The Alpha's Bride

1020  The young Alpha Violet is home

Damon hugged Talia from the side and pressed his lips on her temple. "I am glad things ended well." He really did. And he could feel the sparks of their bond again which was fantastic.

Talia was in his arms, and their baby slept peacefully on the bed. It was surreal.

He wanted to hold Violet and hug her, but she was so tiny, and he didn't want to disturb her rest.

He counted five fingers on each hand and five toes on each foot, and she had a tiny nose, tiny mouth, and a small tuft of black hair on her head. Everything was small and... breakable. Will he be able to hold her without hurting her?

Damon decided to focus on Talia. "How are you feeling? That looks like a lot of blood." It was not much by werewolf standards, but he didn't like to see Talia hurt in any way. "Should I call Travis?"

"No need." Talia could sense that her bleeding was stopping, and the ache was not unbearable. "This was supposed to happen in a hospital. I'm sorry I messed up the bedsheets." And she was confident that it leaked into the mattress as well.

"Who cares about bedsheets? Are you alright?"

"I am," Talia assured him.

"Any aches?"

"A little bit." She didn't want to worry him.

"Can I help?"

Talia blinked. "How?"

Damon licked his lips slowly, and she could hear his voice in her head, 'My saliva has analeptic properties.'

Talia's face exploded in a fierce blush when she realized what he was talking about.

"Violet is right here," Talia said in an urgent whisper. "And I am bloody."

Damon grinned. She didn't say no.

"I don't care about the blood. I had worse. As for disturbing Vi, we can be quiet."

Talia's eyes widened to the point of hurting, and Damon chuckled.

"Ah, kitten, kitten…" He pulled her to lean on him. "I will never do anything that makes you uncomfortable. I understand you need time to process things that happened." They both did.

Talia pressed her lips into a line, unsure if she should be relieved or upset that he gave up on going down on her.

"How are you doing?" Talia asked.

"Me? Uhm…" So many things happened that he didn't have time to think about himself. How did he feel? "Excited, mostly. Worried about you. We should notify Travis, Caden, James, and guys that we are here." Also, check on the island and those people they left behind. If they ran their mouths, Damon would kill them all. And one more thing. "We need to verify how much time has passed."

Talia agreed with him. "Can we stay like this a bit longer? I want to clean up before we announce our presence."

Damon reached for a blanket to cover up Violet's tiny body and Talia's lower half. They were both naked. Not appropriate.

"You did it, kitten. We did it. That's our daughter, and she is perfect."

Talia was still processing everything. They were on the beach, and there were intruders. Talia went into labor and ended up in a mystical realm where she saw her parents and…

'Lis?' Talia called.

'I am here.'

'Did I imagine those things?'

'No. The place we were, had the same quality as the realm where I spent centuries by Selena's side.'

'And this is my daughter?' Talia asked while looking at the baby.

'Yes. She is beautiful. Congratulations.'

'Does she have a wolf?' Talia wanted to confirm.

'She has a strong spirit. Yes.'

'When will she awaken?'

'Uhm… in about eleven years. Give or take a year.'

Eleven years, Talia thought. That's how much time they have to raise this girl and teach her not to use her powers for bad things.

Talia wanted to hug and hold her, but she didn't want to wake her up. The baby looked so tiny and peaceful and… 'She is perfect,' Talia said to Damon through their mind-link.

'Violet Blake,' Damon said with glee in his voice. 'The future Alpha of the Dark Howlers pack.'

'And the Midnight Guardians pack.'

'We should combine our packs, kitten. It will be easier for everyone.'

Talia had to agree that Damon's words made sense. Axel told Talia many times he was not interested in being the Alpha because he didn't feel the role belonged to him. Talia hoped that Valerian would take over that position, but now he was gone, and there was no one else other than Talia.

Talia was thinking about opening the portal that would connect two packs directly. That will make travel more convenient, and it will technically connect their territories. The only thing left was to figure out a name.

'Dark Guardians? Or Midnight Howlers?' Talia asked.

Damon smiled. 'I like them both. Or you can keep your pack independent, in a similar way to how George has members of the Frostcrest pack. We are one, but they have a certain autonomy.'

