adjective ~ at a later time; likely to happen or exist

NOVA

Minute one of being a lone sibling.

I watched Pollux slowly drift away from me, from the house, from the pack. Dust blew in the spin of the wheels, Pollux's face was barely noticeable through the tint of the back window. But I could feel the bond, feel it ache as I watched my twin leave. It all felt awfully dramatic, very filmesque.

"Nova, chill. He's coming back." Charlie reassured me.

I pouted. "I don't want him to go."

"He has to." Charlie sighed, patting me on the head like a child. "He isn't like you and I."

"He has a phone; he will call you when he has set up camp somewhere." Phoenix added.

I sighed, nodding. Phoenix smiled sadly, wiping the stray tears from my cheeks. I exhaled, straightening my spine and sobering up.

"Okay, I've had a cry. I'm ready to move on."

"That fast, 'ey?" Charlie snorted.

I glared at him from behind Phoenix, and his eyes widened. "You okay there Charlie?"

He nodded. "I'm going to work. Phoenix, you coming?"

I glanced up at my mate, who frowned at Charlie. I noticed his hesitance and knew straight away the cause.

"I will be fine." I rolled my eyes. "Besides, I need to speak with a certain brother about last night."

Phoenix sighed softly, turning to give me a firm, one-armed, baby-holding hug. I laughed softly as he told me to keep my mind open. It was always open; I enjoyed the comfort of Phoenix through the bond. Carefully, he handed me a sleeping Freddy. Annabelle, as if aware, scrunched and kicked her brother, causing Phoenix to roll his eyes.

"Be good, little terror." He told her.

I laughed gently as she gurgled, but neither she nor Freddy seemed to care. Phoenix and Charlie entered the pack house, my mate watching me until the door closed. Inhaling deeply, I looked out across the gardens. It was a gentle spring morning, and it made me happy knowing that brighter days were coming. I just hoped more in the literal sense.

Basking in the gentle silence for a moment, I exhaled my worries. The gentle grunting of the children in my arms had my head dropping to stare at them. It still baffled me I had birthed them; that they were here and very much real. I couldn't quite wrap my head around the idea of being a mother, most of the time feeling like I was in another universe.

Belle's fisted curled with agitation, and I knew I would have to feed them before I found my brother. Leo had taken the day off, but only because I forced him to. He would've happily gone back to work when it was the last thing his relationship needed. He and Molly needed to talk about their situation, not go to work and hide from it.

Entering the house, I sought a quiet space. There were various living rooms in the hotel sized house, so it didn't take me long before I found one. A wolf named Jenny was inside, and she quickly insisted she left to give me privacy. As much as I appreciated it, I also wish she didn't. I felt oddly lonely in my world, stuck like glue to these two babies that used most of my life force.

It was bizarre. Never had I felt so whole, so welcome, and yet... There are moments where I feel detached. People gave you the privacy you needed, gave you the space to get into your routine with your newborn, but it felt lonely. Nobody truly in this pack was comparable other than Molly or Kate. The two of them being new mums themselves gave me a sense of normality. But even then, there are moments where I felt restricted.

As both a mother and luna, there were things that neither of them could comprehend. Their children's lives were not in danger, nor was their very existence walking a thin line between hunted and safe. My blood, my children, my brother, my mate, my pack; all these things people wanted because they believed I had too much. I had a royal mate, unique children, and special blood. My heritage was the oldest and most powerful; I could rule the entire kingdom if I so desired.

And that was the problem.

Such a burden and my arms were only just wide enough to hold my babies. My shoulders were only strong enough to support them and also keep myself upright.

I felt like I was slowly sinking, the quicksand of time grabbing a hold of me and not letting go.

Twenty minutes and two sore boobs later, the twins were asleep. I pursed my lips, contemplating my next move. I wanted to find my brother and Molly and talk to them, but as I settled the twins down on the sofa, I found I did not want to move them. Annabelle never slept well, and so I found solace in the moments she napped. Most of the time, I would sit in silence and just breathe.

Sometimes, that was all I needed.

As I peered down at my sleeping infants curled into each other, I felt my lips curl into a smile. My hand fell onto their warm little tummies, rising and falling in tandem. Today they wore white velour onesies, the smoothness of the fabric brushing against my fingers. Freddy's had an embroidered dog on them, and Belle's had a bunny.

My finger traced the smoothness of their cheeks, the slight colour difference in their skin tone more noticeable now they were older. Belle seemed to take after her father, with dark hair and a deeper skin tone. Freddy had white-blonde hair, his skin paler with thinner lips. Both of their eyes were still a dark blue, but Kate had reassured me it was normal for babies not to develop their full eye colour until they were older.

I could only assume it would bless Belle with her daddy's gorgeous eye colour, and Freddy would have mine. It followed the pattern of their identities, so it would make sense.

I sat for a while longer, pondering the next few months of our lives. Soon they would be laughing, sitting, crawling, walking, talking, running, and possibly shifting. If they took after me, they would shift as an infant, but if they took after Phoenix, they would not shift until they were teenagers. Being the first of their kind, it was a moment for the history books. Werewolf culture only went back so far. My grandmother's only being created five hundred years ago meant that these two were going to go down in history. That scared me too; what exactly did the future hold for us? For my kids, my grandkids, and their children?

Charlie had already made bets with what he thinks the twins will be when they shift. He thinks I don't know, but I have an ear on all the rumours in this pack. As sly as he may be, I was better.

