Chapter 2 ROMANIA

The man at the river's wolf perked up at the sight of the baby. It whimpered. The man held the baby closer to his chest. It was like he was in pain. He looked at Usher on the floor and saw a dart on his back.  He wondered who the man on the floor was and why he was in such a state. He got closer,looked at the dart  carefully then gasped. Usher started to spit out blood.

"Cherry",he mind linked.

"Yes Alpha",she replied.

"I need help, bring some guards",he added and closed his mind link.

The baby's big emerald eyes looked at him. He was fascinated with her eyes. "Who are you?",he whispered.

"Her name is Romania,you must protect her", Usher managed to croak out. He was finding it hard to breathe.

"Don't talk, I'm finding help,you can't die on me. You have to protect your daughter yourself", The Alpha said and with the other hand which wasn't holding the child, he helped him sit, leaning on a tree.

"Don't lean too much on the tree,the dart is still in your body",The Alpha warned.

"She's not my daughter",Usher said and coughed more blood, ignoring the Alpha's warnings. "She's my Queen",he added. But before the Alpha could ask further questions,Usher's eyes had already closed. Just then a woman arrived with ten guards following. "Alpha",she greeted.

"Check his pulse Beta",he gave the order.

"He's alive",she replied after checking his pulse".

"Take him to the Pack hospital and also alert the Pack Priest",he commanded and left with the little bundle in his arms.

The long walk from the pack border to the pack house was the least of his troubles at the moment. All he cared and could think about was the little angel he held in his arms. She was just so beautiful and he couldn't understand why anyone would want to hurt such a pure and innocent soul. He h

ad to make sure this little bundle was settled in his home,then he'd go to the pack hospital to check on the injured man. Earlier, before he had met this little girl, he dreaded going home. What's home? Of course everything was home, his whole world was home. A wonderful mate, a son, a pack he'd die for but the night was one full of sadness. His mate was a wreck, he had to console her but he had to control his wolf first. Controlling his wolf, leaving his mate was a bad idea. But looking at the baby in his arms,he believed it was worth it.

"Maybe, this is the Moon Goddess' way of blessing us with another daughter",he said to himself.

He got to the pack house and made his way to the Alpha's wing. Not even a single person was in sight. Perhaps they had all felt his sorrow through the bond and wouldn't dare show their faces to a wounded Alpha Wolf. He slowly walked to the nursery,the nursery they  had prepared for their little girl. They had known all along it was a baby girl. They had prepared for it as well. But now it all had ended in tears. His mate,the pack's Luna, Gabriella had gone into labour but the baby died right after birth. He had held her as she cried. He had felt every bit of her sorrow. His heart ached, for he had lost a daughter he could pamper and his mate was in deep sorrow. All he could do was look at her go through the pain. He wished he could take it away but he couldn't. He had stayed with her till her eyes closed and she fell asleep but then he also needed to fight his inner demons. So he left to the only place he found peace and relaxation apart from his mate's arms. The Moon Lake. Myths had it that the moon shines brightly on the lake and connects with the true Alpha King whenever he reaches the age to take the throne. It also connects all Alphas to the Alpha King  and it makes them feel a sense of peace. So it was no wonder he felt peace whenever he was at the lake. He finally reached the nursery room and pushed his sad thoughts at the back of his mind. The baby slept on his left arm as he opened the door with his right hand. He entered and pushed the door closed. But Gabriella's scent hit him in waves. The vanilla that he loved so much didn't feel pleasant no more. It made worry etch on his forehead.

"What is Gabby doing here,I thought I told her to rest. And why didn't I  smell her before entering?",he asked himself. He sighed. Perhaps he was so deep in his thoughts he hadn't even smell her. The room was dark and the only source of light was the bright moon throwing shade in the room. He found his mate by the baby's crib,toys scattered all around her. Even in the dark room,he could tell her eyes were puffy and tired from crying. He hadn't even felt her pain,"could it be that the baby could numb their pain?",he asked himself. He watched her as she wiped her tears with the back of her hand and started putting all the toys away in a box. It finally dawned on him,she was packing. He switched on the lights and she turned to his direction. It seems she hadn't realize his presence all this time. She watched him,then her eyes shifted to the little bundle in his arms. Then she teared up,her lips wobbling and her body shaking with sadness.

