Everything I Ever Wanted

Manea's little handmaiden made her way into their bedchamber, offering Manea some sort of herb and laying out various other ones before she set to checking on the pups. Alastor watched while she felt for the puppies, then announced with a smile that they were on their way and they were about to become parents. Alastor's heart, which was normally a steady beat, was racing in his chest. He felt anxious, excited, nervous, all rolled into one. He had never witnessed a birth before, but he knew of the pain and the complications that could come with it. His greatest fear was something happening to Manea, the way it had happened to her sister, and that he would be left in this world with his children without her. Not that he wouldn't love his babies, but because he doubted his abilities to be a good father with her, let alone as a single parent. He couldn't do this alone, of that he was certain.

The process of birthing their little demon children was long and agonizing, with Manea growling and struggling against the pain of her labor. Alastor felt his mate squeeze his foreleg, and then felt her leonine claws rend his flesh. He grit his teeth and hissed out an exhale against the stinging pain, little sparks erupting where her claws dug into his skin and drew blood. He would share in her pain with her, give her an outlet with his body to keep herself stable. Darkness overtook the den as the sun finished setting, and Alastor held his breath as the world began to disappear before his eyes. Manea nearly vanished with her dark fur, though Irilyth remained clearly visible with her lighter tones. The dark-furred brute himself melded into the shadows of night, becoming invisible against his mate so it would seem she were clinging to the darkness itself for support.

Manea growled louder as a harder contraction hit her, and Alastor moved his paw from her stomach up around her chest, squeezing her gently in his grasp. "I'm here for you," he whispered in husky tones directly to the ear closest to his muzzle. "You've got this." More contractions, more pushing, more growling and groaning in pain. Alastor did all he could to comfort Manea through it, keeping her stable while she buried her head into his shoulder as if she could hide from the agony. Then, in the final moments, Alastor felt Manea's sharp teeth sink through his upper leg all the way to bone. He snarled as the hot flash of pain, gnashing his teeth while he resisted the instinctual urge to snap back at her, her muffled screams telling him all he needed to know. This one lasted longer than the others, and when Manea finally settled, Alastor noticed Irilyth had begun moving and doing something. The sand and snow colored fae announced the presence of the pup, a little girl, helping to separate and clean her from Manea before gingerly carrying the sizable pup over to nestle her against Manea's stomach to feed.

At first there was quiet. And then Alastor heard the first grunting cries of his daughter. The world stopped as his ears stood fully erect on top of his head. Abyssal eyes gazed through the darkness down over Manea's swollen form to spy the little ball of matted fluff, purple and black swirls of galactic fur just like her mother. Alastor's heart missed a beat, then another, and another, skipping every time the pup made a noise or wriggled closer to nurse from her mother. He couldn't tear his eyes away from her, watching this tiny creature his mate had birthed, that he had helped create. The giant dire wolf was scarcely breathing, so focused was he on this perfect little being. Manea told him what he already knew, but his mind still hadn't wrapped around it. Alastor was a father. This was his daughter. His daughter! Liquid crystals sprung forth from the brute's eyes, a noticeable shimmer against otherwise empty blackness. Alastor had never seen anything so beautiful in all his life, struck dumb and mute by her mere existence, and feeling so wholly unworthy. He didn't even notice the blood running down his leg from Manea's bite anymore, he was too lost in his emotions, but he kept his paw wound tight around his mate's chest.

There was still one more pup to come.


"Alastor"