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“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 hers, 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 in that moment 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 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 you’ll be an amazing father.” She leaned against Blake and looked down into Aaron’s peaceful sleeping face.
She tried to fight the tears that started to flood her eyes. She knew this was silly, but her hormones were all over the place. Blake moved the hand that wasn’t supporting Aaron to her hair and gently ran his fingers over her scalp, massaging it. The small gesture calmed her more than anything, and the tears slowly faded.
All of it still felt so surreal. Blake was her perfect match and seemed to know her better than she knew herself. He’d met her at her darkest. Before him, she’d only hoped to find someone half as good as he was. He’d shown her kindness and love when she thought she didn’t deserve any. Even after she’d put their children at risk, not just once but twice, he hadn’t hated her for her actions. Instead, he thought of her as a strong woman.
She felt the sofa dip next to her and turned her head to see Alizia. She rested her head on Niev’s arm, lifted her hand, and gently stroked Aaron’s cheek with a finger.
“Do you think he’ll like me?” Alizia asked worriedly.
“Of course he will. He’ll look up to you as his big sister and you’ll forever have a friend in him,” Niev quickly reassured.
“I hope he does. I want to do everything with him.” She looked up and her face radiated happiness. “Grandma said we should all sit down for breakfast.”
Niev looked up and saw that everyone had already come in and started to take their seats. She hadn’t even noticed the room filling up. She looked down at Aaron and then searched for Layla. Their eyes met and Layla started walking over with a smile on her face.
“You’re glowing.”
Niev started blushing. “Thank you.”
Leaning down, Layla took Aaron into her arms again. “You’re more than welcome to get baby snuggles at any time.”
Blake leaned forward and whispered in her ear, “You did amazing.” He then stood up and helped her to her feet.
His compliment took her breath away. It was simple, yet it filled her heart with pride.
They all sat down and started filling their plates. Mayra truly had outdone herself. There was bacon, eggs, pancakes, hash browns, and breakfast muffins in abundance. There was likely enough for a second breakfast down the line.
In between bites she turned to Blake and asked, “What will happen now that the Skadu pack is no more?”
“Most of the families that were evacuated have returned to their homes. Now, it’s time to heal the wounded and mourn the dead.”
“Christa must have a lot on her hands right now. As soon as we have eaten, I would like to go to her and see how I can help.”
“I’m sure she’d appreciate that. She’s probably been waiting for you to come by so she can check on you and the babies.”
Lyliann turned her head, searching for Niev’s attention. “Niev, Mayra and I are planning to drive out to the mall with some of the other women. Would you like to join? Maybe buy some things for the babies?”
Niev was a little hesitant due to the fact that she didn’t know the other women and was afraid of their reaction. But then again, she knew if she didn’t at least try to get along with them, they would never accept her.
“I think that’s a great idea.”
Mayra and Lyliann seemed pleased and started planning the whole thing while Layla was busy telling them what she needed them to buy. The men were quiet and Niev noticed that they all seemed distant from each other. It seemed as if inviting the Skadu Pack to become part of the Timber Pack created some tension between them. Seth seemed more serious than usual, and that was saying a lot. Tanner, who sat opposite Seth, glared at his first born in regular intervals. Finally there was Michael, who seemed very uncomfortable. He tried to avoid eye contact with both of them.
Niev was glad when everyone had emptied their plates and it was time to clear the table and leave. Blake took their dirty dishes to the sink and quickly said goodbye to his mother.
“Niev and I will be back later to grab our things before we return home.”
She nodded and gave him a kiss on the cheek.
