What We Must Ch. 07

"Anne, you're one of the first women taken under the decree to get pregnant. There were reports of a couple of other Alphas being mated about the same time so you're going to be one of the first to give birth. We're just worried..."

Abigail looked at the tears of anguish coursing down Anne's face and stopped. Anne's voice was quiet, the question sticking in her throat. "Why did you do this to me?"

The talk had also upset Abigail, reminding her again that she could still become a victim of the virus. She'd made it past one hurdle, but there was nothing to say it wouldn't claim her at last. "We had no other choice."

*****

Devon came into the common room, obviously tired. Lily looked at him and made him a cup of tea. "So, what's going on with her now?"

He sat down heavily, and scrubbed his face with his hands. "I don't know. She woke up in the middle of the night and decided she needed to clean everything."

Lily smiled at him. "What?"

"It won't be long now."

When her time came, she reverted to wolf form and wouldn't let anyone near her, snapping and biting at anyone who tried to get close. Devon hovered in the room and she snarled at him.

Lily tried to maneuver him out the door. "Devon, I think it would be best if you leave."

"But she's having my pups."

"It's her first time and she's in pain. Anything that makes her uncomfortable will only make it worse. I'm sorry but she doesn't want you here."

"She's my mate."

"Devon, please, give her a little time. You can probably come back in later. Go get something to eat; this may take a while."

She whined as the first of her pups came. Then turned to chew the cord in half and lick the whimpering pup clean. Lily came near with a warm skin and Anne growled at her, nudging her little one towards her teats. She then curled protectively around the baby.

"It's OK, Anne; I just want to have a look at your beautiful baby."

Abigail, heavy with her first, squeezed past the others and into the room. "Perhaps she'll let me, Grandmother."

Devon was pacing in the corridor beyond waiting for any word on what was happening.

Anne was panting, and strained to deliver the afterbirth from her firstborn. Abbie reached out to her and she bared her teeth. As Abbie reached for the baby, Anne took her hand with her teeth, not breaking the skin but giving a clear warning.

"OK, sweetheart, OK." Abbie backed off as well.

Devon pushed into the doorway and Anne again growled at him. "Grandmother?"

"It looks to be a healthy pup, but she won't let us near it so I can't tell you if it's male or female." Anne whined again and Lily saw the muscles in her belly ripple. "We were right, Devon, definitely twins."

The time passed. Some of the other members left and returned, making small meals, passing food to Devon, who refused to leave the corridor, and Jen and Lily, who continued to try to attend the new mother and her pups.

The second pup came, a little darker than the first, and her response was the same, clean the pup, nudge it toward her teats and warn everyone away from her babies.

The afterbirth came and Lily took it and straightened up. "Alright, Anne, now that wasn't too bad, was it? You've got two beautiful babies. How about we let Devon back in?"

Her eyes shone amber and the rumble started in her chest, but before she could give voice to the growl it turned to another whine. Lily checked her belly as she panted. "Goodness, Devon, there's a third."

The voice, somewhat awed, came from the door. "Triplets?"

Night came and more time passed. Anne whined and strained. Her contractions continued, but the last pup did not come.

Devon continued to pace the corridor, wincing at every whine. He wanted to see his little ones but didn't want to upset Anne further. But then, again, the way she had treated him these last months, why should he care if she was upset? She didn't care about him at all. And he realized then how much he did care. That it hurt every time she pushed him away after she got pregnant. That he thought she was the best female Alpha he could have gotten. That he was worried about what was going on in there and that it seemed like something could be wrong. That he could lose her.

The waiting gave him time to further evaluate his thoughts and feelings. Beverley. He had been so happy when she picked him, so happy when she got pregnant, and so despondent when she died. He had thought that this marriage to an outsider was a desecration of his love for his first wife and, while he knew, mentally, what the council's edict entailed, he hadn't counted on the feelings that were evoked.

This wasn't the way it was supposed to be; everything about it clamored at being wrong. But, he had found her, brought her here, changed her, touched her, and now, she was bearing his pups. Two already, and a third to come. His heart swelled with the knowledge that he now had children of his own. They should have been his and Bev's. But it was Anne who was presenting this gift to him. She was so unlike Beverley. How could he love two women who were so different? Wait, what? Did he just say he loved Anne? Did he?

He closed his eyes and bowed his head, fondling the pendant on the chain around his neck. "Beverley. I miss you. I don't love you any less for this. But, even though she is having my children and is my mate now, I don't think she'll ever love me."

The protracted labor was taking its toll on her and Lily got concerned. "Now, Anne. I need to check and see what's going on." Waiting until the current contraction ended, Lily checked on the last pup. It was there, in the birth canal, but it was very large.

A grave look on her face, Lily turned to Jen. "Go get the rest of the obstetrical equipment down here."

Jen looked at Lily. "What's wrong?"

"The pup's too big. We could lose them both."

Jen hurried from the room and up to Medical. Grabbing a tray full of instruments, she moved quickly back downstairs. Devon was half asleep outside the door when she returned and he heard the clank of the metal and Anne's cries. He looked up, startled, rose and entered their bedroom.

