Moonlight

Chapter 16

Settled by the fire, Merissa and Adley snuggled into each other and waited for the babies to be born. The cool of the early morning had begun to seep into the land around them. Adley's siblings and their children danced and played around the fire. When the children tired from the excitement, they were ushered into the dome. Merissa learnt that it was a hut for the children to go into when they needed sleep during the birthing ritual. They would be close to their parents but could have a few hours of rest.

Adley thought that Merissa should have gone in there, her head was heavy against his chest, resting between his legs on the low lawn chair. He had to give her credit, despite the horrid morning sickness, she joined in and was engaging and happy. When Adley saw the lethargy, he pulled her out to the chairs so they could watch everyone else having fun.

A smile crossed his face as he thought back to the moments after that kiss. It sent a shiver up his spine just thinking about it. As his parents began the journey to the birthing hut, Adley brought Merissa closer to the fire. With the family dancing and running around them, they took things slowly. Merissa was still feeling the weight of sickness so they slow danced at the exterior of the dance ring. With the whooping and howls ringing through the night sky, Adley thought about their own time which would come in a few months.

Merissa didn't know, he hadn't told her but there was a heaviness in his heart and mind, a yearning to create this for his own children. It was fine to come here if there was no other choice but tradition dictated that the children were born on their land, not someone else's. Hearing that their offer had been accepted relieved Adley and if they could rush the process, he would be able to get started on creating this for his family.

The property would not be like this for many years. Adley had seen it grow a lot but most of it had been here for longer than he'd been alive. In the coming days, Adley would map out the long term plan for the property. There was a lot of land, but he knew that a long line of trees would have to be planted along the fences to ensure privacy from the humans that lived on either side.

More trees would have to be put in to shroud the section assigned to the birthing ritual but he'd have to put serious thought into it. Adley didn't want to plant trees then have to remove them just to build accommodation for his visiting family.

First light began to encroach on the land, Adley's mood began to tense. His father hadn't emerged from the birthing hut which meant that his mother's labour was not over. No one would fault Adley for taking Merissa to their accommodation but Adley wanted to be here. He was always here. There was little choice, once the sun started to lift over the horizon, Merissa would have to seek shelter.

Gamichee was already in bed, doing the drunken stagger about half an hour ago. Adley huffed softly as he thought that it would be ideal to make sure Gamichee made it to his hut as well.

Gently rousing Merissa, Adley lifted off the seat.

"Dawn is approaching."

Sleepily, Merissa nodded. Her eyes rose to the figure that was walking up the path. She'd never seen Kegan as happy as he was at this moment. Adley's attention turned when he heard his father clear his throat. All merriment ended, waiting for the news.

"Four girls and one boy, in that order."

Whooping filled the quiet morning, everyone rejoicing the newest members of their family. Looking at Adley, Kegan flicked his head to the path.

"Come on, we're going in first before the sun gets too high."

Lifting Merissa to her feet, Adley helped her to the path, following his father. Merissa was uneasy about this part of the event, she'd never seen a werewolf baby. Were they the same as human babies or something closer to the way that they were when they became the werewolf?

She knew that Adley hid the truth about what lay beneath the surface. All she'd seen was a glimpse of his fleeing figure. Even Lennon knew little of what he was like and they'd been friends for years. In fact, she knew that Lennon didn't know the truth. He thought that nothing changed yet Merissa knew it wasn't the truth.

All that she had was Adley's statement that he would remain with her until an hour before the peak of the moon and then he would leave. An hour after the peak, he'd return and they'd continue their night together. In those two hours apart, Merissa thought about all of the full moons they'd gone through and what Adley did. She never saw him, he always left before it. Before they became a couple, Adley would say that he spent it with a female werewolf or two when questioned. Lennon never questioned him any further and Merissa hid the pain of hearing words that she didn't want to listen to.

The building was similar to the others, with a deck out the front and a large glass door. It was partially opened with the curtain drawn back a fraction. Kegan gestured to the door with a sweeping of his arm. Taking a subtle deep breath, Merissa followed Adley into the room.

Candles lit up the room, creating a warmth that was a little unbearable for Merissa. In the room was a small nest-like basket that was roughly woven from dried twigs and reeds. As she approached, Merissa saw a plush blanket lined the inside of the nest and five little cubs were curled up tight against each other.

"They're so small," Merissa murmured quietly.

"Yeah," Kegan said with a wistful smile on his face. "Turns out that they are fraternal which is common but kind of rare too. It can happen with certain elements being in place. Anyway, who's up for a cuddle?"

Leaning down, Kegan picked up one of the cubs and handed her to Merissa. The newborn in her arms resembled a child with a soft down covered her skin. It was barely visible, from a distance she couldn't see it but up close, Merissa could detect the covering.

Merissa's fingers traced over the child's arm, feeling how silky the coating was. The tiny bundle in her arms was somewhere between what a newborn child usually looked like and a wolf cub. The jaw was more pronounced, Merissa assumed it would alter to a snout when the child altered her form.

The limbs were long and having seen Adley when he searched for a scent, Merissa knew that she'd be able to crawl around on her hands and knees for a long time and not hurt herself.

There was a smile on Merissa's face when she looked up at Adley. He didn't realise it but his whole body was tense. Adley knew that Merissa hadn't been around werewolves enough to be included in this part of their lives. She had no idea what was going to be in here. Seeing her smile, seeing the happiness, it was a relief to Adley.

When he saw the smile, he knew that everything would be okay.