Chapter 70 Seventy

Chapter 70 Seventy

Howard.

I wanted to be in there with Nora because I knew that was what she wanted, but I couldn’t. It was the tradition, the rules that had been followed for generations, and apparently, even being the Alpha wasn’t enough to change them.

At first, I told myself I didn’t care.

I was the Alpha. If I wanted to enter that room, I should have been able to enter it. No one should have been able to stop me from being beside my wife when she was giving birth to our child.

To hell with the rules.

I was ready to walk through those doors regardless of what anyone had to say.

But Marie pleaded with me to just comply and wait patiently. She reminded me that Nora was in capable hands and that making a scene outside the labor room would do nothing except make everyone more anxious.

I knew she was right. That didn’t make waiting any easier.

I paced back and forth outside the labor room, checking the door every few seconds as though staring at it would somehow make it open faster. Every sound coming from behind it made my heart jump. Whenever I heard footsteps, I immediately turned around, hoping someone was coming to tell me that Nora needed me.

Nothing.

Just more waiting.

I had faced enemies without hesitation. I had stood in front of Alphas who wanted to challenge my authority, fought battles where one wrong move could have cost me my life, and made decisions that affected an entire pack.

None of those moments had made me feel as helpless as standing outside that door.

This was different. There was nothing for me to fight. Nothing for me to control.

I couldn’t take away Nora’s pain. I couldn’t carry the contractions for her. I couldn’t hold her while she went through the hardest part of bringing our child into the world.

All I could do was wait and I hated every second of it.

I looked at Marie. “How long has it been?”

She gave me a sympathetic look.

“You asked me that five minutes ago.”

“It feels like an hour.”

She smiled and said, “you need to calm down, Howard.”

“How am I supposed to calm down?” I asked, almost yelling.

“You’re becoming a father, not going to war.”

I stared at her. “That’s exactly why I’m nervous.”

She laughed softly. “You’ll see her soon.”

I looked back at the closed door.

Soon, that word had become meaningless. I had no idea how long soon was.

I thought about Nora lying inside that room. I remembered the way she had looked when they took her away from me. She had been frightened, but she had still tried to reassure me.

She had smiled.

She had even told me that we were going to have our baby.

That was Nora. Even when she was afraid, she somehow found a way to make me feel better. I rubbed my hands together and continued pacing.

Becoming a father had been my most cherished dream since Nora got pregnant, and tonight, that dream was finally coming to fruition.

I had thought about this moment more times than I could count. I had imagined holding our baby, hearing the first cry and Nora smiling at me after everything was over. But imagining it had been easy.

Waiting for it was torture. I stopped pacing and leaned against the wall, closing my eyes for a moment.

My mind went back to Scott.

His birth had been different.

Back then, I hadn’t understood what fatherhood truly meant. I had been younger, more careless, and far too consumed by my own problems. I had thought being a father meant providing for a child and making sure he had everything he needed.

Now I knew it was more than that.

Fatherhood meant being present.

It meant protecting your child without suffocating them, guiding them without controlling them, and loving them enough to make sacrifices when necessary.

Most importantly, it meant giving your child the kind of home they deserved. I had made mistakes with Scott. I couldn’t change the past, but I could make sure I didn’t repeat those mistakes with this child.

I wanted our son or daughter to grow up knowing love.

I wanted them to know that their mother was cherished.

I wanted them to see how much I loved Nora so they would understand what it meant to respect and protect the people they loved.

A sudden sound from behind the door made me straighten.

I stared at it.

Nothing happened.

I exhaled.

“This is insane,” I muttered.

Marie looked at me.

“What?”

“I can’t do this.”

“You’re doing fine.” She assured me

“No, I’m not.”

She smiled. “You’re just nervous.”

“I’ve never been this nervous in my life.”

“That means you care.”

I looked at her. She was right.

I cared about Nora and our baby. And for the first time in my life, I had something that terrified me to lose.

Time seemed to crawl.

Every minute felt longer than the last.

I imagined all kinds of things happening inside that room, and every possibility made me more anxious. I had to keep reminding myself that the medical team knew what they were doing and that Nora wasn’t alone.

Still, I couldn’t stop worrying.

