The Two Lunas

Chapter 17

Ryder has been trying to come to our potlucks every week. Sometimes he has to do things with his father. But on the Sundays he's free, he makes sure to come. We haven't told anyone that he will be the new beta yet. While I trust that our pack could keep it secret, it's just safer not to tell them. Because  if Silas catches wind that Ryder was leaving the pack, he wont receive any more training. And because we are a new pack, some of this information is invaluable. Aries is a new Alpha and his father may have passed the Pack on to him when he died a couple years ago, but he was a rogue, so they didn't do any negotiations or have any allies. They were cut off from society. Just doing what they could to survive. This is all new territory for us.

Aries grandfather was a bear. They are solo Creatures. He met his mate, a small wolf, and they lived alone in the forest. They never had much interaction with any shifters. Most people never messed with him because of his size and ferocity. They had a few children, mostly other bears, though they did have one other wolf besides Aries father. He was a small omega.
Then Aries dad was born, as a teen he began making friends with some local rogues and soon they became a small group. Over time they grew and expanded. He found his mate and they raised Aries. Over the next twenty years they began taking in more and more rogues, until they themselves were the size of a pack. I don't think the packs around us realize how big we have become. I know I was shocked. I really thought it was just a bunch of small rogue packs scattered around the area. It's not. The reason we have almost no problems with dangerous rogues is because most of the rogues quickly join Aries pack and remain integrated in society. Those who are incapable of being reintegration, or too dangerous, tend to be killed or chased off by the Dark Shadow Pack. I never knew that my safety growing up was thanks to a rogue pack in our area. Even while being here for the last five months I have seen a handful of new members join us. We have also found and killed a couple nearly feral wolves. I had never come across one before moving here. Well, I didn't come across this one either, but I heard all about it the next Sunday. It was the talk of the town, so to speak. The new rogues seem to be adjusting well and appear happy with their new home. I learned that most of the Were's that sleep in Animal form, in the woods, are newly joined wolves. As they get jobs and become more adjusted, they usually find a home near by and live like a civilized person. But when someone is thrown out of the pack, or chased off for whatever reason, they usually only come with what they can carry. It and takes time to find a place to live and make something of yourself. But most do eventually pull their life together.

Today I get to find out the gender of my babies. I am very excited. So far, the pregnancy has been going relatively smoothly. My back hurts all the time, my stomach has become more painful, and I am huge, but overall I am happy to say things are going okay.
After the morning workout and a shower, Aries helped me bath and get dressed. I am thankful for the maternity clothes my brothers gave me, but the shirts no longer fit me and I am forced to wear some of Aries larger shirts and sweaters. I wish I could wear something cuter, but at this point I can't be picky. Although my cat is very pleased by this. He loves wearing his mates clothes and having his mates smell engulfing him. He loves the claiming that is associated with having his mates clothes on him. I personally disagree. While it's nice to smell my mate, and I like being owned by him, I also want to look cute. And being the size of a house and wearing frumpy tshirts is NOT cute. Nothing in this stage of pregnancy is cute anymore. The pants still fit, so that's nice, otherwise I don't know what I'd do. I'd probably have a heart attack from being a walking fashion disaster.

Aries still scoops me into his arms like I weigh nothing. Even though I weigh close to one hundred and eighty pounds. Somehow that makes me feel a little less like a beached whale. Even though, when looking at myself it becomes clear how enormous I am getting.
I actually have some sympathy for my mother now. She didn't carry four, but three is still a lot. Although, part of me is annoyed with her for passing on her overly fertile genetics to me. I know shifters commonly have more than one child at a time, but usually they give birth to twins. Three is a bit less common, though you see it from time to time. But four? Jesus! I know I started out as three children but I still can't help but blame my mother.
Then again, I am thankful for having all these children because I know I have one shot at this. After these four, I doubt I will be overly interested in having more children. Four is plenty. I doubt I will ever feel like I am missing out on anything, except maybe my sanity.