Alpha's One Night Bride
Alpha’s One Night Bride – Chapter 67

The morning after giving birth, I thought my entire body was on fire. I woke up groggily and weak. It felt as though every morsel of my body was betraying me. My fever had spiked higher than it’s ever been. My skin was red from the heat, and I was becoming delusional.

I was lucky that Doctor Beverly was by my side the entire time; she kept me hydrating and pumped me with antibiotics to help fight any infections. She also kept giving me vitamins to build my immune system back up.

I was told that during the childbirth process, my heart grew too weak, and I almost didn’t make it. They said if Naomi wasn’t there to keep me stabilized, I would have died. I hadn’t seen Naomi since she soothed away the pain while I was giving birth. When I woke up this morning, she was gone, and no one has mentioned her.

Part of me wondered if she was even real; it seemed like something so surreal that it couldn’t possibly have happened. But she felt so real and everything that’s happened before that, I couldn’t have made up in my mind. Despite how delusional I was.

I remembered the feeling of my mother being there in the form of the moon; I felt her warmth and smelled her perfume as though she was right next to me. My heart had never felt so full and so strong, but apparently, it was only growing weaker to a point where it nearly killed me.

I couldn’t imagine not being here for my daughter; I didn’t want to leave her as my mom left me. I wouldn’t put any of this on her like that.

While I was in a sleeping consciousness, I thought of a name for her. I haven’t been able to tell Jonathan yet because of my current unconscious state. But while I bounced in and out of sleep, I made a mental note to bring it up to him once I’m able to sleep.

I wanted to come up with a name together; something that was meaningful to both of us. But as I slept and with everything that’s happened, there’s only one name that comes to mind that would prove to be meaningful to both of us.

Maybe even all of us.

I wasn’t sure what day it was when I woke up. It could have been days or weeks. But when I woke up, Beverly was gone and so was her equipment. The room was dimly lit so it was easy for me to open and adjust my eyes. The sun was beginning to set, and I could see the orange reflection bouncing off the window and peering through the closed curtains.

I didn’t feel as weak as I did previously, but I still felt a bit tired. My body was no longer screaming at me.

Looking around the room, it was empty. But I could hear the faint crying of the baby in the living room and Jonathan shushing her. He was murmuring something to her that I couldn’t hear, but from his tone, he sounded exhausted. I almost felt guilty for sleeping for so long while he cared for the baby alone.

I at least hoped that Ronnie, Erick, and Jess were around to help him while I was sleeping for however long I was sleeping.

I wanted to stand up and go to him, but something was telling me that wasn’t going to be possible at this very moment.

However, I think he could sense that I was awake because I could hear his voice getting closer to the doorway and the baby’s crying was also getting closer. He pushed open the door and I saw his narrow and handsome features popping through the door.

He scanned the room for a moment before his eyes landed on me; I could see the utter relief on his face and the admiration in his eyes as he looked me over. He came further into the room and shut the door behind him.

In his arms, he held the smallest baby I have ever seen. She was wrapped in a soft pink blanket. Her features were a bit tanned much like Jonathan’s. She had a head of fuzzy light brown hair and as she looked over at me, I saw that she had such gorgeous light green eyes. Her little pink lips turned upward into a cute little smile that nearly melted my entire heart.

I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.

My daughter.

I felt tears burning in my eyes as Jonathan brought her to me. He didn’t say anything, he just silently placed the small bundle of joy into my arms and allowed her to comfortably adjust to me. He sat at my bedside and placed his head down on his pillow.

At that moment, I could tell how exhausted he truly was.

“How long have I been asleep for?” I asked in a hushed whisper, not wanting to disturb the baby.

He yawned as he answered.

“A couple of days.”

“I’m sorry…” I whispered, sheepishly.

He chuckled lightly.

“Don’t be. You’ve been through hell and back. You gave birth and almost died,” he reminded me. “You have nothing to be sorry for.”

“Did you at least have help with her?” I asked.

He closed his eyes, and I could feel him beginning to drift off.

“My mom stopped by the last few days to help. Plus, Ronnie and Erick have been around too,” he answered. “Rock doesn’t know about her yet.”

I sighed relieved. I delivered the baby earlier than planned so he shouldn’t be suspecting that I had the baby just yet. As long as no one told him the news, we should be safe for a little while. At least until we can figure out what to do to keep her safe.

“We still need to give her a name,” Jonathan reminded me; I was relieved he didn’t go ahead and name her without me.

“I actually thought of a name,” I told him softly.

He opened his eyes to stare at me, curiously. Before he could answer, I continued.

“I wanted to come up with a name that was meaningful to both of us. I was thinking we could name her Emlin Ree,” I paused. His eyes widened and I smiled. “Ree as in…”

“Regan,” he whispered.

