1 month later
'stupid protective Lycan,' venue huffed angrily stuffing her 4th pancake in her mouth and chewing on it like she had all the time in the world,
it's like the man didn't even know what space was, he was always after her, heck this morning he decided he wanted to carry her down the stairs after Venus had grounded out a firm no, the stubborn lycan picked her up and sauntered down the staircase.
her angry outburst fell deaf on his ears, she was going to be round and fat in a week if this kept up, she was only two months along and he was acting like this, the thought of how he would be when she was a few months pregnant from now made her shudder.
The first few weeks were hectic with the checkups and always being careful but she had now learned to get used to it.
James and Sophia would visit every second day and they were also very protective of her, it wasn't only a friend thing but she was the luna carrying the future heir, so the protectiveness therein doubled.
'hey soph,' Venus said, hearing the front door open, even her senses had heightened, she could smell and hear people from even further distances now,
'V you need to stop doing that it freaks me out,' Sophia huffed,
'wheres my godchild,'
'she's with her nanny, Knox refused to leave her all morning I had to usher him out, it's funny seeing a big man so helplessly in love with her,'
'wheres James?'
'he said he w-' Sophia got cut off when James sauntered into the house, dramatically taking his sunglasses off he waved his hand in front of his face,
'Venus why is it so hot,'
'uhhh ... James honey I-I don't control the weather you know?'
'bitch you're carrying a miracle, I thought you'd have a few other tricks up your sleeve too,'
Sophia giggled at this and Venus rolled her eyes, she hadn't stopped hearing miracle jokes ever since that meeting they had a month ago, it's like he expected her to present him with unicorns shitting rainbows.
The day before they had decided to go to the orphanage and that's exactly what they did, finishing breakfast they drove there and spent the day there,
James would often visit Jack or take him out to ice cream with Gabriel,
While poppy had grown up since the last time they met and they all had a fun time, venus was careful with the games they would play and participated in softer games like passing the pillow, heads up and some board games, Dante had called a few times to check in on her and told her to be careful.
it was around 5 that they decided to return home, exhausted they decided to watch a movie, halfway through venus fell asleep.
hours later she left herself being picked up and taken somewhere, then being tucked into covers and a warm kiss on her forehead that made her smile sleepily and she fell into a deep slumber.
3 months later
It was the first time in her pregnancy that venus felt the pains, not the normal pregnancy cramps, it was the serious pains that elder Brahms warned them about.
Dante was sitting beside the bed that Venus lay on with his jaw clenched so hard she feared he would grind his molars into oblivion, waves of pain took over her leaving her sweating and trembling.
the pack doctor checked her vitals after every few seconds, this was the first time in her pregnancy that Dante was going to give his blood to her, a blood bag was ready, preparing the needle the doctor put it into her arm, and so it began.
Dante was beside her the whole time, after 2-3 hours when the blood bag emptied her pains subsided as well, it was around 1 am that the pack doctor left.
Dante gently wiped his little mate's forehead with a wet cloth, she looked tired and worn out but the strong smile he gave her told him she was going to be okay.
it was around 2 am that they both fell asleep after a long night, Venus cuddled up into her mate's arms sleeping fitfully against his chest.
The next morning was ... weird, Venus felt like her senses were way more heightened, even more from her usual pregnancy, she felt stronger too, probably because of the lycan blood, she thought.
Looking back a Dante who was blissfully asleep she gently pulled his arm from her waist and went to the washroom to shower and change.
she had a baby bump, it wasn't visible in sweatshirts and hoodies but you could tell in a tee or a fitted dress, Venus was already dreading having to wear those big stretchable leggings that heavily pregnant women wear.
like someone please make some fashionable clothes for pregnant mums, who doesn't want to look good?
so lost in her thoughts she didn't even feel Dante walking into the washroom and placing a kiss on her neck, turning around she gave him a peck and ushered him into the shower to freshen up while she dried her hair.
after having breakfast Dante went off to attend to some patrol problem while Venus attended to her luna duties, some houses needed repair because there had been a fire recently and a few houses had suffered damage.
Dante wouldn't let Venus do any work that would stress her out, she had to practically beg him just to help give her ideas in the repair work, he only agreed when Sophia agreed to assist as well.
a month and a half later
'breathe baby breathe,' Dante cajoled, while Venus screamed out her reply, sweat banding her forehead and tears streaming down her face.
it was the last month of her pregnancy and things were as worst as they could be, the last few months had been good but now, things were not okay at all.
the pack feared for their luna, she had become skin and bones, her energy was zero and she looked so pale it was as if death itself was lying beside her on those satin sheets,
a month ago when the drastic pains started the doctor warned Dante of what could happen or what was starting to happen, but Dante was lost, it was too late to save Venus from the baby.
they had to go through with the pregnancy and all the while when things looked their worst a few weeks ago, with Venus lying almost lifeless on their bed, the pack doctor and healer beside her, keeping track of her every movement or heartbeat,
fearing any second could be her last because of how bad her state was, that night Dante lashed out and cursed himself for putting that child in her and for letting her go through with everything.
