The announcement of Martin and Grace becoming mates was met with a mix of reactions. The pack had their doubts, especially the irate betas who believed Grace had mistreated them in the past. There were also a few girls who had their hopes dashed, as they had aspired to be Martin's mate. However, Grace’s sincere apologies and visible change in behaviour began to win everyone over. The Murdoch family was reinstated in their previous roles.
Within a few weeks, the Greyson mansion underwent extensive renovations and was brought back to its former splendour. Rosalie was in the middle of her work when Alex drew her away from her responsibilities.
"What do you want, Alex?" she inquired anxiously as her betas chortled in amusement.
"I'm sorry to bother you, but I have something to show you."
He reached for her hand in a kind manner and drew her along the hallway.
"What is it?" she asked him as he covered her eyes with his hands. She laughed.
"Don't speak," he warned as he guided her. They walked straight through the hallway and stopped at a door. "Ready?" he asked.
She chuckled. "Yes, I'm ready."
He released his hold on her eyes and pushed open the door. Her eyes went wide in surprise as they stepped into his office. Or rather, his previous office in their suite.
She looked up at him while running her hand down the back of a white rocking chair. "A NURSERY?" She gave him a friendly grin, expressing that she was both moved and happy by his surprise.
"Yes," he replied with a grin. "Do you like it?"
It was amazing. He had used white paint to whitewash the wall, and at the very top of the wall was a border of cartoon characters. The floor was covered with a carpet in a beige-cream colour. The small space looked bigger. There was a child's storybook-filled bookcase built right into the wall next to a rocking chair. In addition, there was a row of stuffed animals along the two lowest shelves. She took a glance around and noticed that they already had everything that they would require after the babies were delivered. A spot for them to change their diapers, as well as a built-in closet. She knew the nursery was missing an essential component after noticing that something was absent.
"There's no crib," she said, laughing. "Did you forget a bed for our children?"
He chuckled as he wrapped his arms around her. "I don't know how many cribs I should buy." He paused as he kissed her cheeks lovingly. "I thought you would love to pick the cribs and clothes for them."
She smiled at his attentive thoughts. "Do you want to know what I would love to have now?"
She teased, biting her lips. She knew how much he loved that. He chuckled.
He lifted her and cradled her lovingly. "Gee, I don't know," he lied, smiling. "What other things do you possibly want, love?"
Rosalie wrapped her arms around his neck and started kissing him. "I'll show you if you take us to our bedroom now," she said seductively.
He groaned, "You are my little vixen, love," he said as he hurried to their bedchamber.
Once inside, Rosalie whispered in his ear, "I want you to spoil me tonight." He grinned mischievously, knowing exactly what she meant.
*****************
A month later -
"Oh my god, I'm so fat!" When Rosalie vented her frustration to her mother, her mother laughed. Rosalie was five months pregnant, yet she had already reached the size and proportion of a full-term human.
Her mood swings were driving her crazy, but Alex understood her current mood swings.
"I feel like an enormous beach ball. Ugh!"
"Rosie, it's perfectly normal," her mum said, amused. "You'll slim down after you give birth."
Melissa chuckled. "I hope I won't be as huge as you are when I finally have a mate." She touched Rosalie's growing belly and said to it, "Aunt Melissa will spoil you guys!" she promised, giggling. "Ooh, can I be the godmother??"
Rosalie laughed at her and then winced slightly as the babies moved inside her. She sat down on the sofa and breathed out, "You can be anything you want, Melissa."
"Yes!!!" she whooped excitedly. "I'll drag Jace to take me to the town and buy some baby stuff for you," she paused. "I bet Jace would like the experience." She burst into a fit of laughter, imagining how pale he would be when she dragged him to a baby store.
Jace was Melissa's new boyfriend.
"I want to be a godmother too!" Sarah pouted, sitting next to Rosalie.
"You will be their aunt, dear, their favourite aunt," Rosalie said, laughing. Sarah and Mellissa were competing to get the unborn baby's attention. Rosalie smiled at their bricking. Melissa had finally decided that she would mate with Jace when she was ready, but now she was perfectly content with playing the role of an aunt. Rosalie had her loving family back with her. Martin had mated with grace; they were expecting their first child in a few months.
Rosalie cast an adoring glance in her mother's direction. It seemed almost incomprehensible to think that the past few months had been so fraught with upheaval and pain. The entire scenario that had taken place in front of their very eyes appeared to be completely fictitious. Chris was no longer anything more than a troubling memory. She did, sometimes, feel regret about the way things had turned out. However, she was powerless to change the situation.
Martin had restored order in his pack, and her relationship with Grace had mended a lot.
She was thankful that they had the chance to reconcile and make peace with each other. She moved on to more pleasant things and gently caressed her bump. The previous night, Alex and she had bickered about naming their offspring. So, after going through a list of hundreds of names, they had finally come to an agreement on some, and that was only for a boy. However, at least they had figured out the first alphabet in the name, so it would be slightly easier to choose a girl should they end up having girls instead. She cherished the thought of being a mother to a little girl, but she wasn't picky about the gender of her offspring as long as they were happy and healthy.
She affectionately rubbed her rapidly expanding belly and announced, "Just a few more days."
While Melissa chuckled to herself and sat down next to her, she said, "I hope you have a lot of babies in there!"
Rosalie hit her playfully.
"There are just two," Rosalie had gotten her ultrasound, and to her relief, there were just twins. Not three or four, as everyone was suggesting.
"Yeah, but you can have more pups later on."
Melissa made a point.
"Think about it. If you have, say, three or four pups, you'll have many choices of baby names."
Sarah chirped, "I couldn't agree with her more." They each gave the other a high five.
Her mother replied, with a broad smile on her face, "You are going to make her more anxious, Melissa." She turned her gaze to Rosalie.
"But Melissa is right, Rosie; if you have four children, you and Alex can each name two of the children. Your father and I will name the other two children." Even though Rosalie was laughing, the idea of having four babies was terrifying to her.
"Mum, I haven't even given birth, and you are already planning my future babies."
Rosalie playfully rolled her eyes, knowing her mother was just excited about the prospect of being a grandmother.
"Oh, you will have more, I am sure." Melissa joked. "Alex will probably want a whole soccer team of kids!"
"Let's just focus on getting through this pregnancy first," Rosalie replied with a nervous chuckle.
"Are we talking about soccer ?" Alex said it aloud as he walked in.
"No, just talking about the future," Melissa quickly interjected with a smile.
Rosalie nudged Melissa and smiled at Alex as he planted a kiss on the crown of her head.
"Ignore her; Melissa is just being Melissa."
"Good day, mother, Melissa," he greeted them. He looked at Rosalie; his eyes were glowing, and then he took her hand. "Do you mind if I steal Rosie away for a while?"
Melissa snickered. "Steal her as long as you want, lover boy."
"Of course!" her mum said, still smiling.
Alex grabbed her hand and pulled her outside the room. As they descended the impressive marble staircase, Alex kept a firm grip on her hand. They exited the building through the front door and then walked along a path that was heading to a lake. Rosalie looked at Alex questioningly.