"What's wrong?"

Lily ignored him. "Jen, do you think that you can do this?"

Jen took a deep breath. "I hope so."

"Will somebody tell me what's going on with my mate?!"

Lily took Jen by the shoulder. "OK, check her out and see what you can do. If this doesn't work, you know what's next."

Jen nodded her head with a grim look on her face, glanced at Devon, and moved behind Anne.

Lily took Devon by both shoulders and moved him away from the nest. He glanced at Anne before staring at her. "Devon. Devon, listen to me. The pup is too big. It may already be dead. I don't know if we can save them both." Devon now looked at her with horror on his face.

"But.. But.. No. You can't let them die."

"Jen is going to do everything she can. But Devon, we may have to sacrifice one to save the other. And, if she is damaged in the delivery, it may not be safe for her to carry again."

"No." He broke free of Lily's grip and went to Anne's head. Weakened by her ordeal, she could barely muster the energy to growl at him. He stroked her ears as Jen concluded her examination.

"It's got one leg back. I'll see if I can straighten it and then give her some help." In between Anne's ever weakening contractions, Jen worked to pull the pup's foreleg forward. A look of amazement appeared on her face. "It's alive. It licked my finger!" She then pulled a pair of forceps from the tray and worked the edges around the pup's head.

"OK, Anne, you've got to push for me." Anne whined and strained as Jen maintained traction on the pup. She fell back panting.

Devon was watching. "C'mon, love. It'll all be over soon." More whining, but no further advancement of the pup. Jen looked up at him from her position. Shook her head. "Anne. Our pups need you." His voice dropped a little. "I need you." More whining but nothing else.

Lily came up behind him, put a hand on his shoulder. "Make her mad."

He looked at Lily, "What?"

"Dead or alive, the pup must come, or we lose them both. And, with Abigail not delivered, maybe these two as well." He looked back at Anne, pulled away, and stood, clenching his fists and mumbling under his breath. 'Make her mad.'

"Well, I guess I'll have to go out again and find a human female that's strong enough to have my babies. I suppose I shouldn't have expected so much from you." He found it hurt him to say these words to her.

Anne raised amber eyes to him, bared her teeth, and bore down. The forceps slipped as the pup finally made his entrance into the world. Lily picked up the little one and rubbed it briskly with the skin and Anne's head fell back to the bedcovers.

"Get her some water." She brought the whimpering pup to Anne's head and she licked it, weakly. "He's a beautiful boy." A pup as black as coal, she placed him next to his sisters.

"Two girls and a boy, Devon. You should be pleased."

The afterbirth came as Devon was giving Anne some water. He heard Duncan shouting down the hall. "Two girls, and a boy! Woo, hoo!" He'd wake the entire pack.

It was a cause for celebration, but she was exhausted. Jen checked that the little bit of bleeding stopped, then helped Lily clean up. Leaving the room, they closed the door quietly on the new family.

Devon knelt at Anne's head, stroking her ears, her fur. "Thank you."

The rest of the McKenna pack crowded down the corridor, wanting to see the new members of the pack. Lily stopped them.

"Not now. She's had a very hard time of it. We almost lost her and the boy. She needs her rest. They'll still all be there in the morning."

Devon pulled off his clothing, and curled up behind her. Even in her sleep, a growl rumbled in her chest. He stroked her side, then touched the fantastically soft fur of his children. He shifted as well, and laid beside his mate, and their babies.

*****

The rest of the pack came down before breakfast bearing food for the Alphas. After a knock on the door to warn them, Duncan opened it and looked in. The little ones were suckling as Anne cleaned them with her soft tongue. Devon, the proud father, looked on at his new family, laying there with his head on his forepaws and staring at them as if he couldn't quite believe they were real. Anne growled at Duncan as he entered the room, with the others following. Devon put his nose to hers and she stopped.

However, she still looked nervous and her eyes glowed faintly as the others came in to admire the pups. Lily tried to calm her down so that the others could get a closer look. "Anne, no one's going to take your babies, or hurt them. We just came to see them and welcome them to the pack." She curled a little tighter around the pups and Devon licked her forehead as she refused to take her eyes off the others.

Seeing that she was still hesitant about letting anyone close to her babies, Lily tried a different tactic. "I think it may help if we don't all crowd in at once. She may feel better about it if we took turns." They automatically shifted position, setting themselves in rank order, so that it was Duncan that came closer first as Lily persuaded the others to wait in the hallway.

Duncan crouched near the nest and Anne raised her head to him, prepared to warn him off. He didn't make any motions to touch the pups, so she relaxed a little. Duncan patted Devon's head. "Congratulations, Devon, you've done well." Anne wasn't particularly pleased with this compliment - had he done it all by himself? "Anne, you've produced some lovely pups." Produced? Produced? Right, livestock, she'd forgotten in the aftermath of the birthing that she was really nothing more than that. Her eyes started to shine amber again and she considered giving him a bite he wouldn't soon forget when he stood and left the room.

