When Ben came home from his rendezvous with Tania, he brought a pile of files for Fenris to fill out from the council. Much to the younger brother's displeasure. Ryker also came to discuss with Fenris, if he wanted to get a hold of the organization that had been in his line.

Much to everyone's surprise, Fenris agreed to take the head, but with a change. He would not be the director of Cerberus. No, he would be an overseer that Ryker would have to report to. The elf seemed perplexed by Fenris's decision, though.

Ryker would make most of the important choices himself, instead of the young Lycan. Fenris had no intentions of biting more than he could handle. With the council and Lycans, he had enough. He reassured Ryker that he had acted in the best interest of everyone's sake. Thus, he saw no reason to strip him of the elf post.

Ryker swiftly accepted his new role in the organization, leaving Fenris to work on other matters. Perhaps, if I had not been pregnant, my wolf would have taken the role, but because of my condition, I held him back. That was not a bad thing, per se. After all, he already had a lot on his plate.

He was representing the Lycans in the council and would be the alpha they admired. Of course, Ben and Liam would be there to help along the way. However, the only reason he was leaning on others was that he wanted time with his soon-to-be family, too. His father before him did not spend enough time with his family. That was one reason a wedge came between his parents. Something he wanted to avoid at all costs with me.

After bringing a mountain of paperwork, Ben took Fenris and me into the office Amir, their father, had before he passed. Inside, there was an impressive collection of ancient artifacts from every race. Most of them were rare items that seemed to be worth more than I could simply imagine. I sat quietly on one side of the room.

Fenris dedicated the rest of the day to all the paperwork needed to make everything happen. It was the first time I had seen him so serious. Liam was also there to be my wolf’s ears and feet, running out multiple times to do the errand. Even Ezra came around to help, too. He had been spending time with Mia, helping her with the pregnancy and such matters.

After that, everything became busier than ever before. Fenris, being the head of the council of Lycans, took on the role effortlessly, working from home with help of his comrades. While being the chair of witchcraft, I was visited by a human to be taught how to work with politics and such. Also, with an immense amount of paperwork that I had not even thought of doing.

My wolf made it seem so effortless. Meanwhile, I dreaded every time someone came in with more papers or letters for me to read. Most of the time, it felt like my head was going to explode when complications popped up. Fenris had been trained since birth for this role while I had nothing of the sort.

Even though my chair was not officialized yet, not until I could prove capable of dealing with the masses, rumors had spread thanks to the Cerberus scouts that traveled around the world. It made some witchcraft users that had left or joined rogues come back to the order in hopes to avoid any persecution.

After all, never in their wildest dreams did they think witchcraft would be represented in the court. Most of them had been forced into that situation. They felt like there was a knife on them while their backs were pinned against the wall. But suddenly they had a voice through me. It had only been a day and somehow; I was bombarded with ravens, leaving messages with requests for the council to meet.

Most of them were reasonable, while others were not so. Whenever Fenris had free time, he would help me sort out and prioritize. I never knew it would be difficult to see the important request from others that were not. Before any letter came to me, though, it was checked for any harmful substances. Thankfully, they found none.

This was not Stella's style either. I never thought it would be easy, but it was harder than I imagined. To have so many people depend on me for their needs was overwhelming. By the second day, the council had resumed for a decision on the matters that we had left unsaid before.

Thankfully, most of the elves had listened to reason and pooled their sources together. Whatever god artifacts they had, they would be brought to Silverant, but it would take at least a week to arrive from their continents. In the meeting I tried to procure some resources the witchcraft users were asking for, only to be met by a dead end.

Until we placed the rogues down, the witchcraft chair would not be allowed to move forward. Jasper put it as such. It was a blow to us, but it did not deter me from arguing otherwise. It fell on deaf ears, though. Much to my annoyance.

After the meeting, Fenris told me not to worry about it. He would figure something out to help with the influx of requests. I really could not depend on him always, though. Much to my surprise, Nyla came forward, offering herbs to help the witchcraft users with their potions. Jaxon and Charles also offered to do the same.

