Sorry, I completely forgot about translations. Here they are. . My bad guys, my bad.

Das verstehe ich nicht (I do not understand)

Fühlt sich gut an, nicht wahr (That feels good, doesn't it. )

Nächstes Mal (Next time)

Julián, salir a jugar, por favor (Julian, come out and play)

Evangeline, la alfa es aquí. No puedo en este momento. Lo haré más tarde (Evangeline, the alpha is here. I cannot at this time. I will later.)

The end is very close.

Chapter 27

I started going to the gym after we visited Kennie. I felt like I was always tense and running on a treadmill seemed to help. It cleared my head. The elliptical was simply amazing though. I could lose myself while working out. Enough so that I usually ended up missing calls from Ashland. After a week or so, he stopped calling when I went to the gym. Provenance was a small town, but the high wolf population made sure to have a large gym. Thirty a month wasn't horrible and as Ashland's mate I only paid twenty. Ashland got in free…the bastard. My legs tingled and my skin felt tight. Occasionally I would see people stare, but for the most part, they left me alone. Kennie went to this gym too. It was weird seeing him. He would always be with a trainer and he usually went upstairs to the pool. A week ago though, he stopped seeing his trainers. From the way he was running on incline on the treadmill, it was painfully obvious that he had recovered. I kept thinking about Georgia. Just watching Kennie in the gym made me feel terrified for her. It was obvious that even if Pete was faster than Kennie, Kennie was definitely stronger. He had this power that exuded from every step he took. He could hurt Georgia…badly. I wondered if she was okay. I wanted to talk to her, but Phoebe kept telling me to leave her alone. If she wanted to talk, she would… At least that is what I told myself.

Today was the big day. Little Miss Chucky was coming to stay in our house. I told Ashland about her little fascination with him. He had just laughed and said not to worry. I was still worried though. What if I had to kill her? Kennie would be so pissed… I slowed my pace, taking a swig of my water. He was leaving the gym. He looked so…not like Kennie. Usually he had this air about him that commanded fear and loathing. But now, I felt a little sorry for him. I stepped off the machine, picking up my towel and dabbing my face. God, when did I start feeling sorry for that guy? My face scrunched as I made my way to the bathrooms. I took another swig of water, but this time, I gagged a little. I cringed as bile rose in my throat. I made a mad dash to the bathroom. I was horrified when I emptied my stomach in the sink. I blanched at myself. Covered in sweat and barfing—great. I rinsed my mouth and hurried home. I found myself running home and from the gym to there, I had to take three breaks. Fuck. I hoped I wasn't getting the flu. By the time I got home, I was exhausted, more so than I should have been.

I swung the door open, running into the bathroom again. I retched loudly into the toilet. "Marilein…" I turned quickly to find Ashland standing by the door, concern on his face. He was wet and wearing swim trunks. I saw Evie poke her head from around him, her hand trying to hold his. I growled at her. She glared. I wasn't in the mood for her crap today. "What's wrong?" He came to me, holding me to him, helping me stand. "Marilein?" His hands cupped my face. I nodded at him.

"I'm fine." My breath probably smelled like barf. He didn't look like he believed me. The nausea went away. I stared up at his concerned face. And then it clicked…was I pregnant? I smiled at him. "I'm fine." I moved away to brush my teeth. "I'll be fine. Do you want to start dinner?"

"Isn't that your job?" Evie's voice was sugary. I wanted to gag her. I chose to ignore her.

"I'll start. Deer tonight?"

I nodded. I really didn't care what I ate—I probably wouldn't be able to keep it down anyway.

I stared at the test in my hand, the timer clicking beside me. I could hear Ashland outside, yelling at someone on the phone. The timer buzzed and I quickly turned it off. I had bought the digital one. I closed my eyes briefly before looking down at it. Big bold letter. PREGNANT. I was pregnant. I'M PREGNANT! Holy shit…I'm pregnant… My eyes widened and I almost fell off the toilet. I heard a pause in the other room. Ashland was by the door. "Marilein?"

"I'm…I'm ok! Go away!"

"You don't sound ok…" He was trying to open the door.

I said the first thing I could think of. "Can a girl not take a shit in peace?" Sputtering and stumbling followed. He probably let go of the door like it was a flame. I could hear him walking away. I wrapped the test in toilet tissue and trashed it. I didn't want him to know quite yet. I left the bathroom pulled on my shoes and grabbed my keys.

