Status: Alive and Kicking!

The Ripple Effect

Orion 2

I was sitting at the foot of Brian's bed, brushing a sweat-laden lock of hair from his forehead, when I heard voices and laughing downstairs. Of course I immediately recognised Rein's voice. A grin plastered itself to my face—I had not seen my baby boy all day! It would take some getting used to, that was for sure. So I pressed a gentle kiss to Brian's cheek, closed the door quietly behind me, and crept downstairs.

"Stop!" Rein cried in delight, squirming all around the floor as he surely pretended he was a mop.

I leaned against the doorway with my arms crossed comfortably across my chest. He had said he would be late, yet here he was. I smiled and stepped up to him, just close enough that I could tap his shoulder.

"Orion—Oh!" Orion whipped around, but it wasn't exactly Orion. "Sorry, Daniel! I thought you were Orion!"

He just grinned at me and returned to his task: tickling the life out of the wriggling worm on the kitchen floor. Rein was gasping for air and crying out for me to save him while Daniel commanded that he not be helped.

"I'm sorry, sweetie, I'm sure that you deserve this for some reason!" I told him, smiling as he gaped at me.

"Mama, no! Help me!" he begged, grabbing at Daniel's hands as they easily broke free of his tiny grasp.

"Hey, Daniel, where's Jonathan?" I asked him, talking loudly to be heard over the giggling boy.

Daniel stopped attacking my son and scooped him harmlessly into his arms. I smiled as Rein settled himself on his hip, grumbling under his breath regardless.

"He's still out with Melissa and Stephen. I ran into them while I was in town, and Rein looked a little sleepy. So I brought him home. Where's his bedroom?"

Sure enough, Rein's eyelids were starting to droop. I smiled.

"I can take him." I held out my arms.

Daniel smiled. "That's okay. He's almost out anyway. Where's his room?"

"Oh, I'll show you. Follow me upstairs?"

"Do the boys still sleep in the same room?" Daniel asked, surely trying to make small talk as he followed me to the second floor.

"Well, when they're out like this, I like to put them in their own rooms. It makes the house seem...less big. You know?"

"I know what you mean. It's a pretty big place. But Alphas used to have huge families, you know, back when disease was rampant and medicine was lacking. That way, if one pup died, there would still be an heir. It's...medieval, but this place has been around ever since, well, Orion knows the story of his heritage much better than I do."

I pushed open the door and gestured inside. Daniel thanked me quietly and strode right up to the bed. This guy said he wasn't ready for a mate and family...

But he was so careful as he lowered Rein into bed. Daniel tucked him gently under the covers, brushed his hand over his forehead to move a misplaced strand of hair, and gently murmured an "I love you, buddy" before stepping away and closing the door silently.

"Daniel," I mumbled, running after him and catching his wrist as he tried to leave. "How can you say you don't want a family?"

He stared at my hand and smiled warmly.

"Sophie, Orion tells you that you're a brilliant mother, yes?" I smiled. "Rein kept talking about you on the way home. He told me that...that you have night terrors." The smile disappeared. "If you ever want to talk about it, I'm here, Sophie. I'm sure there's a reason you haven't told Orion what it's about—"

"He knows what it's about."

He nodded. "Okay, well does he know the specifics?" I looked down. "I won't tell him, if you choose to tell me. You're my Alpha, too. I won't betray you, Sophie. I promise."

He pulled me into his arms then for a quick embrace, one I returned with slight hesitance. Then he tried to leave.

"Daniel, wait!"

He turned around, his eyes hooded—like he was so tired.

"I haven't really seen Orion in days... But that doesn't mean I don't trust him. It's just painful to relive it and—"

"Sophie, it's okay. I was just saying. We'll be seeing a lot of each other. So it was just a suggestion."

I nodded.

"Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Daniel."

I closed the door softly behind him, and I closed my eyes for only a moment.

But that damn face shot through the darkness!

I pushed myself into the living room and turned the television on to rid myself of the suffocating silence. Every time the silence made its way into the room, I became so incredibly aware of all the things that needed to be said.

I sat there for an hour before Stephen stopped by. He smiled to me before quickly ascending the stairs with a limp Jonathan sprawled out in his arms. Stephen bid me goodnight, and then the silence returned.

Sweetheart, I actually have a lot more to do than I thought... I'll make it up to you, I promise, but don't wait up for me. I'll be out until probably two in the morning.

I couldn't take this anymore! I ripped the phone from its holder and dialed frantically.

"Hello?"

"Melissa, this might seem like a weird request, but could you come babysit for a bit? I just—"

"Say no more," she told me, a motherly smile in her voice. "I was the Alpha female once—I'm no stranger to sneaking out for a midnight run. I'll be over in a minute."

Regina was grating her teeth, and for once I agreed with her!

A run. That would clear our thoughts. It had to.
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Another update is up, because I didn't feel like this was enough to leave for another week. So hop on over to the next chapter! :D