Taming the Beast
Chapter 65 (Caroline)

The next morning, it was just Keegan and I in the bed. I didn't move for a long time. I just lay there. I didn't want to move, I was in mourning. Keegan rubbed his hand on my back gently and just let me wallow. After hours, I was finally able to speak.

"He didn't get to see his first grandchild born," I said hoarsely. The thought brought another round of tears to my eyes. Keegan didn't say anything. He only kissed my head and rubbed circles on my stomach. He hadn't said much since last night and I understood. He needed time. Without a word, he stood and left the room. I sat up and watched him. In all of this, I never thought how Keegan must be feeling. He was strong for me when I needed it.

Keegan, please don't push me away again, I begged through mind-link.

Nothing.

He must have heard me and closed off the link. I went downstairs to see the guys all staring at the blank TV. I snuggled into the couch next to Aiden and Trevor. Aiden wrapped his arms around me and tried to comfort me.

"You okay?" he asked softly. I shook my head before I rested it against his chest. He sighed and rubbed my back gently. Trevor held my hand tightly as Greg stayed close to his mate. "If Keegan sees you here, he's going to kill us," Aiden said. I shrugged.

"I'd be surprised if he even cared," I muttered. Aiden pulled back to look at me.

"He cares, Caroline. He would give his life for you, but this is a hard time for him, remember that," Aiden said. I sighed and closed my eyes as I snuggled back into his chest. As much as it was helping, it wasn't Keegan. I ended up falling asleep in the silence that surrounded us.

Getting back to normal was harder than I thought it would be, and I already thought it was going to be really hard. Graduation passed in a blur. It was amazing I even graduated with my absence record, but I guess they chalked it up to senioritis. Keegan eventually let me in again, slowly but surely. Lena holed herself up in the house obsessing over Karma and Keegan for the sake of something to do. Sometimes I would catch her sitting on the floor of Wes' study, just crying. It broke my heart seeing her so heartbroken, but I knew that it was the price of having a mate.

It absolutely sucked if you lost them.

When I reached six months into my pregnancy, we started noticing weird things. For one, werewolves were supposed to grow like normal human babies. That was definitely not happening in my pregnancy. I looked way bigger than six months. Our baby was almost full term and we still had a textbook three more months. Another anomaly was that she moved a lot. And yes, I said she which was odd because according to Keegan, all firstborn babies of Alphas are male. I was constantly sick and constantly dizzy. Aiden or Keegan were always by my side because it was common for me to faint. I was also eating enough for an entire army. Well, I had no idea if that was pregnancy related, but we're just going to say that it is.

"Care... Care wake up," someone whispered softly. I blinked my eyes open to come face to face with Danny. I sat up confused to see that I was in my room. This only confused me even more. "W-What happened?" I asked sleepily. Danny sighed and held my hand in his.

"You fainted again. Aiden brought you here and Keegan said something about a boarder patrol," my brother explained. My stomach cramped uncomfortably. I held my stomach and closed my eyes. "Something is wrong," I said quietly. My heart felt like someone was squeezing it. I panted as I tried to crawl out of my bed. "Is Aiden here?" I gasped. Danny nodded and left to go get him. Aiden came bursting through the door seconds later.

"Caroline, what's wrong?" he asked immediately. A sharp pain hit my stomach and I yelled out. "Caroline!" Aiden said louder, coming to my side. Beads of sweat started forming on my skin as I tried to calm my body.

Keegan please, something is happening to me. I think the baby too, I tried to mind-link him. Thankfully, it was on.

Get Aiden to bring you to the house, he said. Aiden was already listening. He scooped me up and ran with me, placing me in the car before speeding off groaned as I held my stomach and my chest. Aiden scooped me up and ran with me inside. He took me straight to the basement where Keegan and the doctor were waiting. They

immediately hooked me up to the machines and did a sonogram for the baby. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. It looked like our baby was shifting inside of me. I screamed as another kick was placed to my back. A liquid released from my lower regions and the pain really started hitting me.

"That's not possible," the doctor breathed.

"What's not possible?" Keegan asked nervously.

"Well, for one, the baby is a girl. Mates, especially that of an Alpha, do not have girls as a first born, but you already knew that. Secondly, your baby is shifting inside of you. Werewolves normally don't shift until they are 16; maybe 15 at the youngest. And thirdly... she's going into labor. We have to do something now or they're both going to die," the doctor explained in a panicked rush.

"Can't you induce labor or something?" Keegan asked, panicking as well.

"She's already in labor that that's the problem. Human bodies are made to deliver human babies. Right now, your bay is a wolf pup. The pup will literally rip through her. If she survives the blood loss that will cause, she may not survive the damage," the doctor explained.

"What if she shifted?" Aiden asked. I screamed out in pain and gripped on to the nearest thing.

"It's too late. When giving birth, a woman's bones shift to make room. Her bones aren't in the right place and they might break if she shifts. They may never heal back properly," the doctor said.

"Is that all?" I asked her sarcastically.

She hesitated before she nodded. I tried to get my mind off of the pain and focus on shifting. I took deep breaths and focused on running through the forest with Keegan. focused on my snow white fur and wagging my tail in joy. I focused on how the wind felt when I was running. I heard my bones popping and cracking quickly before it stopped. I opened my eyes to find everything clear and precise. I did it.

The victory was short-lived as my contractions started again. I whimpered and laid down on my side. I howled as I tried to push. That's what my instincts were telling me anyway.pushed and pushed until I felt the pain and pressure release from my lower regions, After a moment, I shifted back and screamed. My legs felt like fire and I couldn't move them. I looked as best as I could to see Keegan holding a wolf pup the size of a teddy bear. After a lot of coaxing from Keegan, she shifted back to a baby. A crying and wailing baby. They cleaned her up as Keegan lifted me from the floor and laid me back on the bed. He covered me with the blanket and kissed my forehead. As he smiled,, I noticed the tears in his eyes.

Tears of joy.

"She's beautiful," he whispered. The doctor handed me my little bundle. I smiled at her face lit up like a Christmas tree and she started crying. Just before she did, I caught a glimpse of her silver eyes. Her hair was a dusty blonde although I'm sure that's subject to change.

"Can we name her Kinsley," I asked Keegan softly as I tried to calm her. Keegan kissed my head and smiled down at our little girl.

"We can name her whatever you want," he answered. "How are you feeling?" he asked.

"I can't move my legs, but that's okay," I said as Kinsley finally started calming down. Keegan picked Kinsley off of my chest and started rocking her as the doctor came to me. I gritted my teeth as she reset my hips. Slowly, feeling started to return to them and the pain medicine started working. Keegan was rocking and cooing at Kinsley the whole time.

"Kinsley Wes Annabel Porter," Keegan said out loud. I felt my eyes water at the small tribute.

"That's beautiful, Keegan," I practically whispered. He handed her back to me just as everyone else started barging into the room, including Danny and Preston. I smiled. I was surrounded by people I love with the most beautiful little girl I could ever ask for. I wouldn't trade this for anything in the world. One thing was certain:

My life would never be boring again.☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐

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