Alpha's Fate (Black Moon Saga Book 2)

Chapter 10: Planning for Baby

Tian takes Adam and Kylie back to Spirit Moon territory following their brief vacation. They opted not to stay the entire week since Adam pointed out that it has been months since Kylie last checked in with her own personal doctors. Though Dr. Kosh has been kept apprised of her development and progress in the pregnancy, Adam insists that it is time that they see her in person once again. The good news is that Dr. Kosh promises it is well past time to do an ultrasound so they can finally get their first glimpse at the baby.

Dr. Kosh strides into the exam room where Adam and Kylie have been waiting only a few moments and gets right to business.

“You know, Kylie, Dr. Williams and I had hoped that we would be seeing you more frequently than our traditional obstetrics schedule, not less. Special circumstances and all,” she chides her.

“I know, but my life has been rather hectic,” Kylie excuses herself. “Special circumstances and all,” she adds teasingly.

Adam and the doctor chuckle at her comment, the doctor shaking her head. “What are we going to do with you?”

Dr. Kosh takes her weight and all her measurements, comparing them to the sporadic records in her file she has received from elsewhere. She gets all of what she calls “the boring stuff” out of the way quickly, knowing that the parents-to-be are likely more excited about the ultrasound.

After instructing Kylie to lie back on the table and pull up her blouse, Dr. Kosh pulls the in-office equipment over beside her and begins prepping it.

“Have we been thinking of names yet?” she wonders, looking back and forth from Kylie to Adam.

“We’ve talked a little about it,” Kylie tells her, “though we always seem to table the discussion for later and never come to any decisions. Again, hectic life these days.”

“Sure, well, I’d like to toss the name ‘Erica’ into the mix for your consideration. It has served me well and proven to be a good choice by my parents,” she jokes with a playful smile.

“It is a nice name,” Kylie compliments her.

“Okay, a little cold here,” Dr. Kosh warns her, her tone turning serious as she gets ready to work.

Seconds later, Kylie does feel the cold and pressure, but isn’t bothered by it because she is busy watching the screen waiting for a sign of the baby. She feels Dr. Kosh moving the transducer over her belly, waiting with bated breath for her to confirm that everything is okay.

“There she is,” Dr. Kosh declares, turning the screen toward them to show a grainy image of their baby.

Kylie feels Adam grip her hand tightly and looks up to see that he is smiling, and tears are forming at the corners of his eyes. She can’t help but get a bit teary herself. She’s never seen anything like this before, and that is her child on that screen. Her very first, and now that she’s seen an image of her, it somehow feels more real that she will soon be someone’s mother.

“Looking normal and healthy,” Dr. Kosh continues to narrate. “A little advanced maybe for what we would expect, developmentally, but her heartbeat is strong. All is good so far, and for anyone who is counting, I just see the one healthy little girl. There may or may not have been a pool going around here betting on how many babies two strong Alphas were bound to have together,” she chuckles. “Let me just take a minute to get some more pictures and measurements, okay?”

“Who bet on only one?” Kylie wonders.

“That would be Dr. Williams. I abstained, for the record, and if you were wondering, it was Alpha Marcus who started it.”

“I don’t know where I went wrong with him,” Adam jokes.

“Nah, he’s perfect,” Kylie says. “You did good. And I think it’s funny. Leave it to him to find ways to have fun with literally everything.”

Tian waits for them back at Kylie’s cabin, where he stayed to rest after bringing them all here. Kylie wants to go there next, eager to share with him how her appointment went and show him the prints Dr. Kosh made from the scan. Since Adam doesn’t have his car, Betsy picks them up at the clinic and gives them a ride home.

“Mom!” Kylie calls out when she sees her waiting for them by the van, then runs directly over to her for a hug.

Betsy laughs at her daughter’s eagerness, reminding her that it hasn’t even been that long since they’ve seen each other.

“Yes, but I have photos to show you!” Kylie exclaims, holding out her ultrasound images to show her right there in the parking lot.

“I haven’t seen her this excited since our first Christmas with the kids,” Betsy tells Adam.

One look at the images of her future granddaughter brings tears to her eyes as well. It seems so miraculous for their family to be preparing for a new addition like this when it still seems like not that long ago that she and her husband worried if they would ever even get to raise a family of their own.

A few minutes of tearful hugs later, the three are in the Logan family van and on their way to the cabin outside of town. This is kind of a moment for Betsy as well. She has always been well aware of the place but has never actually been able to bring herself to go there.

When the kids were young, she told herself it was because it was too soon, and Kylie might not be ready to go to the last place she saw her biological parents. When they got older, she expected that eventually Kylie would ask about it, but since she never did, they never spoke about it. Then once Kylie and Adam started going there again, she knew that eventually she would have to face it.

