Everyone was present in the living room. Two were sitting by the dining table, staring at the reality show playing on the television.
In the living room was a tea party.
Dina was having a tea party. She sat cross-legged on the play mat, her little chest rising and falling with a proud, commanding breath as she arranged the tiny plastic saucers in a neat row.
The pups happened to be on the floor, playing on their own, even though Dina called them the five little dwarfs who were friends with the princess. They were tumbling around near the table legs, their small bodies rolling over and over while they babbled and kicked their feet.
And the princess was Kaye. Dina had made him wear a tiara on his head, making him look like a princess. The plastic gems glittered under the ceiling bulb, and his mouth was twisted into a deep, miserable pout that showed exactly how much he hated the crown.
Dina was the queen. She wore a purple cloth cape tied around her neck, her tiny shoulders straight as she ruled over the living room.
Kaye happened to be leaning on his hand. His mind wasn’t really in the play. He was staring at the two people sitting in front of him.
Princess and Faye.
Faye still happened to be clinging to her girlfriend like some lonely koala. Her arms were locked tightly around the alpha’s torso, her face buried straight into the side of Princess’s neck as her lungs let out small, shaky hitches of breath.
Princess was holding a teacup, pretending to drink tea from it.
"This tea is amazing, Your Majesty," Princess played along. She tilted the empty cup toward her lips, her eyes remaining completely focused on the quiet weight of the omega in her lap.
"I thought you have four pups..." Kaye said. He was playing out of character, watching his Aunty Faye cling to her Alpha. It was confusing for him.
"I do have four pups," Princess replied. She didn’t drop her arm, her voice low and calm as she answered the boy.
"Doesn’t look like it, because my aunty happens to be the fifth pup, such a baby.." Kaye said, shaking his head in disbelief. He let out a loud, dramatic sigh through his teeth, his small shoulders dropping.
Dina smacked his head. Her hand came down with a sharp pop against the plastic tiara, her face twisting into a furious glare.
"Kaye, don’t ruin our tea party."
"Did I tell you I wanted to be the princess?.."
While the two kids went back and forth, Kaye not liking the way Dina kept hitting his head...
Princess looked at her girlfriend’s face and adjusted the hair behind her ear. Her thumb brushed gently against the soft skin, her touch warm and steady as she tried to soothe the shivering wolf.
"Baby..." Princess murmured. Her voice was a low, rumbling vibration against Faye’s cheekbone, full of a quiet, worried heat.
Faye’s eyes were shut, but she made a small reaction to the call. She squeezed her arms a fraction tighter around Princess’s waist, her nose digging deeper into the jacket to pull in the alpha’s scent.
Princess’s eyes stopped at the pups. While the others were playing, Leonny had been staring at his parents, mostly his mommy. His eyes were completely fixed on them, his small hands stopping mid-air over a plastic block.
He had never seen his mom acting like that before. The sight of his mommy looking so small and sad made his little heart pump in a strange, restless rhythm.
He couldn’t play, so he crawled toward his mommy. Faye was still not responding, still hugging her girlfriend like her life depended on it. Her breathing remained short and shallow, her mind totally locked away in her own head.
So Baby Leonny crawled to the dining table. Then he slowly stood up on his two feet and began to giggle so he could get everyone’s attention.
When everyone turned to look at the giggling baby, they were stunned that a now five-month-old baby was taking steps. The entire room went dead silent for a split second, every adult stopping mid-breath as the toddler let go of the chair and balanced on his bare feet.
"Baby, see... your son is walking," Princess said to the downcast Faye. She nudged her shoulder gently, her heart giving a fast, excited thud against her ribs as she pointed toward the table.
"Woah! Baby Leonny is taking his first steps!" Dina shouted. She jumped up from the mat, her plastic teacup flying out of her hand and clattering across the floor.
"Yeah! Keep walking, Baby Leonny! Keep walking!" Kaye clapped his hands. He leaned forward on his knees, his face lighting up with a massive, happy grin as he cheered the baby on.