She was getting weaker and weaker by the day, her lively brown eyes were now dull orbs, she barely had the energy to sit let alone walk,
Venus was restricted to the 4 walls in her room, Dante would have to carry her around mostly,
because of how things were she would get Dante's blood twice a day and the healer's strength potion that was very potent and should have only been given once a month, had now become something she would have every once a week,
the more the child inside her grew, the more it was wearing her out.
The unspoken fear loomed over everyone's heads every day, she could be gone any moment.
'it's going to be okay my love,' Dante cooed, whispering sweet nothings to her softly as he held her hand,
she had pains in her entire body, gut-wrenching pains that had her twisting in her mate hold, the blood bag attached to her arms, yet not once, not once had she said she had enough, she was fighting for the baby now.
James had completely shifted to their house since Venus always needed someone close by, a nurse was also assigned on a daily duty to make sure she was getting all the nutrition she needed along with the daily medications.
After her pain subsided the other occupants of the room left leaving their alpha and luna alone, she was in his arms, IV attached to her as Dante gently placed kisses all over her face,
'i love you so much,' Venus said weakly, placing a trembling hand on his jaw, gently tracing it,
'i love you so much more baby,' Dante whispered achingly, his throat felt clogged and tears stung his eyes but he couldn't cry in front of her,
she had been so so strong and he had to be strong for her, to make her believe everything would be okay even if it wasn't, his heart was aching so bad because he feared the loss of his mate, who was his everything, if anything happened to her, he'd die of grief.
'you're so handsome,' Venus whispered, smiling weakly
he didn't reply, he couldn't, his voice was stuck, if he spoke his voice would give away the tears he was trying to hide in the dark of the night,
'Dante, I wanted to talk to you about something,'
rapidly blinking away his tears he cleared his throat and replied,
'yes love what is it,'
she got quiet, looking down and playing with her fingers, a cute habit she had when she was nervous,
'I-I'
'tell me, baby,'
'it's pretty clear with how my health is, what's going t-to happen next ... and I want you to promise me something,'
Dante inhaled a sharp breath, hearing it from her that even she knew she might not make it broke him, it ripped at his heart in such a painful way, how?
how cruel was fate to give them something so beautiful but have it turn into a disaster, how can you love someone so much and then you're forced to make peace with the reality of them having to leave forever, how cruel was this life that you lose what you love the most.
'if it comes to choosing who to save, promise me, Dante, promise me you'll save o-our baby,' Venus begged, her voice cracked and the tears she had been holding back ran down her face heedlessly.
a loud growl emitted from within the deepest parts of his chest,
'No,' Dante grounded out, trying to keep his Lycan at bay who was threatening to rip out,
the thought of losing his mate and hearing it from her put him in a wild frenzy,
'no,' he repeated again, breathing heavily
'Dante please th-'
'that's enough Venus,' Dante cut her off, angry at her and himself for letting all this happen
'you are going to make it, do you hear me? you're going to make it or so help me god I'm going to destroy everything in my sight unless you want me to join you in the afterlife the second you decide to leave me,
I suggest you get the choosing thought out of your mind this instant, am i clear?' he grounded out, agitated over her thinking, how could she expect him to live without her?
sighing she slumped against his chest, too tired to even speak another word let alone argue with him.
2 weeks had passed since that incident, the air between the alpha and luna was tense but even a fool could tell they'd die for each other in a heartbeat,
when problems would arise they'd put their differences aside and be there for each other to the fullest, because that was what love meant, to hold onto each other even when the storm is at its loudest, threatening to rip them apart.
'i swear he's so dumb like its right behind you,' James screeched angrily
Venus giggled and continued to munch on her snacks while Sophia shook her head at them, they were watching a new show that Gabriel had suggested, and anything Gabriel suggests is always a must-watch,
'i feel like the girl is the killer for some reason,' Venus muttered, she was due in a week and today of all days she felt better,
she had the energy to sit at least and not feel like she was about to pass out every few minutes,
they were waiting for the healer to arrive to give Venus her potion, Dante, Knox, and Gabriel were in the room next to theirs discussing some private matters,
Sophia sat with grace in her arms who was cooing at her mother's feather-like kisses.
A while later healer Edna walked in, giving Venus her potion, thanking her she left saying she had some urgent matters to attend to.
'Add the pinch of that dust she gave before you pour it into the cup James,' Sophia called out
'coming,' James hollered from the kitchen, bringing the drink in a glass cup
'took you long enough,' Sophia teased and Venus laughed at the eye roll James gave
James placed the glass on the table and Venus got up to find the TV remote that had somehow got lost between the cushions,
she finally found it and picked it up to increase the volume when a searing pain hit her stomach and the remote slipped from between her fingers and crashed onto the floor,
the silence that followed suit didn't last long as a blood-curdling scream left Venus and she doubled over in pain.