The moon elf argued, “If we do not show our support, they will leave again.”

After all, the potions would not only help the witches but everyone else, too. It also would give them a chance to prove themselves to be for peace rather than chaos. Once we left, Ryker took Fenris and me to his office. There I saw something familiar sitting on his table.

My grimoire.

"Why is my book there?" I mumbled, gazing at Fenris.

My wolf smiled in response to my question.

"Well, if you want to be respected by witchcraft users, you must own your grimoire. Fenris has convinced me it should be alright for you to have yours." Ryker informed, unsure of how the book would react once in my hands.

Taking a few steps towards it, I barely recognized it. When the fall happened, I had not inspected it before. It was blue, with black laces around it. It had no title or anything else to identify it.

"I thought you would have destroyed it," I commented.

Ryker shook his head in response to my assessment of the situation.

"Well, powerful grimoires are indestructible. It is the magic within them that makes them that way." Ryker clarified my lack of knowledge of these books.

Although I knew most were indestructible by normal means. Even so, I thought they would have found a way. Even though I was a witch, we usually were taught about grimoires after they had been summoned into this world. Nevertheless, mine was taken from me the moment I gained it. No one had taught me about them either.

"Even to elven fire?" I asked, knowing that their inferno was more powerful than the one I had cast.

Nothing rarely survived them. They were hotter than the stars themselves.

"Yes. Although, we never tried to do anything to this one." Ryker said, leaving me unsure of his intentions.

"How so?" I continued my query, wanting to know more about the situation I found myself in.

After all, I would have thought that they would be rid of anything that concerned the soul cairn immediately.

"Because I always thought there would come a day, I would have to return it to you. Witchcraft magic is chaotic if deprived of a grimoire. With it, witches can make their spells work more accurately. It also records all the spells you have learned throughout your life." Ryker informed me.

They were things I already knew. But I never thought he would ever want to return my book to me.

"I see," I mumbled.

Fenris stepped towards the grimoire in front of us, grabbing it in his hands. He turned and offered it to me.

"Also, no one can seem to open the book either. Even though they have tried, or so I was told." Fenris added,

His words left me confused.

"But it has no locks," I noted, glancing at it.

It just seemed like any other normal book to me.

"Some grimoires only respond to their owners or their kin," Ryker informed, sitting on his chair.

It was like when…

"Oh..." I murmured, remembering the library incident from before.

‘So, Lilith's grimoire resonating with me was true. Tobias did not lie. Yet again, he never did.’

Walking towards Fenris, who held my grimoire, I hesitantly reached for it. The moment my fingers touched the cover of it, it glowed slightly before dimming down right after. Seeming as nothing bad happened, I took it from Fenris's hands. Finally opening it, revealing all the spells I had come across. There were also the newest ones I had created.

"Witchcraft users, most of the time, create their own spells. They do this by using the understanding of other ones they have come across." Fenris said.

I turned page after page. Every spell Stella forced me to learn was here, even the ones I had little memory of. There was an arsenal in here. And with a simple thought, the pages would turn on their own.

"It also records any spell you might have seen. So, we hope maybe you saw something about what Stella had planned." Ryker revealed the real reason he had agreed to return my grimoire.

It did not matter to me, though. Sitting down, I took the chance that we were alone in this room to glance over at the grimoire. While I did so, Ryker gave his report to Fenris. Nothing had changed in the past days. Although, the shipment for the elven artifacts was being processed.

Tania would oversee getting them here personally to avoid any hurdles. It seemed Ben would have only one more day with her before she left to gather the artifacts. After a while of reading, I fell ill once again, making Fenris call it a day.

However, before we could leave the building, we were swatted by reporters at the entrance. Closing my eyes, I clung to Fenris, who carried me on his back. The flashing of their cameras was irritating to my eyes.

"Back off," Fenris growled at the onslaughts of reporters.

They were all trying to get a statement from him and me. It was not long before he glowed once again. His power resonated with his anger and desire to keep me safe. Liam, who was going to meet us before this mess happened, tried to make his way through the people.