Sighing softly, I rose to my feet and stretched out my body. Tomorrow was Friday, which meant Phoenix had the afternoon off so we could bond. It would be the fourth time we had done it; the twins were now six weeks old. I was slowly getting used to letting loose, and Cel had zero complaints.

As if hearing me, she stirred and stretched the bond between us. I smiled softly as I felt her presence. Like a breath over my shoulder, she peered down at the twins. I felt my chest tighten with emotion, feeling overly proud of what we had created.

'What you created,' Cel teased.

Phoenix helped... I muttered.

'For a moment. But this was all you, Nova. You cooked them, you protected them.' Cel whispered.

I exhaled, nodding softly in agreement. I couldn't have done it without Phoenix. He is my everything.

'I agree.' She murmured. 'But own your power. Own what you have accomplished in such a short time.'

My lips curled into a soft smile when Freddy made a soft noise of content in his sleep. I think I will call Leo and Molly over here instead of finding them. What do you think?

'You are their Luna; they technically have no choice.' Cel mused.

I pursed my lips before tapping into my brother's bond first. To my surprise, he was alone with a wide-awake Reya. Whilst she was in a cheerful mood, I invited him down to the pack house. He agreed instantly, claiming that any excuse to leave the house was a good one.

I searched for Molly next and found her in the conservatory. Now that was not a surprise; it was her favourite room in the pack house. She adored the plants and the warmth, reading a book as she gazed out of the window. I must admit I enjoyed going in there when it was raining; the fat droplets on the roof made me feel all cosy inside.

The two of them arrived simultaneously, and an instant aura of awkwardness tightened the room. I frowned at the tension, telling them to sit. Molly took her daughter instantly, cooing down at her as my brother blinked across at me with disbelief.

My smile was tight, glancing between the two of them. "You two need to stop it."

"What?" Leo spluttered. "I haven't done anything."

"Please, I could pick up the tension and make it for dinner. It is that prominent." I rolled my eyes. "What happened last night shouldn't have happened, but it did. I know Phoenix apologised, but you can't keep this awkwardness. It's not healthy."

Molly scowled. "Don't you go Luna on me."

"Oh, I sure am going Luna." I tutted, smirking. "Phoenix admittedly was winding you up, and he admitted he knew Molly was pregnant. But he also claimed it was payback. Now, I don't know what for, but going by the scowl, you annoyed him. With alcohol as a buddy, scowls don't stay secret for long."

Leo huffed. "I may have done something."

"How bad?" I wondered.

"Charlie-coded."

I snorted, amused. "What the heck did you do?"

He shrugged, avoiding eye contact. "Just some training shit."

"Oh yeah?" I mused. "Care to enlighten me?"

"No." He snapped.

"Aw, Leo." I pouted. "How can we move on if you don't tell me?"

He scowled at my jokes. "I just... may have... called him whipped and said he should grow a dad bod."

"That's not so bad." I quirked an eyebrow. "I don't see how that provoked him."

Leo chewed his lip, uncertain. "I also mocked his... dick. I said his performance must be slow because of it... In front of the trainees."

I snorted a laugh, unable to hold it back. "Seriously? All of this because of that? This pack is full of children."

Leo scowled, but Molly stifled a giggle. I rolled my eyes, leaning back into the sofa as I stared at them. My eyes dropped to Reya, who gurgled and smacked her hands on her knees, before drifting to Molly's covered stomach.

"Have you seen Kate yet?"

"Not yet." She shook her head. "She's still part-time."

"Any idea how far along you are?" I wondered.

"Five weeks."

My eyes widened; I expected less from how raw it seemed. "How did you keep that a secret? No, better yet, how did you not smell that, Leo? You live with her!"

He was still sulking, eyebrows furrowed and lips pouting. "She smells like Reya a lot; five weeks is still early."

I couldn't help but grin, trying to hide my laughter so the twins remained entwined in sleep.

"I suppose you both learn from something here." I mused.

"Both of us?" Molly huffed.

"Yeah, you should express yourself more to other people and not hide secrets." I pointed out, and she frowned. "And you, my dearest brother, should not go around insulting men's physiques."

Leo grumbled. "I couldn't help it. He still looked good after being fucking locked up, and deprived of food and love."

"He's an alpha!" I laughed.

"Yeah, well, jokes to the dick are jokes to the heart." He tutted.

"So immature." Molly grinned.

"No, you are." He huffed.

"Proved my point." Molly tutted.

Leo scowled at his mate and me, causing us to giggle. Reya gurgled and Leo turned his attention to her next.

"You don't agree with Mummy! I am being teamed up against!" He scoffed. "This one better be a boy, because this isn't fair."

Molly scowled. "What if it's a girl?"

"They will outnumber me!" He complained. "Nova, can I borrow Fred?"

I scowled at the name. Fred was one I didn't like. He and Charlie both liked to tease me about it. The only nickname I found I actually liked was when Pollux called him Wolf. Coming from my brother, I knew it would be special.

"Freddy cannot help you." I shook my head. "Besides, they would still outnumber you three to two."

"Then we will have to have another." Leo insisted.

I didn't miss the way Molly's scowl and shoulders softened, and she shifted closer to him. My lip curled into a smile, happy the two were getting over their scuffle. When Leo's eyes softened at his mate, I knew they'd be just fine.

Question of the day:
I have brought back question of the day!!! Feel free to go back and answer the questions! It was time I brought it back lol
Today's question - if you could stop aging at any time, how old would you be?