The Rejected Luna’s Prince
Epilogue 7

(Rachel)

Okay, baby, you can do this. Just one out, and then they shoot out of you." Jack's face came in ànd out of view through my haze of confusion and tiredness, and indescribable pain. He looked worried, and I wanted to comfort him, but I could barely breathe.

In this moment, I was glad three were coming at once, if only not to feel this pain three separate times.

(So... you think.. they just.. Shoot out?" I panted in between contractions or maybe during them. Everything was a contraction now. I couldn't remember life without them.

Jack's smile was real now. Hey." He held up his hands in front of him. I'm new here too,")

I laughed, and the sharp pain hit again. I reached for his hand and squeezed it. "Almost there, Rachel. One more push and the first little - >>

"Ahhhh!" I screamed and tried to clench or push or something, but I didn't know if I was. How was I supposed to push when everything felt like rippling pain? I had no control over my body. It was just the babies' fiery slide to reality.

Silence and then a piercing wail, louder and higher than I thought possible. Nurses came and fluttered around.

"A girl." The doctor looked between us with à smile.

"Want to bet on the next one?" Jack asked, and I would have laughed if the pain didn't rip through me again.

Pushing helped. If only a bit.

Hours later, but Jack said it was only a minute; another girl was out. Followed by our boy. Maybe Jack was right after the first one; the other two just seemed to slip right out, but I wouldn't give him the satisfaction at the moment. I was the one in pain.

"It's all over now." Jack put a damp cloth on my forehead. You were perfect."

I clenched against another ripple of pain.

What the f**k.

(The placenta needs to come out now, too, the doctor explained, and I hated her soft voice. I hated the pain. I hated that no one else was going through it right now.

"Do you want to meet them?" A nurse asked after they cleaned them and did some quick tests. Apparently, triplets, even in the werewolf world, were prone to a few more complications.

"Meet who?" I asked, my eyelids drooping.

The babies." Jack squeezed my hand, and my eyes shot open.

The babies." I breathed. The reason for all this pain. To bring them to the world. Yes.

Three little bundles were placed on my chest, and Jack helped me hold them there.

They were mewing and wriggling as much as they could in their swaddles, and I couldn't get a good look.

(They're perfect," Jack said, awe on his face and in his voice. I believed him even though I couldn't get a good look.

(Want to try to feed them, Rachel?" The doctor was all smiles now, and I could finally return it.

(Sure."

Jack helped me sit up, and he took one of them while the doctor helped me feed the others. It was a miracle that they latched, a miracle that I made it through. it.

Sweat still coated my face, and my hair was matted still, but when I looked at Jack, and his eyes met mine, I knew it was all worth

The wait was worth it. Everything led up to this moment. Creating a family with the love of my life.

Jack shook his head, looking between our baby boy in his arms and me. Is this real?" he asked, his voice thick with shock and awe and adoration.

I was about to ask you the same thing.

Marry me?" Jack asked.

(Sure." I shrugged.

(Cali)

"Can we do it again?" Holden brushed a matted curl away from my face; my breathing steadied for the first time in hours.

You're not the one that has to sit on an ice pack for days." I raised a brow.

(What?"" Holden's blue eyes went wide.

"Maybe you guys don't do that in your mythical fantasy world. But last time, it was numbing spray, ice packs, witch hazel pads, on op of other pads, in a diaper. You know. Just girly things." I shrugged, pinning him with a bright smile. His mouth hung open.

You'll be healed within a few hours," nurse whispered. I forgot that Holden and I weren't the only two in this room.

"Another benefit of being a wolf." Holden winked at me.

That and werewolf s.hlong." I raised an eyebrow, and he balked, but the nurse laughed beside

me.

Here you go. A verified healthy baby boy.

The doctor came up. He might have been making a bad joke, but I let it go this time.

My son. Our son snuggled up in a blanket that was far better than what Loreli was given at the hospital I had her at.

I was immensely grateful at this moment, not just for my son but for the life that provided Loreli with so much comfort that I had never realistically dreamed of giving her.

Our son's strawberry blonde hair was matted to his head, his eyes were closed, and his nose scrunched without seeming to fully relax.

He was weird and perfect and everything.

You're diluting my red hair." I frowned at Holden.

(Next one is going to be completely blonde, baby." Holden flashed me a smile briefly before turning his attention fully back to our baby. Then we will have a redhead, a muddled one, and then a blonde."

(If we have another one, you're carrying it. I'm done with pregnancy."

"Okay, he agreed immediately, his attention fully on our baby. "Elliot?" Holden asked. A family

name apparently, but I liked how it fit with Loreli, his now older sister.

"Elliot," I agreed.

With that, our family was complete.

For now.