Page 95 of His Impossible Elf Mate
Several times in the night she had wanted to feed, so I did that as soundlessly as possible to allow Teárlach some rest. I tried to express some milk to put in the fridge, but it was such early days, it was likely pointless.
She decided to be human for a while, so I laid her next to T in the special crib attached to the bed, only to wake to feed her with Rieka draped over his chest, both of them sleeping.
Her little wolf alter was the one who had alerted mine. The little voice coming through was so vivid. They didn’t have words as such, more impressions. Memories. My wolf was so proud of what we had created. They should have been. It was unheard of for such a little one to use a family link.
Of course, I took plenty of pictures of the sleeping pair before I picked our baby up to feed her. I sent them to Teárlach’s mother so she wasn’t missing out.
I wasso tired, yet also strangely energized. I wanted to watch her forever, though I probably needed a decent night’s sleep.
Hopeful she would sleep for longer as her wolf again, I shifted, encouraging her to do the same.
Grateful she shifted, I curled up beside my mate and baby and slept.
“Shh, Papa needs his sleep, little princess.”
“I’m awake,” I muttered, without opening my eyes. Goddess, I was so tired. Kade had not lied when he said the first few days were hellish.
“Just sit up so she can latch, and as soon as she’s done, I’ll take her so you can have another nap.”
“But—“
“No, dear one. You are exhausted. Giving birth and all the feeding is tiring. Don’t pretend you didn’t let me sleep far more than you did last night. I saw those photos.” His chiding was gentle, full of the love he had for me.
The bond showed pictures of me and Rieka shifted and curled around each other, then of us in human form, Rieka in my arms.
Emotions so vast I couldn’t quite grasp filled me. I stretched my arms out for her wordlessly, unable to talk, I was so overcome.
“May I take a photo of you like this to send to my mother?”
Always so considerate. A perfect mate.
“Yeah. Then one of the three of us. Our little family.”
Naming Day
Teárlach
Though she was now two weeks old, Rieka had never been to Abrocaelum, something we were about to rectify. Her grandmother had visited her a handful of times and called daily for updates or just to see her. They were cute together, and it cemented something in my relationship with my mother to see her being so maternal.
With her position and the loss of my father, something we now knew was orchestrated, there had always been a distance. Something I was glad had changed.
We might have missed out on that connection, but I would not deny either of them their own bond now. It was precious and I would protect it.
While Mother had been reluctant to allow me to come to the pack, she now saw the merit in it, if only because it secured my future happiness by giving me my mate and now my daughter.
I could not fathom what I had done in my long life to deserve such blessings. I was just grateful for them every day.
Though, at that moment, trying to wrangle twin brothers, their baby brother with his family, and our own tiny baby into their court appropriate outfits was perhaps my penance for sins committed when I was much younger.
Since I was the only one ready, I was responsible for helping the others dress. We made all the outfits to order, ensuring that each one fit the personalities of the people wearing them.
Kade, for instance, was in a bronze tunic, which made his red-brown curls gleam like fire. His amber eyes were jewel-like. Little Felix was dressed in a manner similar to his papa.
Blake, Elliotte and Greyson were in a range of silver-colored outfits making their eyes glow bright.
All the Sweetwater siblings and the children, my new extended family, were wearing their wolves somewhere on their outfit. We had gone to the extra trouble of spelling the fabric so it would shift with the children and was somewhat stain resistant.
Chase was in a light blue, bringing out the blue of his eyes, a different shade than his brothers’. His hair, a lighter brown than Axel’s, was around the same length as his twin’s, now at their shoulders, and also full of braids.