Noticing there would be no way out, Fenris suddenly told me to hang on to him. In an instant, he shifted into his beast form. Shade and I clung to him for dear life. With a snarl coming from him, the reporters backed off a bit. He took the chance to bolt away from here.

This would be the second time I had ever ridden him while in his beast form. Even though all I could do was hang onto his hair, fearing it might blow me off if I loosened my grip. The fur under my fingers was so smooth, though. Part of me worried if I clung too hard it would hurt Fenris, but it was a silly thought.

Lycans were built to endure much more than that. In a couple of seconds, we were inside the manor gates, safe from the crowd. I had never seen him run so fast before, not even when Cora took me.

‘Is that also another boon from the blood moon?’

I struggled to hop off Fenris, who shifted back into his humanoid form. Grumbling under his breath, he glared at the crowd that had gathered at the front gate. From the speed he had run, I had not noticed them in the blur. Angered by the entire event, Melody and Amara met me at the doorstep. He stomped his way over to the reporters.

"If anyone of you ever places my fiancée in danger again. I swear you will regret it," Fenris promised to the crowd.

They just erupted with more questions. Mostly about his relationship with Layla, and about the fact that he desired to marry a simple human. Most of those questions he rudely answered, trying to appease them so they would leave. But the questions went on to the point that Melody urged me into the home. Everything was becoming chaotic, and it would not be slowing down anytime soon.

When Amelia finally got home hours later, Fenris was still outside with Liam by his side, trying to stop the mayhem. All I could do was watch him from afar. Sadly, it would be too dangerous for me to be near crowds. Fenris would not have allowed it either way.

After they finally dispersed, my wolf came in, appearing emotionally exhausted, falling into my lap. He grumbled some words, along with a few curses. I giggled in response, happy to have him back. Everything was getting to him as well, though.

Our free time waned with every passing day. Fenris tried to find some control over this power he possessed. Shade offered to be his sparring partner, which at first, he declined, not wanting to hurt her by mistake. However, Shade was taking no for an answer.

"Play with me, little wolf. Or are you scared?" Shade taunted Fenris, who rolled his eyes in response to her tease.

We were in the room. Fenris had finished the work for the day. And I was done with my studies. They were becoming bothersome and tedious.

"If you break a nail, do not blame me," Fenris warned her.

He had little control of his power, but Shade took it more than a challenge than a cautionary tale. Unlike me before my pregnancy, even though we shared the same magical source. Shade could use magic with no backlash on me. She rarely did, though, only when she wanted me to see or hear through her. Her shifts and form changes also used magic.

The next day after she offered, he took her to the back of the manor where there was a stadium. It was where he and his family used to train. I sat on one chair nearby, trying to catch up on the lessons. The amount of knowledge being crammed into my head was extraordinary.

Shade shifted into her truest form, joining our wolf in the arena. It triggered Fenris to smirk, anticipating her movements. In a split second, he pinned Shade down onto the ground in his beast form. Unlike him, she had no combat experience, but she loved to play dirty.

They both were not going for serious injuries, but she hated to lose. Grabbing Fenris with her tail, she pulled him off her, launching him into the distance.

"Not bad, little wolf. Let’s get serious." Shade purred, enjoying herself.

My eyes would not stay on the book in front of me, though. The moment she used magic I had never seen before; my orbs were glued on her. She had always been defensive, never going on the offense. Around her were these shadowy orbs that shot beams of energy towards Fenris.

The beams were so fast that Fenris could barely dodge them. One scraped his side before Shade stopped to give him a chance to catch his breath.

"Are you trying to kill me?" Fenris growled.

Shade snickered in response.

"Oh? What? Are you not magic-proof? Did you not say I would break a nail?" She teased.

Fenris grumbled in reaction to her.

"Plus, Lilith would not let me kill you if I were trying to," Shade added, getting ready to reengage.

