Broken Halves

Chapter Sixteen

POV: Dani

"There you go baby," I coo at Faolan as I lay him down in the bassinet next to my own bed. Lightly dragging my finger down his chubby baby cheeks, I mentally awe as his lips pout out. "I love you Faolan." I whisper as my eyes begin to water. "I've loved you from the moment I first learned about you. I didn't have the best childhood but I did have a fantastic mother and if I can be a quarter of who she was then I know you'll be in good hands." I continue to lightly caress the puffy cheeks of my son as I speak words from my heart.

"They'll be mistakes, but know no matter what happens, I love you and am only trying my best. Your father would want nothing more than to be here with you, but he can't be with us anymore." I pause for a moment to take a few deep breaths and wipe away the tears that are now falling freely down my face. "You are all I have left of him little one and I will cherish every moment of being your mother." Faolan gurgles and I laugh quietly. "You have a new Daddy and he loves you more than anything." I smile brightly when I think of how involved Jorden has been with the baby already. The man holds him and rocks him whenever he has the chance and I know Faolan has already lodged himself deep into Jorden's heart; fore he is the son Jorden never thought he would have.

"People are going to try and control your future Faolan, but always know I am here in your corner for whatever you decide to do." My heart aches for my son who is still just a baby, but stuck in the middle of two different future paths. He is Cole's only surviving heir making him the rightful Alpha of the Dark Moon Pack and the rightful Alpha King. Cole's grandmother is a horrible wrench who if I allowed her, would rip my baby from my hands and raise him to be a King much like she was a Queen.

Instinctively, I lean closer to Faolan and whisper the advice of his future in his ear. "Your father followed his own destiny and didn't allow others to dictate his path. I wish he was here to teach his knowledge to you but everything is going to be ok Faolan. You will forever be my baby boy, me, you, and Jorden, we are each other's family now."

"And we make one beautiful family." Jorden whispers while snaking his arms around my waist. Leaning back into his comfortable touch, I allow myself to be soothed by his presence, not knowing how long he has been watching the exchange with our son. "However," he continues after a few moments of holding me. "All of the cuteness comes from this little boy right here." His voices goes up an octave as he releases me to lightly tickle Faolan's stomach.

Removing his attention from the baby, Jorden turns back to me with his eyebrows furrowed in worry. "Dani we just returned home today! You've only been out of surgery for four days. Please sit down you are supposed to be resting." I want to blow off his comment, but instead I allow him to lead me to my side of the bed as, if I am being completely honest, my abdomen where the C-section scar remains is still quite tender.

"We need to start taking his pictures." Jorden states a few moments later, while gently running his hand through Faolan's soft blonde tufts of hair. "Pictures?" I ask confused. Jorden looks up, fixating his gaze on me instead of the baby. "Pictures Dani, to start his scrapbook." He clarifies while standing up and beginning to rummage through the bookcases that house many of Cole's old books.

Taking a moment to reflect on my childhood as he searches, I come to the conclusion that Momma never really took pictures of me. Cole however, I know he did. If I'm being honest, it shocked me to when I first found out. Cole was just not the kind of guy who you pegged to be interested in photography. Just the thought of the days back in France, where he would have me be his model has me tearing up. I miss him. I miss him so damn much.

"Here we go." Jorden states while dropping two bound books in my lap, bringing my attention back to him. "This one's Cole's," He says while pointing to the older more rustic leather bound scrapbook; "And this one," he begins while pointing at the newer lavender scrapbook, "Is yours." He finishes. Instantly my eyes snap from the scrapbooks on my lap to Jorden's eyes. "Mine?" I ask, slightly in shock. Jorden says nothing, only nods confirming his earlier statement. Hesitantly, I reach for the lavender scrapbook. Laying it across my lap I lightly grasp the front cover, afraid to break it.

"How did you know about this?" I ask Jorden in awe after seeing the first set of images on the first page. They are pictures of me from the first few weeks that I stayed here in this house. Pictures of me smiling on the couch in the game room, or walking around the gardens admiring the flowers. All of which, are pictures I never knew Cole took.

"I helped him out." Jorden admits while sitting down beside me on the bed. "He uh- he was- it was supposed to be your birthday present." Jorden places his hand on the baby's bassinet as he confesses to me. "We spent hours sorting through all the pictures he took before deciding which ones to include." Jorden takes a moment to swallow before continuing, "He was so proud of it Dani." His words come out as a whisper and just like that, I can no longer hold back my tears.

My Cole, always so thoughtful; he must have been planning this present for months, and he never got the chance to give it to me. I love him. He was perfect for me. I continue to cry as I sift through the pages of pictures. Every single one is of me. Some I am posing for, some he just snapped without me noticing; but in all of which, you can see the genuine happiness he brought to me. Cole created my paradise; life with him was a life I never wanted to stop living. He truly was my soulmate, hell he still is. Cliché as it might sound, when we were together I was complete. Now, a part of me is missing. Fate is cruel, it took away my heart, only to give me something to fill the void.

I love Cole, and I will never stop loving him. I will never truly accept his absence, but I must fight this grief. I am a mother, a Luna, and a lover; I must stop wallowing around in self-pity and sadness. It is ok to miss him, but I cannot let it control me.

Today I will cry, but after today, no more tears. It doesn't mean I love him any less, the thought of him will always bring both happiness and sadness to me. But from this day on, I will be strong. Reminiscing about Cole will bring me only joy and happiness, just the way he'd want me to live. I have our son now who relies on me and he will fill the void in my heart that loosing Cole has left; fate wants me to be happy, that is why she has graced me with a child.

Question of the Day: What do y'all think of Cole's love for photography?

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