Page 1 of Bound by the Moon (The Ancients #4)

Up to this point in my life I had been shot, burned with wolves bane, beaten, poisoned, drugged, and nearly raped. None of that compared to the contractions I was now facing. Now, these crazy fools wanted me to push again? Seriously, never in my life had I wanted to punch my own mother, but I was definitely considering it at this point. If she told me one more damn time how all the women through history had gone through labor and I could do it too, I was going to… scream! And so I did.

“Come on, Jess, you can do it. I know you’re tired, but you need to push through it. She’s almost here now.”

“I’m.”

How could one word you leave breathless? “Not. Tired,” I managed to pant out in between the pains. “This shit hurts!”

“It’s okay, baby, just squeeze my hand,”

Mikael offered. I squeezed. He yelped. “Maybe not that hard,” he pouted.

I shot a scathing look at him, and he quickly shut up, and let me squeeze his hand as hard as I wanted. “Why would any woman volunteer to do this more than once?”

My mom smiled, “you’ll see.”

“I see…”

I breathed through the next contraction before continuing. “…already. No one in their right mind would suffer this way once they knew what it actually felt like.”

“Okay, Jess, time to push again, now.”

My mom called out to me, and I grabbed Mikael’s hand hard enough that I heard something pop. “That’s it, her head’s coming, push a little harder.”

I never thought anything could hurt worse than the contractions, but the burn of pushing a baby out definitely topped it. I forgot how to breathe. I forgot everything in that moment, except trying to push as hard as I could to get that baby out as quickly as possible.

“That’s it, just take a breath, and be calm.”

My mom was coaching as the contraction subsided.

‘Be calm,’ I thought, ‘who is she kidding? There’s a little person, currently lodged between my legs, and I feel like I could give out at any minute, and she’s telling me to be calm?’

“Okay, baby, I need you to push again as hard as you can with this next contraction. We need to get her shoulders out. Okay. Now. Push, Jess!”

My mom’s coaching voice was annoying the crap out of me. This moment seemed to go on forever, like I was locked in some perpetual hell where I was doomed to live the worst pain of my life for eternity. And then, suddenly, the sweet rush of freedom from all of the pain came flooding in as the baby made her way out. My mom had tears in her eyes as she held my little girl in her arms. It took a second, or an eternity, but then I heard that shrill cry coming from my daughter. She was just as unhappy with this process as I had been moments ago. I knew then that we would get along just fine.

My mom passed the baby off to Mikael so she could clamp off the umbilical cord, and help deliver the afterbirth. Mikael’s face was pure amazement as tears spilled freely down his cheeks. I’d never in my life seen anything more beautiful than the site of my mate crying over the birth of our baby girl. Now, I understood. I would go through it all again just to see that look of complete adoration on his face. Mikael finally looked up to see me smile at him.

He brought our baby to me, and put her in my arms. “Willow, meet your mommy,”

he managed to choke out through all the emotion.

“Mikael?”

My mom called out to him. “Why don’t you do the honors and cut the cord?”

He was doing just that when my dad walked in the room. “Eileen?”

He questioned.

“Jameson, come meet your granddaughter.”

My father’s hand flew to his face, rubbing across the stubble on his chin. I saw tears in his eyes then too. When he got close, he leaned in and kissed me on the forehead, and then repeated the gesture with Willow.

“She’s absolutely beautiful, Jess.”

He reached out one of his thick, calloused fingers and touched it to Willow’s tiny, puffy cheek. “I can’t believe my little girl is old enough to have her own baby now.” Dad shook his head in disbelief as I finally had a moment to take in the sight of my own daughter. The rest of the world seemed to fade away as I did.

Her head was full of deep brown hair and she was still messy from birth, but beneath that, I saw the beauty. She was my little miracle with those rosy cheeks. If not for her I wouldn’t be here, and neither would Mikael. This tiny, beautiful girl was the reason we were both still alive. I made a silent vow the day that the witch, Sophia, told me that only my pregnancy had saved me. As I looked upon my daughter’s face for the first time I reaffirmed that promise to her. “I will always do whatever is needed in order to protect you,”

I whispered into the softly curling hair of her head before I kissed her.

