Chapter 88

"We are almost there. Just a little bit more, you can do it, Luna." Shay's words are meant to encourage me, but they are annoying me more than anything.

"AHHHHHH! Why are the rooms so far away?" I'm naked, sweating, holding my and back, and waddling along the hallway the best I can.

"Inari, don't let them come out yet." I have to get to the guest room.

"I can't hold them back. Damn these contractions."

We get to the doorway of a guestroom, and my team gets me on the bed. Becky and Bailey are wrangling the kids. Daisy's lip is split and bruised. All the kids have blood on them. We are a collective mess, and we don't have any time to wash the death off us or the kids. My contractions are getting closer together.

"Get the doctor." I'm between contractions, but I know the boys are coming soon.

"We only have a nurse. All the doctors went with the recovery teams. The nurse is on her way." Shay is holding my hand. I'm surprised I haven't broken it.

"Ahhhhh. It's too soon. I still have three weeks left." Jordan wipes my brow with her sleeve.

"You shifted, and you are having twins. They come early all the time. You can do this." Jordan reminds me again, but it's not sinking in. My body feels like it's on fire.

"Water, please." Shay nods and heads off. I know I can depend on my team to help me.

"Becky, can you get us some clean water and see if you can find some rubbing alcohol or vodka." Shay, in proper Beta form, takes charge when I can't. Becky rushes off.

"Bailey, I need you to gather towels, lots of towels." Bailey nods and disappears into the bathroom.

"Kids, I need you all to be really good for a while. The Luna is going to have her babies soon, so we want to welcome our future Alphas by being really good, OK."

"Yes, mommy, we want to see the new Alphas." Easten takes Rose's hand and leads the kids over to the corner. I know they are confused and terrified, but I can't comfort them right now.

"Inari, how far away is he?" Another contraction hits. They are coming soon.

"He's coming closer. Can you feel him? He's come for us." Her phrasing sounded off, but it was comforting to hear. He was coming for us.

"We have to wait for him. He has to be here." "Ahhhhhh," I scream out loud.

Gideon

I must hurry. I'm whipping through the mountains running the best direct route I can. My lungs burn my paws feel like they will split and bleed at any moment, but stopping is not an option. I don't know what happened, but Daisy was hurt, and Amelie is in a lot of pain. I'm still too far to bond-link her, but I feel her.

I feel a sharp rock split my paw; I keep going. "Ulv, we need to dig deep. How do we use our fae and elf magic?"

"Not sure, never tried." Ulv is as determined as I am. Nothing is stopping us.

Ulv is in control, so I concentrate and search for a trigger to our magic. We needed the boost desperately. I first searched by exploring the bonds that will help me find our core and where Ulv and I are connected. When Ulv is in control, I usually don't fully let go. The only other time was during Amelie's heat, and then I focused on her and our spiritual connection. I start with my mate bond. It's like a thick purple rope, and it's twisted around all my other bonds. It makes sense Amelie is the mother of my children and my Luna. Our bond encompasses all our bonds. I follow it, and I reach a glowing red core. It has deep green rings circling it like the rings of Saturn. This must be it. I reach out to touch it.

"We've got company." Ulv has come to a complete stop.

"What is it way out here?" I didn't want to take control yet.

"Rogues real ones this time." Damn it. We didn't have time for this.

"Make quick work of them if they attack." I go back to finding the core again. I'll have to find the purple rope again.

"Looks like they are making a move in the clearing up ahead. I can handle these bugs. Find our magic core." Ulv knew we needed our magic more than ever. It's been passive this whole time, but if I can find it, I can maybe harness it and use it at will.

I find the purple rope again. We must have gotten closer to home. The rope feels thicker. I follow it and see two white ropes and two thin green ropes twisted into the purple rope. This must be both sets of twins. The boys are thin ropes right now, but they will thicken once they are born. I follow the thick twist of rope, and I find the core again. I reach out to touch it, and a searing pain hits me in my side. I'm pulled back from the core.

"Ulv, what's going on?"

"I got surprised by a fourth one in the shadows. We're fine; find that damn core!"

We are injured. It was now or never. "Gideon!" I hear Amelie. She's a whispering echo, but I hear her.

"I'm coming! Why are you in pain?" I don't know if she can hear me, but it's worth a try.

"AHHHHHH! The twins are coming" It was not a whisper but a scream. The boys were coming. I needed to get this core to heal us up and get home now.

I don't just follow the purple rope; I'm pulling it, yanking it taut to find the shortest way. I find my path nothing is hindering me. I find the core for the third time. I feel another shock of pain, but I'm not stopping this time. I leap forward with all that I have, and the fiery core envelopes me. I feel like I am on fire but at the same time stronger. I can feel the forest and mountains. It's like it's speaking to me.

"I found it. Can you feel it?" I reconnect with Ulv and look out to the mountain clearing. Everything looks brighter clearer. The rogues in front of us look petrified suddenly. We take a step forward, and something catches my eye. It looks like fire.

"Ulv, are we on fire?"

