13 years later....,
Thanksgiving Day....,
"I always love hearing you tell that story, Mom." Ambrosia smiled at me, hopping down from the kitchen counter where she'd been perched while I cooked and told them the story of my life. Adam was at the stove helping with one of my dishes while Andrew sat on his laptop, listening but working on something.
"We all do, Mom." Andrew assured me, looking up.
It was so hard to look at them and realize that they weren't babies anymore. They had each grown to be around my height but the boys seemed to grow an inch everyday. Everyday they were getting closer and closer to turning fifteen which, in my mind, meant they were closer and closer to being adults and finding mates..., and settling down themselves into a hopefully happy life. Seeing children grow like that..., it's a journey preserved for the strong. Everyday the triplets come up with new ways to make me wanna give them each two chops to the throat. Yet with every passing day, I love them more and more.
"Andrew, can you kindly go find your siblings and bring them in here so I can give them the annual lecture before people start showing up?" I asked but he knew it wasn't a question.., it was a order. Without complaint, he went off to do as I asked. "And you," I slapped Ambrosia's leg softly. "Help your brother with the food. Adam, honey, tell her what to do."
"Yes, ma'am." They both grinned. Ambrosia gave me a kiss on the cheek before moving to her brother who she playfully bumped with her hip. I grinned at them.
After the dust settled and our land officially became the royal city, Jasper and I settled into being king and queen surprisingly well and people accepted us much easier than I expected. I was sure it was partially because we got through all the piled up complaints in a little under two years and set up a working system so that everybody got their chance to plead their case.
Between being the queen, a luna, a mother, and a wife, I was blessed to finish school and pass my professional exam to get my license. I used my degree to be the best queen I could be and I got lucky that people seemed to love me just as much, if not sometimes more than, they loved Jasper. Nobody could love me the way Jasper loved me though and the same could be said about me loving him. No matter how many arguments we had and how much time we had to spend apart sometimes, we agreed to never go to bed angry and to always put each other first..., and that's what we did. So much so that I popped out a few more kids after the triplets.
When the triplets were five, I had our son, Jackson. Two years after Jackson, I ended up having a set of twins, Leigh-Anne and Jasmine. After the twins, I had told Jasper that my baby making days were running thin and that we should be careful. Just two months after that talk, I ended up pregnant again and we had little Holden, named after Jasper's grandfather. After Holden, we had been okay with having no more children.
"They're coming, Mom." Andrew came back and sat down at his laptop again. Seconds later, my remaining children came in. Jackson, being eight and the oldest among the younger siblings that had been called, stepped forward.
"Mom, I already told them to all behave. Uncle Jake told me to help you out when he went to go talk to Dad. Also, Kelsey, Sasha, Ingrid, and Daphne are waiting for us outside. Uncle Jason is going to watch us play." He ran through his sentences.
"You didn't tell me your uncles were here." I looked at my triplets.
"My bad. I thought you knew." Andrew shrugged. "Aunt Grace and Dreya are outside, getting ready to come in. I think they were waiting for the whole group to get here. Uncle Olly, Harper, and Cory haven't arrived with their wives yet." He typed away.
"What are you doing over there?" I asked.
"I'm trying to learn to code. Uncle Jason taught me a bit but I'm trying to get really good." He answered, glancing up at me sheepishly.
"Why didn't you ask me?" I asked. "I've never hidden my past from you so you know what I can do."
"Yeah but I kinda wanna figure it out myself. The same way Adam wanted to figure out cooking and Brosia wanted to figure out combat strategies. We all have our thing and we have enough of you and dad in us to make us independent." He told me.
"Fair enough." I nodded. "And, knowing your father, he's probably told all of you not to stress me out or something stupid like that." I shook my head. "Alright," I looked at me younger children. "You guys can go play but don't get into trouble. I mean it. I will be on you like white on rice if any of you even breathe wrong. After the paint stunt you pulled last week at school, I should lock you all up and throw away the key." I scowled. "Go on now." I showed them.
"Mom, it was just a prank." Adam chuckled. "The teachers eventually got the paint and glue out of their hair. They used a semi-safe paint thinner."
"And they agreed to not press charges." Ambrosia pointed out. "I count that as a win." I rolled my eyes at them.