A throat clearing in the doorway brought my attention away from my daughter. “Sorry to interrupt. Jameson, we have a problem.”

“Then deal with it. In case you can’t see, my granddaughter has just been born,”

my father snapped.

“Patrols found another girl this morning.”

“Damn it.”

My father grumbled under his breath. “Well, unless the killer was still with her, I don’t suppose there’s a time issue now.” He raised his eyebrows quizzically at the man in the doorway.

“Actually, this one’s not dead, yet. We thought you might want to question her yourself. You know, in case she doesn’t make it.”

My father looked back at me then with an apology in his eyes. “Go!”

I nodded my head toward the door and managed a weak smile for him too. “It might be just what we need to put an end to this and make the pack that much safer.” I looked down at Willow as I said it, and he understood. He could miss these first few moments with his grandchild if it meant we our women weren’t under imminent threat anymore.

“I’ll be back as soon as I can,”

he announced as he rounded the doorway and disappeared into the hallway. Mikael looked between the now empty doorway and our daughter, torn between two impossible responsibilities.

“I’ll go,”

my mom offered. “Jess looks fine, and we’re done here. She just needs rest now.” She turned to me then. “I’ll send Sierra in to help clean you and Willow up.”

“Eileen…”

Mikael started, still not convinced it was right for him to stay.

“I will send for you immediately if I need to, Mikael. I know in my heart that Jameson would not want you to miss this time with them for anything. Believe that.”

my mom reassure him.

Mikael settled down then, and sat in the chair beside my birthing bed as Sierra came through the door carrying baby Jack. She put him down in the cradle, and came over to take a look at Willow. “She’s so precious, Jess.”

She leaned over, and carefully took Willow from my arms, “I’m just going to get all the gunk cleaned off of her, and then I will hand her right back over, okay?” Sierra glanced from Mikael to myself, waiting until both of us agreed before she moved another inch with our baby.

~*~

I must have nodded off for a bit, because when I awoke it was because someone had entered the room, changing the air pressure as the door opened. It seemed like such a small thing, yet I immediately went on high alert. My first instinct was to seek out my daughter, and make sure she was safe. I didn’t have to look far. She was resting peacefully in the arms of her father who was still in the chair beside my bed, staring down at Willow as if she was the most amazing thing he’d ever seen. I knew in an instant that I would never grow tired of seeing him dote on her that way.

Of course, as I drew my attention back to the doorway of our room, I realized there was never a threat to begin with. My mom stood there, as if not quite sure she bother us, but I saw the moment where resolve won out, and as she addressed my mate. “I hate to do this, but we think it’s important for you to come speak with this woman.”

When Mikael appeared slightly confused she continued on. “The victim that was found earlier. She has quite an interesting story to tell. I think you need to hear it.”

I didn’t hesitate. I flipped back my covers and started to get up out of bed before I noticed the horrified look on my mother’s face. “What do you think you’re doing?”

“I’m coming too. If Mikael needs to hear it, then so do I.”

“Jess, you just had a baby. Willow needs you, and neither of you should be out running about just yet. Most humans take at least two days before they’re even allowed to leave the hospital, and then they still don’t go running off for to work for a while after.”

“We’re not human, mother!”

I challenged her.

“No, but Willow hasn’t been through any changes yet, so for the time being she’s more human than werewolf. You need to remember that. Stay here, and take care of your daughter. Mikael and I will fill you in on what’s happening later.”

I huffed an indignant growl at my mother, but before I could get another word in edgewise, Ashley was there, filling up the doorway with her bright and shinning smile. “I can’t believe Asi and I were away for the birth!”

She screeched out, and was immediately shushed by Mikael as he handed Willow off to me. “Oops, sorry,” Ashley whispered.

“I’ll be back to fill you in as soon as I can, baby.”

Mikael offered as he bent down and kissed me. “Bye sweet girl, you be good for your mommy.” He leaned in and kissed Willow on the forehead then. I watched as he struggled with not wanting to go, and then I wondered what the hell was wrong with me that I was so ready to jump up, and get back into the mix of werewolf politics and intrigue, when I had such an amazing little gift right here in my arms to enjoy all to myself if I chose to?

