Her Stolen Family

"Congratulations, Lylah, I've just received your test results and I am so pleased to tell you - you're pregnant!" Lylah felt her heart race in excitement as she processed the news that her best friend's mother, Dr. Angela Voss was telling her. "Are you sure?" She clung to the woman that had practically raised her, the smile slowly growing on her face. "I'm really pregnant?" Dr. Angela Voss nodded with a grin, her arms coming around Lylah to give the young woman a tight and reassuring hug. "Yes, sweet heart, you're having a baby!" She held her warmly, hand patting Lylah's back with loving strokes. "Am I correct in assuming that this means our young Alpha is expecting his first heir?" Dr. Voss teased lightly, knowing that Lylah and her boyfriend, newly appointed Alpha Jason Croft had been seeing each other since they were fifteen years old. "Yes!" Lylah exclaimed, the tears of joy starting to stream down her cheeks. "He's going to be so excited, first his father finally allows us to reveal our mating bond, and now the baby - just in time for our mating ceremony this weekend, too!" The older woman chuckled, the happiness radiating off of her as well. "You have so much to look forward too, Lylah, I just know your mother and father would have been so proud of you." Her smile turned sad for a moment. "All they wanted for you and your sister was a life full of love and happiness." Lylah nodded. Her mother and father had been two of the most loving people, and in love people, that Lylah had ever known. In love since they were merely teenagers, all they had ever wanted was for their twin daughters to find a love as strong as they had. Lylah had been successful - having become the crush of young Jason Croft, the Alpha's son, at only the age of fourteen and then his girlfriend within the year. Jason and Lylah had had the perfect relationship; loving, sweet, and aimed towards strengthening each other as individuals. Lylah supported Jason through all of his training to take over as Alpha from his aging father, and in return, he watched her with pride and love as she took on a lot of the ambition and responsibilities that a future Luna should have. Lilith had been less successful - having had a crush on Jason since she was a young girl, Lylah's twin sister had been broken-hearted when the young Alpha heir had chosen Lylah over her. In consolation, she had begun to date his future Delta, Charlie Weiss, until the older boy had turned eighteen and found his own true mate - a sweet young thing that was about a year older than him, but every part the opposite of Lilith. The younger twin had been devastated, and immediately angry at the loss of her "perfect relationship." "I wish they were here to meet my baby, I just know they would have adored her." Lylah lamented with a soft sigh, before looking back at her friend's mother with all of the affection that she would have looked at her own mother. Angela was quite possibly the closest thing Lylah had to a mother - the older woman being the mother of her truest friend Carlie. When Lylah and Lilith's parents had perished in a rogue attack a decade ago, Angela had been determined to take both Lylah and Lilith in - despite her own husband being killed in the attack as well, leaving her a single mother of three of her own pups. Eight-year-old Lylah had clung to the opportunity, her grieving heart accepting the woman immediately as a surrogate mother. Lilith on the other hand, was not as fond of going from sharing attention with only her sister (which already annoyed her) to suddenly being one of five children, and instead had chosen to stay in the packhouse with the Omega's, who doted on the motherless girl. The girls had been separated at that point; seeing each other frequently through school and other bonding experiences, but their relationship had never been the strongest one and so, it had faltered regardless. "Your daughter will have plenty of love and family from us, sweetheart. Carlie and Rose are going to be so excited to be Aunt's, and Gavin will love being an Uncle." Angela quickly corrected herself once she realized who she had left out. "And Lilith of course! I'm sure your sister will adore your child as well!" Lylah laughed lightly, shaking her head. "Lilith hardly speaks with me as it is. I doubt she will be overjoyed that Jason and I are expecting. I still don't think she forgives me for stealing him away from her." The two girls had rarely been close as children; Lylah was a sweet, calm girl who enjoyed playing with anyone and everyone, she was sweet to younger children, listened to members of authority, and tidied up after herself. Lilith was the exact opposite. Being demanding and selfish, the girl often had to be the center of attention