Page 40 of Orri

Her mouth opens, but she falls asleep before she can reply. The healers tuck her blankets around her and motion for me to sit back in the chair in the corner. When I sit down and look at my three family members in that room, I feel like the luckiest Aesir on the planet. Who could ever want more?

Silently, I promise them all that I’d protect and provide for them. When Soren mated his omega, I had no idea I’d ever get to experience having my own family. I understood why his wife had sent him to stand watch with me. It was hard to explain what it was like to become a parent to an alpha without children.

EPILOGUE II: FIRST BIRTHDAY

ISABELLA

“We’re running late,” I comment to my child, Leo. He responds by chewing on the ends of my hair. I gently remove the hair from his mouth, which just revs up his desire for more. I plop him into one of the baby carriers that the Aesir have, one that looks somewhat like an automated bouncer back on Earth.

“Lyra? Sweetheart, where are you?” I call.

Soon, I hear a coo coming from around the corner. She has been suspiciously quiet for the last few minutes. I pray that she hasn’t done anything too terrible.

When I come around the corner, hoping that Leo doesn’t get up to shenanigans, I see that she is playing with building blocks. They are precariously placed, and the entire structure is about to fall down on her. To keep her safe, I scoop her up in my arms. She screams in defiance, deeply offended that I would dare interrupt her playtime.

“Both of you need to get dressed for your first birthday party,” I chide.

They have no idea what the day means, but I do. The Aesir have a tradition of celebrating a baby’s first 100 days and first year of life. They had so many stillbirths and problems with their young that it is a miracle to them that they have babies at all.

As a result, my husband has gone a bit over the top for this celebration. All of his comrades have been invited, even though not that many alphas have been mated to humans. I can see some longing on the faces of a few of his colleagues; I know that they’d like to pay for contracts themselves. Of course, the fees are only one part. Genetically matching doesn’t happen for most people immediately.

Absently, I hum, thinking about what might have been. The babies sing along with me, wordlessly. They can make sounds, but they haven’t conversed with us yet. I’m glad that they are teething on schedule.

“Hello, heart-mate,” Orri says. He’s grinning at me as I spin with Lyra in my arms. In two strides, the two of us are in his embrace.

Immediately, Leo complains about being left out. Orri chuckles and lets go of us.

“And who is my big boy?” he asks our son. Leo laughs as Orri tickles his armpits and tummy. There is a special bond between Orri and his first-born son. One day, he can learn to be a warrior just like his father. He already has plenty of honorary uncles who have given him miniature weapons as teething toys. The first time it happened, I was alarmed by the idea of our son choking on one of them, but Orri assured me that all of the Aesir boys received the same gifts as soon as they born. Our daughter had been given other toys, since the Aesir jealously protected their females. They'd have to adjust to how Earth females believed in gender parity, which was an ongoing culture clash. Orri had already taken plenty of heat for teaching me how to fight; I fully expected him to train Lyra by Leo's side and treat them the same way. Zannah had been a warrior, after all, before her death. It seems like a way to honor her memory.

As I watch Orri play with our son, I feel warmth in the depths of my soul. Who knew that signing a single contract would have had such a happy ending?

I turn to my husband. “Can you help me get the children changed for their party?” Orri hired an event planner for the entire party, due to how many people he had invited. It was a serious thing to celebrate your children here on Aesirheim.

Thinking about how things could have been, I shiver. I would never have been so secure if Adik had successfully married me and kept me with him through our shared children on famine-stricken Earth. Even though neither of us Earthlings had understood how dangerous dactyls were, I am still grateful that Orri's commander had sent over reports about staying away from their migration route. Without them, I wouldn't be here.

"Of course, my heart-mate," Orri responds. He kisses my hair before sweeping Lyra away with Leo. I go into our closet to put on the silk dress that he wants me to wear today. It is embroidered with the dactyls that saved my life and prevented Adik from traumatizing me on Aesirheim.

I put on the loose pants that come up to my natural waist. I never wore them on Earth, but it is part of becoming an Aesir by marriage. The other Earthlings and I helped design slightly more comfortable versions for ourselves, especially since we're always carrying around our children. They are so cherished on Aesirheim that it's hard sometimes to remember how difficult it is to care for children back on Earth.

I pull my hair back with one of their hair adornments. For my children's birthday, I look like a true Aesir wife. My children have a golden tone to their skin, like their father. Because the agency brought multiple women over at the same time, we have a little friend group. We can all pitch in and help out with all of the new babies, but it hardly seems like an onerous burden when almost of the Aesir are crazy about babies. They train their children to tell their parents about everything they need with sign language before they can talk, so we don't hear a lot of wails from our very spoiled children.

After I watch Orri care for with our children, I feel warmth in the depths of my soul. Who knew that signing a single contract would have had such a happy ending?

Orri comes back into our room with our children in his arms. They are wearing silk, too, but the Aesir are practical enough to put a bib over the silk, which is cleaned by technology that the Aesir consider commonplace. We put them into a double stroller perfect for our kiddos. Orri whispers into his comm that we are coming; the event planner is in charge of making sure everyone feels welcome.

When we go into the event center that Orri rented out for this party, I can see that the party is already in full swing. The warriors are all drinking ruou, the local booze, and the women are with the kids in one corner. There's a buffet with all kinds of Aesir food prepared for all of our guests. Our event planner has coordinated everything perfectly. It's not a formal event where we need to shake hands with people in a receiving line. Instead, the kids are playing with each other.

A clump of the male Aesir is watching training bouts that are already over on a giant screen in one corner. Some of the young boys and girls are lingering near the warriors without bothering them, which would make their mothers whisk them away. One day, Leo will be one of those boys. Maybe Lyra will want to train like her brother will, but there are more options for her; it seems that the Aesir are hard in order to hold onto their respective territories, and my child is being raised somewhat like a boy in Sparta of Ancient Greece. My hope is that our children will grow up happy and safe. When I look at the room full of people who love them, I think they have a bright future on Aesirheim.

EPILOGUE III: ANOTHER BIRTH

ORRI

OVER ONE AND A HALF YEARS LATER

"Hey man, you really need to calm down. I'm sure she'll be fine."

Ulfar is at my side, saying something that's supposed to be helpful, but I barely hear him. Doesn't he understand that my mate is inlabor?

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