“Love you,”

I called out to Mikael when he was nearly to the door. He turned his head, and smiled at me, those jeweled eyes of his catching the light and sparkling as he turned to leave. “Love you too,” he called back over his shoulder and then he was gone.

“You guys are too sweet!”

Ashley was staring at me as if I were hiding a big secret, and then I realized I had Willow bundled so snuggly against me that she couldn’t see her at all. “Can I hold her?”

“Of course you can! You’re Auntie Ashley, after all.”

“Oh my God! I can’t believe I’m an aunt.”

She squealed as quietly as she could as she took hold of Willow and breathed in her fresh baby scent. “She’s so wonderful, Jess. I can’t wait to hold my own baby. It’s going to be so amazing. How bad was it? Was it horribly painful? Or was the pain really just hyped up by a bunch of moms who didn’t want to see their babies get knocked up too young?” Ashley was rambling, something she only did when she was nervous, and had a secret she was hiding.

“Ashley? Do you have something you want to tell me?”

“Okay, fine. How do you always manage to pull things out of me? Your super power is interrogation, I swear it.”

I cocked an eyebrow at Ashley in amusement, because I hadn’t even tried to get the secret out of her yet. “When Asi asks, though, I am going to tell him you beat it out of me.”

“Fair enough,”

I agreed as I laughed at her. She stalled for a few more minutes while cooing to my darling daughter. Willow already had Auntie Ashley wrapped around her little finger, it seemed. “I’m still waiting,” I whispered to her.

“I’m going to have one too…”

she commented absently.

“Have one what?”

“A baby. We’re pregnant.”

I really took a hard look at Ashley then, and saw that her skin was aglow with happiness, and maybe some pregnancy hormones too. I also noticed that she was looking a lot puffier than usual. Her cheeks had filled out, her large boobs were way bigger than normal, and I could already see a baby bump.

“Wait,”

I yelped, “how long have you known about it?”

“A while, but I didn’t want to tell anyone. I told my mom, but she advised me not to say anything yet. She had four miscarriages before Jack, you know.”

“I didn’t know.”

Sadness swooped in with the mention of Ashley’s brother. “She thought you might have the same issues?”

“Apparently, it’s a regular thing with the women in her family, to have problems carrying pregnancies at first. She was lucky she went on to have three successful ones, because my Aunt Tricia only had one kid even though she was pregnant six times. It broke her. My mom didn’t want me getting excited about it until I reached the second trimester, just in case.”

“Second trimester? My God, Ashley, how far along are you?”

“Sixteen weeks,”

Ashley shrugged and offered up a sheepish grin.

“Sixteen weeks? Ashley, that’s four months! You went four months without telling anyone?”

I couldn’t believe it, because Ashley was not one for keeping a secret, at least not her own secrets.

“Aww, come on Jess, you know I can keep a secret. I never told a soul about the whole werewolf thing. Of course, I didn’t really think anyone would believe me anyway. Besides, Asi knew, and my mom knew. So, I had someone to talk to.”

I was a little hurt, because as her best friend, I should have been someone she could talk to. Ashley must have seen the look on my face, because she quickly added. “I didn’t want you worrying about me possibly losing a baby when you were so close to having your own, plus, you have a whole world of trouble on your shoulders already.”

“I get it, Ash. I do.”

I smiled, and grabbed hold of the hand she had tucked under Willow’s back. “I’m really happy for you guys!” I reached out and patted the protruding bump on her abdomen. “I am a horrible friend for not realizing sooner!”

“Shut it, and just marvel with me at this precious baby girl you made. She is perfect.”

Ashley cooed down at Willow, talking to both of us at the same time. “She’s going to be a stunner, Jess. You better hope I’m having a boy, so he can watch out for her, maybe beat the other guys off with a stick or something. They’re going to flock to Willow whenever your back is turned!”

“I doubt that very seriously.”

“What? Why? Have you not seen this beautiful girl?”

“Of course I have, but I also know her daddy, and any boy would be a fool to even think about trying to date her, let alone break her heart, or mate her.”

