-One year later-

''Can you believe a year has gone by with no cousin trying to usurp the alpha position? Or not even a vengeful vampire wanting to kill you?'' Charles, being his usual annoying self, throws a gummy bear at me from across the kitchen to where I currently am, sprawled on the living room couch.

''Hmm, thank the moon goddess for that,'' I reply as I chomp on the red gummy. ''Can you imagine, me fighting someone in my current situation?''

''Ha! Let alone fighting, Theo wouldn't let you step out of the house!'' he chuckles to himself and joins me in the living room.

''True that,'' I nod in agreement. ''After what happened last time, I couldn't argue much with him.''

''But you still argued didn't you?'' he cocks an eyebrow at me.

''You know I did,'' I snort, ''wouldn't be me if I didn't.''

''Where is he anyway, it's almost midnight?'' Charles whispers before pausing the movie we were watching.

''He is out on a pizza and ice cream run.''

''You sent the ALPHA, on a pizza run?!''

''and ice cream too,'' I pop three gummies in my mouth at once.

''But he's the alpha!''

''Not mine he isn't.''

''Your cravings will drive him and everyone else in the pack mad, Athena! Chef Perez has lost weight cooking all the different types of dishes you demand. Do you see the irony here?''

''Just a few more weeks my friend, just a few more weeks,'' I pat his head.

'You know what,'' his voice becomes somber and sad all of a sudden, ''after what you went through last year, you know the-uh-''

''It's okay Charles you can say it,'' I smile at him a little. Yes, losing our child last year took a hit on both Theo and I. I stayed in the hospital for two more weeks, since the bleeding would not stop. In those two weeks, the only people I saw and interacted with were Theo, Devin, my mom and Sophie, who was the nurse in charge.

I could not bring myself to face anyone else, not even Ethan. He tried so many times to come over and comfort me, but I just could not do it. It was almost like looking at my father and seeing nothing but disappointment in his eyes. No matter how much my mom convinced me, I couldn't think otherwise.

The whole pack was looking at me with pity the day we left the hospital, and that's what I hated. I didn't need the pitiful glances, I didn't need them to feel sorry for me, because if anything, it only made things worse. After that, I decided to isolate myself further. If it weren't for Theo, who had had enough, and with a little help from Charles barging up into my room a month after the incident and talking me out of it, I would have gone into depression. I even ignored Nightshade and every calls from Leo or anyone else regarding the company.

All I did was sit on the recliner in our room and stare outside the large window. My mind had gone into a dark place, I had once again pushed my mate, my friends and my family away. And if they had not brought me back from it, I would have succumbed to the darkness with no return.

And now here I am today, roughly a year later, back in the light and pregnant again.

This time Theo took all the steps to ensure I was well fed, stress free and taken care of. I worked and often made trips to Nightshade in Toronto accompanied by either Theo or Mila up to three months of my pregnancy, until my husband and I both decided I shouldn't keep on travelling, and that led to Mila becoming the temporary manager at Nightshade. She handles the company well, and I might be considering hiring her full time.

But that's a story for another day because right now, I'm starving and if Theo doesn't walk through that door with my pizza and ice cream in the next ten seconds, I swear to the moon goddess, I'm going to-

''Here it is love!'' The door swung open just before I could finish my thought, to reveal my mate. ''Here is your chicken and mushroom pizza with extra chicken and extra cheese,'' he places it down on the coffee table in front of me, ''and your cookie dough ice cream,'' he waves it and passes it to Charles who puts it in the fridge.

''Okay then, since your mate is back, I'll now head home,'' Charles announces and begins to leave. ''I'll see you both tomorrow, and you,'' he points at me, ''don't clean out the fridge in one night.''

''Oh, shut up!'' I wanted to throw a pillow or something at his smug face, but bending and reaching over while being pregnant was an extreme sport and I couldn't be bothered to do it at all. However, just as I exhaled, a pillow swished by and landed smack on Charles' shocked face.

''Always got your back love,'' Theo whispered as he massaged my shoulders.

After hogging on the pizza, we took the tub of ice cream and went up the stairs to our room, which would have normally taken me a minute, but it took me twenty minutes to get to the top this time, including gasping for breath breaks. Theo, being the ever calm and understanding man that he is, did not even complain once. He too stopped with me every step of the way and waited patiently until I was ready to take the next step.

