1.3

Montelius shook his head at the thought. Wolves are prideful, reptiles can go either way depending on the species, and primates are closer to their regular human counterparts than the rest of them. Most humans he came in contact with were selfish and greedy or cruel. He prayed to the Moon Goddess. “Please let her be born in our kinsmanship. For her sake please, Moon Goddess.” He reached his home in time to hear the good news. 

His mate rushed to him. “Monty! They’re here!” 

A smile split his face. His sister had just given birth to her litter. “Where is she? Is she presentable, Lavender?” 

Lavender nodded her head. “Yes. They’re twins. And just as adorable as ever.” She choked up at the thought of them. 

Monty rushed to his sister’s side. She was his twin. His wombmate and other half. Bursting into the room, she gave him a weak smile. “Montelius.” Her voice was weak. Her hand outstretched for his, she could barely keep it up. 

He took it and sat next to her side. Kissing the top side of her forehead. “How’s my bratty Merlynna doing?” 

Merlynna nuzzled against the pillow. “Tired Monty. I’m so tired.” 

He nodded his head. He knew it was going to happen. He had three decades with her by his side. She knew the risks and still chose to take them. “I know, sis. I know. You can rest. I’ll always be here.” 

Lavender turned away from the sight. She was not a twin and could only fathom the bond between them. “I’ll bring the boys to you. I’m sure you want to hold them.” 

She smiled. Monty stood up and kissed her cheek. He walked her to the door. “How long before…” He couldn’t finish his sentence. 

She patted his shoulder. “It could be a few minutes, days, or weeks. It’s on her honey.” 

He nodded his head. His heart was tearing in two. Lynna wasn’t his only sister, nor was she his only sibling, but she was the only one that came out seconds after he did. They were born holding hands. The doctors crooned and how adorable and rare it was, but for them they had always held hands. Even as they got older. It was comforting to them. 

Monty took his seat back by her side. He spoke low. Lynna had her eyes closed. “Sis, I know the shifterless one will be born during my time. I don’t think the other elders will treat her the way she deserves.” 

Lynna stroked a thumb across his hand, letting him know she was listening. “They aren’t like us. No one is like you, Monty.” 

He smiled softly. “Well, you are. We’re a pair, remember?” 

Lynna smiled weakly. Her smile interrupted by a coughing fit. Monty gripped her hand tighter. “I’m fine. Don’t worry.” 

“How can I not worry?” He finally addressed the elephant in the room. “You’re leaving me. You consciously decided they were more important than I was.” 

She opened her eyes. “Monty, I didn’t think they were more important than you. You’ll always be my twin. I just had to bring them into this world. One or both of them are going to be important. The Moon Goddess told me.” 

He recalled the dream Lynna had told him. 

* 

“Monty! I had a dream about the Moon Goddess! She’s so beautiful.” 

He smiled and ruffled her hair. “Was it about your mate?” 

She shook her head gleefully. “Nope, it was about children.” 

His face fell. “Sis, you know that if one of us has a child, we won’t survive.” 

Lynna smacked her lips. “SO, what! The Moon Goddess has the final say, right? Why listen to those quacks, anyway?” 

Monty’s face was grim. “If you say so. Then tell me about these children?” 

Lynna excitedly chattered to him about her dream. All the while, he hoped she wouldn’t go through with it. He couldn’t bring himself to voice his concerns as she spoke about her dream with the Moon Goddess and the children destined to be born to her. 

* 

“You’re right Sis, but you’re still leaving me behind.” 

Tears welled in her eyes. Just then Lavender came into the room, holding the twins in her arms. Merlynna turned her head away, discreetly wiping away the tears. “There’s my boys.” 

Lavender stood by the bed. “Do you think you can hold both?” 

Lynna wiggled herself into a seated position with Monty’s help. Lavender handed her one baby, and then the other. Two strikingly adorable children slept in the swaddled blanket. One with fiery red hair, so bright and fierce it was unreal. He was wrapped in a firetruck blanket. Lynna cooed at him. “Ari King. Someday you’ll understand. You were destined for greatness.” 

His twin was almost his doppelgänger, with the exception of his hair. Instead of the fierce red, it was a deep honeyed brown with streaks of gold peppered throughout. She kissed the top of his head. “Rei King, I loved you the moment I saw those two lines. You are just as precious and important as your twin.” She coughed. Lynna turned her head away. Lavender took Rei Kang, while Monty reached for Ari King. 

Lynna’s coughing fit turned worse. Monty handed Ari King to his wife. “Get Dr. Joel. HURRY!” 

Lavender rushed as quickly and as safely as possible to go get the doctor. Monty pulled Merlynna into his chest, rubbing her back. He hoped, and prayed, to the Moon Goddess to ease her pain. 

Dr. Joel rushed inside the room, pulling his stethoscope from around his neck. Monty laid her back on the bed and grabbed her hand. “Come on Lynna. We need you. You can’t leave us. You can’t.” 

Lynna coughed harshly a few more times before the breath rattled in her chest and stilled. Dr. Joel pressed it to her chest and listened. He moved it to the other side, doing the same thing. A few seconds later, he removed the stethoscope from her chest and slowly shook his head. “I’m sorry Monty.” 

He interrupted. “NO! NO! NO! She CAN’T be gone. She can’t be.” 

Dr. Joel gazed at his feet, trying to compose himself. “She is. I’m sorry.” 

Monty grabbed him roughly by his coat, lifting him off the ground. “Fix it! Do something for my sister! Get the crash cart! SOMETHING!!” He dropped Dr. Joel on the ground. He crumpled to the floor himself. Sobs racked his body. Dr. Joel righted himself before walking out of the room. Lavender came into the room, finding him on the floor. She kneeled behind him, rubbing his back. Lynna’s body, stiff in the room, wasn’t good for his psyche. “Honey, we have to let the orderly inside. They have to take her.” 

He wailed like a defeated child. Monty managed to get to his knees and crawled to her bed. “You weren’t supposed to leave. How could you do this to me? To us.” 

Lavender just watched her husband lose his composure over his twin. There wasn’t much she could do but to sit near him. Her eyes flicked to Lynna’s still form and scowled. She muttered to herself. “Stubborn until the very end. 

Lavender was familiar with the stubbornness of the Kaedo twins. Monty was just as stubborn, if not more so than Lynna. Although now, despite the warnings and his chiding. She out stubborn him in the end.