The Children Of Maddeline

Thirty-Five

Jadzia

I stepped onto the creaky porch and took a deep breath before pushing open the front door to the pack house. Eleanor looked up from what she had been doing, she covered her mouth and gasped. I smiled sheepishly and shrugged.

I guess I was a bit of a shocking sight. We had spent almost a year and a half at war, and during that whole time I think I'd washed myself a total of thirteen times. I was tan, skinny to the bone with disheveled hair and rags for clothes.

Eleanor hugged me tightly and I returned her affection by wrapping my thin arms around her body and burying my face in her shoulder, she pulled away and smiled at me with her brilliant white teeth.

"Racky! Get your brothers and come down stairs! Quick!" The blonde maid shouted up the stairs, I gulped. Racky was Miracle's nickname.

I stood nervously next to Eleanor as I watched a bouncy one year old bounded down the staircase. Her long brown hair was tied into pigtails and her bright pink dress was a little too big for her, but her yellow eyes gleamed with excitement. Behind her were two boys, amber eyes and chestnut hair, each wearing wolf T-shirts and cargo shorts.

Miracle stood in front of Eleanor, looking at me curiously while her brothers rolled around on the floor play-fighting.

"Who dat?" My daughter asked innocently, pointing at me.

My heart broke into a million pieces and I took a step back. Miracle looked at me again tilted her head to one side, I noticed how she fiddled my my moonstone necklace which was around her neck. My engagement ring was on that chain, and she would occasionally slip one of her little fingers into it.

She walked up to my feet and stared up at me, "Mummy?" She mumbled, I nodded slowly.

"Mummy!" She cried happily and jumped into my arms, I burst into to tears and collapsed to my knees as I held her tightly to my chest.

After a while, her brothers joined in and we stayed together like that as the pack members filed back into the pack house. Mum raced around us and ran straight towards Angel, scooping him up in her arms.

The day passed peacefully, and then the week went by, months, and before we knew it the triplets were having their ninth birthday party out the back of the pack house. I was happy again, Tyler always talked to me, and I had three beautiful children who loved me dearly.

But on that day, when we were ushering the kids back inside as the sun got low on the horizon, I knew we were been watched. I turned around in a flash, only to see two glowing blue orbs disappear into the shadows.