Page 76 of The Night Wolf
“You are all invited to come with us to Lydon, where you will be welcomed with open arms. Those who took part in the abuse of the pack will not be allowed within our town. You are stripped of pack affiliation and are subject to our laws. The rest of you, if you need food, shelter, or anything else, we will be happy to help you.”
Gareth gestured to Lyram, who came forward, his eyes wide.
“That was… I can’t even come up with the words.”
“Oh!”
They turned and looked at Sean, who was standing with a hand over his stomach.
“What’s wrong?”
“The babies are coming.” He peered up into Gareth’s eyes. “Like, now.”
Gareth turned and scanned the crowd. “Frank!” His voice boomed, and all assembled shrank back from his authority. “Babies are coming. Get your ass up here.”
A moment later, Frank pushed his way through the crowd and stopped at Sean. He bent down and gently probed Sean’s stomach. “The skin is almost gone. I can see them moving around. They’re coming now, ready or not.”
Gareth lifted Sean and strode toward Ryker’s office. When he got there, he placed Sean down on the sofa. “Does it hurt?”
Sean smiled. “No. There’s no pain at all. In fact, it feels good.”
Frank came close, but Sean waved him off.
“I need Gareth, please.”
A frown marred Frank’s face. “Fine. I didn’t want to see them born anyway.” He winked.
“Well, I need you here, Frank. Stay where you are.”
Gareth reached out and took Sean’s hand. As he watched, the skin over his stomach thinned, taking on a paperlike consistency. Gareth could see his pups squirming around. As he watched, the skin fell away like a dried husk, and the babies crawled out in their wolf forms, looked up, and yipped. Gareth couldn’t believe what he was seeing.
“Sean….”
“They’re… silver and glow with the light of the moon.”
As one, the pups raised their heads and howled, then crawled back on top of Sean, shifted to their human forms, and curled up together.
“My wife is going to be so pissed. She needed the good drugs when the boys were born, and Sean just lay there and the pups let themselves out.” Franklin chuckled. “Congratulations, Alpha and Omega.”
The kids nestled in Sean’s embrace, their eyes fluttering as though they were trying to stave off sleep. They had Sean’s dark red hair and pale skin, but they had Gareth’s eyes, including the tinge of violet around the ring. He hadn’t thought about that since the day Dr. Frank pointed it out, and everyone seemed to accept it. He realized that it was part of sharing his energy with Sean, a link that started forming between them that day. As they slept, the babies snuffled. They looked so at peace.
“Now I understand why they came out as pups,” Frank said. “Sean’s body wasn’t designed to hold two human twins, so instead they grew as the smaller pups. Fascinating.”
Sean opened his sleepy eyes. “Hey.”
A quick kiss to his forehead. “We have to go home soon.”
“Mm-hmm. I know. Just so tired.”
Gareth turned to Frank. “Is that normal?”
An inelegant snort. “You try giving birth. It takes a lot out of anyone, even if it was a relatively easy one. Sean’s body has been nourishing the kids for almost a month, and he’ll need to eat, sleep, and bond with the children.”
“Then that’s what we’re going to do.”
Gareth peered over at Sean, who’d fallen asleep again. The babies were still nestled in his arms, the perfect picture of contentment.
“I have to say, today was an epiphany of sorts for me. I’ll be honest, I doubted Mother Moon was anything more than a myth. What happened out there, I have no explanation for it.”
