Aztec Treasure

Epilogue

Maria Skollson’s POV

Arrowhead Pack Pool, February 28th, 2022

“I still look fat and pregnant,” I complained to Lance as I took off my clothes in the locker room. “Have you seen these stretch marks?”

“You look like you gave birth two weeks ago. No one will make fun of you for that; Pack society is so pup-centric it’s a badge of honor. You’re still as beautiful as the day we met, Maria.” Lance tried to sound patient and supportive all the time, even when he was lying his ass off. You try to feel beautiful when you were barely a hundred pounds on your wedding day, and you put on fifty during pregnancy. I’d driven Lance nuts with my morning sickness, my cravings, my mood swings, and my labor. Fifteen fucking HOURS of back labor I suffered through!

I was so jealous of the ones who had easy labors. Colletta barely got to the clinic before Cassandra came out like she was on the waterslide at the pool. Thirty minutes and it was over! I know she’d had four children before, but that was ridiculous. If Frank got her pregnant again, it would be like the opening of Monty Python’s Meaning of Life; she wouldn’t even notice until the baby started crying! Unfair.

Rori’s labor was almost as long as mine, and she did it in wolf form to deliver Nancy. Since she was a wolf, so was the pup inside her. Werewolf pups have larger heads than wild wolf pups, so they are harder to deliver. However, since Rori is the Blessed One with Luna granting her frequent fertility cycles, I’m sure she’ll have it down to a science after three or four more. Heather also delivered in wolf form for her twins Kelly and Connie. Her wolf belly was huge by the end, but at least her babies were smaller at thirty-four weeks gestation.

Ashley’s labor matched mine in length before she delivered Shane. At nine pounds six ounces, he was one big boy. I had a new respect for Sawyer’s mate now.

Colletta was right about one thing. As soon as I looked into Maya’s eyes, I forgot about all the pain and suffering involved in pushing a seven-pound two-ounce baby out of my body. My little girl was a miracle, the first known mating between a werejaguar and a werewolf. Doctor Olson was diligently documenting her development, checking on her weekly since her birth sixteen days ago. So far, everything was progressing normally. Maya was a good eater, taking to breastfeeding quickly and gaining her birth weight back by the end of the first week. I wasn’t sleeping much yet. I was hyper-protective of my baby, a result of my jaguar instincts kicking in. Since werejaguars are more solitary than wolves and don’t have a mate to protect us, we tend to isolate ourselves and the child after birth. I stayed with Maya in our bedroom, and I’d get nervous if anyone other than Lance, Possum, or Doc Olson came in.

It got better as I became more confident as a mother. By the second week, I’d started to have visitors. The Alpha pair was the first to visit, with Chase and Rori bringing their baby while the toddlers played in the next room. My cat didn’t like it at first, but the Pack bond and my mate helped me accept them.

The next day, one of our Beta pairs stopped by. Beta James did transfer to Arrowhead after the Superior run. He bonded with Lana as she healed and rehabilitated her shoulder, and she accepted him as her mate in late July. Her change went well, and she ended up a Beta-strength wolf with a white coat and black socks. The pair purchased Vic and Spider Monkey’s home from the Pack and settled into Pack life. Lana became a close friend, and I could tell she was getting baby fever as she held Maya in her arms.

They weren’t the only newcomers to the Pack. Monica was gone all summer in Detroit, working her way into Cole Brackers’ heart and bed. He was stubborn, divorced, and had just reached retirement age. She was just as determined, never mated, and three times his age. Eventually, the mating bond made it happen, and he retired in September and took the change in October. The pair rented the basement of the Beta house while they planned a build for this year. Cole was a big ol’ teddy wolf, and Maritza loved playing with him in both forms.

All the visits were building up to tonight’s outing. I’d never worked up the courage to take Maya to Pack meals or the pool until now, despite Lance’s encouragement and Maritza’s pouting. Having Daddy play with her in the pool was all right, but not as fun as having Mom’s cat around. I looked down at Maya in the baby carrier at my feet and took a deep breath.

The door to the pool opened, and Rori came in. “Are you all right?”

“I think so. I need to do this,” I told my Alpha.

“Everyone knows how nervous you are, and no one will crowd you. Lance and Maritza are waiting for you in the shallows, and the other Moms are there with their young ones.”

“All right.” Maya was already in swim diapers, so I held her as I rinsed off in the shower before putting her back in the carrier. Rori held the door open, and I heard the pool noise die off as people waited for us to make our appearance. The Pack members stayed where they were, smiling as they tried to get a better look at my baby.

“MAMA! MAMA SWIM!” Maritza’s voice cut through the nervousness, and I walked carefully over to where she was sitting in the shallow water. Cheryl and Mark were next to her, and Chase had Nancy between his legs at the edge. I sat next to Chase, taking Maya out of the carrier and putting her on a foam baby mat between my legs. She’d taken baths before, but this water was colder.

“Momma? Cat?” Maritza loved being in her jaguar form in the water and swam like a fish that way. Unfortunately, wolves don’t shift until their teen years, so Maritza was the only child who could play this way until now.

“Go ahead and shift, and we’ll watch Maya,” Lance said.

He had to watch because Maya would change to match my form. Maya had already shifted a few times in my den, but only recently was she able to hold her oversized head up in kitten form. Maritza had a little more freedom; she could be ordered not to shift, or I could tell her to shift on her own. Only once had she changed without permission, and that was the day of her kidnapping. “Shift, Maritza,” I told her as I pulled my cat forward.

My body lengthened and changed as my yellow and black fur sprouted out. A moment after and I was in my jaguar form. Maritza padded over in the water to her baby sister, who had shifted into her cat as well. Maya’s cat was small and fuzzy, with a body that had to grow into her head and paws. I moved over and lay down next to the pad, and she started crawling for a teat.

I relaxed as she started feeding, and Lance asked if I’d allow people to walk up and look at the baby. “As long as they don’t touch,” I told him. The Pack members started filing by, but none reached down. I could handle that.

Maya finished eating and started to crawl around, unafraid of the shallow water. I kept a close eye on her as Lance watched Maritza play in the deeper section of the kiddie area. “You should shift too,” I told him. “Take Maritza to the slides.” She LOVED swimming in the deeper water after going down the waterslide in her cat form.

Lance knelt by us and shifted into his wolf.

Maya looked at him and shifted into a wolf pup.

The pool area got quiet as word spread of what had just happened.

Lance and I didn’t know what to think. Lance’s wolf leaned down, sniffing and licking his pup. “Wow.” Sitting up, he raised his head and let out a howl to the Moon Goddess. When it finished, Chase and Rori shifted, quickly followed by the rest of the Pack. The Alphas started the next howl, with the rest of the Pack changing and joining them.

Maya raised her head and added her little ‘ah-whoo’ to the chorus.

The End