When the room became noisy with everyone shouting Baby Leonny’s name, Faye couldn’t help but raise her head from Princess’s shoulder, her eyes scanning for the baby who was walking.
Seeing her son taking his steps, even though it wasn’t actually his first steps to Faye, it still felt like Leonny was taking his first steps. The sight cut straight through the dark fog in her brain, her motherly instincts flaring up in a wild, fast rush.
Faye jumped away from Princess and hurried in front of her son. Then she knelt down with open arms.
"Come on, my baby. Come to Mommy... my little wolf," Faye said with a smile as she watched her firstborn son slowly walk toward her. Her voice was trembling, tears spilling over her eyelids again, but this time her face was glowing with pure love.
Leonny’s eyes were fixed on his mommy’s face. He was walking just to hug her. His tiny arms were stretched out wide, his little feet moving in quick, uneven thumps across the floor as he focused entirely on her open arms.
Even though he was supposed to walk only when his other siblings started walking, all he wanted was to see his dear mommy smile. His little chest heaved with excited pants, his giggles turning into happy screeches as the distance between them closed.
Leonny finally reached his mommy, and Faye grabbed him and hugged him tightly. She pulled his small body against her chest, her arms wrapping around him in a fierce, protective circle that locked out the rest of the world.
She cried as she hugged her little baby. Her tears soaked right into his soft cotton onesie, her shoulders shaking violently with every single sob that broke out of her throat.
"I’m sorry, my baby... I didn’t mean to harm any of you. I love you all... I love you all. Mommy loves you all and will never put any of you in danger. I don’t care about what the world says. I promise not to let anybody touch a single hair on your skin... my little puppies." Faye choked out, her voice raw and thick with emotion, her heart pounding a fast, solid rhythm against her baby’s back.
Even though she was only hugging her first son, it felt like she was hugging them all. The other three were already crawling over, drawn by the sound of her voice, their small hands tugging at her jeans.
She never had the love of a mother, and she wouldn’t deny her children that.
She had made a mistake by not thinking about them first, but she was going to make sure her mistakes would never affect her babies.
She wanted to be the mother she never got... to be the mother her children deserved.
Finally, Faye wasn’t clingy anymore, but her face was still downcast. The frantic, desperate need to hide had left her body, leaving behind a quiet, serious calm that made her move with a slow, careful pace.
She was playing with her pups and Charlie in her bedroom. They were on her bed, while Princess was still playing with Kaye and Dina in the living room.
"Puppy, is everything alright?" Paye said as he joined them to play with the kids.
He wasn’t happy with the way his sister looked. Ever since they had arrived, he could tell she wasn’t acting like herself.
"Yes, I’m fine, Brother," Faye said, still playing with the kids. She didn’t look up, her fingers gently moving a plastic ring across the bedsheet.
"Just tell me the truth. Did that Alpha of yours do something bad to you? Just tell me, and I don’t care if she is an Alpha. Nobody touches my little sister." Paye demanded.
"Paye, I’m fine, okay? Princess didn’t harm me. She isn’t like that." Faye said, her geyes finally lifting to meet his gaze. Her voice was steady, totally devoid of any fear.
"Then why do you look so sad puppy?"
"I was just realizing that I need to think of the pups first before anyone else. They are my first priority, just like when I was your first priority," Faye said as she played with Donny’s hair.
"I need to grow up so I don’t do stupid things anymore."
"Did you do something bad that could risk their lives?" Paye asked, his eyebrows drawing together tightly as his heart missed a beat.
"I might have... but I will make sure it won’t affect them. I’ll make sure they are safe, even if it takes my own life, just so I can keep them safe." Faye stated. Her voice was completely flat and heavy with a terrifying level of absolute certainty, her jaw locking tight as she made the vow.
When Faye said those words, Paye saw their mother in her.
Those were the same words their mother used to say before she died.
Their mother died saving his little sister.