Chapter 1

The birth

Xena

I hate the pain and worry of being pregnant.

I should have been hunting with the other wolves to provide my pack with food but because I was pregnant,my mate and packmates decided that I had to stay in the nursery den and rest until the pups were born. I hate it. I hated that I couldn't help the pack in anyway,I hated that my pack wouldn't let me do anything productive and I hated this pain!

She growled angrily. That's it. I'm going to do something!

She rose to her feet to go do something when a shadow loomed over her. Already knowing who it was she said,"I know what you're going to say." "If you know what I'm going to say then I expect you to obey."a deep voice replied.

She looked up to find the annoyed face of her mate and alpha,King.

He was tall and broad,enough that he blocked out the sunlight coming into the den. His black fur darkened the den so much that,had she not seen the sunlight,she would've been fooled in thinking it was night and his icy blue eyes seemed to look at her with a kindness that contrasted his annoyed look. "King,you know I hate laying around doing nothing."Xena told him. "I know you hate it but for our pup's health you must lay and rest. After all,do you want to risk our pup being sick or worse because of something you could have prevented?"King said to her. "You already know the answer to that."she said to him.

"I do,but I want to hear you say it."King said. "Then my answer is no."Xena said. "Then you need to put aside your wants for our pup's needs."King said to her. She huffed in annoyance but knew that he spoke the truth. She didn't want her pup to be unhealthy because of something she did. "There are times where I hate your infinite wisdom."she said only half annoyed.

King chuckled.

"You hate it because it makes you see reason." "True."Xena replied,chuckling then winced in pain. "Are you ok?"King asked her worriedly,noticing her body shift. "I'm fine. Just hurts to breath,laugh and everything else in between."Xena replied grumpily. "I've never seen a female hate pregnancy this much."King told her as he walked up to her and laid down beside her. "I hate the pain it causes. And the feeling of uselessness."Xena corrected.

"Xena,I speak for the whole pack when I say that you are the last wolf that can be called useless."King told her firmly. When he saw that she didn't look convinced he pressed on. "You do everything and beyond to help and protect this pack. The fact that you feel useless by doing something that all pregnant females have to do proves that you're anything but useless," He turned his head until he was staring dead center into her eyes. "Stubborn,hard-headed,aggressive,protective,smart you're all those things for sure. But you're not and never will be useless."

Xena looked straight at King as the both of them entered into a staring contest. Finally,Xena broke the staring contest and smiled at him. "Thank you King. I needed to hear that."she said softly as she nuzzled him. "You're welcome Xena. I'll always be here for you."he said while nuzzling Xena.

They laid there,nuzzling each other for sometime,when abruptly Xena's body convulsed in pain and she let out a pained yelp.

"Xena,are you alright?!"King asked worriedly as he stood up in a hurry. "I...I think it's time."she said as her face scrunched in pain. At first,King looked at her with his head tilted slightly to the side in confusion. Then realisation lit up within his eyes. "Our pups is coming?"he asked. Xena nodded. "Ok,I'm gonna get Zim. Don't go anywhere."he said sternly as he bounded out the den.

I'm pretty sure I can't go anywhere Xena thought but another wave of pain shot through her body and she growled.

Seconds after,King came back into the den with their pack's healer,Zim,with a thick tree stick in his jaw. He dropped it in front of her. "Xena,I want you to take deep breaths."Zim said sternly as he walked to her stomach. She obeyed him,taking deep breaths through the pain. "Now I want you to push with all your strength."Zim said. She took a deep breath and pushed. Her body writhed in pain and she let out a long,loud,pained wail. "That's it Xena. Keep pushing."Zim said softly. She continued pushing and letting out pained yelps and wails for about a minute.

Suddenly,there was the sound of a tiny squeak amidst the wails and yelps.

"Keep pushing Xena. The pup is arriving. King,go over there and lick the pups until they are warm."Zim ordered. King nodded and bounded over to the opposite end of Xena's body. The squeaks and tiny cries mixed in with the wails and yelps for a long moments until finally the noises died down and silence flooded the den. Xena laid on her side limp on the floor,panting heavily,as the pain slowly faded away and became replaced with exhaustion.

"Congratulations King and Xena. You have three boy pups."Zim said. Xena wanted to jump with joy but knew that at the moment it wasn't possible. She felt something touched her front paws and forced her head up to see three small pups,wailing and licking her paws. "Look at our beautiful pups."King whispered proudly.

She looked closely at her three pups.

One had the pure black fur of King with her tree brown eyes,the other had her dark brown fur with King's icy blue eyes and the last one had a light brown coat with a black stripe running from his head to his nose and brown eyes. As she looked at them,she felt an enormous joy and pride at her newborn sons.

Abruptly,the pups began to wail so loud that the sound hurt Xena's ears.

"I think the little ones are hungry."Zim chuckled heartingly. King moved his muzzle over to the pups and placed them one by one in front of her stomach. They fumbled around blindly until they found the nipples of her stomach and latched on,sucking and drinking her milk. "What will we name them?"King asked her.

Finding enough strength within her,she lifted her head up to look at her pups for a long time before she spoke. "I will name this one Fang. A name strong of ferocity and courage."she declared proudly to the black furred pup. "And I shall name you Eric after my father who was a loyal,strong and brave alpha."she said to the brown furred one. She turned to the final pup. "And you shall be named Ergan after the great warrior wolf."

"Fang,Ergan and Eric. Good wolves that will be the pride to this pack."King declared as he rubbed his muzzle against hers.

"It's a shame that all three cannot be alphas."