We were discharged from the infirmary several hours after Owen's birth, sent back to our personal quarters to learn how to take care of this fragile little life with no loving family to help assure and guide us. Luckily, and to both of our surprise, we caught on rather quickly. It was true what they say, about motherly and fatherly instincts. Dean and I took to our roles in no time at all.
Several days went by with just the three of us holed up in our personal quarters, loving and cherishing our precious pup and feeling our hearts grow for each other as well. I adored the sight of Dean holding Owen or giving him a bottle, and I knew Dean had the same feelings watching me be a mother to his pup. Everything was warm, happy, and blissful.
But those several days passed quickly, and Dean needed to get back to his duties as Alpha. Not only that, but Owen still hadn't been formally introduced to the pack. The thought made me nervous, but I brushed it off, summing it up to normal motherly worry and protective instincts. I knew the pack was insanely excited to see their future Alpha, and that they too, would see that he was always protected until he was big and strong enough to hold his own.
And today was that day – Owen's introduction to Dark Root. Dean was to spend the day working in his office, catching up on everything that he'd missed and taking care of the tasks our Beta didn't have the authority to, and then there would be a formal, mandatory dinner in the dining hall to celebrate the arrival of not only the Alpha and Luna's pup, but the future Alpha of Dark Root.
I still had a couple more weeks of quality time with my sweet little man before I'd need to start gradually tending to my duties as Luna again. I tried so hard to savor every moment, but time seemed to fly by so fast.
In fact, it appeared I'd already spent the majority of the morning loving on my little man and admiring his sweet little face.
I quickly jumped up from the couch, careful not to jostle Owen around too much, and headed for the bedroom. I still needed to shower, get dressed, tend to my hair and makeup, and get Owen ready. All of this seemed to take ten times longer now that I had Owen to watch over and care for. I wouldn't change a thing, but it was definitely a huge adjustment.
I laid Owen in his bassinet, rolled it near the bathroom door, and made sure he seemed content before practically sprinting for the shower. I knew I only had a small window of time before Owen would likely begin crying for me, not wanting to be alone or away from his mother. I quickly washed my hair before smoothing in some conditioner to soak while I washed my body and started shaving my legs. About halfway through my first leg, Owen began to cry.
I jumped out of the shower, water dripping down my body, conditioner still in my hair, and shaving cream smeared on my legs, to soothe my sweet pup before sprinting for the shower once more, hoping I could at least wash out half the conditioner and shave up to my knee before he got fussy again.
Once everything was properly washed, rinsed, and shaved, I hopped out of the shower, wrapped a towel around my waist, and quickly went to the closet to pick out something nice to wear. I hurriedly shuffled through my assortment of dresses, trying to find the perfect one but also trying to move quickly before Owen needed me again. Once I was dressed, I could wrap him up and tie him onto me while I did my hair and makeup. He'd be much more content like that.
Before I made my selection, he began to cry again.
I sighed heavily, and immediately felt guilty for doing so, before running towards his bassinet to scoop him up once more. On my way over, I tripped and fell, nearly hitting my head on the floor, but luckily caught myself with my arms just in time.
Owen cried harder, hearing the loud, foreign sound of me falling. I tried to get up as quickly as I could, but I caught a glimpse of the clock in the midst of it – I'd already taken an hour and a half, and I wasn't even close to having us both ready.
The tears hit me out of nowhere, and I suddenly found myself curled in a ball on the floor, listening to the heartbreaking sound of my son crying for me.
I was already failing him. How could I give this perfect little human all the care he deserved when I could barely keep myself together, much less be a Luna on top of it all? My cries turned into sobs, and I just barely heard the front door burst open.
Heavy footsteps quickly made their way down the hallway, throwing open our bedroom door as if there was an emergency. Dean froze when his eyes landed on me in such pathetic shape – a crying mess on the floor while our precious son continued to wail. He was down by my side in an instant, checking me over for any injuries, confusion written all over his face.
It occurred to me then that he'd either felt my fall or my overwhelming emotions through our bond and had panicked.
Once he was sure I wasn't seriously injured, he pulled me into his arms and held me there on the floor as I continued to cry, "Audrey, what's the matter? What happened?"
I sniffled, attempting to both catch my breath and stop crying, "N-nothing...I mean, I tripped...but....Dean, I'm so terrible at this. I'm never going to be a good mother and Luna."
