Hello Again

Baby Time

Stephan's POV

The new pack land is only an hour away from my brother's pack. It's good to be close just in case one of us needs backup. The land has a large, old, rustic-looking lodge on it. The place was a vacation hot spot back in the day. It needs to be updated, but it has a lot of potential.

Matt, the 3rd oldest son, stayed with my brother to be his beta, and Steve came with me to be mine. Lilly, my sister, and the baby of the family wanted to come, but she's only 17 years old and needs to spend a little more time at home, maybe after college.

David, my best friend, also came with me. I put him in charge of security. In all, I have 15 members who followed me from my brother's pack.

The infinity pack is large, so it's hard to move up in rank. Most of the people who came with me wanted a chance to move up in position or have their voices heard. My brother Nick didn't mind one bit; it's not easy looking after such a large pack.

We are celebrating our new pack that Anna named Phoenix and a new beginning down by the lake not far from the packhouse.

Tomorrow is a full moon which is the only time you can mate with someone; who isn't your true mate. True mates can become coupled at any time, thanks to the moon goddess.

"Security is tight. We have two wolves running the border now, and the fence will be done in about two weeks," David says as he sits down to eat his hotdog.

"Thanks, David; the last thing we need is to be attacked while we're asleep. Make sure there's always someone on duty and monitoring the cameras at all times."

"Already took care of it," he says with a prideful smile. "And that's why you're in charge of the enforcers. I can trust you to do it without being told."

Steve, my little brother, and beta walked up with a smile "why don't you two go ahead and turn in maybe get some practice for tomorrow night." He said with a wink. Steve would've never had a chance to be beta in my brother's pack. It's kind of hard to work your way up from being the fourth brother.

"I don't need any practice, but I think we'll turn in just the same," I say with a smug smile. Anna blushes when she realizes what we're talking about.

It's the morning of Anna and my mating. Everyone is talking about the future they are hoping for. Anna and I decided not to have a ceremony or say vows. That stuff is more of a human thing that shifters started doing when they began mating with humans. Starting a new pack has been taking up most of our time.

To become a mated pair, all we have to do is bite each other while having s*x without a condom during the full moon. When everyone sees the bite on her neck or smells our blended scent, they will know she and I are together.

"I'm more excited about mating season next month. I can't wait to hear little paws on the floor again". Mimi says with a kind smile as she looks at Anna, who blushes.

Mimi has been like a grandmother figure to me and my brothers and sister ever since my mother was killed shortly after Lilly was born.

"I'm sure there will be a baby within six months," I say, looking at Anna.

Anna smiles while touching her bite mark.

Just looking at it makes me hard. I'm ready to get back to the bedroom, but I know Anna needs a break and probably a nap. Plus, there's still a lot of work to get done around here.

Anna's been wanting babies ever since I knew her. Mating season only comes once a year. All shifter species go into heat either in the fall or spring. Like all cat species, heat comes in the spring, and the wolf's heat comes in the fall.

The heat typically lasts about three days, and it's the only time you can get pregnant. You don't have to be mated to get pregnant, so it's important to wear condoms during this time, or you will most definitely be having a baby in six months.

Everything is going well, the fence is up, and I've only been challenged once since becoming alpha, and It wasn't much of a challenge. I had my opponent bowing done in submission in less than five minutes. Being the son of alpha and having three brothers who are alphas, you get a lot of practice.

"Hey, my sexy wolf," Anna says as she wraps her arms around me and gives me a long kiss. Her heat is coming soon; She's getting feisty.

"So, do you think? Should I decorate one room or two?" She asks, enthusiastically?

"We're not even pregnant yet," I say teasingly.

"I will be soon, and I want to get started before I get fat." She's right; she'll probably be in full heat by tonight and be pregnant within three days.

"Why do we need two rooms?"

"What if we have twins? I have to be prepared!" she smiles.

"What if we have triplets," I say jokingly.

"You're right. I'll make three rooms. We'll need them sooner or later. You always come up with the best ideas." Anna said before walking off.

I walked right into that one.

Three days later, I wake up, and Anna's crying, "what's wrong? Did I hurt you last night? I tried to go easy on you. You know it's hard to control the urge during the heat." I say with worry.

She turns to me with sad red eyes. "No! Stephan, you didn't hurt me!" She says with a sob.

"Then what is it?" I can feel she is distraught through our link; I don't know why. I thought the last three days were amazing.

