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Cheryl’s wolf was howling.
She could feel her mate’s stress from miles away and the relentless rain was doing nothing to motivate her to get her work done. She had just finished the lunch Toni packed her and was trying to find the energy for her afternoon meetings, but the only task Cheryl could seem to complete was staring out the floor-to-ceiling window and watching the city become soaked in the early autumn rain.
Her phone beeped a few times and she quickly reached for it, hoping it was some sort of reassurance that her omega was alright.
Toni had recently given birth to their first pup and he was absolutely perfect. While Cheryl took a few weeks off after the birth, she had returned sooner than she had wished because her company was approaching its busiest season and Toni had assured the alpha she could handle the newborn.
Cheryl had no doubt that her omega mate could handle motherhood. At the very least, it was in her biological nature to care for her offspring. Paired with Toni’s own nurturing and protective love for her family, Cheryl’s son was in the best hands.
What worried her was the look in Toni’s eyes when she left for work every morning or the way her mate held her just a little tighter when she did return in the evenings. She worried about how the photos of their pup, which she used to be bombarded with, were now few and far between. Her mate was becoming distant yet calling out for her alpha at the same time.
Trying to figure it all out made Cheryl’s head spin and her wolf huff in frustration. She was supposed to be able to take care of her family, yet, for the first time, she had no idea how to make Toni feel better.
Maybe she could try talking to the omega when she got home? The last time she attempted it, however, Toni quickly diverted to the adorable progress their son was making.
Checking her phone, she saw the noises were not her mate but her weather app, alerting her to the flood warnings due to the torrential downpours that were to continue throughout the day and into the night.
Cheryl sighed and tossed her phone down. Placing her head in her hands, she groaned and sent a silent plead to Toni to tell her how to fix it. She suddenly felt a surge of energy, desperate energy, and Cheryl knew it was coming from her mate.
She rose quickly to her feet and began gathering her laptop and most important documents, stuffing it all in her bag. Grabbing her phone and her umbrella, she left her office to peer into the one right next to hers.
“Hey, Ronnie, I’m taking a half day and heading home. Be safe in the rain, okay?”
Her brunette partner looked up from her own stack of papers and smirked, “You too. Get home safe. Oh, and Cheryl?”
The redhead, who had tried to leave before Veronica was even done speaking poked her head back around the doorframe with an impatient, “Hmm?”
“Don’t come in tomorrow either. If I don’t see you on Monday, I also won’t be upset.”
Cheryl immediately tried to argue but her friend removed her glasses and offered a sincere smile. “Cheryl, stop. You have a newborn at home and a stunning mate. Go, spend some time with them. I can handle the office if you take an extended weekend. Please, I have been smelling your anguish for days. Go fix it or I will.”
The alpha chewed on her bottom lip for a few moments. There was no way she could pass this up…
“Thank you, Ronnie. You’re the best.”
“I know. I was going to send everyone home early anyway because of the floods so use that to calm any worries you have. Now get out of here and give my godson some kisses for me.”
Cheryl was making her way quickly down the hall to the elevators before Veronica was even done. She did, however, catch the last bit of her friend’s orders. “Give Toni some kisses for me too!”
The alpha rolled her eyes and pressed the button for the bottom floor of their office building.
Hold on, mate. I’m coming.
Despite the heavy rain and a few roads that were already flooding, Cheryl made it home in record time and hurried into their cozy cabin the woods. Well, it was still the daunting Thistlehouse so infamous throughout Riverdale, but Cheryl and Toni had done their best to make it much more welcoming. Now, it felt like a real home to them.
Their home smelled so familiar and warm, even with the new scent of their pup mingling into the space they had shared for years.
Cheryl slipped her heels off and set down her soaking wet umbrella. She called out for her mate but received no response and began her search for either the gorgeous omega or her perfect pup.
Eventually, she found the most heartwarming sight on their screened in porch.
Some of the windows were cracked open so the sound of the rain was amplified in a soothing way. The dim gray light of the afternoon flooded the room and Cheryl shivered slightly because of the cool air flowing in from the screens.
What really captured her attention, however, was her tiny mate covered in thick blankets and pillows on their oversized couch. She was sleeping soundly and Cheryl felt the same pull to the omega that she had experienced so long ago in high school.
Her eyes quickly shifted to the small baby boy who was looking up at the sky lights in the ceiling. He was kicking his little legs and making soft gurgling noises, satisfied just to lay in his bouncer.
Cheryl was content to lean against the doorframe and watch her family, however, her pencil skirt was damp and her son started to grow restless, most likely from sensing his sire near. She quickly made her way across the room and unbuckled the baby, cooing at him and scooping him up to try and prevent a full meltdown. She wanted Toni to sleep for a little while longer.
From the crook of her elbow, he smiled up at her and tangled his fingers into her long red hair. “Come on, honey, let’s go eat while Mommy sleeps, okay?”
