The Salvatore Saga, Part Four: My new Life

Giving birth to cubs is challenging, perhaps not as tough as human births, but certainly more difficult since I have a litter of three here. Having Wulfe around has been a double-edged sword.

At first, my feline side was wary of his presence, later grudgingly accepting his assistance, but now I find myself protecting him. I'm pushing myself into better shape to ease his worries, as he seems to radiate concern.

Instead of solely focusing on giving birth, I'm multitasking—ensuring the cubs are okay, ensuring Wulfe is fine, and just trying to manage everything. Wulfe has experienced no births before, making certain tasks a bit awkward for him, which meant I had to provide guidance.

While giving birth, I became acutely aware of my chaotic life. I understood the eagerness for assistance, but now there were three more litters to tend to beyond my own. A part of me felt sheer panic, thinking about the emotional toll my feelings were taking on our group.

Although I believed I was handling things well, uncertainty held me back; I was unsure if they could locate me through that connection, but now it was irrelevant. Wulfe's presence showed that the rest of the pack was ready to lend a hand, yet I felt I was okay. My pride prevented me from acknowledging that I might need help sooner rather than later, and this wasn't the time for stubbornness.

Then Damon's gentle but firm voice echoed in my mind: "Baby, I'm coming in to help, and we will have our cubs safe. I have some extra supplies like a Salvatore's bump and other things. No one else is coming but me—no arguments."

As the door slid open, he entered with a soft, "Oh, so many hello little ones, Daddy is here."

He brought in a full tank marked violet, along with the Salvatore bump, and nodded to Wulfe, advising him, "Why don't you sit behind Mimi so she can lean on you?" 

Without time to respond, I pushed again and delivered another huge tiger cub. I grabbed it and began to dry it, but Damon's steady hands gently took the cub from me, warming it with his hands as he opened the sack. It was another large boy.

Damon had a bag slung over his shoulder and retrieved a filled bottle, feeding the sizable tiger cub. I leaned back against Wulfe, who was supporting me, and somehow this brought me a profound sense of safety, allowing me to exhale the breath I had been holding.

Damon mentally communicated to Wulfe, "Let her lean on you, but can you do a spell? She's unsure about us being here, and her pheromones might go out of whack. We don't need to panic the cubs."

Wulfe replied, "What's on your mind?"

Damon said, "Try to ease her panic and at the same time cast a spell to collect her pheromones and send them far away, like Etna, far, far away. I have to be the one calling the shots without being too overbearing. I'll try to keep her calm and make sure she can handle this. As you might know, her favorite thing is convincing herself and others that she's fine, even if she's not. We don't want her to collapse, so if she feels safe enough, she might let herself be a little more vulnerable."

Wulfe calmly replied, "The spell is in place. I'll start probing and find those hidden nooks in her mind and show them to you so you can explore them. We won't give her a choice, but we won't force too much either. I'm not a doctor, you are, so assessing her condition is your thing."

Damon barely nodded as he arranged the cubs into baskets and made sure they were all fed and happy.

I leaned in towards Wulfe and as I pushed, Damon said to me, "Baby, remember, I'll use my energies, so don't fight it. Lean on Wulfe."

He grabbed my hands and pressed our scars together. This was a first for me, this connection we had, and this birth. It was usually a very intimate thing, but our connection made him a part of it. I could feel Damon's energy pushing the next cub out. I helped with my body, and Damon glanced at me but didn't say a word.

As each cub was born with two pushes, the first was a tiger, almost black, but I could see the hint of red fur. Oh, he would be magnificent.

Damon dried him off with his energy, put him in a bottle, and said to me, "Baby, I'll soon teleport some cubs to the cub room. The rest of the pack will take care of them."

I nodded, noticing Rosie near me. She didn't want to be in a basket.

Damon saw her and asked, "And who might you be?"

She hissed at him. I rolled my eyes and said, "Our firstborn, her name is Rosie. Look at her paw pads and nose. They're pink."

Damon smiled at my cub and said, "Mama's girl, I see. Don't you worry, little princess, Daddy will soon win you over and pamper you."

She hissed at him again. Damon kissed her muzzle and put her in a basket as he teleported some of the cubs away, the ones he had already handled, and made sure they had smelled him.

 I kept focusing on giving birth, feeling the burns draining my strength steadily. But at the same time, I could sense their worries. I knew I had to keep going. In my dim den, the three of us worked together to bring this litter into the world.

And despite how difficult it was, this was the way I preferred it. I felt so animalistic. Being operated on in a clinical and cold space always felt like something important was being taken away from me.

But now, as I got to do this, there was a deep sense of satisfaction in my soul. Of course, I put on a brave face so that these two wouldn't worry too much. But deep down, I knew that at some point my facade might crack. I wasn't actively thinking about it, but if it happened, it would be time to worry.

After a few hours of birthing, Wulfe said to Damon mentally, "She's losing her strength. This is hard for her. The contractions are painful and draining her. I'm afraid she might not have enough strength to get through this. She's hiding her pain from you, but I can feel it. This is one of her hidden thoughts. See for yourself."

