BLACK

(3) Son

EDITED

I gush seeing all the bags packed. It was barely a two day trip, but the baggage a baby required looked infinite.

"Thank you again, so much for this Zena," I hug her twice.

Zena barely came up to my shoulders, but the large bun of black braids on her head met my nose. She chuckles as she crushes me back in her arms, squeezing more tightly than usual. I understood, accepting the strength with my own.

"Don't thank me, Noire. You deserve this," She pulls back from the hug, courageous eyes looking up into my watery ones. "You are such a strong girl, you don't have anyone to thank but yourself."

Tears escape me as I pull her back into a hug, resting my cheek on her shoulder. I was so thankful for Zena to be in my life, and support me even after all of the terrible things.

A high pitched wail follows the crash of a bowl on the floor, and I sniffle pulling myself from Zena. "Oh, what?" I call sweetly behind me.

I chuckle lightly and thank Zena one last time. I turn around and wipe my eyes, making way to the red print high chair. The baby plays in it, staring up at me with wet eyes. He cries again and I bend down to pick up the splatter from the ground, placing it on a counter out of his reach. His cries get louder as I clean around him, and it hurts my ears but I need to clean before I attend to him.

Finally I finish and can pluck him from the chair. His face contorts with his cries, but it only makes me smile. His hair runs in thick spirals, dark as the shadows. His skin is a mix between his father and mine, a thorough tan but different from Zena's. His eyes, however, are mine. Their green reflects so brightly, blotches of hazel running through the lines if you look close enough. Despite his eyes, he looks so much like his father. I don't mind it, I actually enjoy it. He's cute, and he's guaranteed to grow up handsome.

"Baby," I coo as I rest my fore arm under his bum, and wipe the chair's table with a towel. His fingers find my hair, but the pain is tolerable, "What did you do?"

I toss the wipe into the garbage, turning my attention to the many bags stacked at the doorway. Batter is there, Zena's mate. He's a tall man with rich skin and a growing stubble. I don't mind him at all. He's nearly as kind as Zena.

He nods at me with a small smile, and I look out the window, sighing. Camera's waited, people lingered. I felt bad for my son, it was a terrible position to put him in.

"You ready?" Batter asks, grabbing handles to a few of the bags.

I nod as I walk towards him, grabbing as much as I can. Zena objects so I only end up dragging a suitcase, but I suppose it is the safer alternative to tripping and endangering my son. Zena holds open the door for us, and I walk out first. The hollering starts, and then the flashes and voices. I cower my head to cover my son, not wanting any bad pictures to come back and bite him. Batter follows closely behind me, rounding beside me to create a barrier between myself and the paparazzi. Zena closes the door roughly, hurrying and yelling at the people to get off her property. Batter opens the trunk of the car in the driveway to put away the bags, and I open the car door myself as Zena's shouting becomes passive listening in my ears.

My baby cries, but he doesn't know why. His bright eyes squeeze shut and tears stream down his cheeks, but I ignore them as I buckle him into his carrier. The trunk slams and Zena ushers me to climb over his carrier, so I slump in the back seat. Batter runs outside the window shield, sliding into the drivers seat and Zena's shouting can be heard outside.

It's tiring to leave, but at least the media has died down the past few months. But it wouldn't fully go away, after all I was the girl with seven alpha mates.

Zena takes another moment before she can be heard huffing and jostling up to my side of the car. I swing open the door, the baby carriage between us. She gives me an apologetic smile, and I return with a thankful one.

"Thank you again, so much," I grasp her extended hand with gratitude.

"Noire," Her smile falters. She leans down, grip slipping from mine. She coddles my babies face, his tears splashing onto her thumb. "And you, Ajax, you behave well for your Mommy, okay?" She smiles as his crying turns into confused wails at her calm voice. She rolls her eyes, looking back at me. "I still hate the name Ajax."

I return the roll of my eyes. "He's my little J."

She nods and looks back with distaste at the flash of photos. "I'll see you tomorrow, bye now. Drive safe, Batter."

"Will do, Z." Batter replies as Zena shuts the door, starting the car.

Ajax grips my thumb, as I rest my hand over his stomach, hushing his wrecked voice. The drive to the airport will take an hour, but the plane itself is several.

Ajax is my son. Zena and Batter are his grandparents. I get to see him once a week, which isn't a lot but it doesn't really matter while he's young. It's better he has a closer relationship with Zena and Batter anyways. Ajax is roughly a year old, but he still hasn't started walking. His father was— is, because despite his death that can't change, Jonneth Androclés. Jonneth passed away in a gruesome attack when Ajax was two months old. Two months threes weeks and a day, but I don't like to remember those things.

Ajax lives with his grandparents because Jonneth was from a different pack. The Alpha, actually. Therefore Ajax will be the next Alpha to take after Jonneth. It's better he be raised by Batter and become familiar with his rightful pack.

Currently, I am having a sleepover with my baby but I'm also expanding him to my other mate, Roman. It's my first time allowed to take him somewhere out of the packs with me, and overnight. Roman lives up high in Alaska, so I'm going to have to fly there. Usually Aris drives me when he isn't sleeping, but because I'm with Ajax today, he won't go anywhere near me.

I've been with Aris for nine years, but Ajax is only a year old. And I had him willingly, because my body is now mature enough to carry children and my mates need prodigies. It was a good thing I had Ajax too, because Jonneth died quickly after. And if I didn't have Ajax, Zena's pack would no longer have a future Alpha. Jonneth was one of my seven mates, but now I have less. Aris knows about Ajax, he cared for me every night that my baby grew inside of me. But Aris will have nothing to do with Ajax, and that's just how Aris is.

So I'm a little excited for Roman to meet Ajax, because despite having seven mates, I would like for Ajax to grow up knowing I love my mates and that I'm not what the media says.