Revalations pt 1

Later on after everything was nailed down to a final T, Sabrina was in the nursery with Jessa and Hazel and the sweet little babies she couldn't get enough of. They were absolutely adorable. Hazel hadn't named them just yet, she said their names would come to her when they did. She just merely called them her prince and princess for now. 

Sabrina couldn't understand why she was so drawn to these little babies but she was nonetheless. She wanted nothing more than to sit and hold them all day long. Breathe their sweet scents, powder and baby shampoo, marvel at their little fingers and toes. 

The party was tomorrow, she had no interest in a party really, she would babysit so that Hazel could go. She had been with the babies nonstop and had a rough road ahead as a single mother, she would have many days and nights of doing for her kids. She can certainly take a moment tomorrow and be a young woman. 

Hazel felt guilty. She wanted the opportunity to mingle with the others, but she also didn't want to leave the babies. She was a mother now, she shouldn't want to have fun. She should be responsible and with her babies. They'd need feeding, she couldn't be at a party, how would they get milk? She supposed she could use that infernal pump that Moira got her, it seemed foreign to her though, to pump the milk into a bottle and feed her babies from an artificial teat. They should be fed directly from her own, though she knew that would be implausible. She would have to work. There would be times the babies would be with a sitter or one of her chosen family members. 

By the time the next morning rolled around, she was given little choice as she was plodded along by Vivian, Moira, Jessa, Anna, Amelia and Ivy into a chair to have her skin pampered, her hair washed and styled, her makeup done and a hurricane of dresses tried on her. They settled on a silky cyan number. It was a one shouldered, ruffled at the hem and shoulder A-line little number that helped mask the leftover of her baby bump and with the shaping corset that Anna and Ivy stuffed her into, it nearly made it disappear altogether. Sometimes good French lingerie could be the best kind of magic. 

She pumped enough milk for twice as much milk as the babies would ever possibly need and still felt like it wasn't enough. By the time the dinner was to start she was just replacing her padding after pumping more. Sabrina was all but shoving her out the door rubbing her hands greedily at having the babies all to herself while Luna Mae did her Luna duties and could retire and come get her fix of baby snuggles too. But for now, they were all hers. And she didn't intend to share. She intended to get them all nice and bathed, then milk drunk and lull them in the big beautiful antique rocking chair in the corner. She noted that there were two chairs now, without doubt there'd been squabbles over the chair and rocking the babies. 

She filled the bottles with milk and set them in the warmers. Four ounces each. They certainly had good appetites. She got out the tiny little onsies and the sweet little footed all in one pajamas and the little caps. Two diapers and the wipes to clean them down with. She just couldn't get over how absolutely tiny and perfect they were. 

Once they were cleaned down, fed and swaddled in their blankets, she sat in the rocking chair singing softly to them an old Irish lullaby of a maiden in a willow and the man who loved her dearly. Towards the end Mae wondered in and took over rocking the boy as she lulled his sister. Mae joined in singing another Irish lullaby of sailing on the seas and golden moons, of clouds and castles in the sand. Mae had a beautiful soft soprano voice to her warm alto, in no time flat they were sleeping. 

The dining hall was packed, tables nearly bowed and groaned under platters of food and drink. Music played softly in the background and Hazel's heart beat out a fast tempo in her chest. She knew David would be in attendance, she only hoped he wouldn't recognize her as the one that fled his bed at three am after a night of drinking. 

How awkward would it be? Would it be? She'd like to think they'd be mature and adult enough to handle the situation with poise and dignity. In her heart she knew she wanted more than she should and felt anything BUT poised. She wanted to snatch him up and rip his clothing off…. Woah, where had that come from? Must be hormones. Yeah, that had to be it. The last of the pregnancy hormones coming down mixed with the almost year of celibacy. 

She had just sat down with a plate when she happened to look up and spot him. He sat at a table with nearly a dozen females swarming all around him. He looked like he was certainly enjoying their attention with his rueful boyish grin. She wanted to slap and claw every one of them away from him….

