In The Darkness, I Found The Light

Dalila's contractions began up again, coming in more and more frequently. The next pup would be arriving shortly. Aliana prepared to receive the child, praying with all her heart and soul that she hadn't ruined Dalila's life by trying to help her. Oh please oh please oh please... Ali could see the pain Dalila was in; not just physical, but mental and emotional as well. The devastation of losing a child was a pain the ash and snow fae knew all too well, and her heart went out to Dalila, but they couldn't give up now. Not yet. Fortunately, Dalila showed her indomitable fighter's spirit by continuing to push through, and with a scream, another pup was brought into the world, this one a smaller and lighter than the boy had been, though the fur was unmistakably Chimera's Klein white and Dalila's mottling.

Aliana was swift to gather the little girl in the soft linens, wiping her dry and cleaning her off. She felt the pup kick and fuss, fighting against her, and then the crying started. It was a sound Aliana had never expected to associate with relief, and yet here she was, slumping to her haunched with a sigh of relief when she heard the little girl cry and squeal in protest. She hadn't completely fucked up. One pup had survived. Ali looked down at the tiny creature, feeling icy knives run through her heart when she thought of the five little ones she'd lost. It was too much for her—too much emotion, too much pain, too much regret, too much guilt.

Without a word, Ali moved to place the little girl at Dalila's stomach so she could feed. Dalila thanked her, but Ali hadn't heard it straight away. Her aqua eyes were still on the little girl nursing at her mother's belly, half making sure she was actually okay, and half hating that she had lost this. She was now officially the only one of Chimera's women to have failed to give him children. She was happy for Dalila—or as happy as she could be given that this had all only happened by her own failure—but this had also driven home just how worthless she really was. Swallowing back the emotion that was thick in her throat, Ali gave Dalila a relieved smile, though the effort was forced. "Congratulations..." she spoke with broken lyrics.

Ali stepped back away from the three wolves, letting Siren tend to Dalila while the new parents celebrated the birth of their daughter. She watched the happy group from the edge of the shadows, letting the feigned smile fall from her face. Without another word to anyone, Aliana slipped out the room and made her way back down the dark corridor to the bedroom she shared with Chimera. Her work here was done. Dalila and Chimera had their family, and she could return to nurse her broken heart. She wasn't needed any longer.

- exit -

"Aliana"