Alpha Queen [1] ✓

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There was a boy and a girl.

The boy was like the morning, the girl was like the night. The boy was bold, fierce and abundant with boundless energy while the girl was intense, calm and calculating with senses it seemed no one else possessed. The boy had an aura full of warmth, the girl had silent power. The boy was a lover, the girl was a warrior.

The boy and the girl were tied together by a bright band until split apart by day and night. Once color that was so vivid was siphoned by an eclipse which turned the whole world a limitless black.

Coldness seeped in.

Then I woke up.

Oh.

It was just another dream.

"Did you have a good nap, Alex?" Soren asked in a low voice. He was sitting across the room with an old book in his hands. "You were moving around quite a lot."

"I was?" I looked down at the tangled sheets and pillows thrown on the floor. The more I tried to remember my dream, the faster it faded away. All I knew was that it made my pulse race.

"Do you feel okay? Do you have any pain?" Soren asked.

"No pain but I'm still a little fatigued."

"I can bring you some food if you would like."

"That's okay, I'm not very hungry. Thank you for offering though, I appreciate it."

He nodded and added knowingly, "Ares is in the nursery."

"How did you know I was going to ask where he was?"

"Because that is how you two are."

I was in labor for a good fifteen hours. Soren and another wolf named Cashmere helped deliver the babies, which I was thankful for. I had actually blocked out most of that day as I was in such unbearable pain even with all the drugs and herbs. Ares had never left my side. He was nervous before the birth, during the birth and after the birth—though he would never admit it to anyone.

The following weeks were equally as intense. My body was strained and would take a long time to recover. I'd almost lost my balance a few times just walking around since my center of gravity was off. Yet despite the pain and the exhaustion, I was happy. Even as young as they were, the pack could see the powerful future awaiting the heirs. It was worth everything just to have them in my arms.

Soren walked with me down the hall, up the stairs and down the hall again. The nursery was tucked away in one of the hardest to reach places in the castle. It was also very open with one half of the room for newborns and the other half for pups who were learning to crawl and walk. After they could walk, which didn't take that long, they were given a room near their parents.

Each crib was made by hand out of the sturdiest wood and lined with blankets made by a collection of the mothers. Mom had actually crocheted the twins' blankets in the color of one white and one black. Hanging between the bars was a beaded necklace with the pup's name on it.

Ares was nestled in the corner with our babies. They were sleeping soundly for once. Crystalle, the wolf watching the nursery most of the time, said they were complete opposites in terms of sleeping. The girl was a peaceful sleeper while the boy was fussy and woke up every hour crying his head off.

"Alex," Ares began to stand but I shook my head.

"It's okay, stay where you are."

He was holding one of the babies. To others, it was impossible to tell who was who when they didn't open their eyes. But I always knew.