"Where are you going?" I turned to look at him. He was shirtless again. I saw Evie standing near the kitchen. I'd have to tell him to put on more clothes—that bitch was staring too hard. He came closer to me. His hand grazed my cheek. "You look pale, and you're warm. You should lie down."

"I'm going out just for a little bit. I'll be back in an hour."

"Marilein…"

"I'm taking the SUV, ok? I'll call if I get worse."

"I'm worried. No, you're not going out today. You need to rest."

"How about I have Phoebe pick me up? Huh? She can drive and everything."

He frowned. "…"

"Please? You've locked me in here since I got sick at the gym. That was four days ago."

"You went out yesterday…"

"To buy tampons since you seem incapable of doing so!"

"Get back in bed."

"No! I'm leaving." He tried to take the keys away but I backed up, quickly grabbing the door and heading outside. "I'll be back in an hour." My hand grabbed the handle of the SUV. I could hear him growl at me, demanding I submit. He wouldn't be pissed when I got back. I shrugged at him and hopped in. I put the key in the vehicle. Fuck…manual. I had not a clue how to drive one. I called Phoebe. "Phebes?"

"Hey! What's up?"

"I need you to pick me up." My old car that I had was officially dead. It died during mating season. The harsh winter devoured it's last strands of life. It had been a 95 Escort, and it had been my baby. I felt like sniffling for it. I had even named him—Ducky. Ducky was an awesome highway car. Ashland was standing by the door, his arms crossed. I stared at him. Man, was I a lucky girl. His hair wasn't in its usual ponytail and it spilled around his shoulders. With his arms crossed, I could plainly see the tattoo along his side. His alpha marking.

I took in a shaky breath. "Why?"

"I'll tell you when you get here and Ashland isn't around."

"Mari…"

"Please?"

"Give me a minute. You're lucky I was driving home. I'll just detour."

Talk about good luck. If Phoebe was heading home, that meant she was only about two minutes from here. I could barricade myself in the car until than. "Marilein, get out of the car!"

"Go away!"

"You need to rest!"

"You need to chill!"

"Marilein!"

"Go away!"

He growled, lunging at his own vehicle. The car rocked slightly. "Open the door Marilein…"

"NO!" For good measure, I stuck my tongue out. His face got red. I felt a giggle slip through my lips. Evie must have been shedding on me or something for me to get so childish. I heard Phoebe's car pull up. I rushed out and ran toward it. "Phoebe!"

"Marilein?" I probably looked nuts to her.

"She is not going with you Phoebe! She is sick!"

I jumped into Phoebe's car. "Go! Go! We have an adventure!" I tapped the dashboard. "He's nto your alpha, you don't have to listen to him…"

Phoebe laughed before getting back into the car. "We will be back Ashland. Marilein is perfectly safe." And with that we were off. "Where are we going?"

"To the bakery!"

"The bakery?"

I could feel my own excitement rolling off of me in waves. I was pregnant! "Yes! Too the bakery Phoebe!" I did my best superhero voice. Phoebe laughed. I felt like I was 18 again and fresh in college.

"Ok, why the bakery?"

"Because dear Phoebe, we are retrieving baked goods for Ashland…"

"why?"

I smiled at her. "I'm pregnant."

She gave a shrug. "I would have accepted that it was because he's German…" She slammed on the breaks. I cringed as my brain jiggled. "Wait…What? O my god! Really? Holy shit! You're pregnant?" She seemed almost dismayed until she turned to look at me, her eyes bright. "I can't…I mean…wow!" She leaned over, hugging me. "Congratulations! Our babies are only going to be about a year apart…" I could see her brain calculating things. "We can have play-dates!" Her face brightened. "O! What if you had boys? And they dated my daughters!"

"That's pretty far in the future…"

"But what if?"

"Great?" My voice squeaked a little as I held two thumbs up. She was more excited than I was it seemed. How would the pack feel about this, I wondered. Phoebe talked on and on about how harmonious it would be if our children were together. She mentioned something about yin and yang but I started zoning out. I don't know if after all these years she realized I did that. If she did, she was pretty good at ignoring it. We pulled into the bakery's parking lot. Phoebe was still talking. "I think you're messing up my feung shui, Phebes…"

"Huh? O my God! I am so sorry. You should be stress free. No worries. I'll help make this smooth for you."

I nodded. I should tell Georgia. "Hold on, let me call Georgia." The phone buzzed for a little bit. I heard a soft click, like someone picking up the phone.

"Hello?" There was rustling.