She is not even certain why the place bothers her so much. It could be that Kylie had a whole other life here with her “real” parents and Betsy doesn’t like to think about that. It could also be that it made her angry thinking about the parents who left their children out here all alone in the woods. But of course, now that she knows more of the details about that story, that anger has faded.

Whatever the cause, it feels like a bit of a momentous day for her to finally be facing the reality of the cabin she never wanted to visit. Kylie can feel her anxiety, her anger, and her fear, which is another thing Betsy still isn’t accustomed to. For so many years, she felt like she perfected the art of keeping her true feelings from affecting her children. Now her daughter can see right through her, and it is as much heartwarming as it is unsettling.

“What is it, Mom?” Kylie asks her.

Betsy has gone quiet, focusing on driving and on trying to keep her emotions in check. She glances over at her daughter, knowing she has already lost that battle.

“It’s just that I’ve never been here before,” Betsy admits to her. “I have a lot of mixed feelings about this place that I never wanted to think or talk about out loud.”

“We don’t have to. I know you’re the mother and that’s the role you’re used to playing with me. But we could talk about it. I’d like to, at least. But if you’d rather, I could also just project my own happy thoughts to you and force all that negativity away. It’s up to you.”

Betsy glances over at her again as she drives. It never ceases to amaze her how well Kylie knows her, and that goes back to long before she gained all the extra abilities.

“You don’t know how surreal it is to hear you say something like that as if it is some simple task, without regard for how impossible it still seems to me,” she tells her.

“I do know. It’s still surreal to me, too,” Kylie admits. “Think of how much my life has changed in mere months, Mom. Months. Not years. Less time than it takes to make a whole other person,” she says as she gestures to her belly. “But the fact remains, I can do it, and it’s pretty simple for me at this point. So, we could talk it out, like normal people, you could sit there silently miserable like the stubborn woman you are, or I could do some crazy stuff and make it all go away and we spend the afternoon happy about the baby and not worrying about anything else. Your choice. That’s all I’m saying.”

Adam and Betsy laugh at that and Kylie smirks back at them. This outcome works for her too. She can already feel her mother relaxing into the moment a bit.

Betsy unconsciously slows her speed as they approach the cabin, needing a moment to take in the sight of the place and let it sink in that this was where Kylie grew up before she came to them, and this was the place she had wanted to have her own baby as well. Though, of course, all that seems to have changed now.

After she parks in the short driveway and makes her way to the front of the house alongside Kylie, she takes in the carefully placed trees growing up in the front yard, and the bright and cheerful flowers in the window beds. The natural wood siding is painted a light cream color. Those seem like personal touches on what is otherwise a similar place to the others that are scattered along the outskirts of the territory.

Just inside the door, she notices the baby bassinet and wonders if this is the one that used to be Jonah’s or if Adam and Kylie have gotten a new one. She takes in the spacious main room that includes both the living area and the kitchen and dining. She knows she could just speak her thoughts out loud to Kylie, but that instinct in her to always protect Kylie from her feelings still won’t let her.

It doesn’t seem to matter. Kylie senses what is on her mind and begins giving her a verbal tour.

“Most of this is still how it was when Mama and Papa lived here. That’s their dining table, their couch and chairs, Mama’s ottoman, and even the same beds I remember from when I was little. And that’s Jonah’s old bassinet there by the door. My baby brother Jacob used it not long ago when Mama was here, too.”

She pauses to ponder that a moment, still staring at the bassinet as she thinks. Then she continues, “I think I want to take it with us, wherever we end up. Even though we probably won’t stay here, I think we should still create a nursery for the baby, or make sure she has someplace around here for once she is born. We can’t take her to war,” she finally speaks out loud the concern both she and Adam have been leaving unspoken until now.

“That is something I have been wanting to talk to you about,” Adam admits. “I know this war is a long time coming and I am never going to be able to convince you to wait.”

He feels the energy in the air shift slightly and quickly clarifies, “And at this point I wouldn’t even ask it. I know how much your family means to you and that they are in danger, or could be in danger. I know the hardest part about it is that we don’t even know. I also know all those packs allied with your brother’s are in danger, too, and for people like Alpha Clayton, the clock is ticking. I know this must happen now. I know you are probably the only person for the job.”

He sighs before saying, “I just wish the timing wasn’t so terrible for us, personally. I wish we knew where our home will be when the baby comes, after the baby comes, even in two years. I wish we could be like normal expecting couples and paint a nursery together and prepare. I wish that were the most stressful part about this. I also understand that we can’t, and I understand it in ways that maybe even you haven’t considered yet.”

He looks at Kylie, taking in her curious expression, before explaining, “You have always been in danger of your father finding out about you, and who knows what that could mean once he does. Would he try to get rid of you? Try to capture you and keep you in his high tower like he has your sisters? Is our daughter in danger? We have to take you out there, keep collecting and preparing allies, and get ready to take what is yours and deal with the problems that are your father and your uncle. We need to bring your mother home, finally, after all these years.”

