Welcome back to the lost luna series!!! remember this isn't a standalone, it's book four!!
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COPYRIGHT ©️ ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 2021-2025
Heather Miller and/or the alias XDeafening_SilenceX ©️

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adjective ~ capable of or intended to protect someone or something from harm or injury

NOVA

When someone told me the best part of being a mother was my children, I believed them. It was true, of course, the twins were my greatest gift. But over the course of the first few days, I had learnt that the greatest part of bringing life into the world is how much life I brought into everyone else's.

Despite the exhaustion, the achy boobs, the headaches, the emotional downfalls... Well, the list could go on, if I am being honest. Despite all that, I have never felt so loved and full of love.

The twins were just shy of four days old, and we were back home. After falling in and out of sleep the night of their birth, I decided I wanted to go home. The four walls of the hospital sent me into a strange sense of restriction. Phoenix's blood healed me up well, and thankfully, everyone had left us alone.

Not that they were not allowed, but... Well... They were not allowed.

My wolf could not settle. The moment the concept of visitors even came to light, she had her hackles up and, in turn, made me feel threatened. Kate had said it was most likely a hormone thing. She encouraged me to go home and try to settle my mind in familiar surroundings.

Phoenix did what he could to soothe me, and mostly, it worked. I could stomach Pollux and Kate being around the twins, my wolf comfortable that they were fine, but I haven't even seen my parents yet.

We were testing it out today, and I was nervous. The twins were about to see how far mamma-bear, or should I say, mama-wolf, was going to take this. I could feel the tension in my bones as the hours ticked by and although I was on edge, I couldn't wait to see them.

"Oh, Nova!" A voice sang through the door.

I was busying myself in the kitchen, preparing a pot of hot water. Pollux's voice had the hairs on the nape of my neck stand up and I spun around to face the front of the house. They were here already?

I eyed the clock, finding it was already three. I must've done a good job of distracting myself.

My nostrils flared as I slowly approached the door, setting the teapot tray on the coffee table. Knowing who was on the other side, my palms became sweaty with nerves.

"Y-yeah?" I called back.

Pollux huffed, and I heard him shift his weight. I could imagine the look on his face; arms crossed; hip popped... I couldn't smell them very well thanks to the seal in the door, but my body hummed with the familiar bond of my parents.

"You going to let us in, honey?" My mother's voice drifted through the wood.

I swallowed. Was I?

Was I about to invite people into my home? Into my nest? This was my sanctuary where I healed from my labour, my home where I slept and paced the night through with the twins. The home filled with the scent of my family, of my mate...

"Nova?" Phoenix's voice approached me from behind. "Everything okay, my love?"

I turned, eying the sleeping infant in his arm. Annabelle was a good sleeper, always drifting off after a feed and content in her father's arms. Freddy was asleep in his basket in the living room, and I sniffed to make sure he was okay. The steady rhythm of his heart reassured me he was still asleep.

"Why don't you let them in?" Phoenix murmured, reaching around me.

His body pressed into my side, Annabelle sighing softly as she brushed past my ear. My jaw tightened, eyeing the door before looking around at the state of the house. I tried to keep up with the chores, but between two babies and a lack of sleep, it was hard.

When Phoenix opened the door, a sudden embarrassment washed over me that had Pollux's eyebrows raise with questions. He didn't have time to comment before my mother was rushing through the threshold to hug me. I laughed softly at her scrambled words, patting her back affectionately. Dad was grinning, stepping up behind her to place his hand on my shoulder.

"Hey, Ember." He grinned.

Sighing, I side-hugged him too. "Hey Dad."

"How have you been?" He wondered, eying my clothes.

I knew I didn't look the best. I was wearing one of Phoenix's baggy shirts to hide my slow-deflating bump, and some comfy pyjama bottoms to hide the huge ass pad I had sat between my thighs. Pollux and Kate tried to make me wear adult nappies, but I wasn't stooping that low just yet.

"I've been better." I admitted.

"The first week is always the hardest." Mum sighed.

"But newborns are the easiest!" Dad chimed. "Whoever said they are hard needs to spend an entire day locked in a single room with a two-year-old."

"Scare her off before they are even a week old, Reggie." Mum scolded him, pulling out of my space. "How's sleep treating you?"

She led me toward my sofa, not-so-subtly eying the bassinet and Phoenix's arms as she made me sit beside her. I sighed, my hands falling into my lap as I shrugged.