Damon found yet another hidden place that Wulfe pointed out. Using very subtle telepathy, he finally broke through the thought shell made up of her will, chaos, rage, and alpha powers.

He heard her thoughts, "I have to do this. Those two are way too worried. It's fine. The pain is just something I have to tolerate. I have to hang on and not let them see just how damn hard this is."

Wulfe said to Damon, "Since most of the cubs are big species, it's not easy to push them out. And she..."

Damon nodded, barely able to speak. It was time to do things a little differently.

I focused, one cub at a time. But oh my god, I was tired. Even though I felt pretty secure, I was also incredibly vulnerable. I couldn't let them see my weakness. I had to protect them. I was supposed to be the strongest of us, but right now, I didn't feel so damn strong.

Damon crouched in front of me and said, "You're not going to make it unless we act now. Listen to me, baby. I'll tell you what will happen. Number two will come in, and I'll administer a dental substance and a spinal block. I'll stop your contractions, and we'll use our energy to get the cubs out. No operation unless something goes wrong."

I was surprised, but as Damon forcefully used his alpha power to suppress mine, I had no choice.

Wulfe said to me, "My unicorn, I can feel just how damn tired you are. Now we'll take care of you."

Soon, the door slid open again and Number Two walked in.

He crouched down by my side and said, "My love, this is not a failure at all. Colin informed us about a few things we had overlooked. First, we need to always determine the ratio between big and smaller species. You have too many big species, which means your contractions are almost as bad as giving birth to a baby, or even worse, exhausting you. From now on, if we notice big species coming when we check the vessels, we know how to intervene and help. It will spare your strength."

I nodded, feeling the urge to push. With a soft grunt, I gave it my all. The big one was growing, and Number One wrapped energy around it, pulling it out before I could push again.

He told me to lean forward, with Wulfe moving away a bit, so we could proceed. Damon held me against him, bending my upper body forward as much as possible with my enormous belly. I soon felt the sting of injections in several spots on my spine.

The electric pain stung for a moment, and then numbness took over. My contractions stopped.

Wulfe came behind me, helping me lean against him almost on my back, while Damon and Number Two worked quickly and efficiently to deliver the cubs. Wulfe kept me calm, and both Salvatores allowed me to see and smell my cubs.

Number Two brought another tank of bump and made me sip it in, knowing that the pain had stopped. As I realized how exhausted I was, I could only hope that the rest of the litter would come out smoothly and quickly, as I had no sensation in my lower body.

They kept a close eye on me, ensuring that the contractions stayed away and I remained blissfully numb throughout. From time to time, they would use their magic to observe and monitor the progress of the cubs, using their energies to assist them in moving forward.

Damon said to me, "Baby, you see, you're supposed to deliver the cub with one push so it can grow outside of you. But since these are large species, they begin growing as soon as they start moving, and the bigger the cub, the slower it is to come out. This causes more stretching in your pussy and womb, resulting in stronger contractions. Colin explained that this is a common issue for big species shifters, as they don't have enough space to accommodate a large number of cubs like we do with our magic."

I replied, "Yeah, I'm not really familiar with the intricacies of giving birth, especially concerning infections and such. It does make sense, though, and I should have realized it. I feel like an idiot now."

Number two chimed in, saying, "Just imagine what we're experiencing. We've been through this many times, and while it was new to us, it was perfectly logical."

It seemed that my personal birthing experience had taught valuable lessons to the rest of the pack, as well as myself. It was frustrating to learn these lessons, but I understood that life is a constant learning process, and this was just another thing I had to accept.

Here I was, naked, unable to feel anything on my lower half, but I could see the cubs being born, being dried off, and I could smell them. I witnessed them starting to feed, and some of them were teleported to the cub room where the pack was helping them get acquainted.

Once again, I had to acknowledge my status as the alpha. This litter was of utmost importance to the entire pack. The alpha pair's litter is the one that everyone will protect and cherish. These cubs are the strongest and most robust of them all, the future generation of alphas.

It was a new experience for me, as I had never fully embraced my alpha status before. However, this new version of myself didn't feel as awkward as I thought it would. It was just another aspect that came with being an alpha, and I wasn't sure what kind of birth I would have next time, but that wasn't relevant at that moment.

I couldn't wait to see all of my cubs, feed them, touch them, smell them, spend time with them, and teach them. I felt a deep connection to them, something both new and old, and I couldn't be happier. And since my alpha side had made the decision, she had chosen the four individuals who would be in my group. We had come to an agreement with the other females and pack members regarding who goes where.

I would have Wulfe, Magnum, number three, and number two by my side, helping out. Surprisingly, no one had any issues with them. Soon, this would become a routine after the chaos and turmoil of my birth. The trauma and drama would eventually pass, and everyday life during the breeding season would begin in full swing.

Speaking of my alpha side, she was quite mischievous. I hadn't mentioned a word about her to Damon, but I knew others would keep their mouths shut as well. It was the reality that he would gravitate towards Mariella, despite his anger. She was the one he wanted to be with during this time.

As for me, it wasn't a big deal. Sure, I could have easily made him stay by my side, but this was a joyful time. I gave him the space to be with the one who completed him, and it wasn't me.