The Pups Training

Zion's P.O.V.

While in the bathroom running the water for my beautiful mate's bubble bath, I hear her laugh. I poke my head out of the bathroom to see her rubbing her growing belly before asking her what's so funny as I walk to her. She smiles and grabs my hand, placing it on her belly. After a few seconds, I feel a light flutter under my hand, and my eyes widen. I look into her eyes with a massive grin before crushing my lips into hers.

We finally pull away to catch our breath while laughing, and she leans around me and points. "Umm, love."

"Shit!" I growl as I quickly wade through the bubbles in the bathroom to turn the water off. I turn to see Rain trying to hold in her laughs. "It's not funny."

"I'm sorry, my love." She says, trying to stifle her laughs and failing miserably.

"I'll get someone to clean this up," I tell her. A minute later, Annie comes in with a mop and a bucket.

"I can do that, Annie." She tells her, reaching out for the mop.

"Please allow me to take care of this, my Queen," Annie says while bowing. "I don't mind."

"It's okay. It's well past ten o'clock. You should be resting after a long day of work." She says as she takes the mop and urges Annie to return to her room.

I take the mop from my mate and begin to mop up the bubbles and water. She smiles at me, and I can tell she's planning something. She scoops up a handful of bubbles and plops them on my head while laughing. I shake it off, scooping another handful and throwing it at her as we clean the bathroom.

After cleaning the floor, I run another bath while watching to ensure it doesn't overflow again. We undress and climb in. I take Rain's loofa, washing every part of her before she does the same for me. Then we relax as Rain leans back onto my chest. Rain's breathing evens out a few minutes later, and I can tell she's asleep. I stand up with her in my arms, careful not to wake her. I grab a towel, wrap it around her, and place her on the bed before covering her up and walking around to lie on the other side before pulling her into me and falling asleep.

*******************************************

It's been a few weeks, and Rain's belly has grown rapidly over that time. She now sees Doctor Jameson every day for daily check-ups, and they do a blood test every three days. No one can explain why the poison never appeared on the test results, but we're grateful. I wake up earlier than her in the morning but leave her to sleep in, making sure she has breakfast waiting on her when she wakes up because I know the twins are taking a lot out of her, and she needs to eat as much as possible.

This morning wasn't any different. I woke up to start the older pups' training. I linked Annie to let her know that I was leaving and to make sure she prepared Rain's breakfast according to Doctor Jameson's new recommendations. I know she didn't need the reminder, but it makes me feel better to remind her. She tells me she's already working on it and that it would be ready by the time Rain wakes up, and I thank her before ending the link as I make it to the training ground.

I start with five laps since they are younger than the usual warriors and guards I train before moving on to sparing. After an hour, everyone was exhausted, so I decide to break for the day. Usually, we would train for at least four hours, but since they're so young, I decided it would be best to gradually progress the length of training over time instead of throwing them into our usual training head first. I dismiss everyone, and Orian walks over to me as the pups make a run for the kitchen.

"How are the younger pups doing in training?" I ask him.

"They need to learn discipline. But they are slowly getting it." He answers.

"That's to be expected with them being so young. It will definitely be a process, but they have plenty of time." I say, and he nods in agreement.

"How is the Queen doing? Any news about her blood test results?" He asks, and I shake my head.

"She's constantly growing with every day that passes. Doctor Jameson says she will likely give birth sooner than we think since the twins are growing at such an alarming rate, and they still can't explain the result not having any traces of the poison in her system." I tell him.

"How much more can her body handle?" He asks while looking as worried as I feel.

"I'm not sure. Doctor Jameson has agreed that as soon as the twins are fully formed and can handle the birth, he will move the process along to reduce the risks." I tell him. "I'm just hoping she can hold on until then, and she can recover afterward."

"If you need to stay by her side to help her through this process, Sam and I can cover training in the meantime. No one will blame you if they think you're simply mourning the loss of our Queen and your mate." He says, and I debate, taking him up on his offer.

"I may accept your offer pretty soon," I tell him as we walk back to the castle.

"Good morning, my King. I have your breakfast ready." Annie says as she bows when we walk into the kitchen. I thank her, taking the plate she has ready for me and making my way up the stairs and to our suite.

"The Queen has eaten her breakfast, but I think she went back to sleep after I retrieved her empty plate." Annie links me before I make it to the fourth floor.

"Has Doctor Jameson come by yet?" I ask her.

"No, sir. He said he would be by after you finished up the pup's training for the day. Something about not wanting it to seem like he was treating anyone other than you." She answers.

"Thank you, Annie. When he arrives, you can send him up. I'll be staying in the suite for the rest of the day with my mate." I tell her before ending the link and walking into the suite, where I see Rain asleep on the couch.

"At least she's moved from the bed today," Ryker says.

"She's having a hard time pretending that she's no longer alive, on top of carrying the twins. She's stressed and very depressed." I tell him.

"I know. Maybe we should get our mate out of the castle for a little bit." He suggests.

"And how do you suggest we do that since she's supposed to be dead, and we're supposed to be mourning her loss?" I ask him.

"We could ask her mother if she has any kind of invisibility spell, and we could take her to our cliff, where she will have some privacy. If anyone does see you talking to yourself, they will assume you've gone mad from grief or that you're talking to me." He says. Why the hell didn't I think about that?

"I'll call her mom in a little bit. For now, I want to spend some time with her before everyone shows up for the council meeting this afternoon." I say, and he agrees.

I walk over to the couch, lifting her so I can climb up under her and lay her head on my chest, relaxing as I feel the sparks from our mate bond wash over me from the skin-to-skin contact. She sturs a little, followed by a deep sigh as she relaxes into my arms while nuzzling her head into my chest. I'm not sure when I fell asleep, but we're both woken up by a knock on the door.

"Come in," I call out as I help Rain sit up on the couch. Doctor Jameson walks in, followed by Jessica and Annie with our lunch.

"How are you feeling today, my Queen?" Doctor Jameson asks.

"Extremely tired and uncomfortable. Dosha hasn't woken up at all today, and honestly, I haven't been able to stay awake very long either." She answers as he checks her heart rate and blood pressure.

"I think we should be able to induce labor in the next few weeks as long as you can hold off until then." He says. "The twins should be fully formed in the next week, but I would like to keep them in for as long as your body can handle without causing irrelievable damage."

"I understand, Doctor." She says, trying to smile.

"On the positive side, your body seems to be holding down your weight better than it was now that we have you on the right diet." He says to her, but he's looking at me almost as if he wants to put my mind at ease.