What on earth was WRONG WITH HER? She had NO rights to feel that way. He wasn't HERS. They shared a beautiful night, that was it. The consequences of that night and the feelings from it were her own responsibility. Not his. It wouldn't be right to saddle him with all that. She didn't take the necessary precautions to ensure that nothing would come of it all. Even before she could've possibly had any inkling, hell, the morning after it happened she could have taken a simple pill, but she didn't. 

Instead she left it up to fate. Now it is what fate decided. She was a mom, and she couldn't have ever imagined loving someone so much, but she did. Those babies were her everything. The guilt creeped up again that she was three whole floors away from her precious babies. Her Malachai and Melody. 

That was it! Those were their names! Finally something had come to her! Malachai James and Melody Rose. She was so wrapped up in her own thoughts she didn't see Jessa and Moira sit at the table until Moira spoke up.

"Are you going to eat that chicken or just keep pushing it around your plate, Hazel?" she teased

"Ah, I was spaced out. Thinking about the babies, I really ought to go check up on them. I shouldn't leave them for so long." She said

"They're fine, my mother-in-law to be raised twins, and two more before that. They've got this. Sabrina has helped raise many babies in the pride, as well as David at that. And what a fine young man HE is!" Jessa snickered.

Moira laughed and chided her about being a mated spoken for woman and Jessa teased back that she was taken, not blind. All the while Hazel felt jealous and territorial over a man that was free to bed any one of the beautiful women swarming around him. He certainly had the looks. Those tawny golden eyes, strong muscular arms, trim waist and sturdy legs. The more than well endowed…. Nope. Not going there, no way. She is just going to sit here enjoying the fellowship of so many packs and tribes coming together for such a good reason. And what a pity SHE wasn't going to be there. That would relieve some of these pent up emotions. 

She could almost feel his eyes on her. But she was probably imagining that. Had to be. It was paranoia from thinking about him so much. She needed air. 

She excused herself and headed out the terrace door and into the gardens. She wandered around the flowers and hedges, the topiaries and arches. She stuck her nose deep into the night blooming jasmine. She needed this escape to herself to clear her head and reset her balance. She liked being social just fine, but sometimes you need to be alone to rebalance your own chakras and energy. A moonlit garden is the perfect place for that. 

David made his way to the table with Jessa and Moira, he was intending to come congratulate the new mother, but she walked away before he could approach she fled. He didn't even make it to the table fully before the smell hit him. It was her. His mate. She was here. Somewhere. He stopped in his tracks and began following the scent. James and Drayven jumped up and followed him thinking a threat loomed. 

Stopping just outside the door feeling the men following, he turned and had an unreadable expression on his face.

"I found her…. My mate…I actually found her after all this time…" and with that he shifted and ran after the scent of cherry blossoms and peaches. 

He found her sitting in the gazebo her eyes closed while she was in a position he noticed as the lotus position from the yoga classes his mother enjoyed. But, it couldn't be, how could she be his mate? She just had babies… 

BABIES! OH. MY. MOON. GODDESS. 

He turned and ran full speed towards the pack house. This time James was hot on his heels. He burst through the door of the nursery startling his mother and Luna Mae. Both women looked at him as if he'd been possessed, they instinctively held the babies tighter and away from him. 

James stepped between them taking the baby girl. 

"Shift! Damnit David, shift right now and explain yourself!" Sabrina commanded her son. 

He did so under his mother's command and collapsed to the floor. Tears flooding his eyes. He sobbed like a child. How could she? Why would she? Did she really hate him that much? That she'd not come back to him after finding out she was carrying his babies? What even were their names? 

Sabrina knelt beside her son, she lifted his tear soaked face to her own. Her eyes searching his.

"What is it son? What has happened?" she asked him softly.

"They're mine mom, the babies. They're mine." He said on a trembling voice.

"What? Son, you aren't making any sense, what do you mean they're yours?"

"Last year, the party. I was drunk. Hazel is my mate. We had a night together. She left before I woke up. I recognized her scent as my mate. But she was gone before I could find her again. Mom, why would she leave me? Why would she not come back when she knew she carried our babies?"

