The small sound that interrupted the otherwise quiet night roused Jack from his sleep. With his mind still struggling to wake up fully, he was already pushing himself up, staggering slightly before he smiled and picked up his fussy son.

Jayden kicked against his blanket, whimpering as he squinted his little eyes shut tight. Jack smiled and coed at his son, brushing his lips softly against the boy's forehead before cradling him close to his chest.

The sound of his heart usually settled Jayden down straight away but this time he remained fussy, whimpering and making complaintive sounds while moving restlessly. Kaiden blinked awake after a moment, shaking his head to get rid of the sleep.

"Something wrong, little man?" He murmured before yawning, pausing when Jayden only intensified his whines and whimpers. "Is it his diaper?" Kaiden asked while pushing himself up, reaching to feel at Jayden's diaper only to feel dry fabric.

His brows furrowed as he sniffed the air, trying to perhaps detect a change in Jayden's scent. If the boy got sick, Kaiden would know, as he could smell the change. Still, his son smelled just like them; Jayden's own unique smell masked under the perfect mix of Jack and Kaiden's scent.

"It could be stomach cramps." Jack murmured, blinking back tears as Jayden started crying. He always felt so helpless when Jayden cried and he couldn't stop it. He rocked the baby back and forth, pushing himself out of the bed to move around.

All the while Jayden let out heartbreaking wails, turning red-faced as both his parents tried everything they could think of to calm him down. They took turns walking Jayden and rocking him soothingly, they even attempted to lay Jayden back down and rub his belly in the hopes that it would help.

"Oh love," Kaiden's heart broke as he saw the streak of moisture trailing down Jack's cheeks. He held his hand out to his mate, cradling their son in his left arm before hugging Jack closer. "Come here. He'll be just fine, okay?"

Jack nodded while blinking through his tears, fingers whispering over Jayden's chubby cheek. "I know it will be, it's just... I- I feel so helpless and useless." Kaiden pressed a kiss against Jack's temple before sighing, knowing exactly how his mate felt.

Other parents had already warned him that Jayden might cry, simply because well, he's a baby. "Babies cry for a whole lot of reasons Jack. Just because we can't figure out why he's crying doesn't mean we need to panic. Jayden's not making a fever and its too early for him to start teething so we'll have to wait it out."

Jack nodded and kissed Kaiden before turning back to their wailing infant. All of a sudden Jayden took a few hiccupping breaths before he sighed and calmed down. His chest would jolt with a hiccup every other time he took a breath but that was to be expected.

Jayden was still red-faced but quieted down as the pair looked down at their son. Neither of them knew what exactly caused Jayden's breakdown and somehow, they felt it wasn't just a normal baby thing.

"If only Verona was still here... we could've asked her if she had any idea of what just happened." Jack murmured softly, keeping his voice low so not to disturb Jayden's slumber. His chubby cheeks still gleamed from his tears, little eyes swollen as a hiccup disturbed his breathing every so often.

Kaiden could only silently agree. Whatever that outburst just was, he knew it wasn't normal. He pressed a gentle kiss against his son's forehead, feeling the tight feeling in his chest disappear when Jayden offered him a sleepy smile.

Looking up at his mate, he grinned, realizing Jack was barely keeping himself awake. "Go to sleep love. Tomorrow we'll have to introduce Jayden to the pack; its going to be a long, busy day." Jack smiled sleepily, pressing his lips lightly against Kaiden's before snuggling against the wolf.

He laid Jayden between them, gently rubbing the pup's belly to sooth him down further. Kaiden smiled, feeling his heart thump and skip a beat when Jack stirred, unconsciously curling around their pup in a protective manner.

When he was certain the pup was once again deeply asleep, he picked him up and placed him gently back in his basinet. He'd love nothing more than to snuggle up to the pup, but not when all three of them were asleep.

Verona had warned the pack not to do so and for good reason. Keeping the pup in the same room was just fine, but sharing the bed could end up fatal for the youngster. It had happened a few times before, when parents took their newborn pup to bed, only to wake and find the pup smothered underneath the blankets or entangled in them.

So he settled for the basinet in the same room, smiling as it still allowed them to watch Jayden at all times. He smiled as Jayden sighed happily in his sleep before he quickly went to bed, gathering Jack in his arms.

He too needed his sleep. And there was no better sleep than with your mate wrapped safely in your arms.

