Filed to story: Sorry Alpha I Am Wolfless Novel
“I know.” I smiled up at him. “I put a lot into that barrier. I need to get home, feed the baby, and then go take a nap.”
“Yes, let’s do that.” Joaquin swung me up into his arms. “Come on now, sweetheart. I will carry you. Open a door, we will head home right now.” I did as he said, allowing all the others that were nearby to take the door with us. We ended up in the living room of the Royal Tower. I knew that this would result in the NSA being in my home, but I didn’t care. I needed some sleep. And Dolan had been there the night before, so there was no reason not to take them now.
“Mom?” Reagan was sitting in the living room, Reeselynn in his arms. “Are you OK? You look so tired.”
“I am tired.” I smiled at him and the baby. “I used a lot of magic today. I want to take a nap, but I will feed the baby first. Did she eat while I was gone?”
“No, I was just about to feed her, actually.”
“That’s good. It means that I can nurse her.” I smiled at the little baby. “Come here, Reeselynn.” Reagan handed her over.
“She was good, she didn’t cry at all while you were away.”
“That means that she felt safe with her big brother.” I leaned away from Joaquin a little, still in his arms, and hugged my son. I didn’t do this often enough, I forgot how much I liked hugging him.
“I am glad that she is already comfortable with me.” He smiled down at the baby and I knew that he was happy that she was here. “Go get some sleep, Mom. We will be fine down here for the time being.”
“Thank you, Reagan.” He kissed my cheek before Joaquin carried me away. He was a good boy. I was so very proud of him.
I let Joaquin carry me to our room. He took the stairs rather than a magical door so that he could spend that much more time carrying me. He was carrying me and the baby at the same time, so it was even more special for him.
“Here we are.” He said as he set me on the bed that we shared, the one where the baby was born not even twelve hours ago yet. To think about how much had happened in the last several hours. By the time that I was finished feeding the baby and drifting off to sleep, that was about when I was going to hit the twelve hour mark since delivering the baby. It had already been a long and exhausting day, but I was happy with all that had happened so far. We had accomplished a lot, and we would do more after I took a nap.
I laid in the bed with the baby, propping her up on a feeding pillow and nursing her so that she was no longer hungry. She was already a good eater. Latching was already perfect for her. That was good, it meant that she was going to get all the nourishment that she needed.
“I can’t believe how easily it all comes back.” Joaquin said as he laid with his arm wrapped around me. Cradling me while I cradled the baby.
“What are you talking about?” I asked him with a note of curiosity.
“How much we forget after they aren’t babies anymore. And then how quickly it comes back after the next one is born.”
“Yeah, it’s a little funny, isn’t it? I am glad though. I would know how to take care of our babies no matter what happens.”
“I know.” He nodded at me. “And I will be able to do the same. It’s just surreal.” He pulled me closer against his chest as he spoke. “I like how our family has grown over the years, Riviana. It’s practically perfect.”
“I think that it is perfect.” I told him. “I love all the kids, but I think, at least for a long time, Reeselynn will be the last to join the family. We need to focus on the family that we have now. And the futures that they are building for themselves.”
“Yes, that’s fine. We’re immortal after all. We can have another one in a hundred years. There is no reason to rush things.” He didn’t laugh at all. He was serious. And that was just another reason that I loved him so much.
I don’t remember when I started to drift off to sleep. I just remember Joaquin taking the baby from my arms, setting her in the bassinet, and then climbing back into the bed with me. He was snuggling close, ready to take a nap with me. That also made me happy. I loved when he held me while I slept.
****
Joaquin
****
A lot had happened lately. The attack at the stadium, the meeting after, Riviana going into labor and me delivering Reeselynn, putting a barrier around Colorado Springs and Riviana Falls. So much had been going on, and so much more was to come. I knew that my Little Bunny needed to rest, but she was pushing through.
She had taken her naps when she desperately needed them, that was for sure. Like the day that she put the barrier up. That was three days ago now, and she had gathered her strength back already. She bounced back after having Reeselynn way quicker than with any of the others. Probably because there was so much that needed to be done. We were too busy for her to take time off.
The barrier was up though, and we were actively looking for the man that was causing us all this trouble. The NSA, the FBI, and all of our people were looking for that man. And we would find him soon. He wouldn’t be able to hide from us much longer.
We had scouts out in as many areas as we could get them to. We knew that Orson was here in the States. He hadn’t left to go somewhere else, because we were his end goal. He wanted to attack us, to kill us. He wouldn’t leave for that.
Not to mention, every airport in the country had been put on alert for him. They had his photo and anything coming through their system with his face on it would flag a national alert. He would be treated like the highest level terrorist that there was. And that is because he was a terrorist. He was a domestic terrorist that wanted to kill as many people as possible. And if he ever managed to kill them here, he would set his sights on those in other nations.
At the current moment, I was trying to figure out how to make my mate, my Little Bunny, take some time off. We would find Orson, we would stop him, and we would make sure that no one else got hurt.
…..
“Riviana, sweetheart, Little Bunny, you need your rest. Your body has been through a lot.” I was pleading with her as she fed the baby in her office. She had spent a lot of time in her office since the baby was born. There was even a bassinet in there now.
“Joaquin, I will take time off when this is all over. I can’t afford to leave now. I have to be there for my people, my family, and for Reeselynn. I know that doesn’t sound right to you, but if I don’t see this through to the end, then there might not be a future for any of us, including Reeselynn. I need to do this Joaquin. And my body is just fine.”
“You’re tired.” I ran both of my hands through my hair as I argued with her.
“Not anymore. I am good now. I was tired the first day, but I used a lot of magic and delivered a baby. Now though, I have taken plenty of naps and I have Reeselynn here to keep me energized. Don’t worry, Joaquin. I am not tired anymore.” She was shuffling through the papers on her desk as she spoke. “What are the scouts looking into now?” She knew who we had in the field, but their work was ever changing depending on where they were.
“I have most of them looking into the black markets that Glick told us about.” The NSA Director that had come to stay with us recently was being very helpful. He had a lot of resources, so with his help along with Rawlynne and Jackson’s help, we were able to find out a lot more than we had before.
“Have they found out anything yet?”
“Some have seen him, but most turned him away. It’s not easy to procure tanks and things like that. So, the smaller operations are not even taking him seriously.” I told her, remembering what it was that was reported to me that morning. It was why I had come to her office to see her in the first place. It’s just that when I saw her in here, working with the baby right next to her, I felt a pang of regret. I wished that things weren’t like this right now, that my mate and baby were resting upstairs in the bed or the living room, not working here in the office.