*Delilah*A cold wind blew across my body, and my eyes flew open. I was alone, laying on the bed of moss, still naked.I sat up, looking everywhere for Andrew, but he was gone. I shivered and hugged myself, trying not to cry. I grabbed my discarded clothes and put them on quickly, finding my shoes and water not far away. My book had somehow managed to stay in the back pocket of my jeans.I stood, my legs shaking a bit. My entire body was sore from last night. I reached up, rubbing the mark that was now on my shoulder. It had healed fast, but it was there.My hands shook and tears fell down my face no matter how I tried to keep them back. Where was he? Did he really just leave me here without even saying goodbye? I looked up, seeing the moon high in the sky. Grabbing my phone from my pocket, I clicked on the screen. I noticed I had one text from my dad at midnight.“Where are you?”There was nothing after that, and it was 3:00 a.m. now. I was sure he was asleep, not re
*Andrew*My eyes shot open. I looked around, shocked to find I was awake. The dream I’d just had was so intense. I knew it instantly for what it was.Delilah was laying on my chest still, sleeping soundly. I breathed deeply, inhaling her scent. She smelled like lavender and mint, and something that had to just be her. She smelled divine, and she looked even better.I looked down at her, unsure how I’d missed how beautiful she was before this.I slowly rolled her over, holding her for just a bit longer. “Delilah, wake up.”She stirred, and I thought I saw her eyes open. “I’m going to head home. Do you want me to walk you home?”“No, just go,” she said sleepily.“Okay,” I said, and I kissed her cheek softly before slipping away and grabbing my clothes silently. I walked a short distance away and threw them on before making my way back to the path. Just as I emerged I smelled her–Kendra.“Andrew, what are you doing out here?” she said as she approached.“I was w
*Delilah*Pregnant.My hands started shaking, the pregnancy test bouncing wildly in the air with the movement. The words screamed at me in all caps on the small screen. I dropped it like it might sting me.How could this be happening to me? I brought my knees to my chest and hid my face in my knees trying to slow my breathing. I couldn’t be pregnant. I was a lone wolf with no family or friends. I worked at a gas station and lived in a motel. What could I possibly offer a child?My thoughts raced as I tried to come to terms with what I’d just discovered. I lifted my head, looking around the park. There were couples with children everywhere. It was a beautiful day, after all.Leaning my head back, I closed my eyes and let the sun warm me as I breathed in deeply through my nose before exhaling through my mouth. Once the fear and insecurity of the situation began to fade, the anger rose up. I’d been a virgin before mating with Andrew. How was I so unlucky to get pregnant th
*Delilah*I woke up feeling rested for the first time since I’d left. My hands instinctively went to my stomach and I thought about the children again.Triplets. I was going to have triplets.I didn’t know why I felt so certain my dreams were going to happen, but I did. I tried not to think too much about the nightmares that had to be real too. I couldn’t imagine something happening to the kids I hadn’t even met yet.My phone rang, bringing me out of my thoughts, and I answered the unknown number quickly, hoping it was the job I’d applied for.“Hello?”“Hi, this is Derrick with Schmidt Law. Is this Delilah?”I smiled from ear to ear. “Yes, this is she. Hi, it’s so great to hear from you.”The man on the other end proceeded to offer me the job as front desk secretary with the possibility of moving up.I was over the moon and thanked the Goddess with every other thought. If possible, they wanted me to start next week, but they understood if I couldn’t leave my current j
*Delilah*I’d just walked into the office and set my purse and water bottle on my desk. I sat down and felt like I’d just sat on a water balloon. I looked down and started at the puddle on the floor. What had happened?Then it hit me like a brick wall–my water had broken.“My water just broke,” I muttered out loud. Monica happened to be walking by and almost spit out her coffee. “Did I hear you right?” she said, stopping at my desk. I nodded, numb and terrified. I was about to have three babies. The pain I knew was coming was nothing compared to the absolute terror of taking care of them. I was just one person, and there were three of them.She set her mug on my desk, fleeing to her office to grab her purse. She ran back to me and lifted me gently by my elbows. “Grab your purse,” she said softly, and I picked it up along with my water. She led me down the hall and back toward the parking lot.The lawyer I was an assistant to was walking in and looked at us confuse
*Delilah**Five Years Later*“Cody, stop chasing your sister!” I yelled from the kitchen as I heard Flora squeal and Cody laugh. They sounded like a herd of buffalos running through the house.I stirred the noodles as they boiled on the stove. It had been a long week at work, and I wasn’t in the mood for anything fancy. They were having spaghetti whether they liked it or not. Thankfully, they all really liked spaghetti. Kyle sat on the floor, locked into a video game. I limited their screen time, so he was intense when he had the time to play. The games I chose for them were good for his brain too, so I didn’t mind too much. I heard Flora running down the hall, screaming as she came, “No, Cody! Momma said no!”Cody came after her, grinning from ear to ear. He was the kindest and most caring kid, but he needed to learn boundaries.I shot out from behind the corner and snatched him up as Flora ran by. She giggled, he giggled, and I giggled as I held him to my chest.
