Luna Audrey

Chapter 34 - Future Alpha

We were discharged from the infirmary several hours after Owen's birth, sent back to our personal quarters to learn how to take care of this fragile little life with no loving family to help assure and guide us. Luckily, and to both of our surprise, we caught on rather quickly. It was true what they say, about motherly and fatherly instincts. Dean and I took to our roles in no time at all.

Several days went by with just the three of us holed up in our personal quarters, loving and cherishing our precious pup and feeling our hearts grow for each other as well. I adored the sight of Dean holding Owen or giving him a bottle, and I knew Dean had the same feelings watching me be a mother to his pup. Everything was warm, happy, and blissful.

But those several days passed quickly, and Dean needed to get back to his duties as Alpha. Not only that, but Owen still hadn't been formally introduced to the pack. The thought made me nervous, but I brushed it off, summing it up to normal motherly worry and protective instincts. I knew the pack was insanely excited to see their future Alpha, and that they too, would see that he was always protected until he was big and strong enough to hold his own.

And today was that day – Owen's introduction to Dark Root. Dean was to spend the day working in his office, catching up on everything that he'd missed and taking care of the tasks our Beta didn't have the authority to, and then there would be a formal, mandatory dinner in the dining hall to celebrate the arrival of not only the Alpha and Luna's pup, but the future Alpha of Dark Root.

I still had a couple more weeks of quality time with my sweet little man before I'd need to start gradually tending to my duties as Luna again. I tried so hard to savor every moment, but time seemed to fly by so fast.

In fact, it appeared I'd already spent the majority of the morning loving on my little man and admiring his sweet little face.

I quickly jumped up from the couch, careful not to jostle Owen around too much, and headed for the bedroom. I still needed to shower, get dressed, tend to my hair and makeup, and get Owen ready. All of this seemed to take ten times longer now that I had Owen to watch over and care for. I wouldn't change a thing, but it was definitely a huge adjustment.

I laid Owen in his bassinet, rolled it near the bathroom door, and made sure he seemed content before practically sprinting for the shower. I knew I only had a small window of time before Owen would likely begin crying for me, not wanting to be alone or away from his mother. I quickly washed my hair before smoothing in some conditioner to soak while I washed my body and started shaving my legs. About halfway through my first leg, Owen began to cry.

I jumped out of the shower, water dripping down my body, conditioner still in my hair, and shaving cream smeared on my legs, to soothe my sweet pup before sprinting for the shower once more, hoping I could at least wash out half the conditioner and shave up to my knee before he got fussy again.

Once everything was properly washed, rinsed, and shaved, I hopped out of the shower, wrapped a towel around my waist, and quickly went to the closet to pick out something nice to wear. I hurriedly shuffled through my assortment of dresses, trying to find the perfect one but also trying to move quickly before Owen needed me again. Once I was dressed, I could wrap him up and tie him onto me while I did my hair and makeup. He'd be much more content like that.

Before I made my selection, he began to cry again.

I sighed heavily, and immediately felt guilty for doing so, before running towards his bassinet to scoop him up once more. On my way over, I tripped and fell, nearly hitting my head on the floor, but luckily caught myself with my arms just in time.

Owen cried harder, hearing the loud, foreign sound of me falling. I tried to get up as quickly as I could, but I caught a glimpse of the clock in the midst of it – I'd already taken an hour and a half, and I wasn't even close to having us both ready.