We both laughed at that. I wondered what Mikael would do if our daughter ever came home marked the way his brother, Evan, had marked me when we first met. It was probably best not to bring that up with him though.

~*~

Two nights later, under the full moon, I was parading Willow through the pack lands, on our way to her Life Celebration Ceremony. The lake had become our pack’s go-to place for life and death celebrations since Jack’s sending off. It offered us a full circle, under the moon, with all the elements of nature present. As we approached the rest of the pack was waiting in a semi-circle that started and ended on the pack’s side of the lake. With the moon reflecting their presence, it appeared as though there was a full circle. A young woman with chocolate brown locks stood waiting for us just beyond the circle. As we joined her, it was obvious she was still recovering from her ordeal, but I refused to have this ceremony without her. After all, we were celebrating the fact that she was still with us as much as we were celebrating the birth of my daughter.

“Tamara, will you join us this evening in celebrating life-both newly given and newly appreciated?”

I asked her as I approached.

“I would be honored.”

Her response was no more than a raspy whisper as her throat was still healing from the trauma the vampires had inflicted upon her. It was unreal how much she looked like me. We were the same height, our hair about the same length, and nearly an identical color under the moonlight. The difference being that where I had bright green eyes, hers were a bright blue reminiscent of the waters of the Aegean Sea. Willow was cradled in my left arm, and I held my right out for Tamara to guide her through the circle with us. As we approached, Mikael split apart from the rest, allowing us to enter beyond the barrier the semi-circle of our pack had made. We walked to the center, at the lake’s edge, and turned to face our pack-mates.

“This night, we celebrate the lives of two very important members. Willow Ash St. Marks De’Lune was born to this pack two nights ago.”

“We welcome you, Willow Ash St. Marks De’Lune.”

The pack intoned as one voice raising into the night sky.

“That same night, we welcomed Tamara Anne Simms back into our pack after she was nearly lost to us. We are thankful that she was returned to our pack and granted a second chance at life.”

“We welcome you, Tamara Anne Simms.”

The pack intoned as I finished.

“We welcome you both, and together we are one.”

“One pack.”

The pack voiced in unison, and then all those who could shift did so, howling their acceptance of our newest pack member, and the newly returned, as one spirit under the moon. Tamara took off in her wolf form, a great gray beast, to run with the rest of the pack. I stood firm, in my place as a mother, watching over my baby as the pack took off into the forest surrounding the lake. I felt their energy and excitement ebb and flow through the trees as they went, and I was exhilarated as if I was with them too. That was what it meant to be linked as a pack in spirit. I had never known, because I had been sheltered from that part of pack life growing up. I understood why my parents had done it, but I was thankful that Willow would always know what pack life truly felt like as she grew.

Warm, strong arms encircled me as I stood there by the side of the lake with the others who were pregnant and couldn’t shift, or looking after those too young to join in the run. “How are my beautiful girls doing?”

The spicy-man scent of my mate clung to me as he pulled us closer to him. His warmth seemed to seep right through my clothing and into my soul. It was an amazing feeling having my family together this way, with the pack energy all around us, and the illusion of safety in numbers.

“We’re doing just fine, now.”

I turned so that Willow was nestled between mine and Mikael’s bodies. He wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me into him, so that we all fit snuggly as one family unit and then he kissed me, underneath the moon as we celebrated the life of our daughter.

“I woke up this morning, and once again I thought maybe it was all a dream, yet here we are.”

He shook his head in disbelief. “I never thought to see the day…” his voice trailed off wistfully as the tell-tale glimmer of tears sprung up, misting his emerald laden eyes.

“Here we are. Your family. Your pack. Why don’t you go run with them?”

I, myself, looked out longingly at the forest. The wolf in me wanted to join the fun, and run and play with the others, something we’d missed out on for too many years. The other part of me was content to stay right where I was though. Wrapped in the security of my mate’s arms while holding my own daughter was a joy all its own.

“I don’t need to run, Jess. Everything I ever wanted is right here.”

How could I argue with that. Those very words stomped down my antsy little wolf’s feelings, and make her take notice of the truly important things in life. We were happy, for once, and it was time to soak some of that in and enjoy it before life crept in again and ruined everything.