Nine Months Later

All the pain was gone. Sixteen hours of labor, all the sweat, agony and cursing at everyone vanished from my mind. Nothing seemed real anymore. The only thing that was was the beautiful baby boy in my arms with blond hair and blue eyes. His eyes were the color between mine and Ryder's; not dark ocean blue but not baby blue either. Just right in between and they were the most beautiful eyes I've ever saw in my whole life.

I wanted to cry with sheer joy. The baby, mine and Ryder's baby, stared up at me with those big eyes. I snuggled a little more into the hospital bed, cradling my son. I have a son! It was so weird to think about. I'd never even thought about having kids but now I don't see why I never thought about it in the first place. I'll admit it had hurt like Hell, worse than anything I'd ever felt before but once I laid eyes on my son, I forgot all about that.

"What will you name him?" the nurse asked, breaking me from my thoughts. I looked to Ryder who was standing beside me. Josephine was in the room, too. I wanted her there because she's had experience with giving birth before. She coaxed me through it even when I screamed bad things at the world. I apologized when it had ended but she said she was the same way. You have to shout something.

Ryder and I hadn't agreed on a last name, whether the baby had mine or his but we knew his first and middle name. "Damon," I said, running a finger down his soft cheek. "Damon Nathaniel..." I trailed off.

"Griffith," Ryder said, smiling down at me. His finger was trapped between Damon's little ones.

"Damon Nathaniel Griffith," I confirmed, nuzzling his soft hair gently. The scent of wolf was there. I didn't know when he'd come into the Changes. I'd have to ask someone with experience. Damon smiled up at me, giggling. My heart melted. The soft white blanket wrapped around him brought out his tan skin. He was the most beautiful thing in the world.

Does every mother feel the way I'm feeling now when they first have a baby? Like you felt almost invincible because if you could go through birth, you could do anything? Though to tell you the truth, I didn't think much of that. There was only one thing I could think of.

Now, I had one more person to protect and I would do it gladly.

End

(End song, With Arms Wide Open by Creed)

Thanks for reviews! I hope to have you all as reviewers in the next book as well. Until you read again. !Shadow!