"Who's not pressing charges?" Jasper strode into the room, coming to my side. He kissed my cheek, placing his hand on my belly.
Oh yeah, I forgot to mention. After Holden, we held strong for almost four years without any new babies but..., here I was, standing in the kitchen on Thanksgiving.., nine months pregnant. The saving grace was that our oldest were old enough and responsible enough to help out, all of the kids were officially school age with the youngest being in pre-K, and we had a big family that supported one another.
"Nothing, honey." I told him. "It was just idle talk. Oh." I clutched my stomach as a pain went through and Jasper looked worried. "I'm fine. It's false labor pains. Believe me, after popping out seven kids, I know when the eighth is ready to come out." I gave his cheek a pat.
"So, Mom, do you see more younger siblings for us?" Andrew smirked.
"Hell no." I answered immediately. "I love you guys but I think eight of the magic number for us." I told them. "Honey, go tell Grace and Dreya to get in here. I'm almost done prepping stuff. Everything is going into the oven and will be cooked soon. I already know they can't cook and that's why they're stalling."
"Babe, they can cook. They just can't cook like you do, especially not from scratch. You like making people fall in love when you cook, they just cook to eat." He joked. "You get somewhere and sit down soon." He chastised me. "You kids, make sure she sits down."
"Yes, sir." The triplets answered in that unison way that I found creepy when my brothers did it..., still a little creepy on my kids.
"Mom, everything's in the oven. We have to let stuff cook." Adam told me. "You can go sit down now. I can watch it for a few hours."
"Fine." I sighed, whipping my hands and grabbing my phone. "I'm setting an alarm and I'll come check on all this in a while. I'm going upstairs to get cleaned up." I told them, stepping to kiss their foreheads as I left. "Let me know when Grandpa and Grandma get here too." I called to them over my shoulder.
Now, the problem with pregnant women who've been up on their feet all day preparing food to be cooked for Thanksgiving dinner is that, when they sit for more than two minutes, sleep takes over. I hadn't even realized I was asleep until my alarm blared, scaring me so much I almost wet myself. I stretched and clamored up to find my way downstairs, taking the elevator instead of the stair.
I found the triplets still in the kitchen, sitting at the bar talking. When I walked in, they smiled.
"We've been checking on everything. We think it's almost done." Adam said and I opened the large over to see.
"It's not almost done, it is done." I told them, starting to pull stuff out. "And in good time too." I grinned. "Once this gets settled enough to eat, it'll be right at dinner time."
Andrew rushed to help me get stuff out of the oven. A sharp pain pierced my belly as I was taking the cornbread out and I nearly dropped the pain but I caught myself and set it down. Taking a deep breath, I put the finishing touches on the food.
"Alright. Let me get myself presentable for dinner. You three do the same. We look like we've been cooking all day." I grinned.
They rushed off to get dressed and I followed at a much slower pace. Getting dressed took me a little extra time too but, when I got back downstairs, the large table had been set and the food had been laid out.
"Thank you, guys." I grinned at my eldest children. "I don't know what I would do without you." I kissed them each. "Go let everybody know that it's time, please."
"Got it." Ambrosia said and ran off.
"Come on, Mom." Andrew said. "Let's get you seated." He took my hand and helped me to my chair.
"You guys, I'm pregnant, not dying." I grumbled and Adam and Andrew just laughed.
Their little laugh sounded so much like their father's it was almost uncanny. The only real difference was the pitch. Since they were still a bit young, their voices hadn't gotten as deep as it would probably get, considering their genes.
Seconds after I sat down, the room filled up. My parents came in with Jasper's, followed by Jasper's siblings and mine. Cory, Harper, and Oliver came in with their families, stopping by me to give me a soft kiss on the cheek. Over the years, they had all be the best of friends and allies would could have. Even though they all had feelings for me at one time, they found their mates and had a beautiful life with them.
Sometimes, I could still catch them watching me as they did before finding their mates but even I could still look at each of them and appreciate their greatness. Each was so powerful and admittedly attractive that they could easily be seen as the ones that got away in anybody's eyes. For them, sometimes it seemed like I was that for them. Despite that though, their mates loved me and it was known everywhere that their packs had the ear of the king and queen. They were slightly favored by Jasper and I.
