The steaming water from the shower heats up my skin and starts to wake me up a little, like I knew it would. These long nights are getting to me. It doesn't even feel like I went to sleep. No one ever said it would be easy but damn, the two-hour shifts are a killer.

But when I look at her little cherubic face, it's all worthwhile. Every last minute I'm with her. It's all amazing.

Right on cue, I hear her hungry cries getting louder, and I take note of the tentative steps outside the bathroom door as I begrudgingly shut off the solace of the water and step out of the shower.

Argent is a wonderfully attentive father, but the cries of his little girl make him more nervous than he'd ever admit. Even now, at three months old, she has him wrapped around her little finger. "Aida, hun, are you almost done? James needs her momma and some milk and we both know my nipples are useless," he quips from the other side of the door. I open it and laugh at his urgent expression before I look to the tiny, dark-haired bundle in his arms.

"I see our daughter has her father's patience," I say with a smirk, wrapping myself in a robe and taking the wailing child from his arms. I sink into the large cream rocking chair in the corner of our room.

As I settle her to feed, I watch her little fingers curling around my arm, her eyes closing once the sustenance starts to flow and her little tummy starts to warm from my milk. Women's bodies amaze me. The fact that I can nurture and provide for her is astounding to me, even now.

Argent sets himself up in the chair opposite us and watches as I feed our baby, a warm smile covering his face. I look up and catch his fond gaze.

"I love watching you two like this," he murmurs before shifting his focus out the window. Our room has a view that looks over the entire pack grounds, and I love to sit here feeding James as I watch the pack members going about their lives each day.

And night.

This girl lives to feed all night long.

Not that I mind. For a while, we weren't exactly sure how things would turn out. After a normal, run-of-the-mill pregnancy, our daughter was delivered naturally after a lengthy and pain filled labour, surrounded by her father, Jemma, and Dr. Emerson. As is tradition in our pack, Argent was the first to touch her, bringing her both into this world and into the pack. He kissed her sweet face and breathed in her warm scent, and as I watched his face go from worry to peace in those small first moments, I knew at once that she was more wolf than anything else.

Her bloodwork proved to be a little more interesting. After running some tests under the careful watch of Argent, Emerson concluded that James was indeed genetically mostly wolf. She did have several anomalies in her bloodwork that may prove to be unique when she shifts but for now, James Amalie Peace Lake is just perfect. She is also the first female Alpha in line that this pack has ever seen.

A knock at the door stirs me from my reverie, and Argent places a gentle kiss on her dark locks of hair before he leaves to answer.

I can scent already that James and Jemma are here. Her large belly enters the room before she does, and I can tell by the way that she waddles that it won't be long before our niece arrives, bringing with her another future generation of our family and joint packs future.

That is one of the reasons we named our daughter for James. The one person who is literally a brother to both of us. Our daughter bears a strong and powerful name, and we both knew that whether she was a boy or girl, she would be named after him.

Another knock at the door signals that Deacon and Amalie are here, and I watch Jemma sink heavily and awkwardly into the other recliner. I hear the others coming up the hall to meet us, neither of us able to move right now.

As Amalie enters, I scent something different about her and by the Cheshire smile on her face, I think she has some news for us.

"So, any chance you got three of these chairs?" she asks slyly, looking from Jemma to me. A cheeky lift of her brows confirms my suspicion, and I let out a low screams so as not to scare James.

"Really?" I exclaim, looking to the door where Argent, James, and Deacon are all standing tall, glasses already in their hands as they congratulate the newest father to be.

"Ah, I knew it!" Jemma announces from the chair, pulling Amalie into her for an odd side hug and then shoving her off complaining that she was too heavy.

"This is amazing, guys. I'm so freaking excited for you," I say, handing off the milk drunk baby to Amalie and standing to hug Deacon and then my brother. Amalie steals my chair with the baby, smiling wide.

"Look at us, huh, just a bunch of breeders," James jokes as I slap him playfully on the shoulder, and he gets a low scoff from Jemma who makes no attempt to move from her position in the recliner.

"Dad would be so excited," Amalie adds, looking between us all with a slightly more sombre expression.

We all nod in agreement, and I look to Argent, who seems to be having a silent, reflective moment. The loss of his father weighs heavily on his shoulders, especially after taking over the pack, and although he always tries to present a stoic front, I see his emotional side every now and then. In times such as these, his father would have been thrilled to be welcoming a new generation of wolves to the fold, and I know that Argent feels his loss more now than ever.

"Dad would have been so excited," Amalie whispers, moving to put her arms around Argent and James.

"And that is why when our son is born in six months, we were hoping you would be okay with him being named after Father. August Argos Mane has a certain ring to it, don't you think?" She smiles proudly at Deacon as we all look to Argent.

His face is lit with the spark of a smile. His eyes fill with warm tears, threatening to spill before James slaps him on the back and refills his glass.

"It sounds perfect Mals, truly. I love it." Argent nods slowly, looking to me for confirmation as I make my way to him. His arms wrap around me, more for his comfort than mine, as he hands me a glass. We all toast to the newest member of our combined families.

That night, after we say goodbye to the group and make our way to our room to put our sweet girl to bed, I take a second to think about all of the things that have happened to me in the short time since Arge found me at the institution.

As I watch him swaddle and rock our sweet James, his strong arms forming the gentlest embrace, I can't help but wonder how the hell I got so lucky.

If you had asked me all those months ago, during my down days as a patient, if I thought I would ever have my own family, I would have asked what meds you were on and if you felt like sharing them.

In my wildest dreams and darkest days, I never could have seen myself as a wife and Luna and especially not as a mother. I count myself to be the luckiest woman alive each and every day I get to spend with these amazing people. I would go through all of it again just to get to this point. The hardest days are nothing in comparison to the bliss I get to live now.

Because no matter what crazy shit is thrown at us, as long as we have each other and now James, well, we have it all.