or she found herself anyway possible to become the center. Lilith had often been cruel to other children, not making friends easily and spent her time mostly alone or complaining to the Omega's she lived with about how unkind everyone was to her. After Lylah had begun dating Jason, Lilith had only turned her cruelty to her sister, outwardly shunning her whenever the girl had come to spend time with her. She spread rumors among the Omega house that Lylah had purposefully chosen to date Jason so that when he became Alpha, she would be the second most important person in the pack. This had resulted in not only Lilith shunning her sister, but the Omega's feeling the same animosity toward the kind and caring girl. Lylah didn't doubt that the news of a baby would only further anger Lilith. "That's a shame, love, you two are sisters!" Angela squeezed Lylah's shoulders lovingly. "Well, he or she will have enough love from everyone else in both you and Jason's family." Lylah nodded, her hand lovingly coming to rest on the tiniest swell of her stomach, a bump that she hadn't even realized was there but now was determined to protect and love. "Well, sweetheart, what are you waiting for? You should go tell Jason about the baby!" The smile on Lylah's face grew at the suggestion, and she nodded, going in for one last hug from Angela. "I'll be back tonight, hopefully for dinner! That way I can tell Carlie, Rose and Gavin, myself!" She laughed, grabbing her jacket from where it lay across Angela's desk, and then bid the ecstatic woman a quick goodbye. She would see her later at their family home. As Lylah left the doctor's office, she felt a light and airy energy come over her and a little pep entered her step as she started the walk from the medical district over to where Croft Manor was. For a moment, she considered contacting Jason via their mindlink to tell him about the baby. Her excitement made her want to shout it from the rooftops, and she quite literally could not wait to tell her mate their tremendous news. Lylah wanted to see Jason's face when he found out the news though, wanted to be there so that he could pull her into his arms and hold her tightly in joy. So she would wait until she was in his office herself, interrupting whatever work meeting he had going on for a few minutes - or a few hours, if she knew Jason like she did - so that they could celebrate their new addition. The walk to Croft Manor was quiet and calm, a few pack members stopped to say good afternoon to Lylah, telling her how excited they were for her and Jason's mating ceremony. Things ran a little differently in the Star Cross Moon pack - while members of the pack still discovered their mates on their eighteenth birthday, the council would not allow any mating ceremonies or rituals to commence for six months to a year after their fated matches were made. This was to ensure that nobody was forced into being mated, overcome by the rush of emotions that followed finding your fated match. Most packs were weary of this rule, their own mating rituals happening within days of the match. The Star Cross Moon Pack members were thankful for the stark difference, many members were happy with their matches, and once the six month period was up, they gratefully wed their mates in a public ceremony that the whole pack was present for. There were a few that did not make the six-month wait though, and that rule was put in place for them - to avoid anyone feeling as though they had to marry. The reigning Alpha Vincent Cross was one that the rule had worked out for. Once his six month wait for his mate, Deanna, had been finished - the two had discovered they were not compatible and parted amicably, neither feeling the immense pain that came from an emotional rejection. After that mate had fallen through, Vincent's true mate had been revealed to him, and Jason's mother Isabella had taken her rightful place next to her husband and mate as the Star Cross Moon Luna. It was Vincent and Isabella's second chance mating that had encouraged everyone else in the pack to follow the six month rule as well, all of them wanting to find a love as pure and sweet as their Alpha and Luna's. Of course, not everyone in the pack followed the rule - Lylah and Lilith's mother and father had mated almost immediately, having known that their love was real and made to last. It was up to them, and nobody had faulted them for it. Jason was determined to keep to his Mother and Father's tradition though, and despite Lylah knowing in her heart that Jason and her were meant to be - she had respected his wishes, and agreed to wait for their ceremony. It was finally here though! An event that was sure to gather the entire pack in attendance, the mating ceremony of Jason and Lylah was