Second chance mate

chapter 20 (Final draft)

Ariel looked up when there was a knock on the door. She called for them to come in and saw that it was River. He bowed his head to her in submission and waited until she allowed him to walk to the bed. He approached the pup and checked his temperature.

"Has he been sleeping normally?" He asked her.

"Yes. Woke up for an hour and just fell asleep again after feeding." She informed him. He nodded pleased.

"Did he drink his usual amount of milk for the night?"

She made an agreeing noise.

"That's good. That means his fever isn't effecting his health. Rather just fighting the infection."

She sighed in relief.

"I do need to talk to you about something though." He added, turning away from the sleeping pup and looking at her. She was sitting on the other side of the boy with her hand passing through Zane's hair constantly. She waited for him to go on.

"You don't feed him your milk, correct?" He asked her.

She shook her head. "I give him the formula. Why?"

"Bear with me." He requested and she nodded. "Did he ever have your milk? Even in the beginning?"

"No. When he came out, I went into a coma and after that I left him at my aunts'." She said looking at him worry clouding her features now. "Why? Is that wrong?"

"A mother's milk provides strength to the baby. Makes them healthier and their immune system stronger. That's not to say that the baby won't be healthy with formula but mother's milk is what was made for them." River explained, pausing to make sure she was listening and understood what he was saying. "As an alpha pup, he will be fine, he is stronger than human or other werewolf babies. But he was premature and was away from you for three months, he is slightly weaker than other alpha pups."

She looked down at her pup with her eyes filled with worry and fear. "What do I do then?"

"If you are okay with it, I think we should shift him to your milk and wean him off the formula." He said, watching her face for reactions.

"Is that even possible?" She asked in shock.

"It'll take some time and some effort. Since you are weak yourself, you'll need to change your diet. It will happen slowly and over the course of weeks if not months."

"How?" She asked, curious.

He explained that it isn't always possible to bring back a full milk supply, but often it is, and even a partial milk supply can make a big difference to a baby's health and development.

In the beginning, the process may be quite time-consuming, as she would need to pump, the baby. It may also take several weeks to build up a full supply of milk. The more often milk is removed, the more often it will be made. Generally, you at the breast at least eight times in 24 hours, and if you can do it more often, that's even better. At first, there will be very little milk. The stimulation sends "make milk" signals and it will take a couple of days before there is a response.

She listened attentively and then nodded. "I'll do it."

"I expected that from you." He smiled widely. "It will be easier for you, I hope. Most mama wolves feed their babies so there isn't a lot of research out there. Most of my research came from human sources. But since our bodies are slightly faster, I expect results much faster." He encouraged.

She nodded and looked at her son, lost in her thoughts.

"I'll arrange the things you'll need but we will start after he is feeling better. It might take time for him to adapt." He told her and stood up to leave. "I'll come back later to check on him, you should get some sleep."