The moon showed full in the sky, tonight was a rare sight, the first blood moon in decades. A blood moon was special as it was the name described to a phenomenon that happened to the moon when the earth was directly between the sun, a total lunar eclipse, where the moon shown reddish orange in the sky due to the shadows cast by the earth from the sun. As creatures that worshipped the moon this event was very special, even more so for the blood moon pack. This particular eclipse forged from darkness gave rise to many new wolves. Our pack was different, we still shifted as other packs did, on the night of our 18th birthday at midnight. However, on a blood moon all pups of our pack would shift and receive their wolves regardless of age ,maturity, or status.
On this night, I was still tucked away safely in my mother's womb. I've heard the story countless times from everyone who would be around me long enough to tell it.
My mother had been feeling uneasy days prior. The subtle pain in her back and belly grew by the second as I stretched her from within. A sheen of sweat adorned her forehead, and exhaustion had written itself on her face long before. My mother had three pregnancies prior and never had any problems. All of her children were born healthy without incident. Her pregnancy with me however was horrendous from the moment I was conceived.
This night in particular proved to be especially hard on my mother. She heaved in oxygen like she had never taken a breath of air before. As her chest rose and fell in exertion her body grew restless. My mother couldn't sit still, she paced around the room in desperation trying hard to settle her nerves physically. Every time she tried to sit still her body would ache in anticipation.
The clock struck midnight, my mother wanted to be present in the forrest to show support for her three other children as they received their wolves earlier than most did. She worried for her children as none of them were even ten years old yet. And being the children of alphas their shift would be exceptionally difficult. She prayed above to whoever would listen to keep her children safe. But as she prayed while still on her knees she felt a sharp pain from her stomach, her eyes grew wide, having never felt such a sensation during her other pregnancies. The pain twisted and crawled until the feeling was unbearable. It wasn't just pain but preasure in all the wrong places. My mother felt a tug from deep within and then a snap. She started to panic not knowing what was happening. Her heartbeat became erratic and suddenly she felt like she was being split from inside. She lifted her gown quickly and saw her womb grow before her eyes. No, nit just growing, but erupting like a volcano inactive for far too long. Mother saw my body through hers twist painfully once more and then she felt it, faster than anything she's ever experienced tiny claws poked through her abdomen and sliced once ,twice, three times, seemingly in distress. Mother panicked even more and knew she had two choices. She looked once more at the moon as her face grew pale from blood loss, contemplating her next actions. She had to act quickly or neither me or her would survive. She could have either let me rip her womb entirely and risk me suffocating on her blood in the process or remove me from her stomach myself and use what little time she could manage to stay conscious to ensure my safety.
Doing what any good mother would she let her claws elongate in one swift motion she sliced through her abdomen and gently pulled me from where I had rested for the past few months. When mother pulled me out it was not easy. She had to cut many layers deep to get to me and I had already shifted into my wolf, mother had to reach deep inside her open womb and grab my scruff to pull me out. When she did she cradled a small helpless wolf pup close to her chest squealing and half howling for milk. Mother placed me just right yo allow me to feed as she laid on the floor losing blood. My father was in the forrest with my older siblings, and my grandmother and grandfather were long gone by then. The only soul to have witnessed this event had been the alphas beta Thomas. He walked in the moment mother had sliced herself to save me. Thomas had been told by the alpha to check on his mate due to her not looking or feeling well earlier that day. The moment the beta saw what unfolded he called for his alpha through the mundlink but recieved no answer. The alpha must have blocked the connection. In haste the beta ran to where he last saw the alpha to relay the desperate news.
I laid helpless with my mother for an hour before anyone else arrived. Mother lived for a little while after out departure from one another. She sang to me and looked at me with love and spoke to me so softly.
'You little wolf are one of a kind, nothing like this has ever happened before, you will be strong and hold all of the fruits of the spirit with you as you walk on your journey, I love you, I wouldn't have done this if u hadnt' she hummed softly for a while until her hums became weak and breathy. I stay suckling mother until finally my father arrived.
Upon seeing the sight himself father fell to his knees crawling to mother desperately, hands in mid-air nit knowing what to do woth them, not knowing how to helo. Knowing underneath his disparw there was nothing gbhe could do. He regretted cutting off his mindlink, he did so so he could focus on helping his elder children shift easily and teach them how to shift back, as most wolves had a difficult time learning this lesson. He had not ignored mother out of malice but out of duty. Father sat watching me suckle until I finally stopped, having had my fill. He gently scooped up my wolf pup body and cradled me in his arms while he closed mothers eyes for good from the world.
Tears spilled from my father's eyes without sound or warning. But he never harmed me or hurt me, he knew I was only a baby and couldn't helo the circumstances in which u had been born but still he felt saddened by losing his mate. His heart shattered. He didn't know what to do or how to feel he simply called his beta and asked him to handle all the preparations for a funeral ceremony to say goodbye to his beloved.
When Thomas arrived he saw the state of his once Luna and crumpled before her, after crying Thomas looked to the alpha and caught the sight of a tiny wolf pup in his arms.
'The child is still in wolf form,' he spoke aloud but mostly to himself in thought.
'The blood moon triggered the change, she shifted from inside, the pup is too little to know how to shift back,' father looked at me and underneath me, 'SHE may very well be a toddler before she can change to human form.' He said with finality.
'Mm' Thomas nodded in acknowledgement and understanding. 'I will prepare everything alpha please go rest with the pups' Thomas added.
Father left the room with a heavy heart beyond repair. Each broken peice laying itself heavy like jagged pieces of broken glass deep inside him. His movements were robotic, hypnotic, almost as if a part of him left this world woth his mate. Father met with my siblings in the living room where the fireplace was lit aflame. My siblings looked at him each with their own expressions. Daven the oldest was 8- his face held a look of knowledge and pain. Derrick the middle child was 5 had a look of confusion and fear, while the second middle child, Dylan,who was 3, looked at his father's arms at me with awe and devotion.
Each child felt the weight of their fathers expression yet Derrick needed conformation 'Daddy...' my father looked at him with unspokenwirds but did nit stop his son from asking anyway. 'Where is momma, and what is that you're holding' father couldn't ignore it anymore he spoke the words bonchikd shoukd ever have to heat at such a young age. He feared they wouldn't understand.
'Derrick...you're mother....she...she has laid to rest in the sky woth grandma and grandpa..' he didn't know what else to say until he looked down at his precious pup. ' and this is your little sister, Brooke, you're mother left her with us in our care since she couldn't be with her'
Derrick and Daven looked to my father with teat filled eyes knowing they could never see their mother again. Dylan walked up to hos father and pulled on his pamt leg asking for permission. Father picked him up swiftly in one arm as he cradled me in the other. Dylan looked at me so Inyensly as if there was unspoken immeadeate connection, he stretched our his hand and softly grazed my fur.
'Sister puppy' he said woth an absolute tone, no room for discussion. Even in this grave circumstance the alphas heart lightened seeing his small child with his mates youngest child.
'Yes Dylan, she shifted bc if the blood moon just like you, but she's so little she doesn't know how to change back so we will be having a sissy puppy until she grows more.' Satisified with the reasoning Dylan started getting me softly and babbling to me as I nuzzled his hand. Dylan picked me up woth care still i nfathers arms and cradled me close to his own chest. I snuggled deep to him and fell asleep.