Fenris got serious as well. He glowed red, increasing his speed from before. The cat created a barrier that he crashed through with ease, but before he could pin her down. She shifted sizes, causing him to miss her. After escaping his grasp, Shade shifted back, taking the chance to pin him down.

For a moment, she felt victorious. Although it quickly crashed when Fenris shifted back into his humanoid form. He grabbed her front leg, causing her to shift back into her tiniest form.

"Hah... Got you." He yanked her onto his chest.

She tried to shove him off.

"Unfair!" Shade grumbled in his grip, unable to find freedom.

"I have declawed you, little one." Fenris snuggled her nose in his.

She licked him in response, pouting.

"Hmph! Only because I went easy on you!" Shade grumbled, not happy with the results.

Even though Fenris did not know how to control it fully. From that brief interaction, I could see magic was truly useless against him. At least the one that came from me. If he was aware, there was no magical source from the mortal realm that could harm him. Well, at least that existed.

We could only take a red Lycan down through physical means. Perhaps the magic of a god. It was why Stella had created that variant of wolfsbane. A wave of fear flashed through me. I stood up from where I was and ran towards Fenris, throwing myself at him.

The thought of something that could put him in a state beyond saving made me anxious. If there was only an antidote…

"Lilith?" Fenris called out to me.

I snuggled myself into his chest.

‘Can I make one? Will it be even possible?’

My grimoire had no useful information about that. And focusing on politics had driven me away from that.

"Are you okay?" Fenris worried about my odd behavior.

"No..." I mumbled.

The tone in my voice triggered Fenris to panic. Any little thing off with me would send him in mini attacks. But before he could stand up to rush me to Amara, I grabbed him by his shirt, stopping him in his tracks.

"You will never leave me, right?" I asked.

He seemed surprised by my question. Shade, who had been freed from his grasp, sat next to us, grumbled at her defeat.

"Of course not. Why would you think that?" Fenris answered, trying to reassure me he was not going anywhere.

But was that something he could promise? No… It was not.

"Then... never leave without me anywhere. If you perish... I want to die with you." I declared.

Fenris cupped my face in his hands. His expression changed to one of sorrow. It hurt to see him like that.

"You can’t say that, love. Now more than ever." Fenris started, placing his hand over my abdomen.

I feared what he was about to say next.

"You have something precious in here. You can’t follow me to death if I were to go." Fenris whispered.

I broke. Tears rolled off my cheeks as I sobbed because of his words. A life without him. There was no meaning in that.

"No... No..." I cried.

He pulled me into a kiss to comfort me. He was right, though. This had turned to more than my life and his. Even so, the thought of losing him killed me inside. It would not be the same without him here. He pulled away from me slightly.

"I am not going anywhere. I won’t let you go through this alone. No matter what." Fenris promised.

It caused me to hug him tightly in response. Tears still rolled off my eyes while my body trembled in his arms. Trying to feel him, I kissed him, only to be responded to in kind. Ever since he found out I was pregnant; he had been treating me gently. It drove me crazy.

Putting my full weight on him, I caused him to fall to the ground. I saddled him.

"Lily?" Fenris called out to me.

Shade laid down next to us, knowing full well what I desired. I wanted to be reminded that he was here with me, in every way. That he would never vanish. And that he was still breathing.

"I want you." I declared.

His cheeks turned bright pink, widening his crimson orbs. Swiftly his eyes averted from me and towards our surroundings. There was no one around. Amelia was inside with the maids. Ben had left to spend the last few hours with Tania. Melody and Liam were out doing errands for the Lycans, and Amara had gone for a nap.

"Here?" Fenris mumbled.

I nodded my head, reaching down to his pants, stroking his member through them to harden it. Sitting up slightly, he tugged me into a kiss. I took his heat out of his pants. His tongue played with mine, pulling me onto him while his back laid against the floor. Tracing his hands down my back, he found his way down to my underwear under my dress.

"Are you sure?" Fenris purred into my ear.