Then, finally, the soft shuffle of footsteps drew closer. My head snapped toward the door. The door creaked open. Everything inside me stopped. My gaze immediately fixed on Nora. Her face reflected exhaustion, but there was also something else in her expression. She was cradling a tiny bundle in her arms.

Our baby.

For a moment, I couldn’t move. I simply stared. I had spent months imagining what this moment would feel like, but nothing could have prepared me for the sight before me.

Nora looked at me and smiled.

“Our baby is here,” she announced, her voice weary but soft.

My breath caught. My eyes immediately filled with tears. I tried to blink them away, but it was useless. The emotion was too overwhelming.

Our baby was here.

Our child.

The tiny human we had talked about for months was finally in front of me.

I stepped closer.

Nora looked down at the baby, then back at me.

“It’s a boy.”

I stared at her in shock.

“A boy?”

She chuckled softly. “Yes. Our son.”

Our son.

The words echoed in my mind. I looked down at the tiny face tucked carefully against Nora. My heart felt as though it might burst from my chest.

Nora smiled when she saw the expression on my face.

“Take him,” she urged.

I hesitated. “Are you sure?”

She nodded. “Take your son.”

I carefully reached out and took him from her arms. The moment his tiny body settled against me, everything else disappeared. The hallway. The people around us. The rules I had been arguing about.

None of it mattered anymore. There was only me and the tiny boy in my arms. I stared down at him. He was so small.

His tiny fingers moved slightly, and I instinctively adjusted my hold on him, terrified that I might somehow hurt him.

“Hey,” I whispered.

My voice sounded strange to my own ears. I had never spoken to anyone like that before. There was something about him that made me feel completely exposed.

I was now a father. The realization settled over me slowly, but once it did, it felt enormous.

I looked at Nora. She was watching me with tired eyes and a smile that made my heart ache.

I smiled back.

“Thank you,” I whispered.

She raised an eyebrow. “For what?”

“For him.”

She smiled. “He’s yours too.”

I looked back down at our son.

As I held him for the first time, an overwhelming wave of emotions washed over me. It was a feeling I couldn’t quite articulate, a fusion of love, pride, and an indescribable sense of completeness.

I was now a father.

A role I had yearned for longer than I could remember, and the depth of that responsibility settled within me in a way it never had before.

I thought about Scott again.

Perhaps I hadn’t been fully prepared for fatherhood then.

Perhaps I hadn’t understood how quickly your priorities could change when you held your child for the first time.

But this moment was different.

With Nora by my side, her love intertwining with mine, this birth felt like the pinnacle of my existence.

I lowered my head and looked closely at my son. Everything about him seemed impossibly small. Then he yawned.

I couldn’t help chuckling. “Look at you.”

He attempted to open his eyes, but the bright lights seemed to bother him, and he quickly closed them again.

I smiled. Even that tiny movement felt precious. Every little thing he did seemed incredible to me.

He was a new chapter, a fresh beginning that bound Nora and me together in a way I couldn’t have fully comprehended until that moment. This depth of emotion, this unfiltered joy, was the culmination of years of yearning, waiting, and hoping.

Tonight, Nora had given me the most precious gift of my life. A tangible symbol of the love and commitment we had fought so hard to build.

“You did so well,” I told her.

Nora smiled tiredly. “I thought I was going to die.”

I laughed softly. “But you didn’t, Thank goodness.”

“That’s because I’m stubborn.”

“You definitely are.”

She gave me a tired glare. “I heard that.”

“I know.”

I leaned forward and kissed her forehead. Then I kissed her cheek.

Finally, I pressed my lips against hers. It was a gentle kiss, nothing like the passionate ones we had shared before. This one carried something deeper. Gratitude. Love. Relief.

When I pulled away, I rested my forehead against hers.

“Thank you, Mommy.”

She chuckled. “Hey, Daddy.”

The words made me smile.

Daddy.

I liked the sound of it more than I expected. I looked down at our son again.

He was sleeping peacefully in my arms, completely unaware of how much his arrival had changed everything.

Marie approached us with a huge smile. “Let me see him.”

I hesitated. I wasn’t ready to give him up yet.