*Delilah*My chest moved up and down quickly to match my breaths. It had been five years since I’d last seen Andrew, and he was wearing no clothes at that time.That night was almost like a fever dream when I thought about it. If it weren’t for my children, and the mark on my shoulder that never faded, I would’ve thought I’d dreamt it. I’d stopped feeling anything for him once I’d gotten a certain distance away, but now I could feel his longing, his guilt. And I didn’t care about any of it. I hoped he could feel the anger that roiled in my body. From the look on his face, it seemed like he could.But he did his best to hide it, tilting his chin up some and puffing his chest out a little.I scoffed at this, and he sighed. “Delilah.” He locked eyes with me then, and the desire was still evident there. “No,” I said in a whisper-yell. “You don’t get to just show up on my doorstep after five years. I left for many reasons, and you were one of them. I never wanted to see
*Delilah*“What do you mean they’re in danger?” I drank the rest of my soda and tried not to let myself get worked up. I knew he may not even be telling the truth.“Can I sit beside you?” Andrew said, still holding my hand in his.I nodded and scooted over on the porch swing to make room for him.He stood gracefully and sat beside me, his arm touching mine. Despite myself, I felt a sudden bolt of electricity move through my body at his touch. I scooted away, and he moved his arm to rest behind me, but not touching my back. “How much do you know about your past, Delilah?”I turned to look at him, suspicion in my gaze. “Why is my past any of your business?”He sighed and looked back at me. “Look, I don’t expect you to believe everything I say, but can you humor me? Can you just pretend that what I’m telling you is true and that I didn’t reject you? Just pretend I have your best interest at heart, okay?”I clenched my jaw but nodded. “Fine. I don’t know much. My father le
Months Later*Andrew*The gardens looked perfect. The gazebo was decorated with fairy lights and had flowers scattered around the edge of it. I paced the gardens, double-checking everything to make sure everything was in order. Flora had corralled the boys and sent them to work on finalizing touches. Kyle and Cody argued a bit, but Flora kept them in line. I watched them work with a smile on my face. I was so grateful that they had been able to participate, and I know that all three of them were thrilled by today’s event.“Okay, everything looks perfect,” my dad said with a slap to my back. He had a grin on his face as he looked around at the work we had put in. Dad’s grin grew as he watched my mom work with Flora, Kyle, and Cody. “Do you think she’ll like it?” I asked, worried as my nerves started setting in.“I think she will love it,” Mom said, coming to join us. “Now, come on. We are going to go have dinner at our house and we will be back before you propose. I will t
*Delilah*“Mom, Zach told me today that we are basically heroes now,” Flora said as we walked inside together. I smiled, making sure not to laugh and discourage her. “Did he really? I mean, you guys kind of are.” Andrew shut the door after he and the boys walked in behind me and Flora. “Yeah, I mean how many kids can say they could get away from a full-grown wolf?” Andrew asked. I looked over my shoulder at him adoringly and he winked at me as he quirked the corner of his mouth up in a smile. We had been spending as much time together as a family as we could lately and tonight was no different. We had plans to have a movie night and watch the kids' favorite animated movie. I took them outside to run off some energy before dinner. They managed to pull me and Andrew into a game of hide-and-seek. I was able to find him every time but nobody could manage to find me anytime I hid. Kids were never great at hiding or seeking and I could only help so much. I stepped away
*Delilah*“Mom, we’re fine. You and Daddy beat all the bad guys.” Flora looked at me with irritation in her gaze. “I just want to make sure you guys are ready for this. You have all been through a lot and–”“Mom, we want to go back to school,” Kyle said in a serious tone. I glanced at him through the rearview mirror and saw that they all looked eager, excited even. I sighed and nodded, smiling to myself. “Okay, okay.” We pulled up to the front of the school and they all unbuckled and grabbed their bags in seconds. They all told me bye as they flew out of the car, happy to be back with their friends. I watched them go into the school before I drove off. It was so hard to watch them walking away, even if I knew they would be safe. “Mom … moooooom?”Cody’s voice pulled me out of my thoughts and back to the moment. “Sorry, babe. What’d you say?”“I asked if we could have a feast for dinner?”I chuckled. His version of a feast was just having multiple pl
*Delilah*I fixed the back of my earring and sighed as I looked in the mirror. My injuries from the various fights I’d been in were finally healed but I couldn’t say the same for my mind. Today was the day we all said goodbye to Kendra. Despite what she’d done, I still mourned for her. She was like my blood and at one time, I’d loved her dearly. I remember being a child and being so excited to have a younger sister. I thought we’d be best friends and that I’d always have someone there for me. And someone I could be there for. Our lives hadn’t ended up that way, but for a while there I thought we were finally getting close to that. I still had a hard time believing that she had been so nice to me and to the kids all while planning to have them kidnapped. Andrew said that the only reason they attacked was to be a decoy for Kendra to get the kids, and then eventually me. One of the prisoners had easily given up the information after the battle was over. The Carter pack wasn’t e
