Ansel
Ever since I came back to the palace, everything had been calm. Eerily calm. Now, two months later and nearly all the way through my pregnancy, things had still been calm. No sign of an attack from Alpha Blake's kingdom.
We were getting restless. Greyson was getting increasingly more protective of me. On edge because of the fear that his father might come and kill me and our pup. Because Greyson was on edge, Rumi was as well. Frightened of the unknown future of us and our kingdom.
Greyson walks up to me, pulling me into a hug. Well, as much of a hug he could get with my huge belly blocking the way. I kiss Greyson, trailing my hands down his hips and onto the waistband of his pants.
"Oh, no no no," Greyson says, taking a step away from me. "I told you Ansel, no sex until after the pup is born."
"Why not," I whine. "I need you, Greyson. I need some type of release because I am dying on the inside from lack of touch down there!"
"No, Ansel. It is weird. Do you not think it is weird? There is a pup inside you right now. And if I were to have sex with you I would be sticking my private area into a place where your pup is going to be pushed out of soon. And it could hurt her! And if I were to release, then it would travel up and touch the pup and that is disgusting!"
"Greyson you are overthinking this. The pup is not going to get hurt by your penis. You are not that big, do not flatter yourself. And you can just pull out. Problem solved. Now can you please just stick it in me?"
"No!" The look on Greyson's face is priceless. His eyes wide and jaw slackened. He thinks I am crazy for even suggesting having sex while I am pregnant.
"But Rumi and I do it all the time! You and I have only done it once! And then Rumi made a stupid joke about sex and pregnancy and now you won't even touch me sexually. A man has needs, Greyson. Mates are supposed to fulfill those carnal desires."
"I think we need to do something about our horny little mate," Rumi says coming up behind me, smirking slyly at Greyson.
"Absolutely not!"
"Fine... How about we come up with a name for our princess? She should be here in three weeks' time. She should come into this world with a name."
Rumi guides me and Greyson to our bed. He situates me between Greyson and himself. Both my mates place their hands over my belly. The pup kicks against their hands. Rumi pulls the covers over us and leans his head against mine.
"My father told me he enjoyed laying with my mother and discussing names for me when she was pregnant," Rumi says, eyes looking distant.
I cuddle close to both my mates and move to a more comfortable position.
"Collin still refuses to meet my father. All that he wishes to do is talk to Collin and get to know him. I hoped he would agree. But Collin is being stubborn."
"I am sure he will come around eventually," Greyson says. "But for now let us focus on our pup."
We talk for hours and hours. Testing out all different kinds of names on our tongues. Trying to find the perfect name for our daughter.
"What about Adela? Princess Adela. Very fitting for royalty, no?" I suggest.
"I like it," Greyson says. "Adela..."
"So we have a definite name for her?" Rumi asks.
"Yes. Princess Adela." The pup-Adela- kicks at my hand that lays upon my belly. I giggle, rubbing at the tiny foot pressed up against my womb. "I think she likes her name."
"It is settled, then," Rumi says. "Princess Adela."
"I cannot wait to meet her," Greyson says, placing his hand over mine.
"We have an eternity to get to know her," I reply.
"False eternity," Rumi says. "Werewolves may have immortality but most of us die of illness and in times of war many are killed. Nobody lives forever. Eventually, all things come to an end."
"I never understood how it worked. Why do some people look really old when we are younger but different when we are all grown up?" Greyson asks.
"It is so children do not know they can be immortal. Children can be reckless if they know that they have a chance of living forever. They would do dangerous activities that could get them killed if they are not careful. They are more susceptible to death because they do not know right from wrong. They cannot make a good decision yet. So we wait until they are older to tell them. It is when we see people for who they really are. That is why Rumi saw his father as an old man with grey hair. His mind and the inner wolf would not allow him to see the real thing so he would not think that people never age and live forever," I explain.
"I feel like I learn something new every day when I am with you two. My father never taught me anything. I saw him very rarely and when I did he would take me to do fun things. Now that I look back, he refrained from telling me anything personal about himself of the kingdom. I do not think he trusted me ever with anything."
"Let's not talk about him now," I say. All of a sudden I double over when I get a queasy feeling in the pit of my stomach. I felt sickly and trapped. I needed to get up.
"I think I am going to go for a walk. Alone, please. I just need to stretch my legs."
My mates sit up, on high alert both looking as if they would jump to their feet and follow me wherever I went.
"I will be fine. Stay here and I will be back in about an hour or two. And if I get held up somewhere I will link you. Okay?"
Rumi takes a deep breath. "Okay," he says.
Greyson nods as well, laying back onto the pillows.
"Thank you."
I stand and make my way out of our bedchamber.
I walk down the long hallway, finding myself in front of the bedchamber I had set up for Tabari and Akio when they first arrived at the palace. I knock softly, knowing that Collin would be with them.
Sure enough, Collin answers the door. He smiles when he sees me. Collin and I had gotten increasingly closer as the months passed. I was happy that I was able to call him my friend.
