Breathe.

It's just a moment.

It'll pass.

Breathe.

In.

Out.

In.

Out.

You got this.

Yes, you do.

You got this.

Just breathe it out.

"Ailia, I swear to the fucking goddess if you don't command that little shit out of me, I am going to bite your head off!"

My eyes widened, my words dying on my tongue as I stared at Eliza. Heat poured from her skin, leaving her in a shiny sheen of sweat. She was gripping Caleb's hand so tightly, gritting her teeth as she wailed through her pain.

"Eliza..." Caleb grumbled.

"You just have to breathe." I reassured her. "Inhale and push, just like the doctors said."

The room was full of people, all important people, of course. Eve was assisting Doctor Garcia in helping Eliza give birth. Caleb, being the devoted mate he was, had not left her side. I, however, was not expected to be here. So when I received a message from Eve telling me Eliza wanted me, I came straight down. I was not expecting to me stood beside an incomprehensive Eliza as she strained to push.

I don't know why she wanted me, but she seemed to seek for me as much as she did Caleb. The moment Doctor Garcia told her to push, she was baring down and taking hold of my hand. Eyes wide, I watched her as she strained, her entire face scrunching up with pain. Our hands warmed where we touched, and I stared down at her sweaty palm with confusion.

Eliza was human, yet I swear I could feel her through the bond in my head.

The weeks that had passed since the lake ritual worked; I found a part of myself waking up that I never knew had been asleep. My ability to communicate through my mind had improved incredibly, and with Asra's help, I was learning to focus on it more. It made understanding people easier and made my relationship with pack members grow.

I have never felt so connected to anybody, so full of warmth and wonder that I wasn't sure what to even do. Before, I had felt lost in a crowd of population, meandering through the pretty dresses and makeup as I hid my home life behind the same fake smiles. I felt connected; I felt welcome. The pack had truly accepted me as their luna and as scary as it was to be a leader, this one just felt right.

Back in Evermore, the weight of taking Darius' mother's place weighed too heavily on my shoulders. Every night I would wonder how I was to rule a town and make laws when those same laws did not protect me. Back then, I was confused, and my confusion grew to disbelief. Soon, I would block out my emotions and being with Darius became a norm that I got used to.

Now, I realised that my destiny was something else. I wasn't supposed to lead people; I was supposed to support them. A pack was a family, all of us individual and yet whole as one. You lived in the pack; you breathed the pack; you were the pack. Each of us had our own lives and yet when we needed forgiveness and acceptance the most, they granted us it. The Moon Goddess, in her strange way, had blessed us with the chance to lighten our load, and everything changed after that night.

But because of that, so had everything else. Lost between tidying up the porch, healing others with words and forming bonds with those that now lived in my head, I had little chance for anything else. Being a luna was a lot of work, which made me realise why Asra was in his office so much. It wasn't all fun and games; you don't just flit around making cookies for everybody.

I had to make sure everyone was okay, the bond in my head alerting me whenever somebody was not. Asra needed my support in phone calls and meetings, and being introduced as alpha female was definitely something I did not expect. So far, we have only had phone calls, and I knew that eventually, I would be face to face with the entire world as a luna.

From one person to the next problem, I felt like I needed to be torn in two. Just when I thought I had mine and Asra's relationship in my grasp, all these demands fell onto my shoulders, and I felt it slipping. I would go to bed tired, with nothing more than a kiss goodnight. I was exhausted, and right now watching Eliza push a melon out of her groin did not help the queasiness that came with it.

Speaking of...

Caleb didn't look so good either. His dark skin was dripping with sweat, and his eyes were pained. I wasn't sure if it was because of Eliza's emotions, pain, or just the grip she had on his hand. I would go for the latter because, for a human, she was damn strong.

"Here's the head!" Garcia announced. "Nearly there, now, Eliza."

My eyes bugged, darting to stare at the doctor with shock. Eliza wailed, screaming a curse as a sudden gush of fluid came from down below. With that one splash of shock, Eliza stopped wailing and held her breath. All of us did as we waited for what felt like an eternity before the doctor lifted a stinky, red, sticky gunk of a what was supposed to be a baby.

My nose wrinkled at the sight of the white and red substance across the way too red skin, but Eliza seemed to sag further into the bed. She sobbed, just as the baby did, as Garcia passed the baby to Eve, who lay it on Eliza's chest. I blinked, watching as Eliza touched that sticky tiny body and pulled into her chest. It was still attached to her, and I noticed Garcia working on something between her legs.

The baby wailing soon grabbed my attention, and I moved closer to stand beside Eliza's side. I peered down past Eliza's bare skin to find the scrunched-up face of... Caleb. Oh baby, you look like your daddy.

"Is it still a girl?" I wondered.

Eliza laughed softly through her tears. "Yes, Ailia, she's a girl."

I have never seen a baby before. Were they all this small and angry?

I cocked my head to get a better angle, lips pursing. Dark tufts of hair on its head, gunk across its entire body, and a weird snake thing coming out of its stomach. The baby had a wide, squished nose, puckered lips, and angry eyes as it cried. Damn, babies had an attitude problem.

To be fair, they did just get pushed out of a dark tunnel. It must've been warm in there. I imagine it's like when someone rips your duvet off you in the middle of winter and exposes you to the cold. Now that is horrible.