--*-*-*-*-*-*--

When sunlight pierced through the room, Kaiden blinked quickly, groaning and rolling over in an attempt to flee the light. As his eyes adapted to the sudden brightness, he shook the sleep off and yawned, sitting up when he noticed his mate absent from the bed.

Pushing off of the bed, he stretched while his feet took him to the kitchen, following the soft clinking sounds and the tender hums as Jack heated up some milk for Jayden.

Kaiden smiled as he wrapped his arms around both his mate and son, inhaling Jack's scent deeply before claiming his lips in their usual morning kiss. They separated when Jack leaned back, panting for air and nudging Kaiden in the side.

Jayden huffed while stretching in his daddy's arms, as if protesting for being ignored. "Good morning little man." Kaiden laughed, accepting Jayden with ease so Jack could pour out the milk in Jayden's bottle without risking to spill any on their son.

"How did you sleep love?"

"Hmm? Oh, just fine. Jayden slept well and only grew fussy because of his diaper." Jack explained, putting Jayden's bottle in a cup of cold water to make sure it wasn't too hot for their son.

Kaiden grinned down at his boy, smile softening when those tiny baby blue eyes blurrily gazed back at him. "Is that right, little man?" He spoke softly, grinning even wider when Jayden cooed and kicked his tiny legs.

They quickly shared a breakfast, as Kaiden could already hear the pack waking up and starting their day, everyone louder and more excited than usual. Footsteps were already approaching, making Kaiden stand up and press a kiss to Jack's forehead from where he was sitting down, feeding the baby.

He opened the front door before his Alpha could knock and grinned proudly, motioning them inside. Kara was practically running for the couch, cooing and fluttering her hands around Jack and the baby.

Brandon was calmed, shaking his head with an indulging smile as he stepped inside. "Congratulations Kaiden." The Alpha spoke, giving Kaiden a warm hug before they both walked in. "If I may?" Brandon asked when he got to Jack.

Jack nodded, gently patting Jayden's back once more to make sure the little one wouldn't have an accident on Brandon's shoulder.

It was custom for the Alpha pair to breathe in the scent of the newborn and memorize it as pack, until the new pup was well into its teens. Then they'd get the pack bite, basically a gentle hold on the scruff that infused the wolf with the pack scent.

Jack held Jayden out, smiling at Brandon's ease to protectively hold the baby. He smiled adoringly down at Jayden, thumb brushing gently through the white tuft of hair amidst the sea of black.

He leaned closer after another reaffirming look to us, nuzzling Jayden's cheek and inhaling deeply. Jayden himself seemed quite curious too, growing still in the hands of their Alpha, letting out the tiniest of whimpers.

And then let out the loudest wail possible right in poor Brandon's ear. The Alpha cringed, pulling back from Jayden with shake of his head and a grimace. He rubbed his ear against his shoulder as he held Jayden before smirking slightly at the young pup.

"Guess we have a high ranking pup over here, don't we? Demanding little thing... You should be respectful to your Alpha." Brandon jested while rubbing his thumb over the pup's cheek. They all watched in stunned awe as Jayden's chubby fist relaxed the tiniest bit, accidentally flipping the Alpha off before the babe let out a burp.

Laughter filled the room as Jack took Jayden back and held his son against his chest. The prospect of his son being one of the higher ranking wolves, possibly a future Alpha was unnerving. But then again, he could already tell that Jayden, though calm and quiet in nature, was also rather persistent and demanding when he wanted something done.

As it was, the Alpha pair guided them outside after bundling Jayden up and then it was time to meet the rest of the pack. And as everyone came to take a whiff of the pup and congratulate Kaiden and Jack, somehow Jack didn't believe he'd ever been happier.

He smiled up at Kaiden, who had his arm wrapped around his waist and pulled his mate tighter against his chest. Both Jack and Jayden were welcomed by the pack with open arms and the young boy knew that he had found his one true family in the world.

A young boy cloaked in a red hood, accepted by a pack of wolves and loved by his mate... Nobody would ever believe Jack's story to be true. They'd probably recount it as some sort of fairy tale and he chuckled, knowing that was exactly what this was.

Life couldn't get any better than this.

Lips pressed against his forehead, making him look up before Kaiden claimed his lips in a searing kiss.

Well...maybe it can get better...

-*-*-*-*-*-*--*--*--*--*--*---*--