The Birth Of The Beta

21. SOMETHING TO TELL YOU

WARNING: This chapter has scenes of a s****l nature, read at your own discretion.

Yanking on Pepin’s arm, she pulled him into her room. Her steps were rushed as she raced towards the privacy she needed to tell him about their amazing gift from the Goddess. Her smile was making her cheeks ache, it was so broad. At the same time, she was aware of a fluttering feeling in her stomach, but pinned it down to excitable nerves. She clenched, and then unclenched her hands, before shaking them and lightly jumping on her feet to expel some of the anticipation she felt. Pepin smiled just as widely, simply because she was excited about something, and when she was happy so was he. Curiously, she had kept her block up since before the feast, and he was wondering what she was hiding from him. If it weren’t for her elated countenance, he would have insisted she told him earlier in the evening.

“I have something to tell you,” She squealed.

“I’m ready when you are,” he laughed, while comfortingly encouraging her.

She hadn’t really planned how to tell him. Her mind was too fixated on the fact that it was going to happen. Like a cinder cone, the words erupted from her before she had time to adjust or shape them.

“We’re going to have a pup,” she blurted out.

Pepin was stunned for a moment, and if it wasn’t for the seriousness of their situation he would have looked comical. His eyes bounced up and down from her eyes to her stomach, like he was expecting to see a full round bump appear any minute to prove she was speaking the truth. Gradually, his brain accepted what his eyes could not, and his smile was a mirror image of Aoife’s. He cupped her face in his hands and kissed every inch of skin with delicate care. He then dropped his palms on to her stomach.

“You don’t smell any different,” he wondered aloud.

“I think our pup has only just arrived, maybe in a day or two you’ll notice,” she said.

Pepin kneeled down and left a tender kiss just below her navel. He couldn’t organise words into coherence, but he was aware of his feelings, which were more prominent than ever before. Like the bouquet of a fine wine he could detect a trace of the heavy apprehension that came from being a father. He happily noted the more dominant flavour of eagerness to see his child for the first time, to breathe in their scent, and shield him or her from the threats of this world. He knew he would do anything to keep both his pup and mate safe. Most of all, he was filled with an unmistakeable fullness of joy, so much that it was set to brim over the sides of his capacity.

“I’ll notice everything about you, my precious pup,” Pepin vowed, as he placed his forehead on her stomach, dedicating his promise like a prayer.

“Put your ear to mate’s stomach, you will hear our pup,” Clovis said with pride. Like the gentle thrumming of a guitar, the perfect steady percussion could be faintly heard, plucking at his own heart in response. He opened his mind link and shared the strumming with his mate. If love had a sound, this was it: silence interrupted by the softest beat.

He led Aoife to the bed, holding her hands and fixing his eyes on hers. Tenderly, he lay her down on the bed, keeping his palm on her back, while his fingers traced patterns on her collar bone and neck. He watched her as she gave herself over to him, abandoning every thought so she could only focus on his lips. He wanted her to glow like an ember under his caresses. His love for her would sometimes roar, but beneath the infernos, this constant glow was the perpetual and immortal love he felt for her. He ran his thumb along her chin, and she ran hers across his cheekbone. Keeping his lips pressed against hers, he nudged through her tight, hot, wet opening. He watched as the glow between them burned brighter under his steady, yet demanding pace. Aoife had never felt so present in their lovemaking before. The pleasure was building, but seemed secondary to the bond that was burning between them, the overwhelming sensation of being whole and complete.

“I don’t want this to end,” She whispered breathlessly to him.

“Me neither,” he half laughed, half groaned in response.

Aoife’s legs began to shake as she squeezed his c**k with her climb towards abstract oblivion. Unconsciously, she pushed her hips up until her round cheeks lifted off the bed, arching like a bridge, even though she was trying to hold back the flood for even seconds longer, she could hold it no more. Her legs went rigid as her vulva burned with the surge of c*m that boiled over on to Pepin’s stomach and thighs, triggering his c**k to splutter his own seed deep inside her. Wary of resting his weight on her, he pushed himself up on his arms as she sat up to get lost in another kiss, her hands shaking from the intensity of it all. Keeping still and connected until the last of the shudders quietened.

Eventually, he stood and carried her to the weapons chest, perching her on the edge, as he changed the sodden sheets. Caring for her, as well as he knew how to, he lifted her back onto the bed and wrapped his arms around her.

“Aoife, I think we shouldn’t tell anyone about our joy yet,” Pepin broached the subject, expecting a disagreement.

“I think you’re right, we won’t tell anyone, not even Winnie or Cornelius,” She agreed.

“I thought it would take more than that to convince you,” he honestly admitted.

“This place isn’t safe right now, Antonia would target me, Cornelius can’t protect us while he’s still recovering, and Winnie would be too excited for us, and treat me differently,” She explained. “Nothing is more important than the safety of our pup!” She determined.

“I think we should try to leave this place, have our own home, or go back to your land,” suggested Pepin.

“I need to stay until the gladiators are trained for the arena games. I couldn’t have it on my conscience if one of them died, because I wasn’t here to teach them all I know. After that…I’ll ask Cornelius to end my contract, OK?” Aoife turned her head to see Pepin’s face.

Panic. There was not a tiny fragment of support that Pepin could offer Aoife at the idea of her continuing to train while she carried their pup. Wisely, he knew not to try and prevent her from doing the work she felt morally bound to. Indisputably, her training would keep the gladiators alive. This valley between encouragement and restriction seemed a little too full of her obstinate obstacles and he decided to map out the details of that conversation at a later date.

“OK, my warrior, anything you want,” Pepin replied. “Will you play the pup and I something?” He asked, nodding to the flute.

Aoife took the flute she always kept on her table and played a song about a first time shifted wolf’s run in the woods. She decided she would do this each night for her family. This would be the first of many lullabies she would play for her pup.