WE'RE PARENTS

STACY

Matthew is already five months old and he has grown into a bubbly and handsome baby boy.

I'm sitting on a rocking chair at the backyard of our house as the baby sleeps in my arms.

You heard me right....our house.

Since we have a child now, we moved to own house just a few minutes away from the pack house. Although, we still stay at both places whenever the circumstances require it.

Baby Matthew is currently sleeping in my arms as I watch the afternoon sunset while waiting for Maurice to come back home.

It has been over a year since all the Alphas and Lunas who were dealing with the stray wolves had a meeting. Although the current happenings are still alarming, Sherry and Rose are handling it well as well as the other Alphas.

There is still no news about the fourth Warrior. Bernard still hasn't found her and the last I heard about him, he was starting to give up.

I have no more dreams or visions or clues as to where or who she might be, but all I know is that we aren't the only ones looking for her. Our enemies are trying to get to her first.

Outside our pack borders, things are a bit chaotic and each pack is trying to keep themselves safe.

We've already sent many of our warriors to those Packs who are especially in need, but that's just a damage control measure. Sometimes, they still get attacked.

Bruno and Joseph have updated us and apparently, there's a connection between the stray wolves and the damn council.

To be honest, I'm not surprised at all! I already had a bad feeling about them for the longest time before and the two Alphas have just confirmed it.

As for Maurice and I, we are taking each day at a time as we take care of our fast growing prince.

It was a bit weird at first because even at the midst of troubling times, we are still able to be a happy growing family.

The simple smiles of Matthew are enough to wash away our worries and somehow, the chaos happening outside our borders are temporarily forgotten.

The wind blows my hair as I gently rock on the chair when I pick up Maurice's scent coming nearer. Soon enough, I hear the back door opening and closing.

I turn around only to be met with his smiling face and shining blue eyes and I smile back at him.

“Our prince is still sleeping, I see.” He whispers and sits down at the long couch in front of me. I stand up and sit beside him.

I lift Matthew up and Maurice takes him from me slowly so as not to wake him up.

Silence settles in as he carries our baby and watches him as he sleeps. I rest my head on his shoulder and stare at the orange hues of the sky.

“He called me earlier today.” Maurice tells me, startling me from my reverie.

“Who?” I ask eagerly.

“Bernard, he...”

“Did he find her? Did he finally meet Ephy?” I ask, sitting up straight in excitement.

“Yes dear, her name is Amber and the reason why she couldn't be found is because she has been lost for so long. She used to work in an eatery managed and ran by humans. She lived with humans and behaved like them, doing everything they did!” He explains.

“What? This is good news! Can we travel to see her?”

“No chance dear, Matthew is still a little baby but I'll organize with them to come over and visit someday.”

I nod in understanding. I'm glad that I'm going to meet the fourth Warrior Ephy whose name is Amber. Wow!

I have a lot of questions to ask her about her adventures in the human territory and why she had escaped from her Pack. As for Bernard, I'm so happy for him such that I make a mental note to call him tomorrow and get to know how life is with a mate!

Maurice goes further and explains what Bernard told him about Ephy, the fourth moon goddess' warrior who's also the seer among us. She has already foreseen that the council are highly involved in the stray wolves and very soon, the four Alphas will have a meeting to discuss on the way forward.

I request Maurice to urge them all to meet at our Pack so that the warriors can also attend. That way, he won't need to travel all alone.

That agreed on, I resume my position on his shoulder, smiling widely upon realising that the Fourth Warrior has been found at long last!

“I don't mind.” I say lowly and smile sweetly.

Maurice's eyebrows furrow as he meets my eyes with an inquisitive look.

“You don't mind what?”

“I don't mind spending the rest of my living days like this. With you. With Maurice. With our future kids. With this Pack. I don't mind!”

Again, he smiles sweetly and even with the child in his arms, he's able to crouch low enough and he kisses me.

“I wasn't going to give you any other choices, Luna.” He teases and we both chuckle.

“You pushed me to almost leave, remember? But it's okay. I don't hold grudges.”

He stays silent for a while and I can feel his regret hanging in the air.

“You know, I was reading this book about the legends and do you know what Wendy means? It means peace and the name Stacy also means peace.” He starts explaining and I look towards him trying to understand what he's trying to get at.

He smiles, but a bittersweet one. ”That's how you've been to me, Stacy. Ever so peaceful although I didn't deserve it. I gave you many reasons to give up on me, but you stayed. And for that I can never thank you enough. There are not enough words to explain how I feel towards you and I'm so sorry for that!” He takes a deep breath before restarting as if his words aren't already making my heart beat so fast.

“Sometimes I think that all of this is just a dream, but then you smile at me and I know that there's no way this can be an illusion. I love you. And no, it's not just the mate bond, I truly love you, Stacy.”

I become teary eyed and I don't even notice it.

“What's with the sudden speech, dummy? Now you've made me to feel all sappy!” I complain as I sit up straight to wipe the threatening tears.

He smiles and who am I not to fall for the smile for the millionth time?

“And you're not the only one, Maurice. I love you, truly and from the bottom of my heart.” And while we are staring lovingly into each other's eyes, Matthew cringes because he starts whining and soon enough, he starts crying.

We immediately turn to him and give him our undivided attention.

“Is he hungry?” Maurice asks, gently rocking him, a futile attempt to stop him from crying.

“No, he probably wet his diapers.” I guess, checking his diaper. It's indeed wet and he needs a change before he gets some diaper rashes.

“Come on, let's go inside. It's getting cold.” Maurice says, standing up with baby Matthew still in his fatherly arms.

“Let's go.” I echo as I follow suit. I'm already starting to feel the cold piercing through my bare arms and legs. Tomorrow is yet another day and we'll bask in the sun all we want!