His fingers traced my most sensitive area. Ignoring his tease, I clashed my lips into him again, giving him little chance to respond. I was not willing to wait for his usual plays. With no hesitation, I grabbed onto his member, plunging it into my depths. I had not realized how desperate I was for him until I felt him fill me.

Fenris moaned, feeling the brunt of the unexpected action. A slight chuckle left his lips before he grabbed onto my hips, pulling himself up to face me once again. Slowly, I ground myself on him.

“I love you, Lily.” He licked where my tears had traveled.

I wanted to make love to him, making sure he was here with me. So, I was convinced everything was not a dream I would wake up from. The last time I had tried to ride Fenris, failed. It ended with him pouncing on me. But this time, he let me do anything I desired. Instead of taking control, he made sure that I knew what he felt.

I remembered when he told me I could not tame him that easily. But it seemed all it took was for pups to be in me, for the wolf to be conquered. The warmth that soon filled me was genuine enough for me finally to calm down. Though my body soon convulsed on him as I found my release.

“Feel better?” Fenris whispered, panting.

I slowly nodded. In response, I was met with a blissful kiss from my beloved wolf. After we separated, he carried me to the room where he made love to me until the morning came. Only stopping for the meal that was brought up to our room upon his request. When it came time to get up the next day, my previous thoughts still haunted me.

Even though Fenris took the day off to be with me. All I thought about was combating the only thing that could kill him with ease. A week passed in a blink of an eye. I tried to research more about it, juggling my extra responsibilities and the side effects of my pregnancy.

When the news arrived that the artifacts had finally arrived, Fenris and I were on it. There were only ten artifacts gathered from the elves. It was a real disappointment to learn Blaze and Ocean elves refused to let us get any of their precious artifacts. And from the ones we had gained, it seemed they were all too weak to trap Alijah again.

Instead, we were brought back to zero. Even if we had the item, a vampire or Lycan would have to activate it before I could use it against Alijah. Something I wanted to avoid. We only had one chance to surprise Alijah.

Feeling defeated, I sat down on a chair near Ryker's desk. Fenris and he plotted a counter to our predicament. Frustration quickly filled me, though. All of their ideas were flawed. The only way forward seemed to have Fenris beat Alijah. That was something that would not end well for my beloved wolf.

Rolling my eyes on Ryker’s stupid idea, I went to touch an artifact. It was a golden ring with white stripes. The moment my finger touched it. It glowed white. Immediately Fenris grabbed onto my hand, pulling it away for the ring to stop shining. Ryker gazed at me, perplexed by what had happened.

The artifact was responding to me. A human and that was impossible… Unless…

"How did you do that?!?!" Ryker questioned, utterly surprised, grabbing the same ring into his hands.

It did nothing to his touch.

"What? I don’t know it did that on its own." I assured.

It bewildered the elf at how that could have happened. For a moment, he stood there in silence, trying to figure out what it could have been.

"Impossible," Ryker mumbled soon after.

Fenris poked at another artifact. It was a golden sphere, and it responded the same as it had to me. At that moment, the biggest smile came across Fenris's lips that I had ever seen. He was beaming.

"Could it be..." Fenris mumbled, trying to hide his happiness, to no avail.

Ryker gazed over at the excited wolf, only to realize what he meant.

"So... Somehow against the odds. You are carrying a Lycan dominant baby in your womb. Well, this will shut up the elders for sure." Ryker announced, sitting down on his chairs.

Fenris picked me up from the chair and into his arms.

"You are just full of surprises." He simpered happily.

The news that sprouted from a simple thing I had done would save him thousands of headaches later. No one would deny our marriage because of this.

"Surprises?" I whispered, not sure of what Fenris meant.

It took me a moment to realize what they were talking about. Thanks to the babies that were inside of me, somehow, I could use an artifact. That was when I remembered what Tobias had said that day.

It triggered me to glance over at the artifacts on Ryker's desk. None of them were strong enough to stop Alijah... but they could delay him. Like Tobias had said. The soul cairn had done something similar to that before, too. And to no other than Tobias himself.