I nodded.

“We could call her Emee for short,” I told him.

He nodded and sat up so he could be at eye level with me.

“I love it,” he said as he placed his lips on mine. I smiled into his k**s; I was so relieved he loved the name. “I love you…” he added.

“I love you too,” I whispered back; looking back at Emee I kissed the top of her soft and delicate fuzzy brown hair. She was nearly asleep; I loved how comfortable she was already.

…

“Are you sure you are ready for this?” Jonathan asked, eyeing me carefully.

Emee cooed in his arms, and he pressed her against his chest to rock her. I flashed him my best toothy smile; I was overly excited.

We were standing outside our home; I could feel the warmth of the moon soothing my fair skin and giving me strength. Even when the moon wasn’t full, I could still feel its strength. Ever since I discovered my mother was the moon goddess, the moon has been making me feel strong and energetic.

“Yes,” I assured him. “But you should get Emee back inside. I don’t want any of Rock’s eyes to spot her.”

He agreed and kissed my forehead. Giving me one last worried look over, he ducked back inside with Emee still in his arms. I too had to be careful because if Rock saw that I was able to transition again, he was going to know that I was no longer pregnant and come after us.

I waited until I was far enough distance in the woodland forest; there was no sight or scent of another wolf nearby and I knew I would be safe. I could, however, smell the delicious scent of a dear about a mile away and I fantasized about digging my teeth into its warm flesh.

Transitioning into a wolf, I could feel my bones forming back into their normal shape. They broke and cracked as my body formed into a wolf shape. Typically, it would be painful, and it was a little bit painful because I wasn’t used to it, but nothing could be more painful than the first transition when I was only 16 years old.

I ran through the forest with speed; I could feel my inner wolf awakening and my body stretching as it adapted to its true form. My senses were more alive than ever, and I could feel myself strengthening.

The smell of the dear only grew stronger as I got closer. Seeing through my wolf’s eyes, the dear was chewing on some grass and unaware that I would soon be approaching. It began to sprint away as it saw me, but I was much faster and stronger. I tackled the dear to the ground and upon contact, it was basically dead. I dug my teeth into its narrow neck and bit through its soft flesh. The taste of its b***d hit my tongue and I deepened my teeth.

I ripped a chunk of its tender meat and allowed it to slide down my throat as I continued eating. I ate until there were only bones left. Once I was finished, I was covered in the deer’s b***d. I knew the riverbed wasn’t too far from where I was, so I decided to head in that direction.

As I got there, I noticed that all the animals had already fled the scene. I always found that funny because it’s not like I wouldn’t be able to find where they were hiding. None of them ever traveled that far away and even if they did, I could sense them for miles and catch up to them before they even had a chance to blink.

Sitting at the riverbed, I washed my fur in the cold, rapidly running waters. I allowed for the wetness to soak through me and rinse the b***d away. I watched as the water turned red and then it began getting lighter as the river worked to rid of the evidence that drenched my fur.

As I washed my fur, my reflection became clear to me. I frowned as I stared at the wolf that stared back at me. I almost didn’t recognize her; she didn’t have the same blonde fur and pale green eyes as she had before. Her eyes were still pale green, but there was something else in them that I didn’t have before. There were splashes of silver that almost reminded me of the moon’s silvery rays. The fur was also different; it wasn’t just blonde anymore, there were streaks of light brown with traces of a silvery highlight that amplified the new coloring of my eyes.

I don’t remember ever looking like this before and I certainly don’t think I looked like this in my human form. Jonathan would have said something if I looked drastically different like this.

I decided to test my theory. I allowed m body to transition back to its human form. My wolf was in dismay, but I needed to know for sure that I didn’t look completely different. Looking at my human reflection, I was relieved to see that I still had the same curly and beachy blonde hair and normal pale green eyes. My features were pale and thinned out a lot since my pregnancy. My stomach was also beginning to thin out since giving birth. I was glad the baby fat wasn’t sticking around but also worried at how thin I was becoming.

I looked like I was about to fall apart at any given moment. No wonder everyone was always so worried about me. I grimaced at my appearance in time for me to hear a ruffling sound in the bushes nearby. The sudden sound made me jump and my eyes widened.

Someone was nearby and someone saw me transitioning.

My wolf must still be a little bit weak because she didn’t sense anyone else nearby and I didn’t smell a new scent either. Without a second thought, I transitioned back into my wolf form. Whoever was around, they didn’t make themselves known to me. Which makes me think they don’t want me to know they are there.

Without sticking around to find out who it was and what they want, I turned in the opposite direction and sprinted away. I needed to get home before anyone else saw me.

I couldn’t risk Rock finding out I was no longer pregnant.