I will be back
2. Baby on the way

Aleida’s POV

A contraction makes my face wrinkle. Oh, moon goddess, this hurts! I focus on my breathing and feel how the amniotic fluid continues to flow out all over the floor while supporting myself against the desk.

“Michael, can you please contact the pack doctor. Tell her that the water broke and that she should prepare. Make sure someone cleans up in here, too.”

His eyes fog over, and I know what that means; he’s mind linking the doctor. I wait patiently and continue to focus on my breathing. My pups aren’t supposed to make an appearance now!

“The doctor is informed, and someone is going to clean in here. I will help you to the hospital.”

He takes my arm and leads me out the door. I just have time to take a few steps before the pain becomes indescribable. He lifts me and carries me bridal style. All the passing members wish me luck, and I can’t even determine who’s who. The only thing I can focus on is the pain in my lower regions. I feel like I’m going to explode!

“Please, Michael, I love you. But if you don’t hurry, I’m going to have to kill you.”

He chuckles at me and shakes his head before walking faster; we reach our destination in no time. The doctor and a few nurses stand ready inside the room.

“Good evening, alpha. Isn’t this exciting? Are you in a lot of pain?” the doctor asks.

“It hurts like hell, Dean!” I exclaim, he chuckles at me, and I try to smile back, even though my whole body hurts.

“First things first, you need to change into a hospital gown,” he says.

One of the nurses comes up to me and hands over the hospital dress. I take it and walk into the connecting bathroom. It takes longer to undress than I first thought; my pups don’t make it easy for me. After a couple of minutes, I change and walk back into the room. Michael is still there, which pleases me; I can’t cope with this alone.

“I need you to lay down now, alpha,” Dean says softly.

I comply and move towards the bed. He examines me and announces that I’m barely open; this will be a long night...

Three hours

I pace back and forth in the room, annoyed that it takes much time for my pups to want to get out. Michael is at my side all the time, talking to me cheerfully. We even had time to go through all the pack work that I haven’t had time to catch up with. Now there’s nothing more to do than wait. Clare comes in a couple of times to check if we made any progress. I only allow Michael to be in the room as my next of kin right now; I know Clare means well, but I really can’t stand her in the room at the moment. I need peace. It won’t work if anyone but Michael is here. He’s like my brother, and it calms me down; I’m no longer alone in the world. Although, it’s my own choice to lose my real living family, mates, and friends. You can feel lonely anyway, and that’s okay; I understand that now.

“I can’t take this anymore! Why can’t they just come out of there!?” I exclaim in pure frustration.

“They’ll come out when they’re ready. It doesn’t get any better because you’re scolding the puppies all the time. Would you like to come out if someone scolded you on the other side?” Michael asks and puts his arms crossed over his chest while I just glare at him and continue to pace.

Twelve hours

“Please, please, babies, can’t you come out now? Mommy’s in so much pain,” I coo at my stomach.

I’m a few centimeters open now, but not enough to push. My back hurts, and I begin to get cramps in my feet. The pain is excruciating, and I’m very close to crying but refuse.

“Michael, can you be kind and call for Luis?” I ask him, trying to keep my tears at bay.

He nods and walks out of the room. It hurts so bad, and I don’t know what I can do to release it. Michael comes back inside with Luis behind him. As I see Luis before me, he reminds me of a dad, of my dad. I begin to cry, and he elopes me in his arms, hugging me close.

“It hurts so bad, Luis,” I sob.

“I know, Aleida. Your parents would be so proud of you. You have your dad’s willpower; you can do this.”

Nineteen hours

I’m trying to eat but throw it up again. The pain makes it impossible to eat or drink anything. It feels like I’m slowly dying, even though I know that isn’t the case. I’m about to put my pups into the world, and that’s worth all the pain I feel; I just want to hold my babies close to me and never let go. Michael is holding my hand, and Luis wipes my forehead with a towel. I’m sweating like a pig. Can’t they come out now!?

Twenty-seven hours

“Alpha, you’re open. It’s time to push.”

At this stage, I’m completely exhausted. There’s no energy or willpower left in my body. All I want is to eat junk food and sleep.

“You’re going to push on the count of three. One... Two... Three.”

I press with everything I have and feel something moving within me, but it’s far from being out. My scream from the pain echoes, and I weep like a little girl. Luis and Michael hold my hands. They don’t say a thing when I squeeze their hands in a vice grip.

“Good, Aleida. Keep pushing. That’s so good. I can see the head,” the doctor says.

