The day started off like any other. Breakfast in bed from her little ones. Kiyomi smiled at her mother as she brought the tray of food in the room. “Here you go mom.” The young girl said putting her tray before her mother while the wolf sat up. “Any day now right?” She asked sitting next to her on the bed. “Yes. Any day now.” Katerina smiled at her daughter then started to eat her eggs. Two little girls walked into the room and sat on the edges of the bed; their plates in hand. “Hi, mommy!” Annette said as she sat down by her mother’s covered feet. “Hi girls.” Katerina smiled at her children who were around her. It was such a great sight to see after all these years.

Amare walked into the room next, with yarn and needles in hand. She sat down on a chair beside the bed and began to knit. “What are you making?” Annette asked as she leaned forward to look what was in the dark woman’s hands. “A blanket for the new babe.” Her accent was thick as she replied to the little girl. “Ohhh!” The two little girl said in unison.

Will walked into the room wiping his shirt’s collar. “She get you?” Katerina said with a laugh. “Eva always has to miss the towel. I swear she does it on purpose.” Will grumbled as he fell down on the chair besides Kiyomi. “She’s a baby. How can she do it on purpose, Uncle Will?” Annette looked curiously at her uncle as she spoke. “He is just joking, sweetie.” Katerina said between bites of her bread. “Ohh. Okay.” Annette smiled at her uncle then went back to eating her own bread.

Will laughed at bit at his niece. She was always one to ask questions then her little sister, Freya, who was always quiet. Before the wolf man knew it, he was fast asleep. A long night with his niece, Eva, had made him tired. Katerina was told by Amare that she needed to rest now. The red hair woman had been on her feet too long and needed to wait out her three weeks in bed. “You travel too much, this babe needs to be in the oven longer and the babe won't be if you keep venturing to town.” That was only a week ago.

A soft humming came from the woman beside her when she finished her food. Kiyomi stood and collected the plates. “Thanks, hun.” Katerina said as Kiyomi collected her sisters plates. “You're welcome, Mom.” She left the room and the girls followed.


“I'll take the girls on a kuongezeka, while you rest.” Amare said to Katerina as she stood from her chair. “Rest now.” The dark skinned woman walked over to the wolf demon and covered her with another blanket. “In a few weeks, the babe will be here.” With that, the woman who was her friend became her nanny. Amare no longer lived in her dirt hut on the other side of the Viren’s forest, but in a room down the hall from Katerina’s. The witch made all the charms jewelry that the girls wore; when in need they could call upon Katerina. The charm even let Katerina know their location. With all the monsters in the world, the wolf demon just wanted to take precautions.

With a sigh, the wolf demon snuggled deep into her blankets and closed her eyes. Listening to the fading of giggling as she fell asleep. The wolf demon never noticed the faint contractions that started.

Kiyomi smiled as she walked out of the house; she left her mother with her uncle. He was more than capable of forcing her to stay in bed. The baby was due any day now and needed to be in a safe environment. Her mother wasn’t one to stay in one place for long; she was a free spirit. For being someone who was over a thousand years old, how could you not be? Kiyomi had only been with her mother for almost ten years now, and she could tell when her mother was being kept up for too long. There were times where Kiyomi would go with her on those adventures, one day she would be going on her own.

Glancing over her shoulder at the fading house; Kiyomi grew worried. She didn’t want to leave her mother. The young dragon wanted to be there to help if anything happened. As if hearing her thoughts, the dark skinned woman moved next to Kiyomi. “Child, it will be alright. Now lets free your mind.” Amare’s accent was thick as she spoke. She wasn’t from the lands of Revaliir, but from a land far past the open sea.

“Okay.” Kiyomi nodded as her eyes turned to her two younger sisters. They ran off in the field of flowers before them. Her eyes trailed over to the ocean to their right, the seagulls sang and the ocean crashed. The music around them calmed the dragon’s worry. “Lets collect some sea shells.” Kiyomi called to her sisters as she waved for them to come.

It was nice living near the ocean, the crashing waves seemed to always calm the dragon. Peace washed over her face as the water came into view. As soon as they reached the sand, Kiyomi kicked off her sandals and picked up her dress, and made her way towards the water. Her sister’s ran passed her and splashed in the waves. After a few moments, laughter filled the are as the sisters splashed each other with water.