"Grey",she called.

"Gabby",he sighed and walked to her side, sitting beside her as  he pulled her into his chest and kissed her hair. She held him tight as she cried. She cried like her whole world was over. Then a knock sounded on the door.

"Come in",he commanded with his Alpha tone.

"I'm sorry to disturb you Alpha", one of the servants said and bowed. Grey knew her. She was his son's nanny. She was old enough to be in her late 30s. But being a wolf came with abilities,you stop aging at 23.

"What's it Mathilde?", Grey asked.

She pulled a young boy from behind her and said "the little Alpha wanted to see you so I brought him", she added and pushed him to walk to his dad. She bowed, closed the door and left.

He walked to his dad wiping the sleep from his eyes as he sat next to his father. His big brown eyes got even bigger as he looked at the baby in his father's arms. He pinched her cheeks and gasped as she opened her eyes. "Pwetty",the boy whispered and giggled. Gabriella got up and her eyes shifted to the baby. "She's beautiful", Gabriella thought. She found her sad heart at peace by just looking at the baby. She turned a questioning gaze to Grey.

"Jasper",Grey called his son. He will be three in the next few weeks. "Go get a glass of water for mom okay",he added and the boy nodded with smiling eyes. If that was even possible. He moved to the door and realized he was still too small to reach the door knob. He turned to find his dad already up, helping his mother up. Grey looked at his son and grinned. He walked to the door and opened it for him. "Don't worry Jasper, you'll be big enough soon", he teased. The boy only walked out, grinning at the thought of being big like his father some day.

Grey pulled Eleanor to the lover's seat at the corner of the room and they both sat down.

"Who's baby is she?", Gabriella asked but it came out like a whisper.

"I don't know Gabby",Grey replied.

"And what do you mean by that?", Gabriella yelled, worry laced in her tone. "Did you steal the baby?",she asked in horror.

"No, I could never do that,Grey replied. There was a man at the Moon Lake, he added. He was wounded and with this baby. He needed help so I just helped him. He's now at the Pack Hospital receiving treatment. All we have to do is wait for him to be well enough to tell us everything. I only know her name", he ended.

"What's her name?",Gabriella asked taking the girl's little hand in hers.

"Romania",Grey said , testing the name on his lips.

The baby took one of Gabriella's fingers in her hand and brought it to her lips as she sucked on it.

"Rome", Gabriella also tested the pet name she planned on giving the little girl if she was going to take care of her. "Can I hold her",she asked enthusiastically. Her eagerness made Grey smiled,at least she wasn't crying like crazy now.

As soon as the girl ended up in  Gabriella's arms. She inhaled the baby's scent. "Rome",she chanted like it was a melodious tone, pleasing to her ears.

"Don't worry love, we'll know your identity soon. You have me,now and forever",she said rocking the baby back and forth.

"The room's a mess,she should sleep with us. By tomorrow the nursery will be ready and we'll move her back in here",Grey told his mate but she only nodded. She was so happy with the baby that it seems she had even forgotten all about Grey. He chuckled at that. He got up and held his hand out for Gabriella. She ignored his hand and used both her hands to hold the baby tightly. Grey raised his left eyebrow cockily as if asking Gabriella what's up with her.

"What?, Gabriella smirked. I have to hold her well,I don't want her to fall", she explained.

"This is not your first time having a baby Gabriella, you're just so in love with your daughter and she's much too important for you",Grey sighed dramatically. "When did I lose all my charm?", he asked.

Gabriella ignored Grey and just looked at the baby in her arms as she got up.

"Let's go,we have to check on our son, only God knows what's taking him so long",Grey said and opened the door as they both walked out. He escorted Gabriella to their room and quickly went out to look for his son.