I keep pushing and pushing. When Dean says that it’s only one last push, it feels like I’m going to break. My lower abdomen is clenching and bleeding. Baby cries fill the room—one out and still one more to go. The thought about the fact that I have to do this one more time makes me angry. And when I get mad, I get determined. I push with all the power I have stored, and another cry fills the room.

“Congratulations, alpha! You have brought two very chubby and healthy baby boys into the world.”

I’m crying from the pain and the fact that I actually made it through. The nurses dress my pups while Luis and Michael smile at me.

“Good job, Aleida,” Michael says and kisses my cheek.

“I’m so proud of you,” Luis says with tears glistening in his eyes.

Miliano POV

I’m staring at my map with a dark vision. We can’t replace Aleida no matter how much we look. She’s gone like smoke in the wind. There’s nowhere we can see her. I haven’t eaten or slept in days; peace, in order to sleep, is simply not there. The appetite disappeared a long time ago; nothing matters anymore. I should have told Aleida that I loved her before it was too late. That regret I’ll have to live with for the rest of my life. Ryan, my wolf, has left me. He refuses to talk to me, and I can’t exactly blame him. It’s mine and Kian’s fault that she left us. If we had only listened to her when she brought up that war that was coming seriously, then maybe all this wouldn’t happen. We don’t even know if she’s alive. Since our markings disappeared and she had rejected us, we can’t feel her at all. Not even the pain after which should come, all because she took all the pain for us because it was watching her walk away that hurt. We had pushed her so far that she saw no choice but what she did to make us survive. She gave her freedom and thus also her life for our sake. If I ever replace her, I’ll never let her go. Sudden pain in my stomach makes me squat forward. Damn, that hurts like hell! But I’m not hurt... That can only mean... Aleida! She must be alive! But why is she in pain? Is someone hurting her!? I run out of my office, ignoring the pain. ‘Must talk to Kian’ is chanting inside my head all the way.

Kian POV

I’m in bed staring into the wall. There’s no point in getting up; there’s no point in living anymore, not without her-my beautiful Aleida. I hope you’re all right if you’re alive at all; I can’t know. We’ve looked for her everywhere. Miliano and I don’t talk to each other anymore. We both accuse the other instead of standing up for our actions and dealing with the consequences that came after it. This is our fault. If I know Aleida right, I know she’s sure to feel guilty about the situation; or had. What do I know? If I ever have her in my arms again, I’ll ask for her forgiveness until the end of time if I have to; I love her and will do anything for her. Nothing she did or can do will kill my love for my lepa; she’s my life. If she’s alive, it’s hardly likely that she’s still carrying our pups. I’m sure Jonathan has killed them as soon as he got the chance, considering what he planned to do with her. To use her as if she’s some kind of mating female dog. It makes me growl noisily; no one puts puppies in the body of my Aleida except Miliano and me! If Jax were still with me, he would undoubtedly agree. But he’s not talking to me. No hard feelings here; I understand him. He’s disappointed in me, and rightly so. The grief that our puppies probably died pulsates inside me. It makes me let out a whine; I really want my own pups, and Aleida would be perfect for that. She likes children, she told me that, and I know that she would be an amazing mother. Even if she would be a frightening one, Aleida is very scary when she’s angry; I experienced it on the front row in front of our neighbor alphas, who was here when she gave me an order to get down on my knees. In itself, she used her alpha voice then, but she’s scary enough to bring down any fully grown alpha through a single angry glance. Her future pups won’t get away with any nonsense at all. I stand up from the bed, in need of a shower; I don’t get far before my knees buckle by the sudden pain inside me. I grunt loudly at the searing fire in my stomach. I’m trying to get up from the floor without success; I feel hot and tired like I can sleep in a freezer for a whole year. The door flings open, and my dickhead of a little brother comes in.

“What the fuck do you want?” I ask through gritted teeth; because I’m mad at him and because my whole body hurts.

“Can you feel the pain?” he asks.

“What does it fucking look like!?” I exclaim.

“Are you hurt?”

“No?”

“Then it’s Aleida,” he announces, and my ears perk at that.

“She’s alive?”

“She must be, considering neither you nor me are hurt, yet we feel the pain.”

“Is someone hurting her!?”

“I don’t know, Ki! How the fuck do you think I can know these things? I’m here with you, aren’t I? I know no more than you do!” he growls back.

He also falls to his knees when the pain increases. We lay there on the floor for what feels like hours until the pain only is a little nudge of being unpleasant. We pant and try to regain control over our bodies.

“We have to replace her,” I say.

“Yes. We replace Aleida, or we’ll burn down the whole wide world trying.”