Kyle follows a few seconds after with a much slower paced walk but just as embarrassed looking. I have to say I'm kind of enjoying this. It's not often that I have something to tease Mary about and as an older sister I have to take those opportunities when I can.
"So happy you could join us." I grin at her.
She scowls at me, "Shut up."
"So what are you doing?" Brandon asks again.
"Baby shopping."
Both of his eyebrows raise at this before turning to Wren, "And they didn't have to hog tie you?"
"Can't hog-tie a pregnant lady." Mary quips, "I looked it up."
"That and it has to be done sooner or later. This an Alpha baby, not a bundle of shirts, its not going to sleeping in a drawer." I add with a pointed look at Wren.
She glares back at me, "What? I said I'd go and I'm here so stop looking at me like that."
"Is that an Alpha order?" I ask innocently.
She gives me a threatening look, "Do you want it to be?"
"Doesn't matter." I shrug before smiling at her, "Wouldn't work on me anyway."
"Lucky you." She grumbles while stomping her way towards the front door, "Lets get this shit over and finished."
Brandon comes down and gives me a kiss on the temple, "Good luck with that one and make sure you keep with Declan and Brian."
"Yes, sir. Anything else sir?"
He smirks at my dry tone before lowering his lips to my ear, "Yeah, get something sexy for yourself."
I push him away with a dirty look, "Be gone from me pervert. I'm going baby shopping not making a baby shopping."
He winks at me, "Be safe."
*
"What the hell is this?"
I look at the pink and yellow striped baby sling in Wrens hands and try to contain my laughter. She just looks so disgusted as she eyes the yellow ducks patterned on it that it's hard. When I don't answer right away she looks at me and all my laughter dies in my throat. She looks so lost and hopeless I let out a sigh and decide to take pity on her.
"It's a baby sling. Its for you to hold them to your chest."
"And they just stay there?" She asks, studying the label on it, "Wont they suffocate all tucked into my boobs like that."
I bite my lip to stop another laugh, "No. You just angle their face away so they can breathe. Its more for if you need to use your hands."
With a frown Wren drops the sling and moves over to the next thing on the shelf with an even more horrified look, "What is this? It looks like that dick pump in Austin Powers. Why would this be in a baby store?"
I see a woman in the same aisle as us shift away from us with a dirty look in Wren's direction. I want to roll my eyes at the woman but refrain. Honestly what is the issue? She said dick for goddess sake. Its not like she screamed 'penis' in your face while waving one in front of you.
"It's a breast pump."
All I get is a blank look.
"For breast milk. To feed the baby breast milk if you're into that."
"Oh." She mumbles, "Do I have to do that?"
"No. You can do formula."
"Is that better or worse for the kid?"
"That's debatable." I admit with a tilting motion of my hand, "Lets just say no one grew any shittier of a person for drinking formula."
"Oh." She says again as she slowly puts the breast pump back on the shelf.
"You haven't done any research have you?" I sigh.
Wren runs a hand through her shaggy unstyled mohawk while chewing on her lower lip, "No. I mean I tried but I came across one of those birthing videos." She stops and shudders in disgust, "It was all really gross. This woman just squeezed this alien looking creature out of your body. It was all covered in blood and guts. Looked more like a horror movie then any miracle of life."
"Yeah but I hear the rewards are worth it."
"What rewards?" She snorts.
"Unconditional love." I answer simply with a shrug as I look at the bottle selection, "Its gross, yes but once its done you have this beautiful little person that's made of you and the person you love. Goddess knows it won't be easy for you guys and your going to hate it as much as love it at first but I'll pay off. Besides you'll have lots of help."
I finish my little speech and look over at Wren to see there are tears in her eyes. I'm about to ask what's wrong when she grabs me and pulls me into a hug. I don't know what to do at first. I'm pretty sure this is just the hormones talking right now for her but after a few seconds I wrap my arms around her too. She cries for a few minutes into my shoulders before something happens.
The baby kicks.
I feel it kick against my upper stomach through Wren's and pull back to gape at her belly, "Holy shit."
"Yeah."
"Does it do that a lot?"
Wren sighs tiredly, "All damn night every damn night. That's why I'm up as often as I am. The only thing that seems to settle it down is if I eat something. I guess it doesn't like going to be hungry or something."
I reach out to touch her belly before retracting my hand, "Can I?"
"Sure, why not." She says with a shrug before grabbing my hand to put on her belly.
I close my eyes and move my hand against the curvature of her pregnant belly. It's hard but yet smooth at the same time through the fabric of her t-shirt. That's when I feel it. It's not a kick like I expected but something else, something warm and calming. It's definitely the baby. I can feel its energy even through all the stuff between us. It's a unique mixture of Wren and Jack, fire and ice.
Then I notice something else and smile.
"What?" Wren asks dubiously.
"You have a very healthy baby in there." I tell her with a grin, "Want to know the gender?"
Wren's eyes double in size, "You can tell?"
"I can."
"Well what is it?" She demands when I don't elaborate.
"You don't want to wait for Jack?"
"Hell no!" She nearly yells making a few eyes land on us but she doesn't seem to notice them.
"Well congratulations, Wren, you have yourself a strong baby girl."
Wren stares at me blankly before throwing her head back and groaning, "Oh fuck me."
I can't help but grin. Yeah, if she's anything like her mom she's going be all kinds of trouble. But as the Nadine likes to say 'The goddess only gives us what we can handle'. Looking at Wren though I'm glad she has the help. Goddess knows she'll need it.
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So now we know the baby's gender and its apparently going to have a very unique temperament. I'm really sorry about the wait guys and I can't promise it won't happen again. I have a lot on my plate lately so if the updates seem a bit sluggish it really can't be helped. I'm trying to balance it all but sometimes we all need a little break, you know? Okay, I'll stop whining.
What did you think?
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