Page 74 of Ascension of the Pack

I realised I felt the same.Can we wait until Jess is back from her honeymoon? I’d like her to be there since I kind of missed her wedding.

That will be acceptable,she said agreeably.May I greet your mother and father now?In my head, her tail wagged.

Are we okay to shift?I asked dubiously.I mean, in our condition?

Of course! We’ve shifted a hundred times in the last few weeks. I promise that I will take care of the pups just as you would.

Pup singular. I hope!

Maybe two.She hummed happily.Or three.

I laughed.I guess we’ll see.It wasn’t that I was averse to the idea of twins – or even triplets – but it would take some getting used to. I’d always envisaged having more than one child and there might be something useful about only having to go through one pregnancy to have multiplechildren. But the thought of dealing withonebaby was daunting; more than one was terrifying.

I left the bathroom and went downstairs. ‘I’m pregnant,’ I announced to the room.

Mum let out a squeal so loud the local bats must have heard it and bundled me into her arms. ‘Greg’s gone to get vitamins,’ I explained.

‘Oh good,’ she breathed. ‘He ran out so quickly that I wasn’t sure if it was good news or bad news. He didn’t say.’

‘I expect he wanted me to be the one to tell you.’

She held me close. ‘I’m so excited for you darling.’

‘Me too,’ I paused. ‘But I’m nervous. Wolves miscarry – a lot.’

She kissed my hair. ‘Darling, you were born a fire elemental. Do they miscarry?’

‘Not more than average, I guess. Not as far as I know.’

‘Well then! Besides, you were made a wolf by Glimmer, weren’t you? And didn’t you say it always does things differently?’

A laugh escaped me. ‘Yeah, and not by half! But it was Lord Samuel that made me a wolf and Glimmer made me a piper.’

‘Still, Glimmer will have had its influence on you. Don’t borrow trouble, my sweet. Just be happy. It is a blessing.’

Tension drainedfrom me as I let her comfort me. ‘Itisa blessing. We weren’t even trying.’

‘Surprise babies are wonderful.’ Mum winked at Ben.

Ben folded his arms. ‘Like you haven’t already mentioned I was a total accident.’

‘A wonderful total accident,’ she cooed.

I grinned. Teasing my brother about being an accident was one of my favourite pastimes. Then I cleared my throat. ‘Mum, Dad, Esme would really like to meet you properly.’

‘Is it okay for you to shift?’ Mum asked with concern.

‘Fine,’ Noah said confidently. ‘In fact regular shifts are thought to reduce the risk of miscarriage in werewolves.’

‘Well, in that case… I would love to meet Esme! And maybe Rohan too.’ She looked at Noah. ‘If it wouldn’t be too painful for you, dear?’

Noah smiled. ‘Not at all. Seeing Rohan brings me such joy. I can’t describe how good it feels.’

‘Wonderful.’ Mum clapped her hands in delight and looked at us both expectantly.

Ben started to remove his clothes but Esme was too impatient to dither and we shifted immediately. I wasn’t wearing the crown of Torr, so there went my clothes.Whoops.

Esme trotted to Mum and nuzzled against her. Mum threw her arms around my wolf and gave her a full body cuddle. ‘Thank you for keeping my Lucy safe,’ she said.

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