Her Pups

H E R A

“Don’t leave. Stay.”

The sound of his voice jolts me awake, but the emptiness around me quickly confirms that it is all just a figment of my imagination.

The night I spent with Thomas altered the course of my life. It was an extraordinary, exquisite, and undoubtedly the most memorable birthday I have ever experienced. Moreover, it marked the end of all birthday celebrations for me.

The sound of something breaking has me getting out of bed and tying my robe together, rushing out of the bedroom to find my pups in the kitchen.

They are standing on a seat, trying to clean the dishes, but one must have slipped from Aiden’s hands because not only is he a soapy mess, but the plate is shattered on the floor.

It’s too early for this.

“It was Aiden’s idea,” Addison tattletales quickly, pointing at her brother.

“You agreed to it.” He splashes dirty dish water on her.

“Did not.”

“Did too!” he screams at her, sticking out his tongue.

I rub my eyes and yawn. “Okay, stop. It’s fine. It’s okay. What time is it?” I place my hands on my hips. “Aiden. Addison. What time is it?”

“Six o’clock,” they mumble in unison.

“And what is the rule for you two?” I ask them, putting a slightly scolding tone to my voice.

“Not to get out of bed until seven-thirty,” they replied.

“Because?” I press.

“It’s important to get a good night’s rest,” Aiden explains as if he has heard this a couple of times. Well, he has.

“We have this conversation every other day, don't we? So why are you two up?"

I pick up Aiden from the chair, spin him around, move him away from the glass, and gently place him on the floor. I do the same with Addison, then push the chair back to its place.

Soap, water, and broken plate pieces are scattered everywhere. "We got bored, Mommy," Addison explains. "We woke up and wanted to help you." Her big green eyes fill with tears, the eyes she inherited from her father.

They resemble him so much; it hurts my heart sometimes.

I kiss her forehead and tuck her black curls behind her ear. "And you two did all this for me?"

Aiden nods, resting his cheek on my shoulder. "Yep. You do a lot. We wanted to help."

My heart melts as they gaze at me with their big eyes. Aiden has my eyes, deep brown with gold specks. He definitely takes after me, while Addison takes after Thomas.

"You're so sweet. I love you both so much."

"More than the size of the moon?" Aiden asks in his cute kid voice.

They are still learning, and most of the time, the words are not understandable to others. But I’m their mom, so I can understand them.

"Are you kidding, Mommy? More than all the moons, planets, and suns in the galaxy."

"That's so much!" Addison said.

I poked their noses. "It sure is. Now, go back to bed, okay? Please? You can watch it, but I'll come in to check on you. The last one to go will turn into a rogue!”

They squeal, racing each other down the hall; their laughter makes me grin. They'll fall asleep again soon. This is pretty much the routine.

I walk to the pantry, grab the broom, sweep the broken plate into the dustpan, and notice an envelope on the counter. It's stamped in red. Final notice. All the bills are like that. All of them are overdue. Every month is a struggle. Every penny is stretched.

My children mean everything to me. When I discovered I was pregnant, my whole world turned upside down. I never intended to see Thomas again after my birthday.

I slipped away, and his security didn't even notice me leaving. I was just another fling for Thomas, and that was fine by me, but that night still haunted me in my dreams.

I wake up in a cold sweat, gasping for air, my hand between my legs. He was my first.

I don't have time to date, and I don't bring men to my place. I don’t want a mate.

No one could ever compare to Thomas.

When I missed my period and took a pregnancy test, my first instinct was to go find Thomas at the club. I didn't want to keep it a secret from him. He deserved to know.

I wondered how it happened, then remembered we didn't use protection, and I wasn't on birth control.

I was a bit tipsy, and the chemistry was intense. It's not an excuse, but I ended up pregnant with twin pups. And I don't regret it.

Addison and Aiden are my whole world. A sentiment my dad didn't share. I didn't tell my dad right away. I waited. I was anxious and frightened.

I didn't even see a pack doctor at first to make sure everything was okay, but as the months went by, my belly grew bigger. I couldn't hide my pregnancy any longer. So, when I finally went to the doctor, it turned out they were somehow connected to my father.

He called my father and informed him of my pregnancy. Doctor-patient confidentiality went out the window when you were the daughter of an Alpha. When I got home, my bags were packed, and we argued.

He provided me with funds to stand on my own two feet and drove me out of town until I was twelve hours away. He completely disowned me. He claimed I brought shame to his name and behaved inappropriately.

“No daughter of mine will end up pregnant without being united by the spirit of the Moon Goddess or without knowing the father. You have let me down. You should have waited for your mate before mating with someone else! You brought this upon yourself. You can handle it on your own.”

And so, I did. 

I lost my virginity but he didn’t mark me. Why didn’t my father see that?

My father left me with enough money to rent an apartment and cover the initial bills. It gave me some time to secure a decent job with subpar insurance, but it was better than nothing.

I haven’t received any communication from my father since then. He wanted me out of his sight and out of his mind. He kicked me out of the pack. 

I have been too preoccupied with looking after my pups and making ends meet. 

Thomas probably wants nothing to do with them either. So why should I bother setting myself up for disappointment once more?