The Wolf Princess Takes A Mate

04 My New Parents

I blink my eyes open but everything looks so blurry and so hazy that I close my eyes shut once again.

Oh, I feel it.

It's the same familiar feeling that enveloped me. It's that same feeling where I know that I've died and had been reborn again.

Well, it seems that I have died once again.

Reaching deep into my memories, I tried to recall what exactly happened to my past life.

It didn't take long for me to remember it. Especially when the first thing I do whenever I reincarnate in a new life is remember my past life so I can write it down in one of my notebooks.

It became a habit to me, which isn't surprising since I've been doing that for the past one hundred and fifteen lifetimes. And sadly, the task of writing it down in my notebooks has fallen out of the normal habit.

Because...well, why would I? Especially when it seems that every life I've been living since my 50th life has all been nothing but regurgitated content.

Sure, there are some significant differences here and there, but it seems that, all in all, the core of each life had been more or less the same thing.

I sigh inwardly at that and wondered where I am reincarnating next. So far, for the past 115 lives, I have practically lived almost everywhere in the world.

Of course, it's not only where I grew up but also when I lived life as someone who had no permanent address. I think it was the time when I decided that I should live like those nomads.

Not that my family back then cared whether I was alive or dead.

Sometimes, when it comes to lives like that, I prefer being an orphan more than having parents who are there but also...well, not there. It's better not to know what you are missing out on and save you the trouble of disappointment.

"Oh, look, look, honey, look! Come quick! Quick!"

A man's voice jovially calls out with all the energy and cheer I can never think I'd be having even in one of my past lives.

And believe me, I tried to some other personalities that will suit the lifestyle as well as the life I wanted to live in that lifetime. However, I can never muster such cheer and joy even if I wanted to.

"Oh my! Is she finally opening her eyes?! Oh me, oh my!"

Another voice, a woman's this time, chimes in.

Wow. There's no way I can ever compare to either of them since they're both too cheerful and too jovial than what I'm usually used to. I don't remember having company this lively in my other past lives too.

But that doesn't mean that it's a bad thing.

In fact...I don't know if it's because they are my parents now--are they really my parents, though? I mean, they can be nurses or medical staff for all I know--

"Have you seen which eye color she has? Is it your green eyes or my amber ones?" the woman continues.

Okay, I stand corrected then. It seems they really are my parents.

Anyway, I'm still not sure if it's because they're my parents now or that I am slowly but surely integrating into my new body and my new life, but I feel...happy that I have these overly cheerful people as my parents.

"Hahaha, whatever her cute little eye color may be, my love, she will be as beautiful as you are," the man croons.

"Oh, darling. You are making me blush. But not in front of Annallee, please?"

"Uhm, ahem, I...yes, of course. I wouldn't dream of sullying how our baby girl will see her parents for the first time."

Oh...

It seems that they're not only filled with cheer, but they're also very affectionate not only to me but to each other.

Uhm, It's a little uhm...how do I put what I'm feeling right now...a little uncomfortable?

Man, I'm having secondhand embarrassment for thinking that if it wasn't for my presence, they would have done something.

Like, give me another sibling when I've barely opened my eyes.

I guess these are those moments when I wish I was a normal baby who can't understand a word they're saying and I get to forget these memories when I grow up. Unfortunately, I am not just a normal baby.

Don't get me wrong, I've had my fair share of caring parents during the lifetimes that I've had. But not like this. Otherwise, I know they'll be one of the most unforgettable experiences I'll have in my life.

"Ah, hold on, hold on. I'll go get some toys for her. I want to see what toy she wants the moment she opens her eyes so we can buy more of it! Be right back!"

I hear heavy footsteps fading away.

"Come back quick or you'll miss the first time she opens her eyes!" the woman calls out.

Huh. This is the first time I've heard of my parents cooing and gushing over me this much.

In my past lives, some parents of mine were happy that I came into the world. But that either fades in time as I grow up or new siblings will take that attention or something.

Which was no biggie, really.

But...there's no denying that I AM kind of envious of the other children my age in every lifetime that gets to have undying and unconditional love from parents.

And as someone who had lived for so long, one might think that there are probably one or two lives where I had great parents.

Well...I had.

The problem was that there were only two lives where I had the loving parental figures I'd been wishing for.

In one lifetime, I had parents like the two I am having right now. Sadly, they went on a vacation cruise and got into a car accident on their way home and I was orphaned at an early age.

In another lifetime, they might not be my parents but they were my grandparents. And they loved me with all their hearts. They passed away together even before I can graduate from high school, leaving me alone on my lonesome again.

