Feral Snippets

Set between the Prologue and Chapter 1 of Hearts.

As the door closed behind Miranda, Sara leaned down and nuzzled the pup. She was so cold. What idiot hadn’t bothered to dry her off before trekking her through the mountain?

Sara curled more tightly around her as Thomas slipped down the stairs. Her husband gave her and their son an affectionate glance, then frowned when he noticed the other. “A delayed twin?” he asked, confusion thick in his voice. Sara snorted. She loved Thomas dearly but his confusion during her entire pregnancy had been exasperating, and a little endearing. She had told him what she was when she’d discovered she was pregnant, fully expecting him to walk away. What human would want to deal with the pack attitude and hierarchy? But he had stayed. Had been oddly delighted knowing his son would be a wolf. Even an omega wolf.

She shook her head, unwilling to shift until the little newborn had finished nursing. They could, in theory, nurse in whatever form, but it was easier to match the child. Let their instincts work as intended. It would be months, possibly years, before they could shift.

Thomas looked at her expectantly, then did a little jump as he realized why she wasn’t shifting to talk. He looked down at Bran, then retreated into the living room, returning with a blanket. He gently picked up his son, wrapping him in a blanket and kissing the top of his head.

Sara waited for the alpha’s pup to fall asleep before she shifted. Thomas handed her another blanket and she took it.

“So,” Thomas started once she had finished wrapping the baby, “what happened?” He had been in the shower when Miranda had come.

“Her mother died,” Sara said, and genuine grief racked her. She should have felt Abigail’s death, but maybe they had been too far away. The pack had turned Abigail’s pregnancy into a big spectacle, sharing in their alpha’s excitement for her first child. Everyone had been impatient to meet them. But Sara hadn’t been willing to drag Bran out in the winter. “Abigail died.”

For a moment fear made it hard to breathe. Abigail had had a light in her that nothing could dampen and had loved her pack as if they were her family. And that had made Alistair almost kind. But Sara remembered how he had been before they had bonded, now that she was gone… She looked at her son. Alistair hated omegas. Their lives were about to get much harder.

“Oh no, that’s awful.” Thomas reached out and kissed the pup on the head, then pulled back and sniffled, wiping his eyes. “What’s her name?”

Sara looked down at her and frowned. “Miranda didn’t say.”

Thomas frowned. “That won’t do. Why don’t we call her Tiny for now?”

Sara half laughed, half sniffled. “She won’t be this small for long.”

“Just until her dad names her.” Thomas looked around. “Where is her dad? He should be here.”

“Grieving,” Sara answered. “The loss of a mate is hard.”

Thomas shook his head. “All the more reason he should be here. If I died, I’d be heartbroken to hear you left Bran alone.”

Sara shrugged. She agreed, but it wasn’t her place to demand the alpha’s presence. And she didn’t particularly want Alistair lurking around her house either.

He frowned at her for a moment longer, then looked back at Bran. “Are you going to have enough milk for both of them?” he asked.

Sara traded him pups and held Bran close. “I don’t know,” she said quietly. “I’ll hunt if I have to.”

He shot his head up. “Absolutely not! You aren’t risking your life in this weather. If it comes to it, I’ll go back to work early.” The camp he worked at ran all year, but he had taken a couple months off to be there to watch Bran grow up. Since Sara could no longer work, she couldn’t leave her son alone with the pack, their finances were already precarious, let alone to feed another mouth.

“Fine,” she said reluctantly, then cupped his face with one hand. “I love you.”

Thomas kissed her palm. “I love you.” He looked back down at the pup. “Are you going to have milk long enough to wean her?”

Sara nodded. “She’ll probably be weaned before Bran is.” At her husband’s confused look, she explained, “The farther removed from humans a beast bound is, the faster they develop. Since she’s a pureblood, and Bran is three-quarter human, it should work out okay. Worst case scenario, Lilah is due in a couple weeks.”

“Okay, good, that’s- wait a minute. Pureblood?” Thomas gave her a wide eyed look. “This is the alpha’s child?”

“Yes.”

“Oh my god.” He looked down at the pup he held like she was going to bite him, then panically handed her back to Sara. “He is not going to want my scent on her.”

Sara laughed quietly and adjusted her grip so she could hold both of them.

“The alpha’s mate is dead,” Thomas said, like he couldn’t wrap his head around it. “Abigail, Abigail is dead.” Thomas looked back at her and Sara could see her own fears reflected back. “We should leave.”

Sara shook her head. “If I take this pup anywhere, they will hunt us down and kill us, and I am not leaving her to starve.”

“Fine,” Thomas said, fear in his voice. “Wean her and then let’s go.”

“Bran deserves to have a pack,” Sara protested.

Thomas chewed on his lip. “Bran deserves to be surrounded by people who treasure him. Not be shunned by a bunch of wolves.”