*Delilah*After the fight ended, I stayed huddled with my children, fingers linked together. I vowed never to let go of them, at least for the rest of the week. I knew I would have to let them be away from me for school and pack activities but I wasn’t ready to let go of them any time soon.“Delilah,” Andrew whispered, “Delilah, it’s over. It is all over. Everything is alright.”I didn’t respond, knowing it wasn’t alright but scared to face the reality of what happened. So instead, I buried my head into the bundle of children. They smelled so delicious; like shampoo, sweat, dirt, and soap. I couldn't imagine if I had lost them. They still smelled like babies to me, so I inhaled deeply. Andrew approached us and wrapped his large arms around all four of us. I felt a sense of calm fall over me. The safety of his arms was powerful and I knew our children could feel it too. They had all stopped shaking and crying and we all silently held each other. “What about Kendra?” I asked
*Delilah*I quickly whirled around, scooping the kids with my back leg and tail and flinging them as gently as I could behind me. My attacker pulled up quickly, snapping her jaws shut short of my neck as I bit down. Shock coursed through my veins like ice as I took in the sight of the snarling wolf that was my sister. I crouched low and growled, gnashing my teeth at her. She backed up and shifted into her human form. “Why did you have to come back?” she all but screeched at me, desperation filling her eyes.I shifted as well and looked at her with wide eyes as I threw my hands in the air. “Why are you doing this, Kendra? Was tormenting me in high school not enough for you, you had to try to hurt my children?” I roared at her. I was done being nice to her, done trying to reason with her. She’d gone too far and I would make sure that after this day, she never thought about even looking at my children again. I chanced a glance at them and she took that opportunity to sh
*Delilah*I fled away from the fighting as fast as I could. I smelled the children in the forest that bordered our lands. What on earth were they doing there? I picked up another familiar scent as I ran but I ignored it. The only thing that mattered to me at that moment was my kids.I sprinted, leaping into the air as a wolf tried to attack me and landing on his back, sprinting away as another member of the Blackwell pack came up and finished off the wolf.My nightmare had prepared me for this happening and it at least had managed to help me remain calm. This was the second or third kidnapping attempt on my children in less than a year. I couldn’t imagine what they must be feeling at that moment. The thought spurred me on and I increased my speed as I cleared the battlefield and darted down a trail. As I ran the kids’ scents got stronger and stronger and I knew I was on the right path. Whoever was trying to take my children better have an army because I was ready to run like a
*Andrew*I focused on the wolves around me. The Carter pack wasn’t small, and it seemed like they’d brought a large force with them. I had to admit I was impressed by their determination to defeat us. But it wouldn’t grant any of them mercy. I didn’t care why they were here, only that they learned that they would pay for daring to invade my territory. I didn’t know how many wolves I’d downed at that point, but it wasn’t a small number. I whipped around as a wolf tried to attack my hind leg. I jumped, pinning his back with my front paws as I leaned down and snapped his neck in my jaws. I dropped the wolf to the ground and looked around, snarling. My wolves were doing well, and it looked like we had very few casualties. Some wolves were dragged away from the battle by others and healers were quick to attend to their injuries. It seemed like the Carter pack might have been retreating. I was slowly but surely moving toward the leader, making sure to take out whoever came into my
*Flora*Walking through the woods, following Aunt Kendra, had grown tiring. I wanted to go home to sleep. She had woken us “Flora.” Kyle nudged me. He had been the quietest during our journey through the woods but I don’t think he was playing the same game Cody way. “Flora.” Kyle nudged me again and I shot him a look before glancing back at Aunt Kendra.“Shh, Kyle,” I said to him. I wanted Aunt Kendra to like me and if she was trying to help keep us safe then I needed to listen to her and keep quiet. “Flora, listen to me,” Kyle insisted with a harsh whisper. I grumbled but let him pull me back, slowing our pace to distance us from Cody and Aunt Kendra. When we were far enough away from them, Kyle leaned toward me and I leaned into him. “I don’t know how to explain it,” Kyle started.“Just try, Kyle,” I encouraged, smiling at my brother. “Aunt Kendra,” Kyle paused again, thinking about how to phrase it for me. “Aunt Kendra, well, her colors are off.”“What do y