"Ansel! I was just playing with the boys, would you like to join us? We are making little dolls with the fabrics I bought from the market."
"Of course," I say, following Collin into the room.
The wallpaper in the room was a soft maroon color. Everything else in the room was either a maroon color or the dark brown or the wood. Chests filled with toys and clothes were stationed along one wall in the room. Different colored fabrics and needles and thread are strewn across the room.
Tabari and Akio sit in the corner of the room on small pillows. Tabari, showing Akio how to safely and properly feed the thread through the eye of the needle.
"Hello, boys," I say. Tabari and Akio's heads snap up at the sound of my voice.
"Hello Uncle Ansel," Akio exclaims.
"Hi," Tabari whispers, looking down as his cheeks flush. What a shy boy...
"What brings you here?" Collin asks me while he clears off a space for me on the floor. I sit down on the pillow he places down for me.
"Goddess, you are heavily pregnant but you do not need any help from the looks of it. I am barely even showing yet and I am already feeling the effects of my pregnancy."
"Have you tried to see the gender?"
"A boy," Collin says rubbing his tummy. "No names yet. Not even one. We will get there eventually. Only Tabari and Akio know. I have yet to tell Keir. I want to surprise him when I am past my first trimester so I am sure that I will not lose the pup. It is safer that way. Goddess forbid, that I lose the pup."
"We just decided on a name before I came here. Adela."
"Such a beautiful name," he says.
"Thank you."
"So as I was saying before...what brings you here?"
"I needed some time alone. I love my mates I really do, but they can be so overbearing sometimes. Especially now that I am pregnant. They want to do everything for me and have me sit in a bed all day and do nothing. I, on the other hand, want to move freely within the palace walls. It felt nice to lay between them today in the beginning but then I started to feel cramped. I needed some air. I do not know why the feeling came over me so suddenly but it did and I had to leave."
"I understand that. Sometimes I feel the need to be by myself for a little while." I watch Collin carefully stitch up the final ends to the doll, pulling the two pieces of fabric together with a small tug.
Collin smiles at his work. A small doll made with a softer fabric that I recognize. Imported from the most upper North Kingdom. The doll has on a white shirt with matching white pants. Gold trimming lines the edges of the doll in swirling floral patterns. The doll has deep curly brown wool hair that looks soft to the touch. Two small greenish-brown buttons are sewn in for the eyes. I realize that the doll is supposed to look like Tabari.
I notice another doll by Collin's feet. The doll is smaller than the other. Deep blue clothes are fitted onto the doll. The hair was made of curly black wool. The eyes, a deep blue. One of the doll's little legs was pointed outwards and curved. Akio.
"What are the boys trying to make?"
"Their father," Collin answers. "We have had a couple of injuries already from getting pricked by the needles. But they bounce right back. Akio is almost done sewing one of the legs. Tabari is a quick learner. He probably has most everything done by now."
"May I make one with you? Will you teach me? I can pay you back for the materials I use while making a doll, I promise."
"Oh Ansel, you do not need to pay me. If the fabrics are being used then it is good enough for me. They are not going to waste away in a box somewhere. What pattern would you like to learn? Anything specific you had in mind?"
"I want to make a doll for my daughter. So she will have one when she is born."
"Alright. Here are a needle and thread. Try to feed the thread through the needle. If you have trouble doing it, I can help you. I will teach you a simple but effective pattern for making a perfect doll."
"Thank you, Collin."
"Mhmm..."
I watch as Collin's small hands fly over the materials, grabbing fabrics and a bag full of different colored wool.
I will learn from Collin so when Adela is older I can teach her to make dolls.
"Actually, Collin? Do you have any animal patterns?"
Collin's face brightens.
"Oh, Goddess! We can make little puppies! And I have little ribbons that we can tie around the necks!"
I listen to Collin ramble on about his ideas on what I should incorporate into my doll.
I watch as Akio makes his first limb for the doll of his father. Collin exclaims his praises, lifting a squealing and giggling Akio into the air and hugging him. I saw the pride in Collin's eyes as he examined the little arm.
The arm was sewn improperly. Stuffing spilling out from little holes in the stitching. The arm was imperfect. But nonetheless, Collin smiles and kisses the boy's red-tinged cheek.
When I have my pup I hope I can be as much of a good mother as Collin is with Tabari and Akio. He is an amazing mother.
"Uncle Ansel," Akio exclaims, running up to me. He thrusts the little limb towards my face. I gasp, pulling the small boy into my arms.
"Did you make this yourself?! It is beautiful! You need to make a doll for me when you are finished with this one. You are an amazing seamstress, Akio!"
"Thank you, Uncle Ansel," Akio says, blushing again.
"May I see what you have done, Tabari?" Tabari nods, holding out two immaculately sewn legs and an arm.
"Oh, Tabari... You did such a wonderful job."
"Thank you, Uncle..." Tabari whispers.
"Are you ready to make your puppy, Ansel," Collin asks.
"Yes, I am ready."