"Where on earth am I going to find a sneaky little Alpha in such a big house", he sighed. He knew his wolf abilities wouldn't even help when it came to Jasper. "Why did I send him out in order to talk with Gabriella?,he asked himself. I should have just let him play with Romania",he giggled at that and continued his search for Jasper.

-------------------------------------------------------- He walked through the long halls and couldn't find Jasper. He tried the play room and still couldn't find the boy. "It's too late to be outside,Grey thought. So he can't be in the garden. But this wouldn't be the last time he sneaked into the garden late at night",he added then chuckled. He walked into the garden and everything was quite. His son was definitely not in the garden. He kept on roaming, looking for his son. Then he came to the living room. Jasper wasn't there so he decided to check their room, perhaps he had returned to Gabriella and Romania. But as he walked,he stopped. He heard noises coming from the kitchen. "Perhaps, someone is finding something to eat",Grey said to himself. Then it dawned on him. Jasper might be in the kitchen. Grey knew his boy liked eating too much, always finding ways to fill his belly. He took a sniff of the air and Jasper's scent filled the air but it was mixed with something. It wasn't blood so he relaxed but what he saw as he entered the kitchen scared him. He let out a screech,then later laughed so hard that his tummy was hurting.

"What happened to my big boy?", Grey asked in between laughs. "You look like a white haired monster",he added.

The boy gasped. "Like the flour monster in Nanny Mathilde's stories",the boy asked with wide eyes.

Grey only laughed.

"I only wanted to make pancakes and milk for the baby", Jasper sadly said in his little voice unable to pronounce the pancakes correctly.

Grey smiled and replied" the baby's too small to eat pancakes but you tried so Romania's very happy".

A frown developed on the boy's face as he tried to understand what his father said.

"Her name is Romania, she's your sister and you have to take care of her, you're a big boy now, Grey told Jasper.

The boy kept nodding his head up and down in understanding.

Grey sat the boy on the kitchen island as he wiped the flour from his hair,face and all over his body. The kitchen was a mess. The servants sure had a lot of work to do tomorrow. He grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and held his left hand out for Jasper to take. The boy gave his father a weird look as he stomped his feet and walk away, taking the lead.

"What did I do wrong?, Grey asked.

"I'm a big boy now I can walk", Jasper replied nonchalantly and started climbing the stairs. Grey's body shook with laughter as he followed the little boy.

"What took you so long?", Gabriella asked as soon as Grey entered the room. But a look at Jasper and she got all the explanation she needed.

"Boys",she grumbled.

"Hey,he was only trying to prepare pancakes for his sister", Grey said with a laugh and Gabriella sighed.

Grey handed the bottle of water to Gabriella. She took the cap off and a took a sip before closing it once again.

"Let's go take a shower",she said as she dragged the little boy into the bathroom. Jasper sucked all the time in bathroom, just saying how much he hated bathing.

❤️🧡💛💚💙💗💖💛🤍🖤🤎

Gabriella walked into the room with a fully clothed Jasper in his cute PJs.

"We're all sleeping here", Gabriella told Grey.

"Like a family should at times,Grey said with a smile. They're too young to sleep alone anyway", he added.

He brought his son and mate into his warm embrace and kissed their foreheads. They all turned their heads to look at the baby sleeping on the King sized bed. Grey smiled. Everything could be perfect and normal but he knew nothing was normal when you were born with power and wealth and bad enough as Supernaturals,tragedy and pain was always normal. And with necromancers everywhere he feared the worst was about to come. Then surprisingly,there was a loud howl, a howl of pain. All the bones in his body cracked. He felt every bit of the pain of the wolf that howled. It held power. He was brought to his knees and even Gabriella could feel the pain. It was like a part of him was escaping from his body. The pain was worse than his first shift. If he felt like the pain of losing his pup was grave. This was even worse. He held his chest and endured the pain. As if that wasn't enough he saw Romania's eyes open as she let out a loud wail. Her beautiful emerald eyes replaced with silver as she let out an uncontrollable cry.