bChapter /bb299 /b

    Yorick

    Four Months Later

    Life has been as difficult as Cyra and I expected it to be. Our pace is grueling, made more so because of Cyra’s pregnancy. Alpha Nevaeh has been incredible, working with us to make sure we didn’t fall behind in our studies. I know it’s a lot harder for Cyra, her body has changed a lot over the bpast /bbfew /bmonths and even after the nausea ended, she still suffered with more fatigue than usual.

    However, having to be excluded from sparring has allowed her to be more knowledgeable of the pack’s management. While I attend sparring ss every day, pushing myself harder and harder to ensure a ce on the C–Squad, Cyra uses that time to work with my father. It’s amazing to me what she’s learning and how quickly she’s picking it up. I see it in her discussions with me each night when we talk about our day, but I also see it in our afternoon. sses. She has more insight than I do about how the things they are teaching us could impact a pack.

    When we spoke to Alpha Nevaeh about Cyra’s pregnancy, we were worried what would happen once Cyra delivered. We know she’ll miss at least a week of school, but once she’s back, what do we do with the baby? We can’t leave our child unattended while we take afternoon sses. Knowing that we’ll still have four to five months of sses after she delivers, it was a real concern, not only for Cyra but for me as well. I didn’t want her pregnancy to interfere with her ability to achieve her goals.

    The answer to our problem surprised us. The instructors all agreed that they would help us during afternoon sses. If they aren’t teaching the ss, they are willing to watch our pup for us. It’s a half a day, five days a week, but it gives the instructors a little extra money, and we know that if anything should happen, we’re right there.

    The packhouse is nearlyplete. That has been a blessing for more than one reason. The timing of Cyra’s pregnancy gave us an opportunity to design our Alpha floor the way we wanted it. Knowing we would have a pup right away, we included an adjoining door to the room next to ours so we can have ba /bnursery while our pups are young.

    Beta Eric has also been able to design his floor for his future mate and pups, and in what I consider my first and best win against Quirin, Landon and L have been able to design their own Gamma floor, having chosen to be our Gammas.

    That had been a huge weight off our shoulders. The transition of the pack to Beta Eric had been easy. He was already a Beta and those who were used bto /bBeta Lewis knew he was ready for retirement. Gamma Elliot was thrilled to have an exit strategy and since L isn’t attending sses at the Academy, she and Elliot spend time together every day on video chat while he teaches her the ins and outs of being a Gamma. Much like me, Landon always gets a proud look on his face when Cyra and L begin talking about the pack and what’s going on. The two of them work well together and are already starting

    to make decisions for our pack.

    And since L is inow /ipregnant too, it’s a good opportunity for our mates to have someone to talk to while they navigate their first pregnancy. Alpha Nevaeh has moved Cyra, Landon, L, and I to a quieter part of the Academy. That way our pups won’t keep the other students awake and the students who are upte partying won’t keep us and our pups awake.

    There was one other thing that we’ve done that was very important to me and even more so to Cyra. It urred to me during Arden’s trial, but with everything going on with the pregnancy, needing to make arrangements for continuing sses, making arrangements for Landon and L to start training as Gammas, it had taken longer than I wanted to approach the subject with Cyra.

    When I did, she’d begun crying. She tried to me it on pregnancy hormones, but I know it meant a lot to her. So, about a month agob, /bwe made bit /bofficial. We both changed ourst names to Teymoori–Hill, hyphenating our names so the Teymoori name could continue through her bloodline.

    When we’d told her Uncle and cousin that she was pregnant, they had asked if they coulde see us after the baby is born. Cyra and I have bmade /bba /bpoint to call Alpha Arman weekly on our way back to the Academy so that we can stay in touch and build a stronger bond with them. We’ve bstarted /bconversations about an alliance agreement and when theye for our pup’s birth or our graduation, we’ll sit down and finalize bthe /bagreementb. /bbI’m /bletting Cyra handle that because, well, she’s the real Alpha of our pack. She tells everyone that we’re partners, and the pack calls bboth /bbof /bbus /bbAlpha/b, bbut /bin reality, she’s doing everything besides training our warriors. Neither of us mind, though. We both know my path bis /bleading me belsewhere/bb, /bbat /bbleast /bbfor /bbnow/b, and hers is to lead our pack.