Dean's body tensed and he quickly stood up, bringing me to my feet with him. He turned me around, looking me dead in the eyes as he kept his grip on me, "Audrey, you listen to me, and you listen good," he started, his voice stern, but his eyes full of love for me.
"You're the most amazing person I know. You've been through more shit in your short life than anyone should have to deal with in a lifetime. You're an amazing mother, a wonderful mate, and a perfect Luna, despite all of your self-doubt. None of these things become easy overnight, but once you get the hang of it, I know you will handle it all flawlessly," Dean told me.
Miraculously, it seemed his speech also somehow soothed our little Owen, as his cries began to fade.
I sniffled again and nodded, loving that I had such a supportive mate who thought so highly of me. I never thought I'd have something like that.
"If you were feeling overwhelmed trying to care for Owen and get yourself ready, why didn't you tell me? I could've called for someone to come up and watch him for you," Dean questioned.
"I...I don't know. I'm his mother, I'm supposed to be able to handle him on my own," I answered.
Dean sighed heavily and pulled me to his chest, stroking my back lovingly as he held me, "Don't ever be afraid to ask for help, Audrey. We can't always do everything on our own, especially when it's new. Just wait until the first time you leave me alone to watch Owen – it'll probably be a disaster."
I laughed at his words, although it was likely true. Dean was proving to be a great father so far, but it was new to him and uncomfortable at times, especially given his upbringing with his father.
Dean chuckled lowly before leaning down to press a kiss to the top of my head, "Now that I'm here, you go ahead and finish getting ready. Owen and I will relax in the living room until it's time for us to get cleaned up too."
I looked up and smiled gratefully at my mate, my tears now fully dried. He may be a little rough around the edges, but his love for me and our son was undeniable.
He leaned down and planted a soft, sweet kiss on my lips before releasing me from his arms and stepping over to the bassinet to scoop up Owen. Dean smiled down at our little pup, his eyes lighting up ever so slightly, before turning around to walk out of the room.
My heart grew warm every time I saw the two of them together, giving me hope for the future – that our son would have a much better relationship with his father than Dean ever had with Archibald.
Now that I had some time to myself, I moved back to the closet to pick out the perfect dress for tonight's occasion before pulling it on over my head and then returning to the bathroom to tend to my hair and makeup – I hadn't really done much of either since having Owen.
I did my makeup first, applying some light-colored eyeshadow, a little bit of eyeliner, mascara, and a light coverage foundation. Once I was satisfied with my typical 'natural, but put-together' makeup look, I moved on to my hair.
I blow dried it, brushed it out, and then curled the ends before smoothing out any frizz with some products I'd acquired. I smiled at my reflection, finally feeling more like myself again. Although it'd only been a little over a week since I'd had Owen, it seemed like a rather long time of not getting cleaned up and looking presentable every day, especially since I'd just started getting used to life as a Luna.
Once I was fully satisfied with my appearance, I returned to the living room to take Owen from Dean so he could go shower and clean himself up. In the meantime, I'd feed Owen and get him ready as well. Although he was a tiny infant, I wanted him to at least have a cute outfit for his introduction to the pack.
I cradled Owen in one arm while heading back to the bedroom towards our dresser to sort through his clothing with my free hand. Dean passed by me to go shower, and for a moment I couldn't help but stop and smile about how natural this all felt – it just felt...right.
Soon enough, all three of us were ready for the big dinner. My stomach turned a bit, still nervous for this big event and feeling insanely protective over my son, but Dean squeezed my waist reassuringly as we made our way down the staircase.
When we entered the dining hall, I was immediately overwhelmed with the strong aroma of fresh cooked food, the loud, excited chatter of literally the entire pack, and the bright sparkle from the hundreds of decorations that'd been hung for the occasion.
The pack quickly quieted as they saw us enter the room, most of them straining their necks to try and catch a glimpse of the little Alpha I had bundled in my arms.
I smiled courteously as we passed by them and headed for our table at the front of the room. Since neither of us really had any family here, I'd expected to only see the Beta and his family seated at the table.
But there sat Trey and Brenna.
My smile grew instantly as a million questions formed in my mind. They were supposed to be there immediately after Owen was born, but something had come up and they had to cancel at last minute. Although I was disappointed, I didn't bother them about it afterwards. I knew well what life was like as an Alpha and Luna.
I tried to speed up my pace without being too obvious about it, but excitement quickly consumed me. Not only was I ecstatic to see them, but their appearance here in the dining hall on such a special occasion could mean only one thing – Dark Root had officially and publicly declared Tropic Sun as an ally.