Caleb cut the cord next, severing the baby's tie from its mother and leaving part of it hanging from the baby's belly button. I watched the two new parents with a soft smile.

"What are you going to call her?" I wondered.

Eliza glanced up at Caleb, who looked down at her with a soft smile. I stared between the two, straightening my spine, when I noticed I had hunched over. Caleb turned his attention to me, puffing up his chest with pride. It made my lips quirk with amusement as he faced me.

"Calla." He grinned.

"Calla?" I wondered, making sure I heard right.

"Calla." He nodded.

"Well, then, hello to baby Calla." I mused.

They spent a few more minutes before Garcia announced he was helping to birth her placenta. Apparently, now there was a drug that made it just fall out, less pushing and pain. And let me tell you, when that thing came out, I was pretty sure I had turned paler than normal. I thought the baby was a strange red blob. This was something else.

Eve took it elsewhere for testing and I was just glad not to see it again.

Birth was gross.

"So, Luna." Eliza teased my name, and I turned to her with narrowed eyes. "Your turn?"

I stared at her incredulously for a solid four seconds before bursting into laughter. Eliza took it in friendly spirit, rolling her eyes at me.

"After all of that, I think I am good." I snorted a laugh.

Eliza grinned. "Sure, sure."

I narrowed my eyes. "Why are you saying sure like that?"

"Like what?" She batted her lashes.

"Like you know something I don't." I crossed my arms.

She grinned. "You can't say no when you don't know the future."

"That is true, but as for right now, it is a solid nope." I popped the 'p' just for good measure.

Eliza laughed gleefully, like an entirely new person than an hour ago. "Okay, Ailia, I will not pester you no more."

"Good." I grinned. "I'm glad she's okay."

Baby Calla had calmed down as was currently squished against Eliza's bare chest, and Caleb had finally collapsed into the armchair beside her. He was flexing his wrist with a soft frown, but otherwise he was happy, our own pack bond telling me he was content.

"Thank you for coming here." Eliza mumbled. "You didn't have to."

"Are you kidding?" I snorted. "Eve shouted at me!"

Eliza laughed. "Probably because I shouted at her."

"Eve's shouting is nothing to hide from. That woman has a vengeance when uncovered." I tutted, and she laughed. "However, I will leave you to it."

"You sure you don't want to hold her?" Eliza wondered.

I rapidly shook my head. "You don't know where I've been. I'm not clean enough for a baby! Besides, Caleb hasn't even held her yet."

Hoping for him to back up my point, I found he was asleep. My mouth fell agape with shock, shaking my head at the sleeping male. How could he just fall asleep like that?

"He won't be asleep long." Eliza mused. "I will have to get up and clean soon."

Garcia, who had been preoccupied between Eliza's thighs, popped his head up. I held back a snort, finding it comical. I had forgotten he was even here.

"I've just given you some stitches." He explained. "You had a second degree tear."

My eyes bugged, staring at the doctor like he had grown another head. "A what?"

His lips quirked. "She tore her perineum, Luna."

"That bit near your butt?" I gasped.

"It is common in humans." He nodded.

"And it's not in wolves?" I blinked.

"Wolves adapt and heal better." He shrugged. "If a human labours too quickly, sometimes they tear, or if their baby is too big as well. There are many types of tears, the worst can even go into your-

"Nope! Thanks! I'm good with the info." I interrupted.

Eliza laughed. "That's why it hurt so much."

"A bit of Caleb's blood should heal you up fine." Garcia rose, discarding his gloves.

"Thank you." Eliza breathed.

He nodded once at both of us before disappearing and telling us Eve would be back. Eliza sighed, head falling back into her pillow.

"I am knackered."

I laughed. "I bet. It looked exhausting from the side."

"I hope you have children one day, Ailia. I hope you find the courage within you, too."

Courage?

She must've noticed my scowl because her eyes widened. "Wait! Not like that! I don't mean because you're weak-I just-fuck. What I meant was, I hope you have children because you deserve a love like this."

"Asra gives me enough love."

"And what if you could wrap that love into a small present?" She wondered. "Of the man you love so much, combine it with you and create this amazing thing that you both can cherish forever."

I fell quiet, absorbing her words with a light heart. Is that what it felt like? A baby Asra? As interesting as it was, being able to create a carbon copy of him would be incredible, but the baby would probably end up like me and ruin it all.

"What you thinking about?" Eliza wondered.

I snorted. "An ugly baby me."

Eliza tutted at me. "Stop it."

Caleb chose that moment to stir, and I welcomed him sarcastically.

"Glad to see you awake after all your hard work."

He narrowed his eyes at me, stretching as he rose to his feet. "What did I miss?"

"I have a second degree tear. He said that it will heal fine with-

"My blood? On it." He nodded, eyes disassociating as he mind-linked somebody.

I rolled my eyes, but then my mind wandered to what they said. Humans could heal magically within an hour or less with wolf blood. Why were they not rolling this out in hospitals? The lives it could save. I thought I was dead, twice so far, and yet Asra's blood, and admittedly our bond, helped revive me.

Perhaps that was something I should bring up in my notes for the council about raising national coin wages for humans.

Something to think about...