    I watch her rubbing herrge belly as we pack for our weekend home. I step up behind iher/i, putting my hands bon /bbmy /bbson /bbas /bbThad /bbbegins /bbpurring /bbloudly /bbShe /bleans back against me, letting Thad’s purr ease her aches and our son’s restlessness. She’s bvery /bbclose /bbto /bher bdelivery /bbdate /bband /bbI’m /bbhoping /bbthat /bbwhen /bwe see my mother again this weekend, we can decide if Cyra stays behind bto /bhave the baby bin /bbour /bbpack /bor bif /bbshe /bbthinks /bbCyra /bbhas /bbanother /bbweek/bb. /bbNeither /bof us want her to deliver our pup at the Academy. I’m sure Dr. Johnston would be fine, bbut /bbshe’s not /bbmy /bmother. I’d feel a blot /bbbetter /bbif /bbmom /bbor /bbeven /bbKennedy /b

    b1/3 /b

    were bto /bdeliver our pup. However, since Kennedy just delivered her tripletsb, /ball three bboys/b, a set of identical btwins /bband /bba /bfraternal btriplet/b, she won’t be delivering any pups in the near future. Quirin was absolutely thrilled, although I heard that Kennedy had to yell at him again babout /bbpassing /bbout/bb. /bGoddess. bI /bhope I bdon’t /bpass out when it’s Cyra’s time.

    My son shifts against my hands, and I gently rub Cyra’s stomach.

    “He’s so big! He obviously takes after his father,” she groans.

    “I’ll take that as apliment,” I growl in her ear.

    She grins, her eyes remaining closed. “It was meant as one. But this pup is running out of room. How the hell did Kennedy carry fourb?/bb” /b

    “They didn’t go full–term. Just like the triplets were born before our son, her quads were born a bit early as well.”

    “How are Kennedy and the pups doing? Have you talked

    ito /i

    her? Your father said the delivery was easy.”

    “I haven’t talked to her, but I figured we could ask mom when we see her this weekend. I think she’s only leaving Quirin’s pack toe check bon /byou band /bL.”

    “Well, that and the other pups that have been born recently,” she says.

    That has been another blessing in our pack. I’ve heard my mother’s mantra all my life about no one dying in her hospital. But when it’s your pack members, when it’s during a delivery for a pup they never intended to have, when both the mom’s and baby’s lives are on the line, her words mean so much more. All four of our older pregnant she–wolves had harder than normal pregnancies, but two nearly lost their pups, and one nearly died during delivery. It was only my mother’s expertise that saved them all.

    Because the council was keeping tabs on those females, ready to add involuntary manughter to Sten’s charges if any of them died, they knew it was my mother’s skill as a doctor that saved them. Now, they are practically begging her to be an instructor at the Academy. They’re willing to open ban /bentirely new school of medicine for her to lead.

    I didn’t think she’d consider it, knowing how busy she stays in all our packs, but Hacker, who is still dating Wendy anding to our pack nearly every weekend to see her, mentioned whispers about one of the council members retiring. Because he’s dating Wendy, I’m getting a bit more of the inside track of what goes on at the council and the rumor is, they’re looking at my father to take a seat on the council. If he does, that would mean he and mom would be spending more time in the city, making it a lot easier for her to work at the Academy.

    As we do every Friday on our way to the pack, we talk about what we need to aplish over the weekend. We definitely want to see how the packhouse ising along. The kitchen should have been installed this week and if so, we should only be a couple of weeks away from being able to move the pack into the new packhouse. Everyone has gotten really excited about moving now that they’ve been watching the packhouse being built. The pack has be more cohesive and the need tobine our pack into one packhouse has intensified. It will be so good to have everyone together in one ce.

