I sat on the bench outside of the buffet, my stomach rumbling for the delicious food that waited inside. I could already envision stuffing my face with some ribs, onion rings, and ice cream. My baby kicked, letting me know he approved of the odd combination .
“Nasty little eaters, aren’t we?” I asked my baby who was nestled safely inside me .
A car sped up and slammed into a parking space. The windows were tinted, but with that kind of driving, I already knew who it was .
My mate, Drake. He stumbled out of the car and jogged over to me, almost hitting another car as he ran through the parking lot with Penny following along behind him .
I stood up and waved .
“Steven!” He grasped my arms and inspected my body for any possible damage .
“I’m fine,” I told Drake, patting his chest .
“Hey, Steven, nice to see you’re intact. Not surprised that you are though,” Penny added in, cocking her hip to the side with a triumphant smile .
“Thanks, Penny. Come, join us for lunch, I’m starving,” I said, tugging Drake’s arm .
“Yes, mate. Let’s eat.” He nuzzled the top of my head and we began to walk inside .
The inside of this buffet was grand. Gold was on the ceilings and on the rims of the chairs. Now, it couldn’t have been all real gold, but holy shit was it amazing .
I almost forgot about dashing off to the buffet aisles before my baby gave me another loving thump on the stomach to remind me .
“So, what’re you gonna get?” Penny asked. We circled around some of the steaming dishes and picked a few pieces of meat and dumplings. My plate was bound to look like a train wreck of food .
“We’ll, I’m gonna add some ribs and some salad on top with ranch and caramel dressing .”
“Wow, that’s one hell of an appetite. I wonder how the body tricks itself into thinking it tastes good .”
Penny began to pile her plate too. She had lots of shrimp and eyed the egg foo young soup bowl a couple of times. Which, naturally, made me come up with some ideas of my next round of food .
After I demolished my plate of randomly, baby-approved food, I went up for round two. While I was busy hunting for a different plate, two girls scampered up to me, their hands clasped and against their laps .
“Excuse me,” one of the girls said, with dark brown hair. She smelled like an Omega. “Um, are you mated to Alpha Gryther?” Her face was blushed, and they kept glancing down at my baby belly .
“I am,” I said, smiling. My baby thumped at my belly, eager to get another round of food .
“Oh my god, that baby is gonna be so cute!” they squealed, holding their faces .
“I know, right!” the other girl said, shaking her friend’s shoulder. They stared at my belly in awe .
They ran off after saying good bye and I returned to the table. Penny and Drake were talking .
“Ow, what are you doing down there?” I asked my belly .
Drake stopped eating and rubbed my thigh. “Steven, are you okay ?”
Then he stroked the nape of my neck and I tried one of those breathing exercises Ethan taught me .
“I’m fine .”
The pain went away, dulling into a subtle ache that didn’t make me cringe as much. Then it was gone. The food before me began to disappear as I scarfed it down. Penny talked about her father and his pregnancy, and about how he had a weird fascination with fish that was made for sushi, and how he’d eat it raw .
“Ow, fuck,” I hissed out, dropping my fork on the table. “Damn, that hurt !”
The pain went away faster than it came .
“I’m good. You know how babies like to move around,” I assured Drake who treated me like a delicate flower petal whenever I was in pain .
“Are you sure you’re okay?” Penny asked, her fork stuck in mid-air .
“Yeah.”
We returned to our food, a moment of silent chewing and sipping our drinks passed us .
Penny took a few more bites of her Lo Mein and flickered her eyes in my direction. She wanted to say something .
“Penny, what’s on your mind?” I asked .
“Well, I heard about the whole Reluson thing where you prevented everyone from fighting. That was pretty awesome, but what will happen now? If I’m asking too much, ignore me!” she said, holding her hands up .
“No, it’s fine,” Drake confirmed .
“Yeah, we’re going to get them mated up. They’re torn apart because of the lack of true fated mates. I think they absolutely have none .”
“How sad, but is that the only thing making them so salty?” Penny took another bite, concentrating on every word of the conversation .
“I don’t know,” I said, looking at Drake who only sighed .
We continued eating. This reminded me that I needed to get more information out of Drake. He wasn’t trying to withhold anything, because there was so much I needed to learn about them, and he didn’t want to add any stress .
I smiled at him and pulled him down into a kiss .
“I love you, you know that, right ?”
“I do .”
I forgot Penny was there and saw her gleaming with happiness. She was a fan of Omegas finding their fated mates .
“Don’t mind me over here gushing. You two are just so adorbs .”
I shifted in my seat, and a gush of liquid splashed out of my ass. Cramps took that as their cue to come beat my ass .
“Oh fuck, ow, my water!” I gasped .
“The baby! It’s coming!” Penny exclaimed, jumping up .
“We need to get you to the manor !”
Penny interjected, “No! It’s way too far! He needs a hospital close-by .”
I tried to stand out of my chair with Drake’s help, but the cramps took a hold of me and rendered me unable to walk. The pain ripped through my stomach, feeling like kitten claws against my flesh .
Holy fuck, now I felt bad for my dad when he carried me. I was always a slasher, and now I was getting it back .
Drake swept me up into his arms, and a warm safe feeling rushed through my veins, helping the pain that swept through me .
We ran out to the car, and Drake placed me in the back seat so I could stretch out .
He rubbed his forehead, a great look of concern painted on his face .
“The closest hospital …”
“It’s Reluson, I know,” Penny added in. “But maybe this can be one of those moments that can really help patch things up ?”
The pain began to bounce around my abdomen, baby Gryther was ready to come out and eat their own food .
“Sh-she’s right, D-Drake,” I stuttered through the pain. “Take me there .”
He nodded his head. “And Penny, come with us !”
“Sure thing .”
