My Life is Brighter Because of You

Settled in beside his mate, Kane gave Tamsyn one more reassuring and affectionate smile before her contractions began in earnest and she rested her head on his hip to steady herself. Kane placed one large paw on her swollen belly, feeling the way her muscles rippled and contracted around the wriggling puppies within her. He gave gentle shushing sounds in time with the waves outside, intermixing them with almost lyrical hums while Tamsyn's body performed its greatest function. He counted the seconds between each of her contractions, waiting until they were almost a constant before shifting closer to her rear to receive their first child. It didn't take long for Tamsyn to birth their first pup—a tiny black and charcoal girl. Kane cleaned her off, holding her with delicate paws while he marveled at her. She was beautiful; so tiny and perfect in every way. As soon as he'd gotten her cleaned, the girl began to squirm in his paw and squeal, announcing her presence to the world. The old hunter breathed an incredulous sigh while he stared at his daughter, turning to look at Tamsyn with tears misting his hazel eyes. "A cunksi. A daughter!"

Trying to keep himself from weeping like a baby, Kane gingerly laid their little girl at Tamsyn's belly, watching her feed before meeting Tam's gaze with a swelling love and pride in his chest. The brief interlude of love was interrupted by the next wave of Tamsyn's contractions, and Kane immediately returned to his midwife duties. He gently soothed Tam along, feeling her belly for her contractions, but just like the first, this pup was birthed without incident and fairly quickly. When he cleaned her off, he gasped and had to do a double take, for she was a near mirror image of her older sister, but in a smaller package. Kane picked up the tiny nugget of a pup as if she were the most fragile thing in the world, able to hold her in a single paw while she cried and kicked her little legs. Kane marveled at her with Tamsyn, giggling like a giddy idiot while he placed her beside her twin sister at their mother's teats for their first meal.

"Twins!" Kane said with an incredulous laugh, grinning from ear to ear while he stared at Tam and his family. "Oh Tam, they're so beautiful...! You're doing tremendous, my blackbird." Kane curled in closer to give the end of her snout a loving lick, then rested his paw against her belly, feeling gentle movement from within still. "We're almost done, my love. I think there's just one left. You can do this."

"Kaneonuskatew"