"Not the best. Feeding two is... interesting. They both wake at the same time for now, so it means I am only up once but..."

"They wake every ninety minutes." Phoenix finished, chuckling softly.

I scowled, itching the nape of my neck. "They sleep most of the time to make up for it but I just cannot... Relax."

My mum smiled sadly. "Maybe you just need some time away from them."

"I can't." I shook my head.

"Of course you can! We can take them!"

"No, it's not that I don't want to, Mum, it's that I can't!" I grunted. "If it's not the overwhelming urge to never leave their side, it's the constant feeding schedule."

She grimaced, confused. "Then just bottle feed them."

I growled softly. "I don't want to. Breastfeeding calms me down."

"When Leo was a baby, he was constantly eating. I don't think that kid ever stopped." My dad chuckled, shooting Phoenix a sly smirk.

"Okay, then if there is nothing I can truly do..." Mum sighed, looking around. "I can help with the house! If you two want, I can come around every day and help you tidy up. Or I can watch both kids so you two can have a moment alone, or shower, or just sit in silence."

I couldn't help but feel overwhelmed, tears pooling in my eyes. "Really?"

"Of course, you are my daughter, Nova. I am always here for you. You only have to ask me!" She grinned, wrapping her arm around my shoulder.

"I just get... so lost." I admitted.

"It's normal. You have a life here now, a pack to lead to. Things are going to go by quicker and you are going to forget." She shrugged. "Now you are a mum. That's only going to get worse."

I laughed through the pooling tears, wiping my palms across my cheeks. "Gee, thanks."

Her soft laughter was comforting, and I leaned into her scent. It wasn't so bad, having my parent's here. My Dad sat beside Pollux on the opposing side of the corner sofa, and Phoenix stood near the bassinet. Freddy was stirring, and when we made eye contract, he glanced toward my mother.

"Do... Do you want to meet...." I stammered, drifting off mid-sentence.

Mum was practically shaking with excitement. "I would love nothing more, Nova."

"Only if you are ready." Dad cautioned, raising an eyebrow. "I don't want to lose my fingers."

"Why would you lose your fingers?" Mum wondered.

"In case she bites them off!" Dad scoffed. "If I touch a baby, I may lose them!"

"She won't bite them off." Mum tutted.

"I won't bite them off." I agreed.

Dad made a soft sound of disagreement, crossing his arms and looking further around the room. His brown eyes settled on my twin, raising an eyebrow at him.

"Have you met the twins?"

"Of course he has, Reggie." Mum scoffed. "He was there during the birth."

"Well, I forgot! I just wanted to ask!" He grunted.

"Okay, okay, let's just... You guys... Don't make me separate you again." I warned.

Dad scowled, and Mum clicked her tongue, relaxing back into the sofa. I had to separate them a few times growing up after Leo left. They would bicker like siblings and it would drive me crazy. It was never anything nasty or aggressive, just childish word play that left me questioning why I even lived there anymore.

I soon moved out and got my own room when I was old enough.

"Nova, do you want to come grab him?" Phoenix wondered.

I nodded, slowly raising from the sofa to glide toward the bassinet. I wrapped Freddy in a blanket, a burrito of warmth, as I pulled his tiny body into my arms. They had lost a little of their birth weight, as was expected, but Kate came round this morning and said they were slowly putting it back on.

Carefully shifting the white blanketed baby in my arms, I came to sit between my parents. Mum turned toward me and even Dad leaned to get a look. Their voices were soft with admiration as they cooed over his baby features.

"This is Freddy." I mumbled.

With difficult hesitation, I moved him closer to my mum. I chewed down the part of me that didn't want to let go, my fingers curling into the blanket. I was more protective of Freddy. His smaller weight and delicate features had my defences up.

When my mother's hands settled across mine, I inhaled sharply. Delicately, and ever so slowly, my hand slid from under hers and passed the baby over. She was grinning, and I kept my eyes on the happiness of her face as she pulled Freddy into her chest.

"Oh, Nova, he's adorable." She whispered.

Dad grunted, rising from the sofa to sit on the other side of Mum. He leaned into her, wrapping an arm around her waist to pull her in close. His fingers traced my son's nose, and I slowly felt myself relax. He was safe, they wouldn't hurt him and I would get him back.