meant to be so much more than a traditional marriage. With Jason old enough to find his mate, and his parents wanting to retire, this mating ceremony was meant to be the handover that everyone was waiting for. Jason would marry Lylah, and then his Father would relinquish his title as Alpha, giving Jason control over his seat in the Wolf Council as well as allow him to start running the Star Cross Moon Pack as his birthright had foretold. Immediately after the wedding, a crowning of the new Alpha and Luna would commence, and with Lylah's exciting news - it was likely that they would be issuing their first official announcement telling them of the baby that Lylah carried inside of her. Naturally, Lylah and Dr. Voss were the only two that knew about the baby right now - but it didn't stop everyone's excitement over the ceremony nonetheless and Lylah received plenty of acknowledgment as she moved through the packlands towards her lover's office. She was just passing Star Cross Moon Academy, a place with so many good memories for her, when she felt a sharp stab of pain hit her in the heart. "Argggghhh!" Lylah shrieked out, her legs buckling from underneath her as she collapsed in a heap. Having seen her fall, two pack members came running from where they had been chatting. "Lylah!" One of them called out, and despite her immense pain, Lylah managed to look up and recognize the female as Gemma Dawes, a girl about a year or two younger than her. "Are you okay? Should we call Dr. Voss?" She asked in a panic, the male she was with, a boy that Lylah didn't quite seem to recognize nodding his head in similar concern. "No!" Lylah stifled a cry, the stabbing sensation in her chest striking her again. "Lean on me, Lylah." The young man helped her to her feet. "Easy now." For a fleeting second, the young woman was worried that there was something wrong with her baby - Angela had said that everything was fine, but with such a striking pain, it felt like something was trying to tear out of her. She felt her wolf, Delilah, stir in response to the pain in her chest. "Not our pup!" Delilah warned Lylah, and while for a fleeting second she felt relief, the next words that Delilah spoke in Lylah's head had her alarmed and on high alert. "Something wrong with mate!" "I have to go!" Lylah shouted, pulling free from the two good Samaritans that had helped her up, and before they could say another word, Lylah was bolting away from them and towards Croft Manor, the terror in her growing with each passing second of pain. "Get to mate! Save mate!" Delilah screamed at her in desperation, and Lylah knew that the tawny wolf was serious - Lylah and Delilah had always had one of the strongest bonds in their graduating year at the academy. Whenever Lylah needed her, Delilah took over almost immediately, and vice versa - when it was necessary for Lylah to be around, Delilah let her take the reigns. They had aced all over their tests - in agility, cohabitation, co-operation and dexterity. With such an agile team, Lylah and Delilah made quick work of what was remaining of their walk to Croft Manor, their legs taking them mere moments to get to the manor. They wasted no time in knocking either, Lylah bursting in the door and immediately letting Delilah go into hunt mode. "Mate upstairs - in office!" Delilah didn't take long to sniff him out, and ignoring the dull feeling of pain in her chest, Lylah followed her wolf's nose all the way to Jason's office. The rest of the manor was eerily quiet, and Lylah couldn't help the sinking sensation as she gripped the handle of her mate's office door and pulled it open with ease. "Oh god, yes, Jason!" A scream of passion stopped Lylah in her tracks, the door cracked open only halfway, but enough for the young woman to see - and hear - everything going on inside. It took an instant for Lylah's heart to break as she stepped inside of her mate - her so-called lover's - office. Her eyes went wide and the tears rolled down her cheeks as she took in the sight. Jason was pressed up against his desk, naked and sweaty, as his hips thrust against the she-wolf that was perched on his desk. Her pale, dainty legs were wrapped around his tan, athletic hips and she rocked against him with fervor, her screams drowning out the noise of Lylah entering the room. "It feels - so good!" She screamed out again, filling Lylah with unbridled rage. As Jason grunted back in response, Lylah felt her anger begin to boil over. He was holding the wolf close, his hands tightened around her thin waist, as he brought her closer to him and let out a mighty groan that shook the office. "Yes, Lilith! I'm coming!" Lylah gasped loudly and what was left of her heart crumbled into dust as her twin sister and her mate turned around in shock.