"Because, I didn't know how. I didn't want to saddle you with all of this because of a one night stand. I certainly didn't know that I was your mate. I only felt intensely attracted to you." She spoke from the doorway. "I thought long and hard about what to do. I couldn't bear the thought of you being forced to be with me out of obligation."

Sabrina stood there, her face a mask of shock and confusion. She was working through the facts. Her son was mated, to a witch, who just birthed her first two grandbabies. SHE WAS A GRANDMOTHER. 

Luna Mae broke the silence. She stated that she and Sabrina would take the babies into the living quarters and let the two of them talk. Clearly it was needed. What a situation. Who could've saw this happening? She eyed Sabrina and then nodded to James to carry the baby into the living room, as she didn't think Sabrina was capable of it right now. She looked like she was about to go toes up.

She rang for Roz to come bring some brandy and a platter of fruits and cheeses. She desperately needed to get something into Sabrina before she fainted. Imagine finding out you were a grandmother like that. 

Sabrina came around and immediately reached for the babies. Her grandbabies. They were hers. She now knew why she felt so pulled to them! Her own blood was in their veins. Hazel certainly had some explaining to do! 

Mae watched this all play across her friends face. She could almost read her thoughts. She felt love, awe, shock, betrayal, sadness and hurt. She took a deep breath and steadied her own shock.

"I don't think we should jump to conclusions Sab, there's many reasons things that could be why it all played out this way. You heard her. She didn't want to be an obligation. In a way I can understand that. I don't believe for a second she intended to hurt anyone. Let along him. She is young and scared. She also probably feared he'd reject her and the babies."

"But they're MATES!" Sabrina said

"And she's a witch, not a werekind. She wouldn't feel a mate bond unless he marked her, Sab." Mae said.

Sabrina stopped. She hadn't thought of that. To Hazel it would've felt more like an attraction. Attraction doesn't always equal love. That would certainly leave room for doubts to creep up. And didn't they mention they were drunk? That may be why David didn't mark her in their mating. She snuggled the sweet boy in her arms and pondered the how's and whys and the what nexts.

In the other room, the conversation wasn't going as smoothly. Pride and ego were certainly flared. David's temper wasn't the best right now. He was feeling the sting of her not honoring the mate bond. James could tell that the situation was getting sticky as Hazel had her own temper up. He wondered if Lloyd's gamma charm would work on David. He knew it would on Hazel. Hazel wasn't much the threat in his eyes so much as a pissed off emotionally unstable werelion. He mindlinked Lloyd to come to the packhouse nursery. 

However before Lloyd could show up, tempers flared and boiled over. 

"You ignorant, pampas, egotistical, idiotic JACKASS!" Hazel shrieked and the next thing James knew David stood before him on four hooves braying. 

Caught off guard James laughed out loud, the donkey version of David side-eyed him with anger evident in his eyes. James tried desperately to quit the laughs escaping him. Even Drayven as stoic as he could be was sniggering under his breath. 

"Gotta say it man, she nailed you David. Even down to the long ears and buck teeth." Drayven busted out laughing.

"Finally mirroring your true nature, eh David?" his mother spoke up from the doorway. She even had a smile on her face. But she couldn't have a donkey for a son, so she turned to Hazel. 

"Hazel, honey, can you please turn my son back into his own body? I can't hear him explain himself if all he's doing is braying."

Hazel looked at David and then to the others. She lowered her head and her face flushed red. She didn't even know how she did that let alone how to undo it, but how did she tell them that? 

"I….I…. I DON'T KNOW HOW!" she wailed out tears spilling out of her eyes. 

"Oh boy." Sighed Luna Mae. "Drayven, send for Moira and Ivy please. The rest of you quit laughing. It's not funny!" but Sabrina's loud guffaw ended any chance of the laughter ending. It was impossible. By that point even the Luna herself was giggling. 

David bumped her hand hard with his nose. And she looked at him, the amusement still glowing in her eyes. "Oh, hush David, it IS funny. I wonder though…. Hey, Hazel? What exactly did he do to deserve this?" she asked