The morning after, Eren awoke to find the spot next to him empty, but a tray of food was left on top of one of the dressers. The act left a warm feeling in his chest and his arm unknowingly wrapped around his torso. On shaking legs, he made his way to the dresser, a sheet around his body, and pulling up a small stool so he could sit down in. Wincing slightly as he settled, he slowly began eating, savoring the food, in hopes that he wouldn't feel nauseous and let such good food go to waste. Upon finishing, he cleaned up as much as he could before limping slightly to the basin of water and taking a quick bath himself, and putting on a pair of his new clothes and shoes. He gave a final good stretch and organized the room as much as he could, before taking the tray and exiting the room.
When he came out to the main living area, he noticed a few lingering cubs and adults as well as Petra as she was handling the nursery. Setting his tray on a sink, he then made his way towards her, noticing the soft happy glow that she emanated as she played with the young pups. He knew that some of them were orphans and others were pups that parents had gone to the morning hunt or scout. He quietly, but knew that his presence had been found out, sat down next to Petra and some of the pups came to him out of curiosity and began to sniff him. Petra only giggled at the sight while he smiled at the few who sneezed, but then walked off to play amongst each as if he were just another bystander in their playground.
"They can smell Levi on you and immediately recognized you as his mate," Petra says softly as she looks down at a pup climbing onto her lap. Eren can only nod, getting used to the fact about how his scent changes every time he has sex with Levi or the man just becomes overbearing around him. The two didn't say anything to each other, before Eren gives out a small sigh and faces Petra, "I have been feeling weird lately, Petra-san, and I don't know what it means or what to do about it." Petra eyes widen a little as she looks at Eren, wondering why he hadn't figured it out yet, and that if possibly it would be okay for her to say anything. Biting her lip, she looks towards the entrance of the cave, hoping that Levi and the team wouldn't come back soon, "W-what is it that you feel, Eren?"
Eren wondered why she had stuttered, but decided to forego that thought for answering her instead, "I have been having weird mood swings, I knew I could be bi-polar, but not like this, and sometimes I just feel the need to protect something so greatly…. And even if I hate to admit it, I feel strange if Levi isn't around." Letting out a small sigh as he finishes, he looks over at breathing that seems tense and mulling over things until eventually the pup that was on her lap starts to squirm in discomfort and she lets it go to trot off with the others. "I don't know if I should be the one to be telling you this, Eren, but don't you think that you aren't alone anymore in that body of yours…" Petra says vaguely, half hoping Eren wouldn't get it, but also hoping he would. She was only answered with Eren's blank stare, before he looked up to see Levi and Hanji walking into the cave, Hanji, of course, talking the other's ear off.
Levi's eyes suddenly met his and Eren couldn't help but look down with a heated blush and at that same moment one of the youngest pups came crawling towards him, his nose pinpointing him as his eyes hadn't opened yet and crawled onto Eren. Before Eren could even hold the pup, the wolf was already licking at his chest as if he smelled a delicious treat and his eyes widened as the pup started suckling on his shirt now too far from his nipple. Hanji's bark of laughter threw Eren out of his daze and he saw her bouncing over him excitedly and started asking questions and cooing at the pup who had wanted to adopt Eren as his mother. Petra on the other hand became highly nervous as she pried the pup off of him, causing the young one whimper, but she stood up and mumbled something about it being feeding time and she wondered off to the kitchen area with the pup.
Eren stared down at his damp shirt where the pup had suckled on, still lost in thought before it dawned to him. All the strange symptoms, the pup trying to feed from him, he knew that pups would sometimes go looking for another mother to feed from of their own is not available, but for it to happen to him, how could it have happened? He felt a tight knot as his throat and tears threatening to spill from his eyes as he stared up at Levi
who was still at the entrance of the cave, giving him a neutral look while Eren gave him one of fear mixed with surprise, and other unknown emotions to the boy. Finally Hanji's voice came through Eren and he could hear her ranting about how Eren's pups would be the most beautiful and what he had to do so that would come out healthy and strong and he blurted out his main thought, not caring that he had interrupted her, "H-how will I give birth! I'm not a female, nor am I a wolf." Hanji's ranting stopped as Eren voiced out his worries and she gave a reprimanding look to Levi who was now making his way towards them.
"That's enough from you shitty glasses, you come with me." He didn't give time for Eren to respond before he was tugging him to his feet and leading him outside the cave. Eren could only stumble behind him as he stared at Levi's back, a thousand of questions zooming in and out of his mind. Levi, on the other hand, only kept walking until they reached a small meadow that had a few surviving flowers that would most definitely be gone by the time winter fully settled in. It already being mid-November, Eren realized that in maybe two months, he would be birthing pups of his own, he didn't know how to feel about that and he was finally able to form words, "How is this possible?" Levi had let go of his arm yet his back was still towards him, "You are unique Eren," he started only causing more confusion to arise in the boy. "When I first ran into you with my pack, I had such a strong to mate you then and there despite you not being an omega, despite not being a wolf…"
"However, once when I was a cub, I had heard stories, everyone had, about a mother wolf who lived a very long time. She had fallen in love with a human, and she gave up her wolf blood to be with him, and yet when her child was born, he was born a wolf, and she went into hiding back in the forest she was born. But, now being a human, she couldn't survive as she had as when she was a wolf, even less with a pup that was taking a toll on her human body as the days passed. Finally, she prayed to the moon, that her pup would be able to live a normal human life, and she left this world, her humanity being passed down to her own child, the mother's husband and father of the child, along with other's went in search for them, only to find a crying child, that was somehow still alive despite the spring snow, and a wolf hours dead." Levi was now looking at the boy who stared back at him with tears running down his cheeks and his hands tightly clenching the cloth of his shirt.
How could this be? How did this relate to him and why did it hurt so much? "T-then that child, was t-that…?" Eren couldn't finish his question, but Levi shook his head in answer, "No, this happened centuries ago, but of course the child had lived a human life, married, had his own children and even so that mother wolf had wished for her child to live a human life, you can never stop being a wolf. You are a descended Eren. A child of the ancient wolves, one with immense power that even we can't compare." Eren now held a look of awe as Levi stepped towards him and cupped his cheeks. "We do not know much of your kind, we do not know if you will be ever to transform into a wolf, but the fact that you smell like one, and that you are now baring my children only means that you have ancient wolf blood in you, and the first time I saw you, I immediately knew you were my mate." Eren couldn't help but close his eyes to the warm touch of Levi's hands and even with the conflicting emotions, he knew that his words held truth, he knew more than anything that he wanted to stay beside this man, for an eternity if possible.
As if reading his mind, Levi stared deep into Eren's eyes and said, "Will you officially become my mate Eren and raise our cubs together with me?" Eren knew then, as he had somehow always known deep inside of him, that his answer was only a resounding, definite yes.