Sara grimaced. “I agree with you, but we can’t go anywhere until he can control his shift. I will not put his life in danger, nor make him grow up in a basement somewhere.” They didn’t have the money to hire a vampire to compel any humans who accidentally saw him shift.

“How long does that take?’ Thomas asked.

“I don’t know.” She put a hand on his shoulder. “It’ll be okay.”

Elise and Miranda were in and out of their house multiple times a day, bringing food and herbs and checking on the pup. Sara would have complained, but Elise gave Bran the same check she gave the alpha’s daughter.

“It’s been a month,” Sara told Elise quietly, “and Alistair has never come to see her.”

Elise set her jaw as she continued looking over the child, gently prying open her mouth to check her teeth and pushing out each claw to check for debris. The pup’s fur had lightened, leaving her the same soft gold colour as her mother.

“What are you not telling me?” Sara demanded.

The pup squeaked and wiggled out of Elise’s hands, circling around until she was behind Sara and ducking down. Sara twisted around and licked the top of her head. “It’s okay, little one.”

Elise tried to reach around her, but the pup growled and swatted at her and the doctor gave up. “Alistair doesn’t want her,” Elise said finally.

Sara blinked stupidly. “Excuse me? That is his child.”

“Yes,” Elise sighed heavily, “and he has said in no uncertain terms that if I try to bring her to him, she’d better have a pelt to survive this weather, because he won’t have her in his home.”

Sara curled her lip. “You had better be joking.” Not that it was funny.

“I wish I was.” Elise shook her head. “His obligation is to bear a child that survives long enough to form a pack, there is nothing that requires he raise her.”

Sara didn’t know what to say to that. She just stared at Elise in shock. Bran hadn’t exactly been planned, but she still treasured every moment she had with him. And Alistair was just going to abandon the pup Abigail had wanted so badly, she was willing to give up her life?

The doctor grimaced. “He didn’t want me to save her, he wanted Abigail.” Elise put a hand to her forehead. “I don’t think I could have saved Abby, and she didn’t want me to.”

“What happened to her?” Sara asked. Pregnancy complications were rare to say the least, at least among the purebloods who could heal near fatal wounds.

“Bled out,” Elise said tensely and started on Bran’s checkup.

Sara narrowed her eyes. “That pup was not large enough to cause that kind of hemorrhaging. Even if she was upside down and twisted.”

“No,” Elise agreed, “she wasn’t.”

“Then how?”

Elise looked down at the child again. “If I had to guess, I would say her magic lashed out and absorbed Abigail’s. It’s not unheard of for a pureblood’s magic to be unstable in those first moments. I would have had to cut her out and break her neck myself to stop it, and I wouldn’t be willing to do that. Not against Abby’s wishes.” Elise sighed again. “Though if she had known he would abandon her, she might have made a different choice.”

Sara pinned her ears and looked down at the pup. “Don’t ever tell her that.”

“I hadn’t intended on it.” Elise put Bran back down and he wiggled his way under Sara’s fur. She picked him up by the scruff and put him beside the other pup, purring with delight when they both snuggled closer to each other.

“Lilah is due in three days. If you can handle her a little longer, I’ll get her out of your hair then.”

Sara frowned and tugged both pups closer to her belly. “She can stay.” Lilah wasn’t exactly the mothering type. Neither was her mate, Ezra, but Alistair had pretty much insisted his ranked, and therefore strongest, wolves bore children for his daughter’s pack.

Elise nodded. “Thank you, that would be better for her. To not jump homes.”

Sara licked each of them. “Of course. But she’ll need a name.”

Elise stood up and brushed off her pants. “I’ll leave that to you,” she said over her shoulder as she left.

Sara stared down at the golden pup and cocked her head. Running through a list of names and their meanings in her head.

Natania. She decided, then buried her nose between the two pups.

If Alistair won’t love her, then I will.

Sara climbed through the swing door and jumped, bashing her back on the top of it, when she saw the black wolf on her porch. She quickly ducked her head low. “Ezra,” she greeted the pack’s second warily. “What can I do for you?”

“I’ve come for the child,” he growled.

Sara stood up and perked her ears. “Is Alistair finally claiming her?”

Ezra curled his lip and she shrunk away from him, backing up against her door. “No,” he spat. “But the little alpha has been in your care for too long already, omega. She is weaned, it is time for her to have a proper home.” He looked at her little cabin with disgust.

Sara pinned her ears with indignation, but held her tongue. Swallowing her anger, and her grief, she sidestepped so she was no longer blocking the door and called, “Natania!”

She smiled at the sound of her children’s little paws, a moment before they both burst through the door.

Natania stumbled through first, landing on her rump, then was bowled over by Bran a second later. The kids giggled when Bran landed on top of Natania.

