Little Red and the big bad Alpha

Chapter 4 - Check

Although the birth itself was unusually pain free Lilia couldn't escape the pain over the next few weeks. Her body gradually removed the drugs that altered her mind and body, giving back a clearer sense of self and body, but that didn't bother her. The pain didn't worry her. She just had to stare at them, these two perfect creatures she'd created, these two boys that were so tiny, perfect, delicate.

The bleeding had actually been pretty serious. So much so that she'd been under general anesthesia while they tried to help her uterus contract again and close off the bleeding veins. 

Edmund was told she'd be anemia for a while and to feed her things high in protein. So naturally he started to cook meat. A lot of it. Sometimes a bit black, a bit charred, but Lilia didn't mind that.  She'd had to take medication to. 

The pain of it though wasn't too bad. The tiredness was a little worse, though she did her best to not complain, the breast feeding twins part more difficult at night when all Lilia wanted to do was to pass out and go back to sleep.

During the day it was a different kind of tiring. Not necessarily in a bad way, exactly, but everyone wanted to see the babies. There was someone visiting, at least once a day, and the second she stepped out of the Alpha residence with one or both of the twins there would be instantly someone there to admire, or ask to hold them, and Edmund would hover around the babies in circles. He couldn't help himself. He couldn't turn off 'Alpha' when it came to the safety of his babies, at least not right now, and several times already Emilia had told him to stop impersonating a hawk around her and do something useful. She wasn't going to run away with his babies.

Lilia lay on her side, two weeks after they'd been born, exhaustion creeping over her as she tried to fall back asleep. It had to be early morning and something had woken her, though she wasn't sure what, something that had slammed sleep out of her system. Edmund was curled up against her back with his arm curled up around her, hand tucked just under her chest. The man loved that part of her. 

Kale's face drifted across her memory. She hadn't thought about his parole hearing and vaguely remembered smelling him. Lilia blinked. She wasn't sure how she'd forgotten that. She rolled back, slowly, and pushed at Edmund. 

"What?" He was sitting up, yawning, "Babies? Kay. You get pillows and I get-" Edmund blinked, slowly, tilting his head. "I don't hear them. You sure?"

"That isn't it."

He groaned and collapsed back onto the bed. "Don't wake me. I need sleep."

"The day I gave birth, I smelt something, but I forgot about it." She nudged him. 

"You forgot a lot of things on that day. Crazy wolf mother." He grinned affectionately up at her through his sleep, rubbing his eyes, and slowly sat up. "What was it?"

"Kale's scent."

That snapped Edmund out of his sleepy state as effectively as a dirty nappy. He sat up and stared at her. "You sure?"

"Yeah." Lilia said softly. "I didn't see or hear him but I smelt it. Even while he was in prison I smelt it, from time to time, but I thought I was going crazy. What happened with his parole?"

"He succeeded." Edmund scowled. "As if he'd accept any other outcome. He's supposed to stay away from here though while Susan lives here. Shit. Andy didn't mention anything. Maybe ... I mean, you were pretty crazy for parts of it..."

He clearly didn't want to say she'd imagined it.

Lilia prodded him. "I was in hte middle of labour, Eddy, I wouldn't have imagined it then."

"He might have passed by." He frowned. "I can't think of anything else. I'll go talk to Marianne." Edmund was halfway up before they heard it, the babies, and he kissed her gently. "I'll call in a moment."