Drake drove fast, the bumpiness of the road actually helped with the pain I was having. I gripped the seats in the back and Penny reached back to hold my hand .
“Are you sure you want to do that, Penny? You know the death grip us pregnant Omegas are capable of—fuck, ouch—giving,” I said through sharp gasps .
“Oh, you’re right .”
“Yes, leave that to me, Penny. I can take that sort of strength,” Drake said .
We crossed the line of the Reluson pack territory, I could already smell their scents. Their town was called Borthing. The hospital faded into view around the corner and Drake slammed the car to a halt in front of their entrance .
He whisked me out from the back and ran inside .
The nurses, their faces were in pure shock, as if their eyeballs were going to fall out of their sockets .
“I need help. I need your help,” he said to the nurses. They were stuck, standing and staring at us. One nurse ran over with a stretcher, and all he nurses began to move in motion .
* * *
O ur baby cried in my arms. It took a lot of pushing, but after screaming like a bitch and crushing Drake’s hand into a fine powder, our baby finally entered the world .
His name ?
Ace R. Gryther. Ace meant unity, and the R ?
Trevor walked in, having heard the news that I visited his hospital. He looked down at me and my baby with clear eyes, eyes that didn’t hold any anger .
“Congratulations,” he said to me and Drake .
“Thank you, your staff did a wonderful job,” I said, my voice raspy .
“What did you name your child?” he asked, inching over for a closer look at my kitten. Yes, Ace was born a cat shifter, I could smell it .
“Ace R. Gryther .”
Drake peppered the top of my head with slow kisses, then he asked, “What does the ‘R’ stand for ?”
I looked up at him and Trevor. “Ace means unity, and R is for Reluson .”
Drake’s eyes widened. Penny was on the side, crying and sniffling .
Trevor took a step back. “You gave a Gryther the name of a Reluson? Despite our reputation ?”
“Yes, this is going to be a time for peace. The Relusons won’t have to worry about being the bad guys anymore. Neither will the Purrs, this is a time that will show everyone that just a little cooperation from both sides can do wonders.” I coughed, since I stretched myself thin .
Sleepiness picked at me, but I needed to be awake for just a few more minutes .
“You’re a genius,” Penny whispered .
Drake and Trevor shared a brief stare of amazement .
“I am honored,” Trevor said, bowing. “Thank you .”
On the way back to the manor later that night, Penny couldn’t stop talking about how epic the name of Ace was .
“Oh my god, Steven, that was pure genius. You’ve just made an alliance between two families that have feuded for generations!” she exclaimed, pumping her fist .
“Yes, I don’t have to worry about attacks, killed livestock, or poisoned gardens. I’m proud of you my mate, the Grythers need you .”
“And the reputation of the Purrs, it’s going to soar. It’s like utopia or something,” Penny said .
“Well, maybe not utopia, but,” I looked down at my baby, Ace, who was safe in my arms, “close, close. There’s always going to be struggle. It’s finding a way around it that will seal the deal .”
“Thank you for letting me come along, this was just—god—no words can describe it .”
“No problem, glad you came. Now tell us where you live so we can drop you off, I know you’re tired .”
When we returned to the manor, the whole pack was at the front doors. They were worried since it was about ten o’clock at night .
“Drake!” yelled Tom .
“Alpha Gryther,” called Ethan. They ran up to us and spotted little Ace in my arms .
“The baby, you delivered today? My god, we were so worried about you two,” Ethan gasped .
“Yeah, and you won’t believe where we went to do it too,” I said, patting his shoulder .
“Where?” Tom asked, curious as a cat .
“Borthing—”
“Reluson’s territory!” Ethan cut in. “Insane, how’d you know they wouldn’t hurt or harm you and the baby ?”
“Because,” I started through the doors, “cats have good instincts .”
Ethan had an emergency crib set up since we couldn’t buy our furniture on-time. A lot of that was my fault since I kept putting things off .
The night finally settled in, and things were once again calm. I tucked Ace in after I gave him some formula and went out into the balcony where Drake scanned over the vast horizon of his garden .
“Finally. Peace, I feel it coming .”
“Me too,” I agreed, holding onto his arm. My body felt thirty pounds lighter, and I wasn’t puffed out as much now that Ace joined the world. This emptiness, it made me…want another child .
No wonder my father always gushed over his kittens, I fully understood it now. They were precious to him just like Ace was precious to us .
“A Purr finally did something to stop a war, wow, color me surprised,” I chuckled, nuzzling Drake’s arm .
“I’m not. You’re quick and witty, yet gentle. You do not want to bring harm to those who haven’t hurt you. And that attitude of yours is infectious; that’s a good thing .”
“Kiss me, you big lump of muscles,” I demanded, pulling on his shirt .
Drake didn’t disappoint either. He drew me up into a kiss, and I could feel a tingle shoot down my spine to my groin .
“Fuck, how long has it been since you screwed my brains out?” I was breathing deeply. First, I had to heal, but holy shit did I want to fuck again .
“Too long, darling. Too long. But you must rest first .”
I sighed. “Yeah, I know .”
Whining, I indulged in his kiss deeper and tried to hike one of my legs up on him. He caught on and patted it down. Damn it .
But that pain in my abdominal area and ass also told me to calm the fuck down. There was going to be a lot of time for making love .
“I love you, Drake. I don’t know if I’ve said this before, because things get hazy when so much shit happens. But I accept you as my mate, and I love you .”
“I love you too, and you were mine the minute I saw you .”
He leaned in to give me another kiss and whisked me up into his arms .
“Now we both need our rest. No dirty tricks, okay, Steven ?”
I rolled my eyes. “Fine .”
“Steven…”
“Not even a blow job?” I whined .
“No.”
And my life started again, on this day. Happy ever afters were an understatement, this was a happy beginning .