Zara coughed and looked at Bethany. “This is the weirdest delivery I’ve ever experienced.”
“Been to a lot of deliveries?” Bethany asked. She felt the next contraction coming and could tell it was going to be big.
“Nope. And I bet no matter how many I do go to, this will always be the weirdest.”
“Okay,” Jacque said once again, making everyone go quiet. “Her head is right here. You need to push hard. Then you’ll have to push hard a second time to get her shoulders through.”
Bethany nodded, took several breaths, and then pushed as hard as she could. She heard Crina mutter something about a strong grip and felt Drake sending her waves of love through their bond.
“Her head is out,” Jacque declared.
Sally pulled her hands away from Bethany’s stomach and immediately leaned over and started doing something Bethany couldn’t see, but she knew the healer was helping her child somehow.
“Okay, time to push again,” Rachel said, her voice never wavering, something Bethany was profoundly grateful for.
The pressure suddenly evaporated at the same time Jacque cried, “She’s out. You did it.” A moment later, a loud cry filled the room.
Pounding feet followed the sound. Bethany couldn’t take her eyes off the little body that Sally and Jacque were holding and wiping down.
“Whoa! Our bad,” a male voice called out.
“You heard a baby cry, and you thought everything would be all nice and tidy in here?” Jen growled.
She could understand why the men had come running. New pups were rare. The cry of the baby was like a declaration: “I am here. I am alive. And I’m a member of this pack!” It was the best sound Bethany had ever heard.
A few minutes later, Jacque handed Bethany her daughter wrapped up in a white blanket covered with pink bows. Her little girl was tiny. Drake’s chest rumbled, and when Bethany looked up over her shoulder, she saw his eyes glowed with his wolf.
“Ours,” Drake’s wolf said, his beast making the man’s usually deep voice even deeper. “Our tiny female pup.”
Tears ran down Bethany’s face. She nodded and looked back at their daughter. “She’s perfect.”
Jacque looked around the room. Bethany was still lying on the bed of blankets and towels that had been laid on top of three feet of torn wrapping paper. She rested amidst a menagerie of empty boxes, shiny new toys, coffee cups, trays of cookies, and half eaten pieces of cake. It was chaos. But in the midst of that chaos, in the center of the room, sat a tiny miracle.
Rachel helped Sally get Bethany cleaned up while Crina, Zara, Peri, and Elle, who’d been completely silent through the whole thing, knelt close to the couple so they could see the baby.
As Jacque watched the looks of wonder and tears of joy, a peace she hadn’t felt in ages settled over her. She was sad Alina had not been here to experience the amazing moment as another Canis lupus child was born into the world, but the new alpha understood that sometimes there could be no new life without death. Without the sting of death, there would be no awe associated with the miracle of life. Jacque knew how precious it was to hold a new creation because previous creations had passed away.
“The precious birth brought to you in life is like the precious lives that come home to me in death.” The Great Luna’s voice filled Jacque’s mind. “This is not your home, Jacquelyn, alpha of the Romania pack, mate of Fane, mother of Slate. One day you, too, will be called back to me. And as you welcomed the little she-wolf into your arms, so shall I welcome you back into mine.
“For now, you and your mate are the guardians of the supernatural races. What you see before you, this life and others to come, both supernatural and human alike, are what you are protecting. Well done, my precious alpha on bringing the first new wolf-pup into the world and into your pack.”
Warmth spread over Jacque, starting at the very top of her head and creeping down her body until the very tips of her toes were covered. It was like being wrapped in a heating blanket infused with love. “Thank you, Great Luna. For everything, thank you.” Jacque’s words weren’t just for Bethany and Drake’s child. They were for it all, from the moment her mother met Dillon, making a way for Jacque to be brought into this amazing world, to the moment she, Jen, and Sally became inseparable, to meeting Fane, to becoming a member of the Romania pack, having Slate, experiencing all of the trials, joys, and love, and every moment in between, right up until this one. Jacque sat on the floor, tears streaming down her face, her heart so full that she was sure it would burst, thankful beyond words for her life.
“You are welcome, Jacquelyn, daughter of mine. Peace be with you today and always, for I am with you.”
A few hours later, Fane found himself sitting on the couch, his mate in his lap and his son sound asleep on a blanket on the now clean floor. Peri, Elle, and Adam had been kind enough to magic away all the mess of Christmas and the birth. Now, everyone was resting, worn out but happy, as they passed around the little bundle.
“Oy,” Jen said as she tried to take the baby from Titus— again. “What’s her name? How did we miss that little detail?”
“She’s Hope.” Titus smiled down at the little girl as if she hung the stars.
“Drake, you’re so screwed. Tanner’s named your kid. Soon, he’ll be naming theirs.” Jen motioned between the two.
The wolf was up and across the room in a second, gently extracting his daughter from Titus. “Thank you for holding her, Titus. I think she’s probably getting hungry.”
Jen snorted as Decebel wrapped an arm around her waist and tugged her down into his lap. “Quit starting trouble.” He nipped her ear.
“But I’m good at it.” Jen smiled.
Fane chuckled. It felt good to smile and laugh. It felt good to be here with their closest family, after a night with the entire pack.
“Her name is Alina Hope,” Bethany announced.
Fane met the new mother’s eyes and bowed his head to her. “I am honored, and my mother would be as well.”
Jacque leaned her head against his shoulder and snuggled closer. “Pretty sure this is the best Christmas ever. Even though your parents aren’t here, they would have loved it. Alina’s smile would have lit up the room, and Vasile would have been constantly shaking his head at Jen.”
“Maybe because you can see those things in your head, and you know in your heart they’re true, then you’re able to make it so in your mind. That makes the whole thing complete.” Fane ran his fingers over her red curls. “It’s almost as if they were here with us, even if we couldn’t see them.”
“I felt them,” Jacque admitted. “I sensed Alina every time a pack member hugged us or a smile was exchanged. I felt Vasile every time one of the males grumbled but then did what their mate asked anyway. I knew the house was filled with love and life, just as they would have wanted.”
As the day slowly turned into night, the room dimmed, lit only by the fireplace and a few candles. The curtains on the large windows were pulled wide, and snow could be seen falling as the moon brightened the winter night sky. Alina Hope started to cry, but Peri picked her up, after first asking the new parents, and began to gently rock the babe. A muted background sound began, and Fane realized it was soft Christmas music.