After the guys came our guards who were off for the day. Despite my insistence that we could let every guard off, it was decided that only some could have the day off. So, after the main dinner, I had plates ready to be made to take out to them and sit with them while they eat and spend a few moments enjoying the holiday. Julius was going with me and Jasper as a cover for all of the guards that would be eating. After all the years since Edgar's death, Julius became one of our greatest guards and he was completely loyal to Jasper and me.
We sentenced Felicity to two years in the dungeon with a possibility of early release. She ended up only spending a year down there. The first thing she did was marry Julius and, within three months, she was carrying their first child. Surprisingly, she became a teacher for our local school and she was adored by all of her students. Keeping her and Julius around has proven to be an amazing choice.
The last person to come in was my handsome husband, striding in with such an air of confidence and authority that my body hummed. Even as pregnant as I was, my body responded to his presence. My love for him had not faded and it never would. It continued to grow and it was evident to the world, especially through our children. Jasper walked to the head of the table and gave me a kiss before turning to our family and friends.
"Thank you all for coming." He smiled. "It's always a beautiful occasion when family and friends get together. We should all remember to be thankful for everything we have in life because it could all be gone in an instant. I'm thankful for you all. My parents. My friends. My children. And most of all, my beautiful wife who makes everyday of my life better just by existing." He looked down at me and I took his hand, kissing the back of it. "Now, we should thank the queen for this lovely dinner which she insisted on getting in the kitchen and cooking despite having a kitchen crew and her being very pregnant." He continued and I slapped his leg. "Without further adieu, and further abuse from my wife, my father has volunteered to bless the food and we can dig in. Thank you all again for coming and being a part of this day with us." He gestured for his dad and sat down.
I bowed my head for prayer and my stomach clenched. My hand flew to my stomach to try to rub away the sharp pain but another pain soon followed, piercing my body. In the middle of the prayer, I couldn't help but cry out and everyone turned to me.
"It's okay." I panted. "I'm okay. Just having some pains." I said just as another one hit. "Okay, not okay. I remember these pains. Get the pack doctor and get me to the infirmary. Apparently this baby wants out now."
There was a beat of no activity then the room erupted and people started running around. Jasper picked me up, as if I couldn't walk on my own, and rushed me to the infirmary. He had me in a hospital gown in no time.
"Calm down. Dang, you're more up in arms than I am and I'm the one about to push a human being out of my body." I said to Jasper. "Make sure they get the food cleared and put into plates for everyone." I told him as another contraction hit.
"Fuck the food." He held my hand.
"Ugh! Fine!" I opened my mink link. "Put all the food into plates for everybody." I ordered anyone on the link.
"Hello, Luna." The pack doctor came in. "It's about that time, huh?" He grinned. "Let's take a look." He moved to see my dilation levels.
Five hours, eighteen minutes and forty-four seconds, I spent in labor. Finally, Alexander was born and we were holding him in our arms.
"Worth it?" Jasper whispered as we looked down at Alex.
"Worth it. But I think this'll be the last one." I chuckled, looking over at him. He had climbed into bed with me. "I love you."
"I love you too. Let's get our family in here to meet the newest member." He grinned, calling for them to come in.
As the room filled and everybody got a moment to meet Alex, I looked at the faces of the most important people in my life. Having all of them had been worth every experience I ever went through. Being blamed for my parents kidnap, running away, becoming the Blood Drip Wolf, getting rejected then accepted and mated, having my triplets, defeating Edgar and Bethany..., everything led me to that moment, surrounded by love. Alexander laid in my arms, oblivious to how much love he would have in his life. As I kissed his forehead, I could imagine him growing just as his siblings had and it was a beautiful thought. And to think, it all started with pain and now it was ending with love, the love forged in the fire of our struggles.
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Hey everybody,
It's done. This book and series is finally over. I loved every second of writing this and I hope you guys loved every second of reading it. I loved seeing your comments and can't wait to read more of them. You guys are so amazing and I can't describe how grateful I am to all of you for letting me into your lives to tell you a story or two. Please be sure to check out my other stories and follow me. Thank you again!
Xoxo,
Estrellastar96