Marcus came in next to offer his compliments to the new parents and was followed, in succession, by the others. Beth and Nick were last and Anne was taken aback when Beth grabbed her neck and hugged her. "I'm so happy for you. They're so pretty. Would you mind, really, if I touch them?"

In response, Anne unwrapped a bit from the triplets and allowed Beth the chance to pet them, lightly. "They're so soft!"

Nick took her hand. "C'mon, Beth, we probably shouldn't stay too long. They were up late and are probably tired."

"Oh! I'm sorry. Thank you for letting us see them."

Jen came back in briefly to check that Anne wasn't bleeding or prolapsed. Satisfied, she told Anne that everything seemed to be OK and to let her know if she was having any trouble.

*****

The next council meeting was coming soon and they had something new to report, births, and baby girls. Devon weighed the news and how it would be taken by the others. Maybe it wouldn't be such a good idea to tell them everything. After all, since several of the other packs weren't doing as well, it would make them an even more tempting target. While he had a responsibility to the council, his greater responsibility was to the safety of his pack.

Hmm. ... Got it!

At supper that night, he shared his plan with the rest of them. It was a way to dissuade Ian Matlin from coming to their range and attacking them in a bid for Anne. At the next council meeting, they would announce two births, and a death. Report that Anne had had a girl, to allow the others that hope, and that she had died as a result. The second birth would be a reason that the pup outlived its mother.

*****

She had taken no part in the naming. The boy was Callum, for his father, one of the girls was Alana. The eldest, he named Joy. Callum had a small scar on his forehead from the forceps and had his father's coloring. The girls looked more like their mother.

The maternal drive had kicked in with a vengeance; she was taking such care in the little ones, and seemed to have enough milk for all three. She was still sore, and tired, when Abigail delivered her boy three days later.

In a meeting with the others while Anne was resting with the pups, Devon cautioned them all to continue to be watchful of her.

"You don't think she'd run off and leave her babies?"

They all hear the pain and resignation in his voice. It really wasn't good for the pack that their Alphas weren't close. "I hope not, but I just don't know. She's not happy here, and she may think she's held up her end of the bargain."

Lily's voice came from their midst. "You don't have anything to worry about, for now."

Devon looked to his grandmother. "How do you know?"

"You've all seen it. Her maternal instinct is very strong. She won't leave her babies and she won't leave without them. She can't possibly get away from us with all three of them now."

Devon accepted her reasoning. "OK. But, still. I'd feel better if she were kept in sight."

A frown came to his face as he returned to their room and heard Callum whimper and the girls fuss. He stood outside the door and listened to her talking to them.

"Enough, greedy guts. Your sisters are hungry, too. If there's more left after they get done, you'll get another turn."

He opened the door and looked in at his mate and his children. She was sitting in the rocker he had made with a short skirt on, and Joy at her breast, while rubbing Alana's belly. Her long hair was done up in a braid, held with a piece of rawhide, hanging over her right shoulder. She had lost the weight she had gained with the babies and wore a wonderful, new mother glow. "Just give me a minute to recover from your brother, sweetie." The nipple on her other breast was erect, an angry red in color.

She looked up at him. "He's insatiable. He'd nurse all day long if I'd let him." She shifted a little, adjusting Joy.

"Since you're here, could you burp him?"

"You know, you could nurse them all at once..." He picked up his son and put him over his shoulder, rubbing his back.

"Yes, and then he pushes them around."

"They're starting to establish rank."

"They can do that in a month or so. And they have teeth."

"Milk teeth."

"They're still teeth. It doesn't hurt them to take turns, and I've only got so much."

"Should I be asking Abigail if she can help?"

She pulled Alana up, closed her eyes and winced as the little one took hold. "I think I'm OK for now. He was falling asleep; he only got upset when I pulled him off." He gave her a look. "Feel his belly; it's tight as a drum." He checked; she was right.

"You don't have to get defensive.."

"Then don't act like I'm doing something wrong. They're all clean and well fed."

"I didn't accuse you of anything." His voice was rising.

"Calm down, you'll wake him." Sure enough, Callum had fallen asleep on his shoulder. He set his son down in the crib with a kiss, turned, and headed for the door.

"I'll see if we can get you some salve."

He hunted down Lily, who looked at the grim look on his face and shook her head in sympathy. "Do we have any kind of salve for her nipples?"

"Sucking her raw, are they?" He nodded, sat heavily in a chair. "What is it now?"

He closed his eyes and sighed. "I can't do anything right. She takes everything I say as a criticism. I keep trying but I don't know what to do anymore. I'm not sure she'll ever get over the fact that I brought her here."

She sat in a chair opposite him. "Devon, honey. She just got over a difficult birth. Her hormones are all over the place. She's sore, tired, and trying to cope with three babies at once. And these are her first so she's not sure of herself. She needs time to settle back in." Lily patted his leg.

He stood and clenched his fists. "That's just it. She's had time. It's been months. I know I said we wouldn't rape these women but I still basically forced myself on her; she didn't want me. I don't know if she'll ever forgive me for what I've done to her, what I had to do. And I don't know how to tell her she's the best thing that's ever happened to me. And I'm not sure it would make any difference to her if I did."