Dante and the others came running from the other room, a crying Grace was given to the nurse as everyone rushed to Venus,
she was clutching her stomach and screaming with so much intensity from her pain that they cowered back for a second.
Dante quickly lifted her up and discovered blood smeared on the sofa where she was sitting, roaring out orders to get the car pulled up front so he could take her to the doctor,
Sophia quickly ran up and got the baby bag, James crying in worry and carrying Venus's own bag, and running outside.
Gabriel got in with Sophia in front, James sat in the back with Venus and Dante as he held her in his arms, blood soaking his clothes,
Knox followed suit in a car behind them, having to drop off Grace at the nanny's house first.
Soon they reached the hospital, the doctor already informed of what had happened and he was waiting with his team behind the emergency doors,
Dante placed her on the bed gently as he held her hand and they rushed her into the labour room, her contractions were becoming more and more consistent,
it was all happening so so fast, and out of nowhere the doctor shouted out to a nurse that she was dilated enough.
'Dante she's losing too much blood, she needs to start pushing now,' the pack doctor grounded out,
forgetting he was talking to his alpha, he looked at Venus like she was his daughter, they had gotten so close in the last few months,
at the moment he didn't give a rat's ass about anyone other than Venus.
'please-,' Venus sobbed and she was cut off by her own scream when another contraction hit her,
'push baby.' Dante said, holding her hand as she cried out in pain.
3 hours had passed and she was constantly losing blood, lots of it, but the baby still hadn't crowned yet,
her water had broke when she was about to be put into the car on their way to the hospital, she had even dilated but her body was too weak, too exhausted, no matter how hard she pushed it wasn't enough,
'come on baby you can do this,' Dante encouraged, as he looked over to the doctor who had concern written all over his face
Venus screamed, and her wolf started helping her too, giving her the strength, and another hour passed by but this time with progress, she was starting to crown and after another half an hour of pain she pushed the baby out,
A cry was heard and the nurses got to quickly clean the baby,
'it's a boy,' they announced happily, and cheers erupted in the room, they had decided to not know the gender of the baby till the end, Venus heaved a sigh and Dante kissed her softly,
'i love you,' he whispered, and she smiled at him, she opened her mouth to reply but a scream left her lips,
'what is happening?' Dante asked, looking at Venus worriedly,
'oh my goddess, another baby, NINA BRING FRESH A FRESH SET SHES HAVING TWINS,' the doctor at this point was hollering out orders to the nurses,
their boy was put into a cradle in the side of the room and Dante was rooted to place in shock, twins???
'quick she's losing blood, LAILA KEEP CHECK ON HER VITALS,' he shouted out, and Venus was pushing with all the last bits of strength that were in her weak body, she couldn't lose their little one,
'just a little more,' she whispered to her wolf,
and an hour later finally Venus gave birth to their twin,
'it's a girl,' the doctor hollered out, and another set of cheers erupted in the room, the baby was cleaned up and given to Dante who was in shell shock,
he placed a kiss on Venus's cheek and leaned down so she could see their daughter, a nurse came by holding their son and showed him to Venus too,
'they're beautiful,' Venus whispered, silent tears streaming down her face,
'thank you, my love,' Dante said, his voice cracking,
'i love you all so much, always remember that okay?' Venus said
he was looking down at their baby girl when he heard what Venus said, he looked up to see Venus smiling, she looked so radiant, so heartbreakingly beautiful and she was smiling at their babies and him softly, and with one last deep look into dante's eyes she whispered,
'take care of them, my love,' she whispered achingly and her eyes softly closed, but the smile on her lips remained,
the exact second the heartbeat monitor made a siren sound, the screen that was supposed to show waves of a beating heart showed a straight red line,
Dante felt his ears go mute, their daughter was taken by the nurses and everything went into slow motion,
she. was. gone.
searing pain erupted in his chest, and a roar left him, he needed to go to his mate, and 3 of the nurses got in his way,
pushing him out of the room, all he saw was the door being slammed in his face and issues being ordered in the other room,
'NINA THE DEFIBRILLATOR,'
'one two three,'
'...'
'no response,'
'recharge go again,'
'one two three,'
'....'
'no response,'
Dante staggered back against the wall in shock, his friends running to him, Sophia and James crying, Knox had tears in his eyes, and Gabriel looked broken,
after a few minutes that felt like a lifetime.
the doctor came out, removing his blood-covered gloves and throwing them into the close by bin, he couldn't look up,
'doctor please,' Sophia sobbed out, clutching her hands to her chest and her cries numbed everyone further,
doctor Mark raised bloodshot eyes to his alpha, a tear sliding down his face,
'I'm sorry, she's gone,'