My smile was as wide as it could possibly be as Dean and I took our seats at the center of the table next to Trey and Brenna. Trey's eyes locked onto Owen almost instantly, clearly in awe of his little nephew.
My first instinct was to pass Owen over for Trey and Brenna to hold him, but then I remembered the occasion and knew it'd have to wait. Dean would be introducing our son to the pack at any moment.
Before the omegas could begin serving dinner, Dean stood from our table and tapped his fork against his glass, causing a sharp ding to echo throughout the dining hall.
The pack immediately became silent, their full attention on their Alpha. They'd been anticipating this moment for months.
"Dark Root, thank you all for gathering with us today for the celebration and introduction of my son, your future Alpha, Owen Whittaker," Dean announced loudly before motioning for me to stand.
I slowly stood from my seat, not wanting to disturb Owen too much despite the circumstances. Once I was on my feet, I carefully unwrapped his blanket from around him, finally offering our pack a glimpse at their tiny Alpha.
Gasps were heard throughout the room, followed by excited chatter as the pack members finally saw him. A smile quickly formed on my face – I was so proud of this little creature Dean and I had created.
After several more seconds, Dean cleared his throat loudly, "Thank you all – now let dinner be served."
With that, the omegas trailed out with their platters, serving our table before moving on to the rest of the pack. Tonight, we were served a traditional meal of steak, potatoes, and vegetable soup that was thought to bring good fortune and strength to our future Alpha.
After taking several bites of my food, Owen began to stir in my arms. I looked down to see his little face becoming disgruntled, and immediately knew he'd start crying any second. He was either hungry, needed a diaper change, or both, and of course I hadn't thought to bring any of those things with me. It was just a dinner after all – who would've thought? Certainly not this brand-new mother.
"Owen is getting fussy. I'm going to go upstairs to change and feed him. I'll only be a minute," I mind-linked Dean, not wanting to cause too much of a disturbance.
"Do you need Brenna to come with you to help?" he asked, clearly still worried about my behavior earlier.
I smiled over at him reassuringly, "I'll be fine, I promise."
He nodded to me as I stood from the table, not wanting to draw too much attention to myself. Luckily, most of the pack members didn't seem too concerned as I crossed the dining hall towards the exit. Most of them had children, after all. They understood.
I quickly made my way across the first floor of the pack house towards the staircase, gently bouncing Owen in my arms and shushing him the whole way as he became increasingly more fussy.
Just as I was rounding the corner to the staircase, I felt large, rough hands wrap around my waist and yank me backwards towards the back hallway. I screamed, but only for a second before one of the hands was slapped over my mouth, muffling my cries for help.
I held Owen tightly to my chest, trying my hardest to form some kind of plan. I knew I had to protect my baby boy at all costs. I tried to use my legs to kick back, hoping to hit my captor in the kneecaps or groin, but managed to miss every time. He was too strong, and I was too worried about dropping Owen.
Just as I was about to try something else, I felt a warm breath on my ear, followed by a low, familiar chuckle.
"What are you doing out alone with the future Alpha, Luna?"
No...no no no. It couldn't be him, could it? He was supposed to be locked up. Dean was sure of it! And after my encounter with the witch, he'd doubled security!
"I did try to tell my son that there was no way you were capable of raising an Alpha, but he wouldn't listen," Archibald taunted.
"So, I guess I'll just have to take you out of the picture."
YAY! FINALLY! Ya'll, I am so, SO sorry for the huge delay in updates! I have SO much going on right now! As I've mentioned several times in announcements and in author's notes - I'm getting married in **a MONTH** so I have a ton on my plate! I also work a full-time job with hospital administration, so I feel like I've been behind on EVERYTHING lately - not just my stories! I'm very hopeful that I should be able to update much more frequently again after the wedding - at least once a week is my goal. Thank you all so much for your patience and understanding!
As you also should know, Audrey only has about 2-3 more chapters plus an Epilogue! How sad, but also exciting (because I'll be starting Luna Skylar!). Were any of you expecting this? Especially so close to the end? What do you think Archibald is going to do? As always - let me know your thoughts!
Please please continue to read, vote, and comment! I appreciate it all so much and I read pretty much every single comment (they come to my e-mail)! Also, make sure you're following me so you can easily find/get notifications when I give you all any updates about delays. And of course, in the meantime, check out my other stories if you haven't already!
xoxo ~V