Just over an hour had passed before the large white tiger came up to Amare. “You need to get the girls out of here.” An edge of fear on the tiger’s voice. Amare turned to him wondering what was happening. “Kiyomi… She is reaching her peak in her dragon blood. And her mother is about to give birth.” His eyes were serious as he stared into the green eyes of the woman before him. She nodded.

“Calder.” Amare said his name quietly, but the wolf still heard. As he ran over to her, his feet were bare and his pant legs were rolled up. “Howdy, Ma’am. What can I do for you on this fine day?” The wolf smiled as he made his way up to the tiger and witch. “Get the children away and distracted for a few hours. Their mother is in labor, I must go to her.” With that the witch disappeared.

“Yes Ma’a–” The wolf started to say but trailed off before she was gone in a puff of purple smoke. “Okay then. Girls! Annette! Freya! Wanna see something awesome!?” The girls gasped and nodded. Their favorite Uncle Calder was there. “Yes!!” The two said in unison.

Kiyomi was about to go with her sisters, but Alexander stopped her. “Xander? Whats wrong?” The young dragon asked worried. He waited for the girls were out of eyesight and earshot. “Come with me.” He said calmly. The tiger moved around her and towards the edge of the ocean. His paws sinking slightly into the warm sand. Reaching the edge of the water, he laid down. “Xander?” Kiyomi asked as she stared down at him. He didn’t say a word but nodded for her to sit. Hesitantly, the dragon did as she was told.

The white tiger stared out into the ocean as the waves barely touching his front paws. “Kiyomi. There comes a time in a young dragon’s life where she must mature–” Kiyomi held up her hand and shook her head. “Please… no. Mom already beat you to the punch about a year ago.” The young dragon laughed at the moment she was in. Her laugh was cut short as she looked at the very serious Alexander. “…Kiyomi this isn’t about… that. “ A sigh escaped him as he looked away. He didn’t know how to say what he needed to say.

“Every dragon goes through this. You are going to reach the peak of your dragon part. Since you are human..” He paused as he looked back at the girl he loved. “It will be painful. Very painful.” Kiyomi finally understood what her dear friend was talking about. Her eyes turned away from him and looked out to sea. “Oh…” She couldn’t say anything else.

A few minutes of silence passed before the dragon spoke. “When?” When she finally asked, her eyes went back to the white tiger beside her. “Anytime.” If he could frown, the tiger would have. Standing from his spot in the sand, he moved around the dragon. “I’ll be here.” He whispered as he laid behind her, circling her with his long body. His tail coming to rest on her lap.

Taking a deep breath, the young dragon laid back against the tiger. She didn’t know what to think or do, but she needed to feel him close to her. He was her best friend.

It wasn’t long after she laid on him, she felt the pain shoot through her body. It was as if her whole body was breaking, and her skin felt as if it was on fire.

Her screams pierced through the skies.

As Katerina was taken into her dreams, a meadow appeared around her.

A smile crept onto her lips as she heard the laughter of her children around her. Turning around she saw them behind her. They ran around in circles chasing each other. Up above, a roar echoed through the sky, forcing the wolf’s eyes up. A large dragon soared over them and circled around. Fear rose within Katerina as the dragon flew down at her and her children. It was so large, almost as large as the dragon, Jack.

Her fears soon washed away when a light shined on the dragon and there was Kiyomi in her place. She hovered to the ground then started to run towards her sisters. She joined in the chase, now her four little sisters were running from her. Katerina let out a breath she didn’t realize she was holding.

“Katerina…” The voice first entered her mind like an old memory. Her mother's voice called her name once more, but from a distance. “Katerina!” The wolf demon’s eyes followed the voice. A gasp leaving her. At the end of the meadow, right at the treeline, her mother stood. Her long blonde hair blowing in the breeze. The strands of her hair seemed to glow in the sunlight. “Mom….MOM!” Her voice started as a shocked whispered then rose as she began to run towards her mother.