Marie laughed when she saw my expression. “Howard, I’m not stealing your child.”

“I know.”

“Then give him to me.”

I reluctantly handed him over. The moment Marie took him, her face softened.

“Oh, look at this little handsome boy.”

She gently rocked him in her arms.

“He’s beautiful.”

“He is,” Nora agreed.

I stood beside them, watching the two people I loved most. There was something peaceful about the scene.

For once, there was no conflict or threats.

Just my wife, my son, and the people who loved us.

I looked at Nora. “You need to sleep.”

She sighed. “I know.”

“You’ve been through enough today.”

“I know.”

“Then sleep.”

She smiled. “You’re becoming bossy again.”

She closed her eyes. I watched her for a few seconds before turning back toward Marie and our son. My son stirred slightly. I immediately walked toward him.

“Is he okay?”

Marie laughed. “He’s fine.”

“He moved.”

“Yes, Howard. Babies move… a lot.”

I rolled my eyes. “I know that.”

“Then stop panicking.”

“I wasn’t panicking.”

Nora opened one eye. “You were.”

I looked at her. “Go to sleep.”

She laughed softly before closing her eyes again.

This was my family. My beautiful, complicated, imperfect family and I would protect it with everything I had. I thought about everything Nora and I had gone through to reach this moment.

When we first met, I had wanted nothing to do with her. I had resented the bond between us.

I had treated her unfairly. I had allowed my pride and fear to control me. There had been a time when I couldn’t even look at her without remembering the mistakes I had made and the life I had once wanted.

But Nora had changed everything. She had forced me to confront parts of myself I had spent years avoiding. She had shown me that love wasn’t weakness. She had shown me that being vulnerable didn’t make me less of a man or a leader. And now she had given me a son.

I looked down at the baby again.

I didn’t know what kind of man he would become, whether he would eventually inherit my Alpha position or what challenges awaited him.

But I knew one thing. I would make sure he had the freedom to become whoever he wanted to be.

If he became an Alpha, I would teach him how to lead. If he chose another path, I would support him. And above everything else, I would teach him to love his mother.

I would teach him to respect women. I would teach him that strength wasn’t measured by how many people feared him. It was measured by how well he protected the people who trusted him.

I glanced at Nora. She was already drifting into sleep.

I smiled. “Sleep, my love.”

She didn’t respond. She was already asleep. I stayed beside her.

Finally, I didn’t feel like I was waiting for something to go wrong. I didn’t feel the need to prepare for another battle. I simply felt grateful.

The door opened quietly. Alex stepped inside. He looked toward the bed, then at me. His face broke into a grin.

“So, Alpha Daddy.”

I laughed. “Don’t start.”

He walked closer and looked at the baby. “Congratulations, man.”

“Thank you.”

“How are they?”

I looked toward Nora. “Tired… but strong.”

Alex nodded. “And you?”

I smiled. “Happy.”

He clapped my shoulder. “You deserve it.”

I looked at him. “Thank you for everything.”

“You don’t have to thank me.” Alex smiled before looking down at my son.

“He’s going to have one hell of a father.”

I looked at my son again.

“I’ll try.”

Alex shook his head.

“You won’t have to try. You’ll be there.”

His words stayed with me. Because that was the promise I wanted to make. Not only to my son but to Nora too. I would be there.

Through the good days and difficult days. Through every mistake and every victory. I would be there.

The medical team eventually asked everyone to leave so Nora could rest properly. Marie kissed Nora’s forehead before leaving.

Alex gave me one final pat on the shoulder. “Get some sleep too.”

I nodded. But I knew I probably wouldn’t. I wasn’t tired. How could I sleep when I had spent years dreaming about this moment? I sat beside Nora’s bed and watched her sleep.

Her face looked peaceful. The woman who had once been a stranger to me had become the center of my world. I reached for her hand and intertwined our fingers.

She stirred slightly but didn’t wake. I smiled.

“Thank you,” I whispered. I didn’t know whether she heard me.

I looked toward our son, who was sleeping peacefully nearby. Then I looked back at Nora. My family was complete. I have a home filled with people who cared about us.

That was the life I wanted. And I promised myself that no one would ever take it away from me again.