Chapter 24 - The Babies

Jasmine held her stomach as another contraction hit her. She tried to breathe through the pain, but it was difficult. Aaron was next to her, trying to take on some of her pain. He didn't know how she was being so calm when he felt like falling to his knees.

"Jasmine, how are you holding up?" One of the pack doctors came up to the couple with a smile. He washed his hands and put on a pair of gloves before sitting on the stool to see how far along she was.

"I'm okay, but I'll be glad once these pups come out. How soon do you think it'll be?" Jasmine squeezed Aaron's hand as she had a contraction.

"Not much longer. You're already fully dilated. You should be ready to push any minute. Let's go ahead and get everything prepped." The doctor quickly gave instructions to the nurses, and two bassinettes were brought in for the pups. Aaron watched with fear, realizing any minute he would be the father of two pups. Jasmine looked at him with a smile.

"Aaron, you're going to be an incredible father." Jasmine held his hand tightly, and he looked down into her glowing face as he calmed down.

"I love you, Jasmine." He kissed her forehead and got ready for the arrival of their pups.

"It's time to start pushing Jasmine."

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In the room next door Brandie was already in full-blown labor and pushing with everything she had. Titus looked like he was ready to pass out from the pain he could feel his mate having.

"Push, Brandie, push. I can see a head." The doctor sounded excited while Titus watched in shock, wondering how his mate was doing this. As he watched in horror, he thought there was no way she would ever want him to touch her again.

"Titus, can you see anything?" Brandie asked breathlessly.

"I can see the top of one of the pups' heads. Are you okay?" Titus looked at her in concern, but she was smiling.

"I'm fine. Hold my hand. I need to push." Titus thought it was a good thing he was a werewolf because the amount of strength Brandie used when squeezing his hand would have crippled a human.

Brandie pushed as Titus watched the first pup come out. All he could see was the face and a head full of black hair. The rest of the little body soon followed, and he confirmed the pup was his son.

"Brandie, we have a boy." Titus could barely speak as he watched the nurse quickly clean the baby. The doctor had Titus cut the cord, and he stared at the little pup with tears in his eyes, not yet believing he was a father.

"Okay, it's time for pup number two." The doctor was getting situated for the next one.

Brandie started pushing again, and Titus went to her side. He watched in fascination as he saw a small head with reddish blonde hair appear. Their daughter was born just as quickly as their son. Titus once again cut the cord and assisted with her first bath.

Once Brandie was cleaned up, the nurse brought the pups to her and put them in her arms. She looked at the little ones with pure joy on her face and tears in her eyes. They were both swaddled in blankets, and they couldn't look more different from each other.

Their daughter had reddish blonde hair with pale white skin. Their son had black hair and tanned skin. They were beautiful. As the new parents stared at their little pups, there was a knock on the door.

Jasmine and Aaron came into the room. Jasmine was in a wheelchair holding her pups while Aaron pushed them. Brandie's eyes went to the pups in her sister's arms, and she gasped.

Her niece looked exactly like her daughter, but her nephew didn't look anything like her son. He was tan but had dark blonde hair like Aaron.

"Jasmine, they're gorgeous. Do you have names yet?" Neither couple had decided on names before their births. They wanted to wait until they were born.

"Yes. This little one is Madison, and this one is Ivan. Your pups are beautiful, Brandie." The sisters smiled happily while their mates were still shocked at how quickly the girls bounced back from what would have been traumatic for them.

"Our daughter's name is Scarlett, and her brother is Kane. Jasmine, I can't believe how much the girls look alike. They could be twins." They held the girls next to each other, and you couldn't tell them apart.

"I know they are genuinely Emerald Stone witches just by looking at their appearance. Aaron, can you get our parents? I'm sure they're about ready to run in here anyway." Jasmine looked up at her mate as he nodded.

Dominick and Kaleigh, followed by Alannah and Dillon, walked into the room. The twins smiled at them, knowing nothing was getting in the way of the two sets of grandparents. They cuddled each of the little ones in excitement.

"How are you girls feeling?" Asked Kaleigh as she held Scarlett in her arms.

"I'm feeling great. There's no better time to be a werewolf than after having twins. I don't know how humans do it with not being able to heal quickly like we do." Jasmine would have jumped out of the chair and danced if she didn't think Aaron would have a fit.

He had been treating her like she was glass after he saw her give birth to their pups. Aaron had hardly spoken a word, and from what she could tell, Titus was the same way. Men were too cute when it came to childbirth. The women did all the work, but the men were the ones who seemed to be most affected.

The doctors wanted the twins to spend the night in the hospital, but they both refused. It was their wedding night, and they wanted to take their pups home. Both doctors agreed and said one of them would be over in the morning to check on all of them.

When they got to the pack house, everyone in the pack was waiting on them. They all looked at the babies and immediately fell in love with them. As the twins made it up to their bedrooms with the help of their mates, they were exhausted. They had their wedding, and they had also given birth to two pups. It had been a long yet rewarding day.

Brandie laid Scarlett and Kane in their bassinettes and smiled. They were so precious she couldn't stop staring at them. Titus came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her as he looked at the pups in awe.

"Brandie, I don't know how you're so strong after getting those two out of you. I thought for sure you would never want me to touch you again. I have a whole new respect for my mom and feel like I should apologize to her for any pain I caused. How are you not hurting?" Titus was still picturing what he saw, and he thought Brandie should still be in the hospital to ensure she was alright.

"Titus, I'm fine. We're werewolves; we heal quickly. As far as you touching me, your better never stop touching me, Titus. Yes, it hurt when I gave birth to them, but as soon as I saw those little faces, all the pain was forgotten. Now all I feel is love. Love for them and for you. I know we can't have an actual wedding night, but I want to sleep wrapped in your arms, Titus. I love you."

Brandie pulled his face to hers and kissed him to show him she was fine. He responded like he always did and began to relax for the first time since Brandie had gone into labor. He lifted her off her feet and laid her on their bed.

"I love you too, Brandie."

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Kaleigh and Dominick were in their room preparing for bed, but they couldn't wipe the smiles off their faces. Seeing their grandpups made them feel a whole new kind of love.

"Can you believe how tiny they are, Kaleigh? I don't remember any of ours being that small. I want to bring them all in here just so I can watch them sleep." Dominick was in love with his grandpups. He couldn't believe he was a grandpa.

"I know I feel the same way. They're so amazing, each unique in their own way. I can't wait for Logan to get old enough to be the Alpha so we can retire like your parents. I'm a little envious that we have to return home while they get to stay here with the pups."

They lay in their bed wrapped in each other's arms, talking about the pups. They'd had ups and downs over the years but overcame them all. Dominick and Kaleigh had come a long way from meeting at a wedding to celebrating the birth of their grandpups.

Their life had been filled with love, happiness, and, most of all, family. Neither could wait to see what the future would hold for their children and grandchildren. One thing was for sure, they would be there to support them no matter what comes their way.