The Broken Wolf
Chapter 158

There’s a knock at the door and Sofia cracks it, sticking her head in. “Can I come in?” she asks softly and I nod. She comes in, closing the door behind her and smiles brightly at us.

“You all are the perfect little family,” she says and I can’t help but nod in agreement. “Let me have baby Andrew first.”

Seth hands him to her and she lays the baby at the foot of the bed, pulling the blanket back and waking him. He begins to cry and she smiles at him, reaching into her bag and pulls out a diaper to put on him. She pulls out a stethoscope and listens to his lungs carefully, for longer than I was expecting and it begins to worry me. She stops and wraps him in the blanket, but in an odd way. She pulls out a contraption with a hook and lifts him on it using the blanket.

“He’s perfect,” she tells me, rewrapping him and offering him to Seth. “Alright, mom’s turn now since we weren’t concerned about Cora.”

I nod and turn to give her to Seth, but he looks almost panicked. “It’s fine,” I say softly with an encouraging smile. “You’ve got this.” I place her gently in his free arm and he takes a deep breath, but he looks comfortable holding them both.

Sofia helps me sit up, listening to my heart carefully before taking my b***d pressure and temperature. She helps me lay back before checking me over thoroughly, nodding in approval.

“You did well, Dad,” she says to Seth and he gives her a shy smile at her praise. “She looks better than I expected. Both of you, that was amazing. Now, let me have Cora.”

I take her from Seth and hand her over as she repeats her exam for her. “They’re both absolutely perfect. No surprise with their eyes, but it’s still nice to see.”

“I know,” I tell her with a smile, taking my daughter back from her.

“I’m going to get a bag and we’ll just throw these towels away and get them new ones,” she says, and leaves the room. She returns with a bag and a smile. “Lily is awake and your parents just arrived. I’m not sure Oliver can hold them off much longer.”

“It’s fine,” I tell her with a chuckle and she walks out, leaving the door open for them to enter.

Lily and my mom are the first ones in, followed by Benjamin and my dad. Lily and my dad both look rough, but their faces light up at the sight of their first grandpups.

“This is Cora,” I say, turning her so that they can see her. They all eagerly lean forward to get a good look.

“And this is Andrew,” Seth says, mimicking my motions.

“Can we hold them?” Lily asks and I nod, moving my legs over for her to sit next to me on the bed. She happily takes a seat, and my mom sits right next to her.

Gently, I turn and place Cora in her waiting arms. I take Andrew from Seth and give him to my mom.

“Thank you,” I say to Lily and she frowns, turning to me. “I know you exhausted your magic to hold the attack back from us. Thank you.”

“I’d do it again a hundred times to keep you safe,” she says and looks down at Cora. “I hear you did some magic of your own.”

I scrunch my face and shrug. “If I did, I didn’t mean to. Honestly, it could have been Cora. It happened as she was born.”

“It could be,” she says, leaning down to k**s her. “Her magic is strong. I can feel it.”

She carefully passes Cora to my dad and Mom gives Andrew to Benjamin.

“Could you guys take them for a few minutes while I shower?” I ask and they all nod in agreement. “I think I may need Seth’s help.”

“Of course, Kid,” Benjamin says. “We’ve even got hot water now, thanks to you.”

I move to stand and Seth quickly hops over me, helping me up gently and supporting me as we walk to the bathroom. I’m exhausted from the short walk and sit on the toilet as he turns on the water, pulling his clothes off before helping me out of the shirt.

He gingerly washes me, taking his time and being more careful than I can ever remember him being. I hear the bathroom door crack open and close back. Seth looks around the curtain and smiles.

“They brought the bags that you packed to take to the hospital wing last week,” he tells me and I smile, leaning into him.

“I think I’m ready for that nap now,” I say. Quickly, he finishes cleaning me and then washes himself before he turns off the water and wraps me in a towel.

I step out, looking through the bag for all the items I had packed and get myself arranged. I pull on the loose soft pants and one of Seth’s shirts and sit back down on the toilet, completely exhausted.

“Do you want me to carry you?” he asks timidly. “I don’t want to hurt you.”

I shake my head and smile. “It’s just a few steps. I can make it.”

We head back to the bedroom where I replace that they had changed the bed for me and cleaned up the rest of the mess we had left. Mom helps me into bed and tucks me in.

“Seth,” she says as he reaches to take Cora. “You should sleep, too. Let us take them for a bit. We’ll arrange to get you home while you nap.”

“Thank you,” he says and climbs over me into the bed, pulling me close to him.

I’m so tired that I fall asleep almost instantly, drifting off into a dreamless sleep. I’m awakened by Lily, gently shaking me awake. It’s dark out now, and the room is dimly illuminated by a small oil lamp.

“I’m sorry, Molly,” she says sympathetically. “You need to wake up to feed the babies and then eat yourself.”

I yawn and nod, knowing that she’s right. I haven’t eaten since breakfast and the babies, well, they just haven’t eaten. I move to stand up but she stops me, telling me to stay in bed and they’ll bring them to me.

Our conversation must have woken Seth as he stirs beside me.

“I’m sorry,” I say softly. “Go back to sleep.”

“What? No,” he says sitting up. “I’m not letting you do this alone. Besides, I need you to teach me how to change a diaper.”

“Too late,” Lily says, walking in with a bundle in her arms. “We already did. We gave them baths, too. I hope you don’t mind.”

“No,” I tell her with a smile. “Thank you. For everything.”

She hands me Cora and I move, but I stop, realizing that I don’t really know what to do.

“Here, let me get Celeste and we’ll help you,” she tells me with a smile.

She leaves and returns with my mom. They help me sit up and get comfortable and give me a crash course on how to feed the pups, with Seth watching with wild eyes, looking mildly concerned. After feeding Cora, Seth takes her and Lily shows him how to burp her as Mom helps me get situated with Andrew.

Lily leaves us and returns with some sandwiches for us and I happily eat them, feeling completely famished from the day. They are possibly the best thing that I have ever eaten, a real treat after so much work today, and I savor each and every bite.

“Your dad and I need to get back to the pack to help your brother,” my mom says, handing Andrew back to me.

I feel terrible as I realize they had plenty they needed to do, but they’re here helping take care of me. “Was it really bad?”

“It was,” she tells me sadly. “We lost some people. Robert is going to update us when we get back. Benjamin and Lily are going to take the night shift and hold the babies. Hopefully, your wolf is strong enough that you’ll be able to get home tomorrow.”

I nod, hopeful that she’s correct. It’s not that I don’t like being here, but we don’t have any of the things we need for the babies. We don’t even have a bed or extra clothes. Sofia was kind enough to bring some diapers, but that’s about it.

Mom and Dad leave to go back to Lunar Falls, leaving us alone in the room for a bit with our babies.

“It’s nice,” Seth tells me, looking at our daughter in his arms. “Being here with you. No one really demanding to see them. It wasn’t ideal how we got here, but I’m glad we are.”