My mate bond tugged at my heart, and I turned to see Phoenix smiling softly down at me. He rounded the sofa, coming to sit between Pollux and I with Annabelle in his arms.

"He is so tiny. How much did he weigh?" Mum asked. "I can barely feel him.

"Five pounds two." I mumbled. "He was the smallest twin the entire time."

"Oh, bless you, Freddy." She cooed.

Phoenix gently passed me my daughter and this time round. I did not hesitate as I handed her to my father. His eyes widened as he held her, lifting her in front of his face. I watched him study her before shifting his eyes over Freddy. A frown formed, and I closed my eyes with bated anticipation of what was to come.

"Why are they burritos?" He questioned.

"Dad..." I groaned. "It's called swaddling."

"Isn't that what ducks do?" He frowned, catching my gaze.

"No, swaddle-Dad, honestly." I sighed, my hand pinching between my eyes. "It helps to calm them. Swaddling."

He hummed, looking away from me to study his granddaughter again. "I don't see why they need to have them dressed up as spring rolls when a jacket will do just fine, but okay. Spring rolls it is."

I groaned, a soft laugh escaping me as Phoenix's arm wrapped around my shoulders. He pulled me closer, grabbing my thigh to slide me along the cushions. I had a feeling that I would not live the swaddling thing down, and over the course of the next fifteen minutes, Dad had called the twins spring rolls over five times.

"Please don't tell me spring rolls is another Ember..." I muttered.

"Seems that way." Mum laughed.

They had swapped babies and Dad seemed to be unsure when holding Freddy. His complaint of his small stature had me reaching out to take him back, only for Dad to snatch him to his chest with a grumble.

"I didn't say I didn't want him." He tutted.

"How much did you say she weighed, Nova? Freddy was five pound two..."

"I didn't." I shook my head. "She was five pounds, fifteen ounces."

"Oh, look at you!" Mum cooed, nuzzling my daughter's nose with her own.

I felt my wolf twitch at the sight, not wanting someone else's scent to seep into our child. Thankfully, they had laid off on the kissing, and I could only assume they had been pre-warned. I wasn't happy when they smelt of someone other than me or Phoenix, and Pollux had soon learnt that when he smothered the twins in kisses and hugs.

By the time the twins got grouchy and the teapot got empty, my parents excused themselves. Mum upheld her promise of helping me tidy, and would be around tomorrow after dinner time. She still had to work in the kitchen, but Dad made her promise to bring me some home cooked food. I didn't have the heart to tell him she had already done so and did not show him the contents of my fridge.

His heart was in the right place. He was just a little slow.

"We shall leave the spring rolls to their dinner." Dad grinned, moving toward the front door.

I remained sat on the sofa, preparing myself for another semi-painful feed. My breasts were sore, my nipples were cracked, and I was just riding the days through, hoping to reach the finish line. I think I may hate the fourth stage of labour more than labour itself.

"Bye Dad, bye Mum." I laughed.

A chorus of goodbyes met my ears as Phoenix showed them out, and once they were gone, my head fell into the back pillow. Pollux had left with them, leaving the two of us alone with the twins.

"You did so well, my love." He mumbled, kissing my temple.

I heard him inhale my scent, his chest expanding as he situated himself beside me. He had brought me a drink, knowing how thirsty I got mid-feed, and I accepted the straw with glee. We recently bought a nursing pillow, and although it has saved me the weight of the twins, I still had to make sure they were secure.

"Thank you." I sighed. "I think it went well because I only wanted to bite their fingers off once."

He chuckled softly. "It's normal to feel that way."

"You don't feel that way." I pointed out.

"I did not have to birth them. I do not have the hormones to go with that." He mused. "However, I am just as tired and stressed out as you are."

Phoenix had taken an entire two weeks off working, and I was already dreading the day he went back into his office. We were slowly getting into a routine and I would be sad to see it get broken. He was such a brilliant father that I felt like I was on cloud nine whenever I watched him.

"You're doing a great job." I reassured him.

"Not a great one as you are, Nova." He kissed my cheek. "You are doing so well, listening to your instincts."

I thanked him softly, closing my eyes as I leaned my head on his bicep. I was tired of it all, though, but my heart warmed with the idea that I was doing good. My parents survived, I survived...

"Now, we just have to let Charlie meet them."

Oh, help me.

Question of the Day:
What do you do for a living? Do you go to school, work, enjoy life?😂