Ezra snarled and reached out like he was going to shove Bran and Sara stepped over them, baring her teeth at Ezra. “Leave my son alone.”

She crouched slightly, keeping herself protectively over the children and waited for the blow she knew was coming. He could hurt her all he wanted, but he wasn’t laying a single claw on her son.

The pups quieted underneath her, sensing the tension. Bran shrunk back towards the door, but Natania padded curiously forward, poking her head up under Sara’s.

Ezra hesitated when Natania caught his gaze, lowering his paw slowly. She watched Ezra swallow his temper.

“Come along,” he said gruffly.

Natania looked up at Sara and she nodded encouragingly, even as her heart twisted in her chest. Natania looked expectantly at Bran, the two of them had been inseparable.

“Just you,” Ezra snapped.

At six months, Natania had already surpassed Bran in size. Sara knew she could understand basic words, and didn’t like what Ezra was saying, but Natania didn’t have the words to express that.

The gold pup looked back at Sara and shook her head, backing up until she was side to side with Bran.

“It’s okay, little one,” Sara murmured.

Ezra growled and lunged forward to grab her scruff, but Natania backed up and over Bran until she was under Sara again. Ezra glared at her and Sara nabbed Bran and sidestepped.

The betrayed look Natania gave her for denying her protection broke Sara’s heart, but if Ezra wanted her, he was going to take her. All she could do was keep Bran out of his anger.

Sara pinned her ears as Ezra lunged at the child again. Natania spun around and dove through the door.

“For fuck’s sakes,” Ezra snarled.

“If you stop lunging at her, she won’t think you’re a threat,” Sara hissed.

“Then you get her,” he snarled.

Sara lashed her tail and retreated into the house, gently placing Bran on the couch before sniffing out Natania. The pup had hidden herself in one of the kitchen cabinets. Sara sat beside it. “It’s okay, my love. Please come out.”

Natania pushed just her nose out of the cabinet, looking up at her with pinned ears. “I know he’s scary,” Sara said softly. “But he won’t hurt you. I promise you’ll be safe.”

Natania begrudgingly exited the cabinet and sat beside her, her entire body hunched.

Sara wrapped her tail around her and nuzzled her. “It’s okay, little one. You’ll be okay. I love you.” She held onto her for a bit longer, then carefully picked her up by the scruff and carried her outside.

“About time,” Ezra snapped.

Sara pinned her ears. “Would it kill you to be a little compassionate towards a child?”

The second curled his lip at her, but roughly snatched Natania from her grasp without a word. Natania made a sad keening sound and every inch of her ached to comfort her. Sara waited until they were out of sight, then slunk back into her house and curled tightly around her son. She wished Thomas was still home, but he had had to return to work already. She buried her nose in Bran’s fur and sobbed silently.

Three days later, Sara woke up to tiny paws climbing over her stomach. She had fallen asleep on the couch with Bran. Sara looked down at Natania with confusion, dreading the fact that she would have to return her to Ezra. Natania burrowed into her and curled up beside Bran without making a sound.

Sara licked her forehead and frowned as she caught the scent of blood. Sara nudged her with her nose and noticed a large gash along her cheek. Natania didn’t make a sound as she cleaned the cut then bundled the pup tightly against her.

A few minutes later the door opened. Sara glanced over the couch, frowning as she saw Elise.

“She is as stubborn as her father,” Elise said, letting herself in and sitting on the other chair in the living room.

Sara would have laughed if she hadn’t been so angry. “Who hurt her?” she snarled. She had promised Natania she would be safe.

“Lilah lost her temper after listening to her scream for three days,” Elise answered. “And when she wasn’t wailing she was trying to find her way back here.” Elise looked up at Sara and gave her a sad smile. “Miranda called me when she saw Ezra carrying her back home… by her tail.”

Sara stiffened and looked over Natania again, growling when she picked out the dozen bite marks lining her tail. “She’s just a child, a baby,” Sara snapped. The tail was extremely sensitive. That was no way to transport a baby.

“I know,” Elise said. “Miranda already chewed them out. They have reluctantly agreed that taking her from here is not in her best interest, yet.” The doctor stood up. “So I leave her to you. Please let me know if you start to suspect any infection. She isn’t old enough to beat that on her own.”

Sara tightened around Natania and nodded stiffly.

“And be aware,” Elise added, “they will try again.” She grimaced. “Once she’s old enough that they can poison her against you.”

“I would expect nothing less,” Sara muttered, then cleared her throat. “Are Hayley and Avery okay?” She dreaded the thought that Lilah had two other newborns in her care.

Elise nodded stiffly. “Don’t worry, I plan to check on them just as often as I check on these two.” She nodded towards Bran and Natania.

Sara dipped her head. “Good.” No child should be hurt, let alone by their own parents. She stared down at the children and buried her muzzle in their combined fur. She wouldn’t let anyone harm a hair on their pelts.