"Are you serious right now, Stephan? I can't believe you're asking me this. Didn't you even notice that you didn't knot!?" She asks, now yelling.

Knot? I was so caught up with everything I didn't even notice.

When a shifter knots, the end of their d**k swells, and he empties his seed close to her womb; it can take a while. It's supposed to be very pleasurable, but the only time it happens is during the heat.

I don't know what to say.

"Do you think there's something wrong with me?" she asks, crying even harder.

"No, of course not. You're perfect; it's probably something wrong with me". I say.

"I want us to get checked out by a healer, now!" she says while getting up to get dressed.

The closest healer is at my brother's pack an hour away, but I don't say anything. I want to make sure everything is alright, too. I make plans to leave immediately.

The healer examines us both and determines that we are both healthy. "Maybe the Moon Goddess decided it wasn't time for you yet. I'm sure you'll be blessed with a baby next year," The healer kindly says.

While Anna goes to see her friends, I go to see my brother and father. Maybe they'll know something.

Nick is all smiles with dad as I walk in.

"Congrats, little brother. Can you believe it? We'll be having kids at the same time," Nick says happily.

"It's going to be a good year. Both packs will be just as close as they are now when your sons become alphas." dad says with joy. "I wish your mother were here to see both of you becoming dads. She would have been over the moon to become a grandmother." We are all quiet for a moment, not knowing what to say. We all miss our mother, but it's especially hard on dad. It's always hard when you lose a mate, even more so when that mate is your true mate. Dad has never been the same.

"I could smell Sarah's scent change on the second day." Being so close in age, Nick and I are always competing, and today it seems I've lost. "How long did it take you? " Nick asked proudly.

"Anna and I didn't get pregnant during this heat," I said seriously.

"That's fine, Stephan. There's nothing wrong with waiting a year or two to get started with little ones; after all, you just started with your pack. I'm sure you're busy." Dad says with a shrug.

There's no good way of saying this "No, you don't understand we tried but, I didn't knot." I say, looking at them in the eye. So they know how serious I am.

"How is that possible? You're an alpha. You have a healthy bloodline. I don't understand." Nick trails off.

"Did you do something to anger the Moon Goddess, son?" dad asked.

Anger the Moon Goddess? I didn't think of that.

On the way home, Anna was silent, looking out the window, which gave me time to think about everything. I told dad and Nick about how I rejected my true mate. They both told me how stupid I was and that I should tell Anna. I could smell the disappointment coming off dad, and the judgment coming off Nick. Luckily, Anna walked in at that moment, ready to go.

I can't tell her; there's no point. Mates that aren't true mates have babies all the time. I don't believe the Moon Goddess would be so cruel that she would prevent a loving couple from having babies.

I hear Dad's voice in my head, "true son, but those couples didn't reject their true mate that the Moon Goddess made just for them." I just can't let myself believe that. We make our destiny, not a Moon Goddess that may even not be real. I'm sure it's just what the healer said; it wasn't meant to be this year. I'm optimistic we'll have a baby next year.

I hope no one believes in bad luck and leaves the pack because of this.

If a mated pair don't conceive on their first heat, it's considered bad luck. Suppose an alpha of a pack doesn't produce a male heir. That alpha would be regarded as weak and will be challenged more, and the heir of the pack will be either the beta or the beta's son.

Anna just got back from a shopping trip with her little brother Aden. It's been a few weeks, and she's starting to act like herself again. Shopping always makes her feel better.

Aden just came back from visiting some bear friends of his, up north for the second time.

Aden's parents were killed the same day he was kidnapped by E. Anna, and I didn't want to let him out of our sight. In the end, he won. It was the right choice, though. When he came back after two weeks, he was in a better mood and more motivated about life. He talks about the bears who are twins often.

And sometimes, around campfires, he likes to tell the story of how they escaped. That's the only part he talks about. We haven't got him to open up about the rest of his time with the E yet.

"How was the shopping trip?"

"Great, I found all the sales!" Anna says as she kisses me on the cheek.

"Sales? that one pair of shoes cost more than $1000 by themselves, and that's just the shoes. We went to five different stores," Aden says as he rolls his eyes.

"The shoes were a steal, and so was everything else," Anna said; as she walked toward our bedroom. Aden ignored his sister and went in the direction of the kitchen.

$1000 for one pair of shoes? That's crazy, but there's no way of telling her no now. I'll have to find a way to make more money, or we won't last the year.