He pauses and points at Kylie’s belly, adding, “And through all this, that little girl is still coming in about six weeks, and we don’t know where she will live or how exactly we plan to keep her safe.”

“I know,” Kylie sighs as she flops down on the couch. “And we don’t even know her name.”

Betsy comes and sits beside her and takes her hand, not knowing how best to console her. Kylie’s problems are so far beyond what she feels equipped to offer assistance with.

“Before you suggest it, Mom, I feel like the name ‘Elizabeth’ has been good and used in this family,” Kylie jokes, and is pleased when she is rewarded with the desired chuckles and laughter she was looking for.

“I have always been fond of the name Margot,” Tian offers as he makes his way into the room.

Adam takes a spot beside Kylie and smiles sadly at their friend. “That was my mother’s name,” he says, “of which I’m sure you were aware.”

Tian nods his confirmation with a soft smile and turns his gaze to Kylie. “I know you never had the pleasure of meeting her, but she was quite the woman as well. Strong, radiantly beautiful, as clever as they come.”

“I kind of love that idea, Adam,” Kylie admits, feeling excited about a potential name for their daughter for the first time.

“Let me think about it,” Adam requests softly. “I like it, but I think it would be difficult for me. On the other hand, it would be a good way to honor her memory.”

“And on the topic of your newborn’s protection, it is something I have discussed with Anya,” Tian informs them. “The Council is already giving shelter and protection to your mother and infant brother, and as far as we know, no one is aware of her whereabouts. It is an option that Anya would be willing to offer to you as well.”

“And, of course, your dad and I would be happy to help, and you’re welcome to put a nursery in your old room,” Betsy cuts in. “I don’t know a lot about the politics of what you are doing, but I do know that we live in a territory that is protected from the squabbling going on out there. If anyone were to try to take or harm your baby, they would not only have werewolf law to answer to, but to my understanding, The Council could get involved in that too if it is connected to a war.” She looks to Tian for confirmation.

He nods. “It is true that this territory is to remain neutral in all external conflicts and is protected from acts of war within its bounds. Any harm befalling your daughter because of her relation to you during a time that you are actively engaging in a war would be considered as such,” Tian explains. “Furthermore, if any person or army were to try to bring battle to these parts, the warriors of the pack would be free to defend and engage accordingly. In short, it would be no easy feat to come and try to take your baby if she were here.”

Kylie laughs. “I think a simple, ‘yes, that’s true,’ would have sufficed there, Tian, but thank you. That is helpful to know,” she says.

Tian smiles at her, and wonders whether she realizes her laughs and smiles are what motivate him to speak to her like that sometimes.

“Plus, I’m sure Marc wouldn’t mind caring for his sister for a while,” Adam adds. “So that is another option.”

“Good point,” Kylie agrees. “Well, team, good chat. At least now we have some options on the table. I don’t want to decide right this minute, though.”

“On the topic of time, I believe I heard you say the baby is expected to come in about six weeks, Adam?” Tian asks.

“Yes, that’s Dr. Kosh’s estimation based on her growth and development.”

“That’s a bit sooner than we expected,” Tian points out. “Which moves up our timetable slightly. It would be easiest for me to port us back to where Adam parked his car and then for us to continue to Luna’s Grace from there. And I suspect that if you are hoping to play the divinity card, Kylie, you may have to shift and give some demonstrations.”

“More good points,” Kylie agrees. “So, you’re urging we don’t dawdle here for long.”

“Precisely,” Tian confirms approvingly. “I would suggest we leave in the morning, in fact.”

His reminder of the pressing nature of what they are doing is enough to motivate them all to make their time more productive. Kylie and Betsy make plans to put a nursery in Kylie’s old room, regardless of whether the baby will stay there, and Adam calls Marc to confirm that he is open to taking in his sister should they decide to go that route.

Following a night of restful sleep for Adam and Kylie, both glad to be back in the comfort of a familiar bed, and a night of pacing and planning for Tian, the three return to their mission along the West coast via a vampiric teleport. Kylie is discovering that each time they do that leaves her more fatigued after, and Tian explains to her that it is a sure sign that she will not be able to tolerate it soon.

They retrieve the car from the parking garage and Adam suggests to Kylie that she climb in the backseat with Tian since they both need to rest. The two of them pass out cuddled together in the back and Adam sits alone in the front, silently driving to their next destination.

He glances up and sees Kylie and Tian in the rearview, noticing that Tian has a hand wrapped protectively over Kylie’s belly. He smiles, reminded once again that though their family is coming together during tumultuous times, they are also blessed and protected in exceptional ways. He makes a note to ask Tian later how he feels about being “Uncle” Tian for a special little girl named Margot Alexandra Brentwood, smiling to himself at finally making a decision that feels right.