"Georgia?"

There was a snort. "Were you trying to call someone else Marilein?"

"No!" I let out a laugh. I held the phone close. It beeped. I took a second to look at it. Someone was trying to call, but it looked like a number for Ashland. We had the cell linked to the house phone for when we were out, but I could never figure out how to unlink it. "Phoebe is due soon." I paused, giving Phoebe a questioning look. She held up a finger. "I think in about a month." I wished she would be there for the baby. "She's having twins too! Two little girls!"

"Oh? Did she pick out names?"

"Pete demands that one of the girls be named Rachel. After his grandmother. They haven't decided on the second one yet." Phoebe huffed at me. I refused to accept her naming her children Rachel and Marie. Marie always made me think of Donny and Marie.

"Mmmm…I met someone."

"What?" She met someone? I hoped she met a friend.

"I have a boyfriend. He's really sweet. He's a cop down here. He's your age actually and…"

"Have you lost your fucking mind? Georgia, you have a mate." She had a mate! Kennie wasn't a saint, but he was a mate. Mates were forever. You can't just date. It didn't work that way. I rubbed my temple. She had a boyfriend…Kennie was going to go ape-shit.

"No…Ken has a mate Marilein. I do not."

Who was this person? This couldn't' be Georgia…

"Marilein…"

"I don't like Kennie. You know that. But for fuck's sake, the next time you see him, shoot him and put him out of his misery. No one deserves to live without their mate." I couldn't bear to speak anymore. The Georgia I knew would have never done this. She knew more about wolves then most wolves. Did she honestly think it wouldn't hurt him? Or maybe that was what she wanted—to hurt him like he did her. My mind was confused. Human me—yeah, I wanted to root for her and help her and maybe even stab Kennie. Wolf me—that wasn't happening. What Georgia was doing was walking two people and possibly a portion of the pack into destruction. "I have to go. But I was really calling to let you know that I was pregnant. Bye." I hung up, nto waiting for a response. If Kennie had his way, I would see her when she got here. I stepped into the bakery. Mmm…cake. This should cheer me up.

"What happened?" Phoebe asked as I perused a book.

"Georgia is screwing some cop. I'm worried about what Kennie will do."

"O…Oh!" Phoebe sat on a bench. "He could hurt Georgia…"

"And end up hurting the pack." The cake was supposed to cheer me up. "He's nuts enough to burn her house down."

"That sounds like some Burning Bed type of shit…"

"He is sick enough…sick enough…" I put the book down. The baker was watching us. "Excuse me, I need a cake. A German chocolate cake…"

"For the alpha, I presume then?" The man smiled. He would have been handsome in his younger years.

"Yes…Well…Can you keep a secret? It's important you do. I want this to be a surprise for him."

"Of course I can Matriarch." Matriarch. What a title. I felt so badass now.

"I have just discovered that I am pregnant."

He must have been holding something because it dropped to the floor with a loud clank. His eyes got large, his face paled. "Pregnant?"

I nodded vigorously. "I want this to be a like a celebration. A huge "You're a Father" party." I was smiling brightly.

"Sweet Jesus…Matriarch, you should be in bed. Not out and about! Those pups are important!"

I huffed. "I'm fine."

"You could easily fall sick. Or be hit. The alpha would have my head if he knew…"

"So you won't make the cake?" It sounded like he wouldn't. Which meant I would need to go out of town to get what I wanted.

"The cake is not important. Those pups are. You should go home and rest."

"But the cake…"

"Yes, yes. German chocolate. The alpha likes a triple layer cake. I know. We will deliver it when it is done."

"I need it for next week…"

He blanched slightly. I guess one week was pushing it. Well it wasn't my fault I just found out I was pregnant. I smiled at him, batting my eyes. "Fine. For his birthday I presume."

"You presume correctly."

"Now will you go and rest?"

"I will." And I left. Finding out I was pregnant would be a perfect birthday gift. I knew it. We were out for much longer than an hour. I had bags of stuff I needed to hide by the time I got home. Phoebe dropped me off, wished me luck and left. I pushed the front door open and jogged up stairs. Ashland flung his office doors open. "MARILEIN!" I froze. Busted. BUSTED! I turned to find him coming up the stairs. "Is that what you did all day? Shop?"

"I wanted to get out…"

"Get in bed. Now! God, look at you, you're even paler now. And clammy!" He grabbed the bags, I grabbed them back. I couldn't have him snooping just yet. His eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"I'll put these away and get into bed, ok?"

