Chapter 28: My Princess
It didn't take long to discover that Ari and Clay's predictions were correct. I'm going to be a 19 year old father. Here I am six months later sitting beside my mate as she breaks every bone in my hand screaming curses from some language unknown to man.
"You're almost there, Chels. You can do this." I try to comfort her as best I can only to receive a scowl and a tightened grip as the next contraction hit. I hate to see her in so much pain.
"Shut... Up!" She pants then screams. Were now on hour 10 of intense labor.
"One more push." Doc Green finally says and Chelsey screams. My mates voice is soon replaced with the wailing of a little pink human covered in goop.
"Do you want to cut the cord?" The doc asks and I nod unable to speak. I am stunned by the little girl that I made with my mate.
I follow them as they wash her up and as soon as they're done I snatch her up and bring her over to her momma. As I look down on her perfect face I see my own eyes looking back from her tiny features. She's mine. My perfect princess.
"What do you want to name her?" Chelsey asks as I hand her our daughter.
"If you don't mind I was thinking Isabella. After my baby sister." I suggest.
"Isabella Marie Sanders. It's beautiful." She responds tiredly smiling at me.
"Now I'm really scared." I confess. "How do I raise a girl? What can I teach her? Will she even need me?"
"You're being stupid again." My mate says as our baby begins to fuss. I pick her up and she instantly calms. "See? She's already a Daddy's girl." I smile down at her happily. My little Daddy's girl.
°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°
We stayed in Midnight Moon for nearly a year while I finished my Alpha training with Ari. At 20 as expected I was proven an Alpha. My little princess is crawling like crazy and even starting to walk! She's not even a year old! Most days she is playing with Ari and Clay's pups. Its kinda weird that the two guys who raised me and I have pups at the same time but it's also cool because I'm more of an equal to them now. We are learning how to do this together.
"Aww how cute!" Abby squeals as the girls watch the pups.
"I'll get a picture." Chelsey says and I chuckle.
The girls are in the living room with the pups while Ari, Clay, and I sit around the island in the kitchen drinking soda and talking.
"Look, Bray!" Chelsey says pushing her phone in my face. "Alic is sharing with Bella! I think he likes her!" I just laugh. Why do people insist on putting those big relationship concepts on babies? Seriously they have no idea what that means they can barely talk.
"Keep your boy in check, Clay. I'd hate to have to scare him away from my baby girl." I joke playing along.
"What ever pup! You'd be lucky to have my boy as a son in law!" He responds laughing as Chelsey returns to the ladies and we move on with our conversation forgetting all about the female nonsense.
"So you're leaving next week?" Ari asks.
"Yup, I figure it's time. My pack needs it's Alpha." I answer.
"I'm gonna miss you, Bray." He says giving me a hug.
"Me too." Clay hugs me next. "But you still put to much crap in your hair and are you ever going to grow out of matching your shirt to your shoes?" He laughs.
"Your just jealous that I look better than you." I tease him.
"You look like a tool." He says.
"My mate would disagree as is evidence by the little angle in the other room." I say referring to my daughter.
"Well if that's how we determine who looks better I'll remind you I have double the proof that my mate finds me hot." He laughs.
"Okay you two you're both pretty." Ari says busting up as we both scowl at him.
"Seriously tho, we'll miss you, Brayden." Ari says and Clay nods.
"Invite us to the pups birthday parties and everything. Make sure to visit. You know all that stuff." Clay says.
"I will... and I'll miss you too. Call whenever you need me and I'll be there." I tell them.
"Will do." They agree.
°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°
I'm only in Moon Lake territory for a couple months when I get the call.
"Brayden!" A panicked Clay yells through the phone. "I need your help! You are the best tracker I know. Abby took Alic back to her family's pack. She should have been back by now but shes not! Please, Bray!"
"I'm on my way." Is all I say before linking Eric to take over while I run to the western border of Midnight Moon. Eric came with me to Moon Lake to be my Beta.
I find the scent almost instantly and follow it. The scene I find is something out of a horror movie. I howl to alert the Midnight Moon wariors and Clay.
"No!" I hear a scream. I follow the sound to find Clayton freshly shifted into his human form holding his mate's mangled body in his arms. I sniff around in an effort to find the boy. His scent is everywhere but it is most concentrated around a pool of blood that is undoubtedly his. I let out a mournful howl before shifting and throwing on some shorts.
"I'm so sorry Clay." I say sitting next to him with an arm around his shoulder.
"Where's my boy, Bray? Did you find him?" I look away unable to meet his eyes. "Brayden. I lost my mate please tell me I didn't lose my son as well." He begs.
"Let's have these guys take Abby home and we can look for him." I say. He holds her body tighter to him for a moment battling himself. Mate or pup? Before nodding and slowly lowering her mangled body onto the blood soaked pavement.
"Lead the way." He says and I head straight for the pool where I found his scent. "No!... there's so much blood... could he have survived this? Tell me my boy's alive." Clay begs.
"I'm not a medical doctor, Clay... but if he is alive we need to find him soon." I tell him and we split up along with the remaining wariors and search for little Alaric.
"Nothing!" Clayton roars after we've searched all of the woods surrounding us.
"Its getting late, Clay." I tell him.
"I'm not giving up on my son, Brayden!" He yells at me.
"We knew it was a long shot, Clay. How far could a two year old pup get? Especially one who has lost nearly half his blood volume." I try to reason with him.
"He's my son!" He yells.
"And you have a daughter at home that just lost her mother and brother! You are all she has left so pull yourself together!" I yell back and he pauses.
"Ruby... how am I supposed to tell my little wolf that her momma is gone? And her baby brother? How do you tell a three year old that?" He sits down on the hood of the car some of the wariors brought over.
"You be honest." I say sitting next to him. "And you make sure she knows she still has you. You make sure she doesn't lose her father along with them." I put a hand on his shoulder as he rakes his fingers through his hair spreading dirt and blood across his forehead and through his dark locks. "And you take a shower first. Ruby doesn't need to see you like this."
"Thank you, Bray... go home and hold your pup. That's what I plan to do. Hold on tight and never let go." He says before getting in the back of the car with a vacant look in his eyes.
"Take care of him." I tell the warrior who nods before getting in the driver's seat.
I shift and run back home. Taking my own advice I shower before pulling my princess from her crib and holding her to my chest. I carry her to my bedroom and sit on the bed where my mate is fast asleep. I wrap an arm around her and she rolls over draping an arm around my torso and resting her head on my chest. I take a deep breath as I hold my girls. I don't know what I'd do if I lost them.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone