Page 152 of Blood Fist

He rubbed his belly.Soon.

Two days later, Corric gave birth.

It was a rough affair. More so than usual. Halfway through, Iylah stopped making quips and grew serious. Jonen had to get up to pace around the tent. More than once, Ridan threatened to tie him down by his hair, but the alpha wouldn’t be soothed. They were nearly readyto call Brune from his position outside when the baby finally came.

Corric bled a lot and by the time he held his little daughter, he was fighting consciousness. Iylah and Sehleh were bustling between his legs, their words sharp and worried, but Jonen was with him, crying big fat tears as they looked down at their pup.

She was small. Covered in fluids with wisps of curly dark hair sticking up in tufts. Without having to see her eyes, Corric knew in time they’d change to his grey. If she was lucky, that would be the only thing she got from him.

With trembling fingers, he counted all her fingers and toes. He inspected every inch of her and only when he was sure she was breathing, her small chest steadily rising and falling, did he allow himself to hold her close and cry. She was perfect.

Jonen’s big hands covered his, enveloping them both with ease. Scarred and broken, they looked so out of place next to their daughter's soft, flawless skin.

Bringing her close, Corric breathed in her pup scent and felt the knot that had been lodged in his chest for so many years finally loosen. Jonen was talking beside him, murmuring sweet nothings to their daughter, but Corric wasn’t listening. He was too busy absorbing the weight he held in his hands.

Eventually, Sehleh and Iylah relaxed. Sehleh stroked her granddaughter’s hair and joined Jonen in weeping. Ridan had stepped back, a soft smile on his face as he watched the new family.

“Such a strong little alpha,” Sehleh cooed.

Prejudices Corric thought had long since been buried crept in when he felt relief at her words.An alpha.

“What will you call her?” Sehleh asked, dragging Corric from his thoughts.

Grey eyes flicked over her shoulder to Ridan. Corric held them for a long moment.

“Restrina,” he answered softly, attention never leaving Ridan. Beside him, Jonen and Sehleh gasped. They blubbered about how perfect it was, how her namesake would have been honored. Their voices were more background noise.

His eyes were wide, staring down at the little bundle. They grew shiny with tears he blinked away. Clearing his throat, he nodded quickly.

“Well,” he said, voice thick with emotion. “You’ll have your hands full with her.”

The pups grew in a time of relative peace. With each year, Ridan expanded and strengthened the Stone Blade. It wasn’t always easy. Border scraps and increasing Tetratorn flocks saw more scars etched across his skin.

But he was Stone Blade, and Stone Blade always won.

Tarro and Aeson took after their sire in size. As big as Brune, but with their dam’s speed, when they sparred, their blows sounded like thunder ripping across the plain. The clan began calling them the Thunder Twins.

With hair slightly darker than Ridan’s, smoldering dark eyes, and a thirst for fighting, they quickly earned a reputation as fearsome warriors. And notorious troublemakers.

Corric and Jonen never had another pup. Later, they would say that was a blessing. The world wasn’t ready fortwoof their children.

Little Restrina was every inch as brash as her namesake. With her sire’s compassion and her dam’s intelligence, there were very few people who could stand against her. Lean and strong, her long brown hair falling around her face in riotous curls, she conquered everything she set her mind to. She took to Corric’s dual swords, fighting with a lethal combination of Corric’s grace and Jonen’s tenaciousness. She often bested both the Thunder Twins.

And as their pups grew and had pups of their own, Ridan finally understood what Artrax meant.

The path you’re on has many turns. It is longer than you can walk, and while you will never see the end, you are the beginning.

He would eventually pass. His ashes would be scattered at the Shrieking Cliffs like so many before him, and he would finally rest.

But the legacy of Ridan Bloodfist would live on in the footsteps of generations to come.