AllFreeNovel
Share Us
When Niev woke up the next morning, something felt different. She was still laying in Blake’s arms but something about herself felt new. As she thought about the last few weeks and the feelings that she’d felt each time she’d woken up, she realized that she was no longer worried. She wasn’t worried about Blake. She was no longer worried about her future with him, and she was no longer worried about the Skadu Pack hurting anyone. It felt as if a huge weight had been lifted off her shoulders, as if she could finally breathe freely again.
She felt Blake move and looked up to see his bright smile and brown eyes beaming at her. “Good morning, beautiful.”
She leaned forward and kissed him. “How are you feeling?”
“Finally rested and you?”
She bit her lip and tinged pink. “Hungry.”
He laid his finger on her lip, pulling it from between her teeth. “Let’s get you some breakfast.”
They quickly dressed themselves and walked downstairs and into the kitchen. Mayra, as always, was already awake and preparing food.
“Good morning Mayra. How can I help you?”
Mayra twirled around with an excited squeak. “Oh Niev, Blake told me the great news.” She grabbed her and pulled her into a hug before letting go and gently rubbing Niev’s belly. “Congratulations, I can’t tell you how excited I am!”
“Thank you. We’re also very excited, even though it’s also very scary.”
Mayra gave her an encouraging smile. “Don’t worry, love. You’ll both be amazing parents.”
Niev and Blake helped Mayra set the table while they waited for everyone to wake up and come down for one last breakfast together. Now that it was safe enough for everyone to leave the inner circle, all families had returned to their homes. And before Layla, Michael, Aaron, Alizia, Lyliann, Seth, and Darron returned to their own homes, Mayra wanted this one last breakfast together to be special. She outdid herself and had told Niev that she’d spent hours in the kitchen trying to make that morning flawless.
Layla, Michael, Alizia, and Aaron were the first to come down. Layla was glowing with a sleeping Aaron in her arms. Michael looked tired, and Alizia was excited as ever to present Aaron to Niev and Blake. Alizia grabbed their hands and pulled them over to the couch where Layla had sat down.
“You have to be very gentle with Aaron, he’s very tiny,” Alizia whispered as she looked down at her little brother.
“Niev, come sit next to me so you can hold Aaron for a little while.” Layla seemed certain and not one bit worried about all the things that could go wrong.
Niev tried to hide her concern. “I’m not sure that’s a good idea.”
Blake gently pushed Niev toward the couch and into the seat next to Layla.
“You’ll be fine.” Layla turned to Niev and gently laid Aaron in her arms. “He has just been fed and all you need to do is to support his head.”
Niev looked down at Aaron who was still peacefully sleeping. He was tiny, much smaller than she’d expected. At first, Niev was stiff and she was afraid to even breathe. Aaron looked so peaceful, and she didn’t want to do anything to disturb him.
“Relax, beautiful.” Blake sat down next to her and laid his arm around her shoulders. He leaned down to Aaron and wrapped his other arm underneath her arms, supporting her as she held Aaron.
She knew Aaron wasn’t her baby, and she knew that holding her own children would be much different but right now, she felt encouraged. Holding Aaron and having Blake by her side helped ease a lot of her anxiety. She felt as if she wouldn’t be as bad as a mother as she’d thought she would be.
She slowly took her eyes off Aaron and looked at Layla. “Thank you.”
“Take your time.” Layla smiled and got up, giving Blake and Niev a little privacy.
Blake leaned closer, kissing Niev's cheek, while softly humming his praise, “Youwillbe an amazing mother.”
“And youwillbe an amazing father.”
All of a sudden, their future looked bright and Niev couldn’t wait to meet her own children.
To be continued…
The epilogue contains a cliffhanger!
Epilogue
Solomon
