Chapter 18 #2
We drove through the pack's main settlement.
It was clear they had been prepared for our arrival.
More warriors were stationed at every intersection, their presence a silent, efficient cordon of security, ensuring our path to the medical facility was clear.
It was a powerful display of a pack moving with a single, unified purpose.
Our wolf escort led us directly to a modern-looking building at the edge of the settlement. Marshall drove straight to the main entrance, where several people were already waiting on the steps.
A woman with silver-streaked brown hair and kind blue eyes approached the car as Marshall parked. She moved with the confidence of someone accustomed to emergencies.
"Annalise? I'm Luna Elspeth. Let's get you inside and see what this little one is up to."
The next few hours passed in a haze of pain, medical examinations, and growing concern. Luna Elspeth confirmed what we suspected—the pup was indeed trying to shift, his wolf too powerful to remain dormant until birth.
"It's not uncommon with alpha bloodlines," Luna Elspeth explained as she checked my dilation for the third time. "The wolf consciousness emerges earlier, and sometimes they try to shift before they're fully developed. We just need to help him along."
"Help him how?" I panted, gripping the sides of the hospital bed they'd moved me to.
"By encouraging his wolf side to stay dominant during birth. Marshall, I need you to maintain skin contact with her. The mate bond will help keep the pup's wolf calm."
"We're not—" I started to protest, but Marshall was already moving to the bedside.
"Is it okay if I touch you?" he asked, his voice gentle. "Just your hand or arm. Whatever you're comfortable with."
I nodded, too exhausted to argue, and felt his warm hand envelop mine. The effect was immediate and shocking. The constant background pain lessened, and I could feel our baby settling inside me.
"Better?" Luna Elspeth asked, and I nodded. "The mate bond is still there, even with the formal rejection. It's helping to calm both you and the pup."
I was too consumed by the contractions to fully process what she'd said, but I saw a flicker of something in Marshall's eyes—shock, then a dawning, intense realization.
He understood what her words meant in a way I couldn't grasp right now.
For me, all that mattered was that the pain was less, and our son was closer to joining us.
The next few hours were still difficult, but manageable. Marshall never left my side, his hand a steady anchor that kept both me and the baby calm. He spoke softly throughout the labor, telling me how proud he was, how strong I was, how much he loved us both.
When our son finally made his appearance at 10:47 AM, he came out screaming with the powerful lungs of a future alpha. He was perfect—tiny but strong, with a shock of dark hair and eyes that would probably turn amber like his father's.
"He's beautiful," I whispered, tears streaming down my face as Luna Elspeth placed him on my chest. "He's so beautiful."
"Just like his mama," Marshall said, his voice thick with emotion. "Can I... may I hold him?"
I nodded, and Marshall reached out with trembling hands to cradle his son for the first time. The baby immediately quieted, his tiny fist wrapping around Marshall's finger with surprising strength.
"Hey there, little pup," Marshall whispered, and I could see tears on his cheeks. "I'm your daddy. I know I haven't been around, but I'm here now. I'm going to spend the rest of my life making sure you and your mama know how loved you are."
Our pup, Sapphire said with fierce pride and love. Our beautiful, perfect pup.
"What should we name him?" Marshall asked softly.
I'd been thinking about this for months, and the answer came easily. "Fenrir. It seems appropriate for a future alpha who's already showing his strength."
Marshall's eyes widened with appreciation. "Fenrir Kane. It's strong."
I took a breath, meeting his gaze. "Fenrir Orion Kane," I clarified softly.
The name hung in the air between us. Orion.
The name of the father he'd lost, the Alpha I had respected.
I watched as the impact of the gesture hit him.
His composure, already fragile, completely shattered.
His throat worked, but no sound came out.
He just stared at me, his amber eyes swimming with a mixture of shock, gratitude, and grief.
He finally managed a choked whisper. "You would... after everything... you'd give him my father's name?"
"He's an Alpha's son," I said simply. "He deserves a strong name to honor his lineage."
Marshall looked down at the tiny baby in his arms, then back at me, and I saw a single tear trace a path down his cheek. He didn't try to wipe it away. In that moment, he wasn't the powerful Alpha of the Cascade Pack. He was just a man, holding his son.
"It's perfect," he finally breathed, his voice thick with unshed tears. "Thank you, Annalise. It's... it's perfect."
