Chapter 66 - The future king.

Arora

Helena was born on a very cold and stormy day. I wasn’t as nervous as I was with Adam. I knew what to expect this time around, and it felt amazing to see her little angel face as soon as I was settled in my room afterward. Adam looked like a proud older brother when he rushed into the room to meet her. It made me think about all the times I wished I had a sibling.

I pushed all the old feelings and negative thoughts to the back of my mind and focused on my beautiful family. I had so much to be happy about. I shouldn’t be thinking about what I missed in the past. We sat together and waited for the crowd to cheer and Adam’s eyes grew wide when he heard it for the first time.

“That was how it sounded the day you were born, Adam.” Luke smiled and I laughed.

“I have to admit, I’m surprised.” I nodded in the direction of the window and the awful weather that was still storming outside.

“Do you think it’s an indication of the little one we are going to have run amuck in the castle?” Luke laughed and I grinned.

“Well, their parents should already give us an indication! It’s a good thing we had all the secret passages sealed up!” I squealed with laughter, waking Helena. Adam and Luke left, so I could nurse our daughter and I felt Luke slip into bed beside me after a while. I was half asleep and curled up in his arms, only waking when Helena showed her impressive set of lungs.

We had been sleeping for long enough, and she was clearly hungry and in need of a clean diaper. Two days later, I was released, and we took the kids to their room. It had been freshly redecorated. This time it was painted like the sky and all the pictures were floating on clouds all over the walls. Adam’s stuff was moved to one side of the room to make space for Helena’s things.

The room was big enough to take all of it, and I carefully placed Helena in her crib. I stood there staring at her when Luke and Adam rushed into the room with a teddy bear. He had a huge red bow around his neck and Luke picked Adam up, so he could place it in his sister’s crib. It felt as if my heart would burst with all the love I felt for my family.

When I was younger, I never really allowed myself to imagine my life like this. I knew my father would pick someone I wouldn’t like, and I would have a miserable life. I never imagined I would be here without my father and with my destined mate. I still sometimes had to pinch myself to remind me that it was all real.

Luke and I made sure to take time just to be us in between the kids and ruling the kingdom. We had a special hideaway spot in the maze where we could have a private picnic once a week and I cherished our time alone. It was our time to reconnect and just be a normal couple.

Time, unfortunately, stood still for nobody, and it felt as if I just blinked, and it was Adam’s sixteenth birthday. Helena was the spitting image of my mother even at eleven! Because I didn’t have birthday parties like the other kids in the pack, I wanted to make sure that the children had them. My parties were always used as a way for my father to shine. I wanted my children to know that it was their special day.

The day Adam turned sixteen, however, was also the day he would meet his wolf for the first time. It was going to be his first official ball and I wanted everything to be perfect. He had grown into a handsome young man and I just knew my son was going to be a heartbreaker. He wouldn’t even have to try! I could already see some of the young girls sharpening their teeth to one day become queen.

All of that was replaced by the purity of pride and love when we watched Adam shift for the first time. It was a real bittersweet moment as the past rushed to mind, and was replaced by hopes for the future. Adam’s wolf looked like a future king! He was pure black just like Luke and had beautiful, bright blue eyes. As soon as he howled, a shiver ran down the back of my spine as I realized that my baby boy was now almost grown up.

The nobles howled inside the ballroom in reply and outside I could hear the pack howling. Adam bowed in front of me and I laughed spontaneously as tears started to fill my eyes. I nodded, giving him permission before he whipped around and ran out of the ballroom. I followed him with Luke and the rest right behind us. This was the most important night in a young wolf’s life.

I wished mine was this special, but I was grateful that I was able to give my son this special night. Helena had to stay behind, but her day would come soon enough. We didn’t have any more pups after Helena and the doctors couldn’t explain it, but I still felt blessed with the ones we had. Peace had reigned in our kingdom for a long time and I could only hope it would stay that way.

When we returned, Luke, Helena and I excused ourselves from the party so that the young people could play the music they wanted and have a proper party. Most of the older nobles left when we did, and I could hear the music from the ballroom playing late into the night. I curled up beside Luke and breathed in his scent.

“I can’t believe we made it this far.” The words were out before I could even think about it. Luke shifted us so he could look at me and he was frowning.

“I can’t believe that we still have food left in the kingdom!” His comment made me cry with laughter. Adam had a very healthy appetite and Luke was forever telling Adam to slow down. Life was good. We were living in peace with our incredible children.