Maybe... somehow, we could also use them to propel Alijah through time, buying us enough time to find the person who was supposed to stop him. Then... an unpleasant thought crossed through my mind. I glanced down to my belly as Fenris celebrated happily.

‘What if it is my child's destiny to stop Alijah?’

My stress levels skyrocketed. Fenris quickly set me down upon, noticing the color of my face go pale. Every thought that I raised within me, I let go. It triggered my beloved to make the same face as I. This was not a destiny I wanted my child to deal with.

‘Why? Why does it have to be like this? My baby going against a monster.’

Our moment of happiness quickly turned to dread. Ryker assured us to calm down. To focus on what we could do rather than on tomorrow. But that tomorrow was one I wished never came. Even so, I tried to push forward.

Though there seemed to be no other option other than to kill Alijah. And that task was one Fenris was not up to par yet, at least. Maybe if we pushed him through time long enough, my wolf could face him. But that was a future I needed to avoid.

The only choice viable to us was to continue to plan forward with what we had. Placing the artifacts in a bag, Ryker handed them to Fenris. My wolf took them home to see if we could come up with anything else.

With these recent revelations. When we went home, each of us went into research. It was crucial to stop Alijah without involving our child in that fate. During this time, the Lycan elders met with Fenris in his home, after hearing that the child could be a wolf rather than a luma.

Once there, my beloved proved to them that a Lycan child was coming from me. It showed them that their worries were for naught. The ring responded to me as if I were a pureblood Lycan. Something a luma, or human, not carrying a high percentage of a purebred child could never do.

During that meeting, Ursula seemed pleased to have made the right choice. The two other elders flipped sides the moment they realized the child within me was a Lycan with only a bit of humanity within it. Something that could be fixed with further breeding, they said, which somewhat annoyed me. But at least it was a win.

With this Evan, was the only one who still seemed reluctant to accept the child. But instead of fighting it for longer, he agreed to wait until the babies were born to see for himself if they were fit to be heirs. Thankfully, this meant Fenris was getting the full support of the Lycans, which helped me supply the witches and warlocks with everything they needed.

However, even though Evan was against it. Fenris was named alpha soon after by the other four elders, placing on him even more responsibilities. Two months passed while we searched and pooled our sources together, trying to see if we could find a way out of this predicament. But we found nothing. Much to my displeasure, Fenris trained his hardest in case he had to fight Alijah in the end. This was a fate that I could never allow to happen. Even if I had to go behind his back again. No… That would never happen. Not while I breathed.

Fenris could never face Alijah head-on. The black Lycan would shred my beloved to pieces if he did. Even though that was my desire. All I accomplished was growing a belly during these months with little advances on any side.

With the help of witches and warlocks that joined our cause, I tried to study the magical properties of the new wolfsbane. But it seemed the answer or cure was out of my reach for the time being. No matter what I tried to do, it always failed. Sadly, all the witchcraft users who join us did not know what the plans of the rogues were.

The only thing I advanced in was that at least my morning sickness was getting better with each passing day. Every night, though, I would pass them in Fenris's arms. He always held me until I could not keep up any longer. It was the only way to relieve stress for both of us.

Even though he took it out, mostly out on Shade, who continued to be his sparring partner. No other Lycan could keep up with him. The little familiar gave him a good thrashing if she got too serious.

On one of my mornings, much to my surprise, I found Amara with a weird machine that Amelia had ordered down in the living room, waiting for me. Apparently, it was used by medics to see how pregnancies were progressing.

Amara's magic was being warped by one baby, preventing her from doing a full assessment of me. Because of this, all the vitals she could read were mine, making it worrisome. Therefore, Amelia searched for this machine, from the humans in Arthion. This was the only way Amara could assess what was going inside of me.

Though the real reason, Amelia brought this machine. It was that she wanted to know the genders of the twins to prepare a room for them. Usually, only races that possessed no magic used them. Thankfully, even the elves knew how to read their results. Though, under the present circumstances, it was hard to gain one.

Hesitantly, I allowed Amara to use the sonogram on me. It was not long before she stared at the screen, dumbfounded. She could not believe what she was seeing.

