Into The Woods (mxm)

Thirty

Ansel

The kingdom was in a state of celebration on the first day of spring. Not only because of the end of another cold season but the birth of a princess. I went through three painful days of labor before I finally gave birth early in the morning on the third day.

Rumi and Greyson sit on either side of me in our bedchamber, cooing over our newborn daughter. My Mother and Father, Aamon and Augustus, Collin, Keir, and their two children and Rumi's father surround our bed. Collin was as far away from Edmund as he could be. He still refused to talk to Rumi's father because he was not ready to. It pained Edmund but he did not push it. He was going to wait for Collin to make the first move.

Adela mewls and squirms in my arms, opening her blue eyes and staring up at me and her fathers. For the umpteenth time today, tears spring into my eyes as I gaze down at my pup. My precious daughter. She was perfect. She had pale skin and golden blonde tufts of hair on her head. Her eyes were wide and her nose was tiny. Her pink little lips purse together as she stretches.

"She is so beautiful, Ansel," Mother says, placing a hand on my knee. I smile at her, tears spilling down my cheeks. I was so happy to be holding my daughter in my arms. Father tucks his hand under Adela and lifts her into his arms. He nuzzles his nose into her scent glands, familiarizing himself with her scent. Father's wolf reaches out to Adela's, bringing her to the surface. Father performs the short 'ceremony' of inducting Adela into the pack.

Adela whines in discomfort as she can now most likely hear everyone in the pack congratulating her at once. Her wolf coaxes her through the process of blocking out the pack from her mind link. She will not be able to hear them until she is older.

Father kisses Adela's forehead, a gentle smile crossing his face as his grandpup squeals. Adela is passed around to everyone in the room, everyone instantly falling in love with the little princess. By the time Adela is placed back onto my lap, she is tired and fussy. It has been a busy first day for her. I hoist her onto my chest and lay down. She instantly tucks her head under my chin and falls asleep.

"Ansel," Father says after everyone files out of the room to give me and Adela rest. "I am very proud of you. You have grown to become a strong man. And I think it is time to think about handing over my title as King to you."

My heart stutters in my chest. Me...Being alpha? Ruling a kingdom? I felt honored that Father thought it was time for me, but could I do it? It is not like I would be alone. I would have Greyson and Rumi right by my side the whole time. It still made me nervous. But if Father thinks that I was ready, then I would take over and make sure that I do not disappoint him.

"There is a larger pack starting to form in the Northern Isle. A man names Bowyn Rowe has taken control of the pack there. He was the illegitimate son of  King Claude Rowe. Bowyn killed his parents and siblings to take over as King. I am telling you this so you can watch out for his pack in the future. He is ruthless, even more so than I am. He is cruel to his enemies as well as his pack. You have to be careful when making contact with him. As of now, he refuses to speak to any other pack but I am working on coaxing him into a treaty. Our priority is to make allies, not enemies. I will be right by you each step of the way. I will make you comfortable with all of your new duties as King before I hand you the reigns."

"Do you really think that I am ready, Father?"

"I know you are ready. You are my son after all. You are strong and independent and I trust you to rule our kingdom with a sound mind. And Greyson and Rumi, if you even make my pup shed a single tear, I won't hesitate to kill you. As my son's mates, you will also be kings. But that does not mean you will control what he does. I will make sure of that. Greyson, since you have been training your whole life to be Alpha, you will go through only a handful of classes. Rumi, you will have to be taught everything there is to be taught about being a royal. You will start classes immediately while I prepare Ansel to be King. I will see you in the morning, rest well."

As soon as Father leaves, Rumi and Greyson shower me with praise and kisses.

"My love, you are going to be crowned King! This is fantastic news," Greyson says, rubbing his hand over my sore belly.

"Congratulations," Rumi says softly.

"I love you. I love you two so much."

"I love you," Rumi says, placing kisses to my and Greyson's foreheads. Greyson preens at Rumi's words.

"I love all three of you," Greyson mumbles as he lays his head back against the pillows, yawning tiredly.

My life had changed so much over the course of a few months. I gained two mates, another father, a friend, and a beautiful daughter. I wonder how my life would have been if things had turned out differently. If Greyson and I had not played hide and seek that one fateful day. Would I have met Rumi, would the bond between Aamon and my father heal? I push the thoughts of another life out of my head. They did not happen for a reason. I went down this path for a reason. Everything happening because I decided to hide where no one could find me. Everything changed when I ran into the woods...

*This is the last chapter before the epilogue! Sadly, this book is coming to an end but the sequel will be up soon. I hope you enjoyed reading this book as much as I enjoyed writing it. I started writing this book when I was seventeen years old in 2018. Now at nineteen years old in 2020 I have completed this book and am working on a sequel. A special thank you to everyone who has been there since the beginning and thank you to everyone who read the book.

What did you all think of the last chapter? Adela was born and Ansel will become King. And Bowyn definitely has no importance to any part in the sequel...

Epilogue up soon later today as of  Feb. 5, 2020.*

-LunaMoon