"You unlocked our core, so yes, we are on fire, and our senses have been heightened."

"We need to hurry. The boys are coming. Can you feel Inari?"

"I'll finish this." Ulv jumps forward, landing on top of the largest wolves, and rips his throat out without hesitation. We growl deeper than I ever knew possible. We must have looked terrifying because the other three wolves ran off without a look back. We were not following them tonight. We needed to get back home to our family.

With complete control of our magic core, Ulv takes off faster than before, bobbing and weaving through trees. We were jet-black lighting going through the forest. The closer we got, the more I could feel Amelie's pain. I reached the edge of our territory and found an encampment.

It was odd to find an encampment near my territory, but I knew Tate was here as soon as I entered. The whole camp had been dug out and lowered into the ground. There was ghillie cloth draped around and the pungent odor of bears. Damn it, he was hiding so close, and we didn't even notice him. I'm close enough to mind-link.

"Shay, I need a report!" I start running again. I've wasted too much time.

"Alpha, Tate, and six wolves attacked the Omegas and pups. We killed them all. To save Daisy and Rose, the Luna somehow broke her seal and shifted. She went into labor shortly after." I pick up my pace to the limit of Ulv's form.

"Have the pups arrived yet?" I can see the packhouse through the trees; I'm almost there.

"Not yet, but they will be coming soon. I think the Luna is trying to wait for you."

"I'm almost there." I'm bounding through the back door of the packhouse, and I happen by the Omegas and pups. No one tries to stop me. They know their Luna needs her mate. I'm still in wolf form knocking knickknacks off tables and walls as I make my way to the stairs. I can feel her up there. I shift and take two steps at a time, and I burst through the first door at the top of the stairs.

I'm met with a bewildering sight. Everyone's covered in the blood, even the pups. Daisy's lip is split and bruised. The pups look traumatized; it's 3 AM they have to be exhausted. My mate is naked on the bed in labor with Shay and a nurse in a position to deliver. Jordan, Becky, and Bailey are comforting her and whipping her sweat. I rush to the side of the bed and almost knock over Jordan in the process.

I take Amelie's hand, "I'm here. I'm so impressed by you. How did I get so lucky?" I kiss her forehead.

"Gideon, you made it. Ahhhhhhhh." She screams and squeezes my hand.

"Luna, it's time you can't hold back any longer." In this situation, Shay and the nurse are in charge. "Luna, push!"

Amelie pushes and squeezes my hand. If I weren't an Alpha, it would have broken. "Push, you can do it. I'm right here with you."

She pushes harder. The nurse yells out, "She's crowning. Come on, Luna, you can do it."

Amelie takes a deep breath, pushes, and with a scream, the baby is out. He's screaming too, but it's a beautiful sound. "Luna, your baby. Alpha, your first heir." Shay lays the baby on Amelie's chest.

"Hello, Aspen. I've waited too long to meet you. This is your daddy." Joy tear-filled eyes look up at me, and I'm happier than I have ever been in my life. The girls sneak up to the edge of the bed to get a peek at their new brother. The nurse takes the baby from Amelie's chest and places him on me. He stops his screaming and rests peacefully.

"Luna, time for baby number two to come out. The Alpha can comfort Aspen for now. You have to push again." Amelie nods and takes a deep breath. "OK, push." She pushes. "Keep pushing." She pushes again. "OK, she's crowning again. OK, Luna, give me one big push." She pushes, and the second heir is born.

Shay places the screaming baby on Amelie's chest, but something is wrong. I can feel it right away. I knew this feeling all too well. Amelie was barely moving, and our bond felt weakened. I'm still holding Aspen to my chest, and I take Amelie's hand with my free hand.

"Amelie, don't do it, don't leave us." She gives me a slight smile and closes her eye.

"Ulv, activate our core! I don't know if this will work, but we can't lose them." I feel my body heat rise. I look down, and it seems like I am on fire, and so does Aspen. There's an audible gasp from everyone in the room, but I don't have time to explain. I take Amelie's hand and bring it to my lips and pray. I feel the twins come behind me and wrap their tiny arms around my waist. The fire engulfs Amelie and Birch, along with the girls.

"Selene, please don't take her away from us." The flames grow more substantial, and the color changes from a red to a deep green. It's both the fae and elven magic combining. I feel the mate bond grow strong again, but it's completely intertwined with the family bonds. I can feel the boys' bond becoming more predominant. "Come back to us, Amelie. I need you; we need you."

"Gasp!" Amelie opens her eyes, and the green flames recede. "Gideon, are the boys alright?"

Tears are streaming down my face, and I don't care who sees. At that moment, I was just a man who was overwhelmed with emotion. I had my family. These five meant the world to me, and I would give my life for them. "The boys are fine. You are so amazing." I lay Aspen on Amelie's chest. She is cradling both boys, and the joy on her face gives me relief.

"Girls, say hello to your brothers." I pick up Rose and Daisy and set them beside Amelie. I also sit on the edge of the bed. My heart is overflowing.

Can we finally be a normal family? Well, our own brand of normal, I guess.