"OK…"

I turned away and into our bedroom. I stashed the bags in my closet behind my long dresses. Ashland steered clear of my closet like it was the anti-christ. Being a bit of a mess had its ups.

"Wake up!"

I jerked up at the scream. My vision was slightly blurry. It was one a.m. "Wha?"

"Up! Get dressed." Ashland pulled the covers from me. "You'll hate me if I let you sleep through this."

"Wha?"

"Phoebe is in labour…"

"Wha? WHAT? O MY GOD!" I jumped out of bed, grabbed some sweats and stood by the door. "Come on slow poke!" She was in labour? Already? Just that afternoon she said she had one more month to go. Or had she meant one more day? She hadn't corrected me though. Besides, she had called her kids June-bugs, not May-buds…That was corny. Evie and I piled into the car with him and rushed to the hospital.

I hate the smell of hospitals. It was so…sterile. Yet diseased. White light shined down on us as we made our way to Phoebe's delivery room. I could hear yelling. "LOOK WHAT YOU DID TO ME! O GOD! FUCK! FUCK! IT HURTS!" As we got closer I could make out Pete's voice.

"Baby, calm down ok? It's going to be alright…"

"FUCK YOU! YOU'LL NEVER STICK IT IN ME AGAIN! YOU HEAR? YOU HEAR ME PETER HARRISON LONG?"

"Phoebe, just breath…"

"I HATE YOU!"

We waited outside. Eventually her words became incoherent mumblings and then screams. Childbirth sounded so painful. Evie was staring at me, eyeing my stomach. She knew. The evil one knew. She glared at me, turning her head away. Phoebe let out a particularly loud and long scream and then I heard crying. It was a baby. I heard the doctor to tell her to keep pushing. Another cry filled the air. I jumped up. I was practically an aunt now. The minutes that passed felt like hours. The doctor poked his head out, beaming. "Well, the beta has two healthy girls." His words were directed to Ashland.

Ashland stood. "Do you want to see them?" he asked me. My heart thumped. See them? The babies? I nodded eagerly. He held his hand out, silently asking for me to take it. I took it.

The babies were beautiful. One of them was completely bald and the other had a few wisps of black hair. Their eyes were squeezed shut as they cried. I rested my hand on my stomach. I had eight or so months to go now. And I would be staring down at little bundles. I wondered what our children would look like. "The bald one is Rachel. The other is Abigail." Abigail. I could accept that name. She looked like an Abby. We didn't stay long. Phebe's needed her rest.

As the week went on, I could tell Ashland was slowly becoming suspicious of me. Pete helped drive me around to find more partners in crime. I practically had the entire pack in on it. His birthday party would be held as his parents'. I hid my ultrasound in the closet along with a few other things. Ashland tried to play it cool but he kept asking me questions—especially when it was night and I was very sleepy. My morning sickness only seemed to get worse and it was getting harder to get out of the house.

The morning of the big party I was making my way out of the bathroom. I dabbed at my mouth. Ashland stood outside, his brows knitted. "You're still sick…" His hand rested against my forehead. "You have a fever."

"I'm fine…"

"I'll stay home with you. The pack will understand…"

"NO!" Fuck! He was trying to skip his party. "You have to go!"

"You're sick Marilein."

"I know. I'll be fine. I'll be more upset if you stay Ashland. Please go. I want you to celebrate your birthday. You have been doing nothing but caring for me and working. You deserve to have time to yourself."

"You are my top priority."

"And you are mine." My lisp brushed his cheek. "Do this for me, ok?" I heard him let out a rumble as I moved my body close to his. "Please?"

"Fine…"

I couldn't fight my smile. Crisis diverted. I ushered him out of the house. Alone at last, I had time to prepare. I knew that Ashland would have a heart attack when he saw his credit bill but he would get over it. Or I hoped he would. I had bought a solid wood frame for my first ultrasound. You could just make out the shape of something in my womb. I placed it in a box and wrapped it. Pete came by a few minutes later. I rushed to pull on my soft pink dress and pull my hair back, showcasing my mark. I grabbed my present and made my ways to Pete's truck.

"Well don't you look all soft and pretty Mari."

"And don't you look tired as hell…"

"Hey, I'm a new father…" Pete gave me a tired grin as he helped me into the truck. The drive to the party was short but nervous. I felt my nerves buzzing in me as we pulled up to the house. I could hear music playing and people laughing. A few were in their wolf forms, running around the yard and howling. I saw people I knew didn't live in Provenance but Pete informed me that they were still members of the pack. They lived in different towns. Some of the wolves stared hard at me as I walked in. I could hear Ms. Mia getting ready to present the cake.