"Is something wrong?" Amelia asked from the side, worried.

Luckily, Fenris had come with me. I clasped his hand. Though he seemed concerned as well, because of our medic's reaction.

"Uh... Uh... How do I say this?" Amara slowly gazed towards us, wondering how to explain what she was witnessing.

"Say what?" I mumbled nervously.

If something was wrong with the babies. I… That would be the last thing we needed. For a moment Amara stared at the screen, trying to triple check that this was truly what she was seeing.

"You have four babies in you," Amara informed us.

It left me stunned upon hearing the number.

"W-what?" Fenris spluttered, surprised.

His grip on my hand got tighter. We were expecting more than just a pair. Something in me snapped. Inside of me...

"F-four? I... h-have f-four in m-me?" I stuttered.

Amelia seemed to be the happiest of us. Soon she would have eight little legs running around the manor.

"Oh my, that is wonderful!" The elder sister beamed happily.

I only saw worries filling me up. Surely, this would mean Fenris would not allow me to face Alijah. Doubles were already a pain, but a quad was too much.

“From what I can see, there are two boys and one girl. The other one is hiding in between them. I can’t see it well, sadly," Amara concluded, pulling away from my swollen belly.

I gazed at Fenris, wondering how any of this will go. Expecting quadruplets was not an easy pregnancy. Especially with everything we were dealing with, among everything else we were facing.

With this new information, Fenris would never let me go with him to the battlefield. It was already shaky, but now it was more of a given. I would have to push myself in there if I wanted to stop my dream from coming true. Him... facing Alijah alone would be the last thing I needed. Not that I would allow that to happen. Well, not while I had the means to do something.

Things were getting worse for us with every day that passed. Nothing we wanted seemed to happen. A month after the news, we were expecting more than just twins. A call came from Ryker. He reported distortions of time appearing by the howling forest we had identified.

However, the locals were not helpful to find the cause behind them. Even becoming more hostile towards us, thinking that we were the cause behind the recent commotions. Most of the scouts had to retreat before starting a small civil war.

To me, the only answer was that the witches were trying to summon Alijah in our world there. However, a whole aerial search of the area led to finding nothing. We had no choice but to continue to monitor from afar for any more changes.

Even though everything was changing rapidly, my time halted the moment I felt a kick come from my stomach. Fenris noticed me stop in my tracks while we walked down the manor to the dinner table. In response to the first movement, I touched my inflated belly to only feel another kick come from them.

They were so gentle yet so well felt. I gazed up to Fenris, placing his hand on my belly for him to feel what I had. The biggest smile came from his lips when he felt his first one. Before I knew it, he pulled me into his arms and called me beautiful. I had never seen him so happy. Even with all our stressors, I found myself to be his happiness. And he was mine. Though, the moment I felt our fruits…

The moment I felt their movements was the time my perspective changed. Although Fenris was my world. Changes were happening in my priorities. My children were becoming real to me now that I had felt them. With that, my desire to protect them and keep everything they were going to have in place erupted. I was going to do everything to protect their world. Especially of someone who was bent on destroying their it. All doubts left me, allowing me to realize what I had to do.

To protect their world, I would be capable of ending this one if need be. It took me four more months to get my secret plan ready from Fenris, knowing full well he would not approve. Especially in the condition, I found myself in when the news that the distortions became more concentrated.

They had become so alarming that the residents of Celestelia finally reached out to us. With their help, we pinned down more or less where the witches were within the forest. Of course, Fenris would be one of the first to go into the battlefield that awaited us. This was where my fight to keep us together would begin.

Though it would be a tough one since I was almost ready to pop, or at least sure seemed like it. When we were alone in the room before, Fenris immediately shut me down. I was like he knew what I was going to say.

"You can’t come," Fenris started, sitting down next to me in the bed.

This would be our last night together if it were any other normal couple, but we were not. It did not mean he would just quietly let me come through. But I knew what I would do if he did not take me. Nothing would stop me.