    I keep my eye on Cyra after we arrive. She’s more quiet than usual and she’s been rubbing her stomach almost constantly since before we left the Academy. I notice my mother pull her aside before dinner. Because I know that she’s more ufortable than normal, I go see if everything is okay.

    “Why don’t we just go check on your mate, Yorick. If she’s this ufortable, she could be in the early stages ofbor. We’ll check and see, and if it’s not or if it’s too soon, we’ll let you sleep in your bed tonight and we’ll check again in the morning.”

    I take Cyra’s hand, walking with her and mom to the pack hospital. I can feel Cyra’s nervous excitement. But when my mom checks bher/b, bshe /bsays bit’s /bbnot /btime yet.

    “This looks like the early stages ofbor, but since your contractions aren’t strong yet and they aren’t consistentb, /bbI’m /bbgoing /bbto /bbsend /byou back bto /bbthe /bpackhouse. If anything changes overnight, wake me up. Otherwise, we’ll check you again in the morning. But I’m bpretty /bbsure /bbyou /bbwon’t /bbbe /bbgoing /bbback /bbto /bthe Academy on Monday, Cyra. It’s almost time,” Mom says excitedly.

    Because I know she’s ufortable, I order food up to our room and I spend the evening helping to ease my mate’s bdifort/bb. /bbI /bbmake /bbsure /bbthat /beverything is ready for our little pup. This packhouse isn’t set up the way we’ve set up the new one, but bwe /bhave beverything /bbwe /bbneed /bbfor /bbour /bbpup’s /bbfirst /bmonth until we can move to the new packhouse with our built–bin /bnursery.

    Mom said sex could help initiate the birthing process, so before we go to bed, Iy behind my bmate/b, sliding inside her band /bbgently /bbteasing /bbher /bbinto /bban /borgasm. Afterward, Thad purred at her, helping her to fall asleep and bonce /bher breathing leveled bout/bb, /bbI /bbfollowed /bbher /bbinto /bbsleep/b.

    b“/bYorick, wake up,b” /bCyra’s anxious voice has me opening my eyes,

    b“/bWhat’s wrong?”

    “It’s time,” she says.

    “Are you sure?”

    “Yes. It’s time.”

    I help her out of bed and almost immediately, she doubles over, clutching her stomach. Since it’s the middle of the night, I scoop her into bmy /bbarms/b.

    ‘Mom!‘ I say, pushing my voice into her mind.

    ‘Yorick?‘ Annika asks sleepily.

    ‘Wake mom, Annika. Cyra’s inbor.”

    ‘We’ll be right behind you,’ she says and I can feel her waking my mother, so I disconnect the mind link and focus on my mate.

    My mother reaches the pack hospital immediately behind us, looking awake and ready to deliver my pup.

    After talking to Cyra and getting her settled, my mother agrees that she’s inbor.

    It’s hourster, hours of pain that I try to take from my mate, but this is something that I can’t help with. I can only be here with her, supporting her while she pushes and delivers our son.

    It’s just before sunrise my when my son makes his appearance. My emotions overwhelm me as I cut the umbilical cordb, /blooking at the beautiful baby boy in my mother’s hands. She shows him to Cyra before taking him aside to clean him and check him over as I turn to my mate.

    “You’re so perfect. You did so well,” I say, my voice tight with the extreme emotions that I’m feeling, my own and Cyra’s.

    I kiss my mate, tasting her tears. Then, I kiss her tears away just as Mom brings our son andys him in Cyra’s arms.

    “Have you decided on a name?” she asks.

    We did. Just like with Cyra’sst name, we wanted our son’s name to follow her Persian heritage.

    “Momi, /imeet our soni, /iAlpha Cyrus.”