Over the course of the week, every family member came and went. Theo had enlisted help from all of them and they were all under specific orders and that was, under no circumstances was I to be left alone, none at all. Yes, part of me enjoyed the pampering and hovering, but it got annoying after a while.

If it wasn't mum coming up with different oils to massage my legs or my belly so that the baby would be in a better position during delivery, it would be Selene, lighting up my living room with herbs and enchantments that would ward of evil.

Nadia would come up to my home with soups and somethings she called 'healthy cookies' um no ma'am, I prefer my cookies to be chocolatey, gooey and unhealthy. The only upside to Nadia's visits was that I got to play with baby Ava. She was almost one year old and had just started taking her first steps. It was cute watching her wobble around the living room.

It was one Friday afternoon when Nadia, Ava and I were lounging around in my bedroom, more like them lounging and chilling while I tried and failed to sit in an appropriate position, did Nadia begin to question me.

''So, do you know the gender of the baby?'' she asked out of the blue causing me to choke on the milkshake I was sipping on.

''Ahem, uhhh, why ask?''

''Well, I've been meaning to ask you for a while now. For some reason everyone seems to be avoiding the question of the gender.''

''Theo and I want to keep it as a surprise. We've also not told mum and Lila,'' I reply, trying to be cool about it, we've given everyone who has asked us the same response. No one else knows the gender expect the two of us, the doctor and Selene.

''Is it a girl?'' Nadia inches closer and peers.

''I'm not telling,'' I continue sipping on my milkshake and smirk.

''A boy then?'' she continues.

''Still not telling.''

''I'll find out sooner or later.''

''Not likely,'' I snort a laugh, ''you'll only find out the day I go into labor.''

''Well in that case, not too long,'' she leans back on the bed and relaxes. ''Theo and you will make amazing parents,'' she suddenly says after a fairly long silence.

''You think?''

''Of course, I do! Have you seen him with Ava?'' she laughs a little, ''he is so great with her.''

''Oh yeah I have,'' I chuckle, ''he loves her to bits.'' My gaze lands on the baby in question who is playing with a piece of Lego on the floor while she tries to bite into another one.

''You'll make one hell of a mother too Athena.''

''You really think so? I know everyone says that to a mother to be, but are you really sure? I mean, what if I'm not? What if I don't know how to hold my baby? What if I don't how to feed? What if I give my baby the wrong type of food, or medicine?''

''Athena, relax, relax,'' Nadia suddenly shoots up from the bed and starts to use her calming exercises on me. ''Deep breathes Athena, in.....out....in.....out.....''

I look at the young mother and resist the urge to roll my eyes. ''Chill, I'm fine.''

''....you are not supposed to stress out. Theo explicitly said – wait what?'' she stops mid-sentence and tilts her head.

''I said I'm fine. I was just messing with you. I've been doing that to everyone by the way,'' I burst into laughter upon seeing her reaction. Even Ava had stopped playing and was looking at her mom in wonder.

''You, you, you!!'' she balls her hand into a fist and her face turned red. She almost looked like a cartoon character, which led me to laugh even harder, causing her to get angrier.

''Continue glaring at me like that and your eyes will fall off.''

She was about to curse me more when we heard the front door close. His scent wafted through the hallways making my breath hitch. I clutch the covers tight and keep my eyes trained on the bedroom door, waiting for him to appear. But before he could, a frustrated Nadia blocked my view by grabbing her child and storming up to Theo, who to say got caught off guard was an understatement.

''Whoa there, Nadia. Slow down!''

''Your wife is a menace!'' she hisses in his face, ''she finds joy in scaring the shit out of others.''

''I think you mean Charles.'' I pipe in from behind.

''Nadia language!'' Theo scolds her and covers little Ava's ears, who thought her uncle was playing with her and begun giggling and pulling his fingers.

''Glad you're back, I'm leaving. I'll see you all on Sunday.'' A frustrated Nadia grabs her stuff, adjusts her baby on her waist and storms out of the house.

Theo shakes his head at her retreating back before focusing his gaze on me. ''What did you do?''

''Uh, nothing!'' I widen my eyes and try to look offended, but couldn't help smirking a little.

''What did you say to her love?'' he crosses the room and joins me on the bed.

''I just pretended to be stressed out about being a mom, you know the usual overthinking,'' I wave my hand in the air, almost hitting his face in the process, ''and she went into panic mode. I mean, what exactly have you told everyone?'' I try to turn and look at him but couldn't, and so after two tries I gave up and just lay there looking out the window, while his hot breath fanned my neck. ''Like did you gather them all in the pack hall, printed out rules and regulations on how to behave around me or something?''

''Or something,'' he hums.

''Theo, I'm serious. Everyone has been walking on eggshells around me for months. What did you tell them exactly?''

''Nothing you need to worry out about love,'' he kisses my head softly and plays with my hair. ''Now come one, let's go for a short walk around the house.''

''Yeah, let's go, I'm starting to feel trapped around here.''

He helped me out of the bed and down the stairs too. As I stepped out of the house, a cool breeze hit me in the face, instantly making me feel relaxed. I slowly walked down the patio, Theo following me closely, his one arm hovering by my waist ready to catch me in case I lose balance.

''So, what did you and Nadia talk about?''

''She wanted to know the gender,'' I glance at him from the corner of my eye waiting for his reaction.

''You didn't tell her, did you?'' his head immediately snaps in my direction.

''Of course not! There's a reason we asked Selene to do the spell. Besides, I'm due in like two weeks, and then they'll all know.''

''Yeah, you're right,'' he entwines our fingers, and we continue walking.

''Theo, I'm tired already,'' I groan and pull his hand causing him to stop.

''Love, we've not even completed a full circle of the house. We are just halfway,'' he points to the backdoor which was still a few yards away.

''Ohh, but I'm so tired and my feet hurt and I'm hungry too!''

''You just had a milkshake,'' he looks at me disapprovingly.

''Yeah, but that's a drink, now I want something to eat. Get the difference?'' I raise my eyebrows at him.

''There is no winning with you,'' he shakes his head, ''come on, let's get you inside.'' I shoot him a victorious smirk and continue to walk faster towards the backdoor. Only it wasn't as fast as I had imagined and in one single stride, Theo was right next to me guiding me back.

''Is everything set for the brunch on Sunday?'' I ask him once we're back in house and I've made myself comfortable on the couch.

''Yes, it is. Chef Perez and I have gone through the menu twice now, he will be here bright and early to set everything up.''

''And how did he take it when you suggested outside catering?'' I ask as I try to peer over the couch. Theo was in the kitchen making something. I just didn't know what.

''The man looked offended Athena. Luckily, the knives were safely tucked in the drawers, otherwise he would have stabbed me.''

I heard the microwave come to life and not long after that the smell of melted cheese wafted around the living room. ''Mmhmm,'' I hum, my mind having already forgotten the conversation we were having, and I was now dreaming of cheese.

''Here you go,'' Theo suddenly appeared in front of me holding a plate of nachos.

''You're the best,'' I squeal in delight and grab the plate from him. I rest it on my pregnant belly and chomp on the nachos.

''You look so beautiful, I love you,'' he bends down and kisses me on the cheek, before stealing a nacho from my plate.

''Hey!!''

''Oh goddess, they say love is blind, but I have really witnessed it today!''

''How did you get in here?!'' I drop the nacho I was about to bite into and glare at our beta who is standing at the threshold, his arms crossed while he looks at me in what could only be described as disappointment. ''How the hell does he do that?!'' I ask Theo who is equally surprised.

''Beats me,'' he just shrugs and sits down next to me.

''One day, I'm going to put a lock on this door just you wait Charles Morgan.''

''Not if you keep on stuffing your face like that. I'll be surprised if you can even walk the distance from where you are to the door without gasping for breath.''

''I'm pregnant you idiot!!!'' I yell at him and put my plate of nachos down. ''Damn it Charles, can't you see!!!!''

''Okay, that's enough!'' Theo shouts. ''Love don't pay attention to him, you know he's just teasing you.'' Theo wraps his arms around me and hugs me. ''And you,'' he then glares at Charles, ''she's pregnant man, stop making fun of her, seriously. Also, the mood swings, remember?''

''You know I don't mean you harm with everything I'm saying, right? I just like making jokes, especially when you're the target.''

''I know,'' I sniff and wipe away the tears from my cheeks. '''Damn it, I get so emotional, I didn't even realize I was crying.'' I try to laugh in between but my throat was so dry, it just sounded like I croaked.

''Not a word!'' Theo warned Charles before he could even utter a single syllable.

''Damn it!'' he curses, ''I really had a joke ready, but I promise to behave, at least until the baby arrives.'' Before either of us could respond, Charles held up a finger and looked away from us.

''That was Mila, she is almost at the border. I got to go pick her up,'' his eyes light up at the mention of his mate and after a quick goodbye he ran out the door.

That night the four of us had dinner together after a very long time. Mila caught me up on everything at work, how she and Leo were able to work out a way for production to continue, how the office had a small memorial dedicated to Nancy, how Summer, the young intern was coping well as my new assistant and Mila's words not mine, she will be groomed to perfection by the time I get back.

''I cannot thank you enough for taking charge of Nightshade. It really means a lot to me,'' I sniff my tears away and clasp her hand tight. ''thank you so much Mila.'' Damn it, why can I not stop crying, ugh.

''No need to thank me Athena. Like I had said before, we are family, and we look out for each other.''

''Still, it means a lot.'' I smile at her and return to my food. I chose not to ask her to officially work for Nightshade right now because somehow it just didn't feel right. Now was not the time, maybe later. 

Mila and Charles didn't stay for too long after dinner and it was quite understandable. She was tired from her four-hour journey and I was tired from walking over to the kitchen from the living room.

As Theo and I prepared for bed that night, I got a nagging feeling that something was going to happen. No matter how hard I tried to shake it off, It just wouldn't go. In my current predicament the only position I could sleep comfortably in was if I laid on my back, with my arms crossed across my stomach, like a corpse. And that's how I spent three hours looking at the nothing but the ceiling above. That was until I felt a wetness between my legs. At first, I thought I'd peed on myself, but the pain that followed shortly indicated otherwise.

''Theo!'' my hand shot out in the dark and found it's mark, Theo's cheek. That was not intentional at all.

''What the actual hell!'' He woke up with a start, his hand massaging his right cheek where I had 'accidentally' slapped him.

''My water broke!''

''What?'' he looks around the room confused, eyes still groggy from sleep.

''It's happening!!!'' I scream in his face. ''I'm going into labor!''

''Oh shit! Let's go! Where is the bag? Where did we keep it?'' he suddenly goes into overdrive, looking lost and confused like a puppy.

''It is in.....the....closet....my side,'' I tell him in between breathes. Damn, Nadia's breathing exercises really do work.

''Okay, got it!'' he shouts from inside, ''come on, we've prepared for this. I've already mind linked Charles, they are on their way,'' he scooped me up in his arms like I weighed nothing and hurries down the stairs.

''He was awake?''

''Surprisingly yes. You doing okay?'' He looks down at me with nothing but love.

''I was until you asked....mmphhh...'' I grunt in pain, my fingers clasped around the fabric of his shirt. I hadn't realized the grip was tight until we heard the sound of ripping.

''Did you just tear my shirt?''

''I'm not even sorry,'' I wheezed and wiped the sweat off my forehead with the back of my hand.

''Ethan and your mom are on their way. Lila, Nadia and Selene will meet us at the hospital,'' he says after a few minutes.

How was everyone awake, it's like two in the night?''

''Is that what you're really worried about right now, love? You're about to give birth to our-''

''Aaahhhhhhhh!!!'' a scream escapes me, and I cling to Theo even tighter. ''GET. ME. THERE. FAST!!!!''

''Almost there baby,'' he whispers and fastens his pace. How he hasn't broke into a sweat is really beyond me.

I expected Charles and Mila to meet us halfway, but to my surprise they were outside the hospital, ready with a stretcher to roll me in.

''About time you guys got here, put her down,'' Devin instructs Theo, and he does as told.

''How far are your contractions?''

''What!! I DON'T KNOW!!'' I shout at the poor guy.

''About five minutes apart but they didn't last longer than fifteen seconds,'' Theo replies from my right.

''That means we still have time. Don't worry the alpha's room is ready, will just take you in there and wait. Okay Athena?'' Devin looks at me like a doctor normally would through his glasses, waiting for me to nod. Do all doctors wear glasses? Is that like a universal thing?

''Athena?''

''Okay. Yes, yes.''

''Good, let's go.''

The nurses and helpers all wheel me inside with Theo and Mila on each side and Charles somewhere close behind. ''About two weeks too early, eh?'' Devin chuckles and winks at me.

''Don't even.....,'' I grimace a little and continue with my breathing exercises while Mila wiped away the sweat from my face.

As soon as I was wheeled into the room and placed on the bed, I had expected the whole process to begin. I had hoped the contractions would get longer and closer, and that I would dilate enough and be ready to pop out babies, but it's now been two hours and the doctor says that the contractions are still too far apart, and I'm only dilated three centimeters.

''Oh goddess, this is going to be long night,'' Ethan slaps his forehead and leans against the wall.

''You think!!! You want to come trade places with me then!!!'' I yell at him and grab the nearest item I could to throw at his face. Here I am, drenched in sweat, my body convulsing in pain every three minutes or so, and there he is, my brother who is complaining because he has to wait, just to freaking wait!

''Athena, honey calm down and stop stressing yourself out,'' my mom comes to his rescue and peels the AC remote out of my hand.

''Where is Theo?'' I ask around after taking a few minutes to calm down, however the glares I was throwing towards Ethan did not go unnoticed. He finally gave in and snuck out of the room quietly.

''He is filling out some forms, he'll be back soon,'' mom replies and kisses me on the forehead. ''You-'' but her words were cut short as a blood curling scream escapes me.

Devin bursts in through the door with two nurses behind him and they begin to check on me once again. ''Not yet there Athena, I'm afraid you have hold on a little longer,'' he says.

''I cannot, I'm tired, please just do something,'' I plead to the doctor who is looking at me with nothing but pity. ''Please.''

But he didn't, he couldn't, and after another hour of tortuous screaming, cursing and finger breaking, mostly Theo's fingers to be precise, Devin announced that I was ready.

''You have to push Athena. On my count okay?'' Devin asks as he looks up at me, I couldn't muster the energy to reply so I just nodded.

''I need to hear you say it.''

''Okay,'' I managed to whisper and waited for him to count down. With an encouraging nod from both my mom and Theo, I pushed, harder than I ever have before and twenty minutes later the cries of a newborn baby filled the hospital room.

''Congratulations alpha, it's a girl,'' the nurse smiles down at me then at Theo. My mom was already sobbing as she looked between the baby and me.

''A girl!! It's a girl,'' she clapped her hands and wiped her tears simultaneously.

''Here we go, ready Athena, the second one is almost coming?' Devin smiles knowingly at me.

''What!!!'' a high-pitched scream echoed the room. ''There is a second one and you didn't tell me?!?!''

''We are sorry, but we wanted it to be surprise,'' Theo replies just as Selene lifts the spell off me.

''I need air,'' my mom fans herself and swings the door open, before yelling to everyone about the other baby. Sure, she needed air.

Theo and I exchange looks before he kisses me swiftly and whispers, ''you can do this love.''

I nod at him and channel all my remaining energy once again into pushing the second baby out. He came out faster than his sister and by the time the nurses took them for cleaning and dressing, I was slumped and almost passed out if it weren't for Theo whispering sweet nothings to me.

''You did it love, we're now parents.'' I may have imagined this, but I think I saw him wipe a tear or two from his eyes. ''rest now, you deserve it.''

''No, I want to see them,'' and just as I said that, both the nurses walked in holding my little bundles of joy in their hands and behind them, was the rest of my family.

''Athena you didn't tell us abou-'' someone started was cut off almost immediately by Lila.

''Shh, now is not the time, we will deal with them later. Let them bask in the glory of new found parenthood. ''

As Theo and I held each of our children, I couldn't help but think about everything that we've been through over the years, from the moment we met at Ethan's party. It has been a long ride and now here we are, stepping on to another milestone.

''You guys, the names,'' Mila squeals, ''tell us the names.''

Theo and I once again exchange glances. ''Go ahead love.''

''Everyone, meet Adara Nancy Argent-Robinson and Adrian Aiden Argent- Robinson.''

As everyone passed our children around and cooed at them, Theo leaned down and whispers to me lovingly. ''Thank you for accepting me, thank you for bringing these wonderful children into the world and thank you for giving me the title of a father. You're amazing, I love you.''

''I thought we didn't do 'thank yous', remember?'' I cock an eyebrow at him and smirk before pulling him down for a kiss, ''I love you too, always.''

***

And that's a wrap!!!

Thank you my readers for tagging along this ride with me, I appreciate your support.

Please vote as usual  :)

-Jessica.S