Due to the complications and my need to recover, Luna Elspeth insisted we stay at the pack house for at least a week.
I was grateful for the care, even though being around a new pack made me nervous.
These wolves didn't know me, and I was very aware that I was an outsider with a complicated history.
But they were kind. Alpha Ronan and Luna Elspeth made sure I was comfortable, and the other pack members were respectful and welcoming. Still, I couldn't help but notice the attention Marshall was getting from some of the unmated she-wolves.
It started subtly. A young woman named Bethany, who worked in the pack kitchen, would find excuses to bring Marshall coffee when he was sitting with me and Fenrir. She'd lean over him unnecessarily, her low-cut tops leaving little to the imagination.
"You look tired," she'd coo, her hand lingering on his shoulder. "Are you getting enough rest? I could show you some relaxation techniques."
Marshall would politely thank her and move away from her touch, but she'd try again an hour later.
Then there was Jessica, one of the pack warriors, who seemed to find reasons to stop by whenever Marshall and I went for walks around the territory with Fenrir. She'd appear in tight workout clothes, stretching in ways that emphasized her figure.
"Want to join me for a run?" she'd ask Marshall, batting her eyelashes. "I know all the best trails. We could find somewhere... private."
"I appreciate the offer," Marshall would say politely, "but I am with my mate and son."
"I don't see a mating mark," Bethany said one afternoon, her eyes fixed on Marshall's neck. "Maybe you're not as committed as you think."
I felt something dark and possessive stir in my chest, but I pushed it down. Marshall wasn't mine anymore. I had no right to feel jealous.
But Marshall's response was immediate and firm. "Mating marks aren't the only indication of commitment. Annalise is my mate, marked or not, and that's not going to change."
The worst incident happened on our fourth day there. We were having dinner in the pack dining hall, Fenrir sleeping peacefully in my arms, when Alpha Ronan's sister, Celeste approached our table.
Celeste was beautiful in the way that alpha bloodline she-wolves often were—tall, confident, with platinum blonde hair and curves that she displayed in a dress that was barely appropriate for dinner. She'd been watching Marshall since we'd arrived, but tonight she was done with subtlety.
"Marshall," she purred, sliding into the seat next to him uninvited. "I was wondering if you'd like to join me for a nightcap after dinner. I have some excellent whiskey in my rooms, and I think you could use some... adult conversation."
Her hand landed on his thigh under the table, and I saw Marshall go rigid. But before he could respond, something primal and possessive exploded inside me.
A low, threatening growl erupted from my throat—not entirely human, not entirely wolf, but something in between that spoke of claim and warning and absolute fury. The sound echoed through the dining hall, and every conversation stopped.
MINE, Sapphire snarled in my mind, her presence suddenly blazing with territorial rage. Our mate, our Alpha, OURS.
“Mine,” I growled.
Celeste jerked back like she'd been burned, her eyes wide with shock. "I... I'm sorry, I didn't..."
"Annalise," Marshall said softly, his hand reaching toward me. "It's okay. I was about to tell her no."
The moment his fingers touched my arm, a jolt, warm and electric, shot through me, silencing the growl in my throat.
It was a feeling I had never experienced before, a hum of pure energy that settled the raging possessiveness inside me instantly.
I’d felt a pull toward him before, a sense of belonging, but this was different.
This was a living connection, a tangible thread of warmth and rightness weaving from his touch straight to my soul.
What is this feeling? I asked Sapphire, my mind reeling.
It's the mate bond, sister, she replied, her awe echoing in my head.
But, how? He rejected me.
We never accepted his rejection, Sapphire confirmed. The bond never actually severed.
But I didn’t feel this when he found me at the diner.
I think it was dormant, Sapphire explained. The Moon Goddess shielded you from it until now. But now, it has awakened.
My mind flashed back to the birthing room, to the haze of pain and Luna Elspeth’s calm voice. The mate bond is still there, even with the formal rejection. The words, which had been a confusing whisper in the storm of labor, now roared in my mind with perfect, stunning clarity.
He had rejected me, but I had never accepted it. In the chaos of his rage and the terror of his threats, the final, crucial step of the severing had never happened. It wasn't broken. It wasn't gone. It had just been dormant, waiting.