Please let me see my pup,Max begged so pitifully, I couldn't deny him.
I went back to the office and saw Alpha Ash still holding that little bundle of cloth, only now he was sitting on Alpha Mason's desk while Alpha Mason poked his ass with a pen and told him to get up.
I stood there awkwardly in the doorway, feeling like such a loser for crying in front of these two tough, strong alphas, but then I caught a sweet hint of something I'd never smelled before, and that feeling faded under a strong and sudden need to meet my pup.
Bonding scent, Max told me.Hold our pup. Bond with our pup.
Wanting that desperately now, I approached Alpha Ash and hesitantly held out my hands.
"Can I— Can I hold her?" I asked quietly.
"You said you didn't want her," Alpha Ash reminded me, "which is fine. If you can't take on the responsibility of a child at your age, there are lots of families who would love to adopt her. I would myself if we were ready to start our family. We'll make sure she goes to a good home—"
"I want to hold my pup, alpha," I dared to interrupt. "Ineedto hold her."
And the moment she was in my arms, my whole world shifted. I stared down at her, awed and humbled. This was my daughter. My pup. The last - and only - piece of Brynn I'd ever hold again.
And I was never going to let her go.
20: Rosebud
Ash
As Mase went to help Alpha Quake unload his car, I happily cradled the tiny pup in my arms and walked back to my office. Perching in my new - and hopefully sturdier - chair, I studied the baby's face and marveled over her blue-veined eyelids with their fine carrot-colored eyelashes. I traced one of her arching orange eyebrows with my finger tip, then her tiny nose, then her bottom lip that pooched out like a fat pink caterpillar.
That made her mouth start working and she began to wiggle around.
Bad, Ashy!Sid scolded me.Shame on you for waking sleeping pup!
It's fine, buddy. She needs to be fed soon, anyway.
Alpha Quake said he'd given her a bottle halfway here, so at least two hours ago, which was about right for a new baby's tummy to be empty. And that thought reminded me that she might need a diaper change, too.
Mase, bring all her stuff in my office, I linked him.I'll feed her and change her.
Sure thing, brother.
If he said anything else, I tuned it out as the pup's eyelids cracked open. Holding my breath, I waited impatiently until they finally went all the way up and revealed a pair of cloudy blue-gray eyes that most white babies were born with.
"Hi there, little one," I cooed softly, then frowned as I remembered she didn't even have a name yet. "Tama is going to call you Rosebud for now. What do you think about that, hmm?"
She stared up at me. Well, in the direction of my voice, anyway, since a newborn's eyesight wasn't all that great.
Mase and Alpha Quake came into my office then and set their loads of bags on the floor in a corner.
"All good?" Mase asked.
"Mm-hmm. Go deal with what you need to. I got this."
"I know you do,Tama," Mase smirked. "I'll link you when it's time to bring her in."
I nodded, my attention back on Rosebud as her wiggling became more insistent.
"You may want to find the powdered formula," Alpha Quake said with a grin. "That's starting to look like a hangry face to me."
"Yep." I stood up and went over to their supplies. "I'd better get a bottle ready before she starts crying."
The pair of them nodded and left for Mase's office while I rooted around in the bags until I found what I needed, then headed off to the kitchenette.