"If you do not take me, I will just follow you," I warned him, soothing my belly.

It was much bigger than I had ever expected. The dresses I wore were so loose on me to prevent any marks to come to my skin.

"Lily, you cannot. Stay here where it is safe." Fenris argued, placing his head on my belly.

Although he wanted me to stay, he also knew I would follow him until the end. Something he did not want. Especially since I was due in less than a month. Well, weeks.

"I will be safe with you. We will keep each other safe." I assured him.

I petted his hair gently. His ears were just as soft as always. Soothing to my soul. My life… All of my pain if it all led to this moment. Then I was grateful I survived.

"I can’t risk the witches doing anything to you," Fenris mumbled, not happy about me being anywhere near danger.

After all, I was holding four precious beings in me.

"They will not touch me," I promised.

He sighed in response, not wanting that for an answer. Even though it had been seven months since we had begun our planning and training, he was nowhere near close to what Alijah was capable of. That much, I was sure of.

"Lily..." Fenris tried to call for me to listen.

I shook my head, not heeding to him at all.

"I will follow you, Fenris. To eternity and beyond." I said, caressing his hair.

He growled in response to my determination.

"Why won't you trust me? I will come back to you." Fenris pleaded with me.

I chuckled, thinking of the nightmare I had all those months ago. It was clear as day to me even now. If the witches did not get him, Alijah surely would.

"I trust you, Fenris, but humor me for a bit. If Alijah kills you. What do you think he will do after that?" I asked, trying to not think much into the words I let out.

This was not a time for emotions. Though the feeling of his hair on my tips was soothing me. This was a feeling I would fight for. My children would not live without a father.

"Lily, he will not kill me." Fenris tried to sway me, but I was unmovable.

There was no stopping me.

"He will come hunt for me. So, please... let me be with you until the end." I simpered, kissing his cheek.

He pushed me onto the bed.

"There is no convincing you. Is there?" Fenris whispered, not feeling happy about my stubbornness.

Slowly, he got behind me while I laid sideways on our bed. It was more comfortable this way. I mean, the swollen belly made this a task, but it was not one we stopped. With a couple of well-placed pillows, I was fine and comfortable.

"Nope," I answered

He leaned to kiss me before undoing my gown. There were no more words to be said other than what we felt for each other. He knew I would not stay still.

"Well, then... let’s have our fill of each other tonight." Fenris purred into my ear, not wanting to pass the last night we might have together, arguing over useless things.

"There is no filling my heart, Fenris. I... can never have enough of you." I simpered to him.

He kissed me lightly.

"Neither can I. I love you, Lily." Fenris murmured.

My hair had grown past my ears and almost reached my neck. Fenris caressed it away from my face, kissing my cheek to my shoulder. His affection was something I would engrave into my mind. Just in case of the off chance, I would never see him after our battle ended.

His hand traveled from my swollen breast to my belly and into my groin. A mewl escaped my lips while his fingers stroked me down there. Pulling me into another kiss, Fenris inserted his fingers into me, sending shivers down my spine. The changes in my body did not bother him.

No, he held me through them all. Sometimes I wondered if he was blind to them. And he was not. I knew because, with each month that passed; he became gentler to the point. That he treated me like a flower that might wilt from the slightest touch. I asked him about it. And he told me that his crimson orbs saw me with love. I would never be ugly in his mind. No matter how much my body changed.

Sometimes I would miss how we used to make love, but I endured it. My condition was not the best for the actions we were used to doing. Though... I could not wait until what came after my pregnancy ended. For that to happen, I would fight with my all.

After Fenris prepared me enough, he slowly entered me, pulling my leg up slightly for better access. With his hot breath on my neck, all I could do was mewl in pleasure, enjoying his touch throughout the night. I... wanted time to stop. I desired everything to stay as it was, but time waited for no one.

When morning came, Fenris got up, gently waking me up from my dreams. From here on out, it would be the ultimate battle against the faction my grandmother had created. One I did not plan on losing. For my family, I would do anything.