Katherine face was fearful as she turned and ran into the trees. In a instant, Katerina was back to the moment she tried to leave in her past. The rain hit hard around her as she stared up at her parents. The charges of murder being read out. Her mother’s eyes were on her. “Katerina… Help me.” Her mother said as the blade came at her.

“MOM!” Katerina yelled as she awoke, startled. “Whoa!” Will was also started by the sudden outburst of his sister. The black wolf fell off his chair and onto the ground. “Are you okay sis!? Is the baby coming?!??!” He said as he shot up from his spot on the floor. His head pounding due to the back of his head coming in contact with the chair leg.

Katerina was about to say no, but the pain that surged through her body said elsewise. “Ahhhh!!” She yelled as her hands gripped her stomach. The contractions had gotten worse as she slept. The pain passed and she was finally able to breath. That was when she started to count.

The wolf’s brother stood wide eyed at his sister, unable to move. Then, he finally came to his senses.“Baby!!” Willhelm started to run towards the door. “Towels. Hot water… Amare!! We need Amare!” His voice was shaky as he started to pace. That was when the contractions came again.

While her brother began to freak out, another contraction hit. “Not enough time!” She gasped out while the pain went through her. Her contractions seemed to have been close together, she counted to two minutes. That mean any moment to maybe an hour. She couldn’t risk having her baby when her brother was running around looking for Amare.

“What?! You wan…..want me to deliver the… baby?” Will felt as if he would faint in that moment. “I.. Sis… “ He looked at her with fear in his eyes. What if something went wrong? What was he going to do?! “AHHHHHH!!!” His sister’s scream hit his ears. “Breath… Sister, Breath!” He went over to Katerina and brought his hand to her forehead. Her head was already drenched in sweat. He saw the pain in her face and in the moment, he decided he had to do this.

Pulling himself together, Will darted out of the room. He retrieved the water, towels and scissors in only a few minutes. When he got everything in the room, he took Katerina’s blanket off of her and piled up pillows behind her. He helped her to open and raise her legs up.Noticing her water had broken, he took a deep breath. He knew what that meant. Katerina’s brother reached down and grabbed her underwear. He cut them off with the scissors then. For a moment he didn’t feel odd when he took off his sister's underwear. It also helped that he saw the baby’s head showing. “Her head.. I see her head!” Will gasped but pulled himself together.

“Take a deep breath… Then push, Kat!” He ordered his sister as he reached down. Katerina couldn’t think of anything else but this moment. She did as her brother instructed. She pushed with all her might then laid back against the pillows to breath. “One more push!” He said to his sister. He was surprised by how calm his voice sounded. “Okay.” The wolf demon pushed herself up once more and pushed. “You got this!…..Come on…… She's out!” Will said triumphantly as he placed the quiet baby in his sister's arms.

Dark eyes stared up at Katerina, as the wolf demon stared down back at her baby girl. “Hey baby girl… I’m your mama.” Tears slowly fell down the wolf’s face. It was as if the pain had vanished when she took her first look at the baby in her arms. She didn’t noticed her brother grabbing the scissors and staring down at her. A smile crossed the man’s face, he couldn’t believe what he just witnessed. It was such a great moment of love. He had never felt it before. It was such a perfect moment. He stepped back and waited for his sister to have her moment with her baby.

The male wolf didn’t know how much time had passed before he finally spoke.“Kat..?” His voice made her eyes look up at him; a smile lining her lips while she nodded. Getting the okay from his sister, he reached down with the scissors and cut her umbilical cord.

That moment, Amare rushed into the house. She stopped at the doorway when she saw the baby in Katerina’s arms. “Beautiful.” Her accent thick when she said the one word. The wolf demon looked up at her friend with a smile. “Amare.” She said her name as she looked up are the dark skinned women. “Meet Guinevere…” Katerina’s voice was soft as she spoke. Her eyes moved back to her daughter. Everything was perfect in that moment. She had forgotten about her dream. “Go fetch her daughters. I’ll clean up and check on Eva.” Amare said as she started to clean up around Kat. With a nod, the male wolf leaned down and kissed his sister’s head then Guinevere. “Thank you…” Katerina said up to her brother. He replied with a nod and a smile then left to get the rest of his family.