Talia agreed to think about this more.

After a few more minutes of hugging in silence, Damon carried Talia to the bathroom, and he helped her shower.

"Rest on me, kitten. Let your mate take care of you."

Talia leaned on Damon obediently, and she enjoyed the cleaning service he provided. His touch was gentle, and she was amazed that he managed to surprise her again by showing care uncharacteristic of an Alpha. Damon was special. He was the best.

Talia wrapped her arms around his neck and her gaze misted with lust.

Damon's nostrils flared as he struggled against the seductive call of her arousal. "Kitten… you are bleeding and achy." And she was rubbing her stomach on his erection.

"I don't think I'm bleeding anymore." She was feeling better by the second.

Damon was torn. The video said they should refrain from penetration for six weeks after the delivery. He remembered it because his heart was aching at the thought of staying away from Talia's pussy for such a long time, but this was only a few hours, yet she was tempting him and assuring him she was fine. What to do?

Damon took Talia's hands into his and kissed her palms. "Let's wait, kitten. At least until tonight."

Talia couldn't believe that he had refused her. "What's tonight?"

"By then, Doctor Travis will check on you and confirm that your body is fine."

"But I am fine!" Talia pouted.

"I believe you, but I don't want to risk harming you."

Talia wanted to bicker, but she could feel his sincerity through their mate bond. He was truly worried about her, and she decided to hold back her urges.

"Alright," Talia said dejectedly. She knew that his words made sense, but she was horny. Damn it!

 Talia and Damon dressed up and returned to the bedroom to see Violet still sleeping there.

"Should we wake her up?" Damon asked.

Talia was not sure. "Maybe we should call someone with experience and get some tips. Do we have any diapers and baby clothes?" The bed sheets were already ruined from blood, but that didn't mean they should add pee or whatever else came out of the baby.

Talia was planning to go baby shopping when they returned from their trip. They assumed they would have a month or more to settle down with these necessities, and Mindy even planned a baby shower, but things ended differently.

While thinking about Mindy, Talia hoped that her friend had prepared a nursery based on the list Talia and Damon left behind.

Talia looked at Damon, who stood by her side unresponsive, and it took her a moment to realize that his eyes were out of focus. He was mind-linking someone.

Before Talia could ask what was going on, there was a knock on their bedroom door.

"Come in," Damon called, and Maya's head peeked in with Caden's above her.

"When did you come back?" Maya asked, and she froze in her tracks when she saw the bundle on the bed.

Caden scrunched his nose as he scented blood, and James and Cornelia appeared at the door.

It was Talia's turn to stare at Cornelia, who was waddling with a big belly in front of her. Talia wondered how long they were away, but then… Cornelia was a witch. Who knew how their pregnancies went?

"Oh. My. God!" Maya said when she gathered her wits. "A baby! Is it a boy or a girl?"

10:57

Damon wrapped his arm around Talia and puffed his chest before announcing. "That's your future Alpha Violet. The oldest one in the new generation of Alphas."

Caden cleared his throat. "Uhm… not the oldest one."

Damon's brows came together in a frown. "What do you mean?"

"Max and Tanya had their son, Ethan, last week."

Damon's frown deepened. "How was that possible?"

Cornelia responded, "After we faced the Guardians, the Wilkow sisters figured out that their song could speed up the pregnancy." She rubbed her belly. "Works on everyone who stands nearby. Mindy is about to have her baby any day now, and Dawn's stomach is showing. We also suspect it promotes heat and fertility because Varya, Daria, Trisha, Lidia, and several others are pregnant."

Talia thought about how that was wonderful. "Violet will have many playmates."

Maya went to the room across the hall with, "Let me grab some diapers and baby clothes. You shouldn't introduce our future Alpha to the pack naked."

Talia turned to Damon, who was non-responsive. "Damon?"

"Max's child was born first," Damon said dejectedly.

"Tanya got pregnant before me. It was normal that their child was born first." Talia did her best to pacify him.

Damon rubbed his chin and eyed Talia. "When is your next heat?"

"What?"

"We will make our second child first."

Talia was unsure if she should laugh or cry. Was everything a competition?