"Everyone quiet down! Ashland! Ashland come here darling!"

She was obviously drunk. I made my way into the backyard. Ashland was just sitting down in one of the lounge chairs. His head snapped around and he glared. "What the hell are you doing? Go to bed!" He stood.

"Ashland, shut up and sit down! She's fine!" Ms. Mia let out a giggle as she pushed Ashland back down. "Come here Marilein." She patted the seat beside him. "Take a seat. This is so exciting!" The lights dimmed. Music started and a few pack members began singing. Ms. Mia's voice overtook everyone. "Zum Geburtstag viel Glück! Zum Geburtstag viel Glück!
Zum Geburtstag liebe Ashland! Zum Geburtstag viel Glück!" The baker came out with the huge German chocolate cake. I clapped along with everyone as the cake was placed before him. "Happy birthday!" Everyone cheered. Ashland's smile slipped as he looked at the top of the cake. "What's wrong?" Someone asked.

Ashland turned to look at me and than at his mother. "I'm a father?" He sounded so puzzled. "Father…" His eyes grew wide when I smiled at him. I quickly pulled out my present. "Marilein…"

"Open it."

I could feel everyone's eyes on us. Ashland tore through the paper. His hands were shaking when he looked at the framed picture. His brows knitted. "You're…" I had never seen his hands shake like that before. I could practically hear the frame rattle against his hand. "You…FUCK!"

"Ash…"

He pulled me into a tight hug and kissed me. His hands almost crushed me against him. He kissed my cheeks and chin and forehead and mouth. Some of the pack cheered us on. I could hear people asking what was going on. He suddenly released me, presenting me to the pack. "She's pregnant!" He announced. The crowd cheered. Ms. Mia hugged me from the side.

"I'm going to finally be a grandma!" She kissed my cheek. "Oooo…is that your ultrasound?" Somehow, the picture was passed through the crowd as everyone drank more. Ashland was the happiest I had ever seen him. He pushed me around, presenting me to this pack member and that pack member. I was much too sleepy to pay much attention. I did pay attention though when Evie approached me. She was glaring at my stomach. I shielded it.

"Pregnant…"

"Yeah." Talk about an awkward moment. "So…"

"So I guess this means I have to let him go, huh?" I was surprised by her words. "I hate you. But I suppose you have won this one." And she walked away. I came to the conclusion than that Evangeline was officially weird and would probably mate to an equally weird wolf. Or never mate at all. I hoped she never plagued the life of some young wolf…

I slept like the dead the next day. Or rather, Ashland forced me to sleep. I wasn't allowed to even go to the bathroom without his help. He seemed so frazzled now, knowing I was pregnant. He had some of the older females come by to occasionally help me for the past four months. Today though, this Sunday morning was all him.

I stared at him, curled up on his side. He was staring at me. he gave me a sleepy smile before kissing my forehead. "Morning."

"Morning." Even with morning breath, I couldn't help but kiss him. His hand rested against my belly. A picture of my latest ultrasound sat on his nightstand. Triplets. The gender was still hard to see, but the doctor thought I was having at least one boy and one girl. The other was hidden behind one of them.

I could feel him hard against me. He swore up and down that me being pregnant only made him want me more and that it was perfectly natural for men to feel that way. I think he's just denying his own perversion. Though I didn't really mind. My own hormones had been going through the roof since my fifth week. I inched closer to him, my hands trailing down his back as he nibbled on my neck. The room filled with the sounds of sex and smells. Afterwards, I buried my face in his throat, taking in his scent beneath my own. This was mine. All mine. It's amazing how this had all started back in high school. Though, I can never say I'm surprised we ended up together. Ashland is persistent. Will always be persistent and it would have maybe been years later, but if I hadn't come back home, he would have come for me. He had been persistent in getting me pregnant and look at me now. I was mate to the alpha. Matriarch of the pack. And soon to be mother of a litter of three. He cuddled into my side, pulling me into his arms tightly. I could stay like this forever really.

The sunlight leaked in the room, shining it's white light and blinding me. The coolness of September leaked in with the light. I snuggled closer, closing my eyes as I did. Yep, this was the life.

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YAY! This is pretty much the last real chapter. The next one is just the epilogue.