8
Epilogue:Vincent
9 Months Later…
Aheavy,furry weight sat on my chest, waking me. As light filtered in through the window, I blinked my eyes open to see Tabby in her wolf form laying across me and wagginghertail.
“Good morning, sweetheart,” I mumbled, rubbing the sleep frommyeyes.
She still didn’t like talking, but in her wolf form she was comfortable making a whole range of noises. She raised her rear while keeping her front half down, wagging her tail and letting a gruff bark. She wantedtoplay.
I checked the alarm on my bedside table. She’d woken me just five minutes before my alarm. At least she let me sleepthatlong. Before I had kids, I never expected the amount of sleeplessness that came with it. But I wouldn’t trade it foranything.
With a comically loud groan, I tumbled out of bed, taking Tabby with me. We wrestled on the floor for a bit before she impatiently barked and ran out the door, waiting for me tofollow.
“What is it?” I asked. Once I was up and behind her, she darted down the hall and the stairs. Ever since John and I moved into our new home at the edge of the Red Sky pack’s biggest forest, I was worried Tabby would slip and fall down the wood staircase. But no matter how rowdy she got, she always managed to stay safe - much to both John and I’srelief.
Tabby was getting increasingly noisy and excited now. She circled around my ankles, nippingatthem.
“Hang on, Tabby,” I said, chuckling. “What’s thebigrush?”
I knew I’d have to make breakfast this morning, since John had done so yesterday. Since it was Saturday, I wanted to make a huge stack of pancakes for John and Tabby - it was both theirfavourite.
Tabby exploded into the living room, just out of sight. Then she suddenly stopped. A moment later she came back into the doorway, looking at meintensely.
“What is it, baby?” Iasked.
Then I heard it. A tinysqueak.
At first I thought it was a mouse, but then my instincts kicked in. Iknewthatsound.
I rushed into the living room. All the breath escaped mylungs.
Laying there in a makeshift pile of blankets was a tired, sweaty looking John - and in his arms, a tinynewbornbaby.
All I could do was stare, my mouth open inshock.
I stammered. “What -how-when- “
“Oh,” John said, noticing me and smiling. He looked exhausted. “You finallywokeup.”
“Tabby woke me,” I said, staring at the bundle in his arms. My knees nearly gave out. I stumbled towards them. “How did - how did thishappen!?”
“I don’t know,” John said softly. “I had some cramps last night and figured it was just gas. I got up without waking you to walk it off, but the pain just got sharper. At one point it was so bad I shifted into wolf form to deal with it better. But then, just before it happened, I knew. Something clicked. I knew I was givingbirth.”
He glanced fondly down at the baby inhisarms.
“Since I was in wolf form, the pain was easier to deal with and I could stay quiet. That’s why you didn’t wake up,” John explained. He offered the babytome.
My hands trembling, I reached for our new child. “But…how? I thought you said you wereinfertile.”
John could only shrug. “I guess the doctor I went to waswrong.”
The expression on his face was priceless - happiness, fatigue, and also the look of smug victory. His biggest insecurity turned out to be false. I couldn’t imagine how glad he wasfeeling.
I took our new baby and swaddled them into my chest. I couldn’t believe how warm and tiny he was. My alpha instincts went crazy. Other than John and Tabby, I’d never felt so fiercely protective of anyone or anything in my life. I would have fought off 100 wolf shifters for him. I would have doneanythingforhim.
“Do you want to help name him?” Johnasked.