Not that was a big deal to me considering I've been more or less an orphan countless times, but I still count those two lifetimes as one of the lives with the most tragic moments that I've experienced in my entire existence.

It wasn't the kill-or-be-killed experiences I've had while I was Arabella. Not the near-death experiences as well from my adventures or misadventures in one or more of my other previous lives.

No.

It was losing the people I love and care about in my life and have little to no control over it.

However, living over and over and over again made me realize that...that was life. That was just how life works. And if everyone lives forever, surely, everything will be in stasis.

Whether someone lives or dies, life goes on and moves forward. It's up to the people to choose to go on board or...don't and get left behind.

Still, that way of thinking and how to perceive things doesn't make experiencing losing someone easier or can make someone feel better in an instant.

However, I do my best to make it work.

With those maudlin thoughts swirling in my mind, I sniffle and, against my better judgment, I feel my eyes water and my throat starts to get scratchy from me trying to stop crying.

Maybe it's because of the sudden and intense trip down memory lane or it's just a normal reaction since I became a baby again. But no matter if it's the former or the latter, I want to cry.

But I guess if I was a normal baby, I would have cried right off the bat and won't be thinking about such deep and extreme thoughts regarding life and death just to cry.

"W-waah..."

I can't help but whine because my nose is starting to get clogged and tears started leaking from the corners of my eyes.

However, I refuse to bawl.

I may have done that in the past but that's the thing. I just discovered that bawling, even if it's perfectly normal for a baby, is just not for me.

All of a sudden, I feel arms wrapping around me and I'm being hoisted up in the air. It totally caught me off guard that I hiccuped.

"Oh, what is it, baby? What are the tears for, my heart?" the woman croons and I feel a warm heat pressing up my left side before I'm fully enveloped with it.

And then the world starts swaying.

It wasn't the kind that was made by an earthquake or anything like that. It was more like...a rocking. It seemed that she had picked me up, held me close to her, and was rocking me.

And it feels...nice. Comfortable even. Not to mention warm and loving.

Being in her embrace like this and listening to the soft and calming noises she makes, puts me at ease and makes me feel better already.

I sniffle again while I slowly recuperate from the bout of temporary sadness from thoughts of the past that I can never control or take back.

Clinging to my mother, I bask in her warmth and the comfort she gives me and let my worries wash over me.

Despite the devastating losses I've had in my past, I refused to let them stop me from enjoying similar experiences in the future.

Because well...if I keep on reincarnating like this, there's no escape for me and there's just no way I will miss out on what's in front of me just because I couldn't let go.

"There, there, baby. Mommy's here. Mommy's here for you. Don't cry now. Shhh," the woman, my Mom, coos at me, not letting up on her soft swaying.

And then she started humming.

Her humming, swaying, and warmth are slowly lulling me to sleep that-

Wait! No! I don't want to nap!

I want to see where I am, and who my new parents are then plan what I'm going to do in this new life!

...and then I'll nap.

Temporarily fighting off the sleep, I blink my eyes open and struggled to look around. Man, one might think that I am already more than used to being this weak whenever I get born again.

But it seems that is not the case.

I keep blinking and squinting my eyes to help them adjust to my surroundings, I crane my head to the side. At first, everything was so blurry and when everything cleared, I can see soft pink pastel-colored walls--pretty cute, some glittery mobile hanging on the ceiling like a chandelier--fancy schmancy, and--

My mother?

She's...pretty. No, not pretty. Beautiful!

She has long, wavy dark brown hair that softly curls at the ends, a smooth complexion dusted with slight freckles on both her cheeks that made her look like an adorable doll, and what threw me off the most were her eyes.

They were amber-colored.

Uhm...that's the first time I've seen it on another person before. Especially one who isn't cosplaying or something. And on a mother, no less.

I mean, not that mothers can't put on colored contact lenses or something like that. But isn't that uncomfortable?

Hmm...

Well, since Mom doesn't look uncomfortable so I think that's okay.

I blink again when she noticed my gaze was finally on her, she gives me a bright smile and her eyes grow misty.

"Oh! Oh my!" she gushes.

"WHOOOAAAAAAAA!"

And as one, Mom and I turn to where the loud and obnoxious voice came from.

With hands on either side of the door frame, a toy that looks like a rattle in one hand and a baby bottle in the other, the man with short, tousled autumn red hair, pants as his wild green eyes--okay, this one is a more normal color to me--ping-pong between me and Mom.

He must be my Dad.

And, glancing at Mom, I glance back at that and finally confirmed that yes, they are my new parents now.