She whispered softly to him about her day as she headed upstairs. Laying him carefully in the middle of the bed, Cheryl quickly changed into leggings and a sweatshirt. By the time she finished, her pup was beginning to cry and Cheryl picked him up again.
“I know, I know. You’re hungry. Don’t worry, Mommy always leaves some milk in the fridge for you. Let’s go get some, yeah?”
She moved quickly back down the stairs and into the kitchen, attempting to stifle her baby’s cries in her chest. Toni would hear them either way but Cheryl would be damned if she didn’t try to give her mate some extra sleep.
“Shh, sweetheart, I’m just warming it up for you. It’s okay, Momma’s got you.”
The few seconds the milk required in the microwave felt like years as the newborn’s cries grew louder.
Finally, it was warm and Cheryl quickly opened the little door before the obnoxious beeping occurred. She tested the milk on her wrist and with its temperature to her liking, Cheryl placed the rubber nipple in her baby’s mouth. It took a few seconds for him to recognize it as a source of food, so accustomed to his mother’s warm breast but Cheryl was persistent and began to purr softly and the baby finally began to suckle.
His big brown eyes watched Cheryl as she smiled down at him and cooed softly. Rocking him gently, Cheryl paced around the kitchen and admired the beautiful being she and Toni created. Her love for Toni was endless but looking at her son, Cheryl thought her heart might just burst out of her chest.
Once finished with the bottle, Cheryl adjusted the small baby to lay upright against her shoulder and she patted his back. Her alpha was so content to take care of the pup, his smell was so warm, so innocent.
Suddenly, Cheryl felt a surge of energy from her stomach that quickly made its way up her throat. It was terror, panic, and anger?
Toni.
She hurried back out to the porch and found her mate waking up from a nightmare. After placing the baby back into his bouncer, Cheryl climbed onto the oversized couch and knelt next to Toni. She almost had to dig to get to her mate amongst the blankets and pillows.
The omega fully woke with a start and her eyes were blazing, and, frantically searching for something. Assuming it was the baby, Cheryl gently touched Toni’s arm and murmured, “Toni, shh, it’s okay. He’s fine. He’s right there.”
Toni stared at the baby for only a moment, her wolf confirming Cheryl’s words, then she threw herself at Cheryl, straddling the alpha and pushing her against the back of the couch with how hard she was pressing herself against the redhead.
“Whoa, TT, careful.”
Cheryl was more than willing to accept her mate’s affections but she could still sense the fear rolling off her mate. She wrapped an arm around Toni’s waist as the other threaded through her mate’s pink hair. She purred softly and placed affectionate kisses to Toni’s head and neck.
When her mate’s small frame began shaking, Cheryl knew she was crying and tightened her hold on her, making sure Toni’s nose was pressed against the bare skin of her neck. Her alpha was fighting to scan their home for whatever threat made Toni react this way but the human side of Cheryl knew it was all in Toni’s mind- the one thing she could not fully protect her mate from.
“Toni, babe, please talk to me. What’s going on?”
The omega tried to speak, but her sobs cut her off. She struggled to catch her breath and Cheryl continued to purr and whisper reassurances to her mate.
“Hey, love, everything is okay. Our baby is right there and he is sleeping. I just fed him. And I’m home now. I’m here.”
It took a few patient minutes of Cheryl rubbing her hands up and down Toni’s back. While she waited for the omega to calm down, she grabbed one of the thick woven blankets and draped it over her mate to fight off the autumn chill flooding through the windows. It was the perfect cuddling temperature and from the looks of it, that was what her family needed right now.
Finally, Toni sat up, still straddling Cheryl’s hips and wiped at the tears streaming down her cheeks. Cheryl’s heart broke, seeing how distraught the nightmare made her mate.
“I can bring him over here, TT. It might help to calm you down, if you hold him.”
Toni’s eyes did flash to the baby, still snoozing, but they quickly returned to Cheryl and she all but cried out, “It was about you, Cher!”
The outburst caused Cheryl’s eyes to widen and she fell back into the couch.
Her mate continued, “It started with him, someone was trying to take him away and I was fighting them off. They looked like a rogue, they were terrifying. Then you appear and tell me to take him and hide. Somehow, I end up in a tree and watch you take the rogue down but then there are ten of them surrounding you and they overpower you. They torture you until you… you…”
She shook her head and her eyes looked anywhere but at Cheryl. The redhead didn’t need words to know what her mate was inferring.
“I was screaming, Cher, and he was crying but I couldn’t help you because I couldn’t put him down. What if, what if they got him too?”
Toni’s sobs returned and she fell back into Cheryl’s embrace. Her arms wrapped tightly around Cheryl’s neck and she seemed to be doing anything that would bring her closer to her alpha.
“Oh, Toni… Shh, babe, I’m here. I’m right here and I’m alive. I’m okay.”
She reached for the blanket that had fallen off and wrapped it around Toni’s small frame, trying to get her body to stop shaking. As Toni dug her nose further into Cheryl’s neck and took a few deep breaths, she did manage to stop crying. Her fingers grasped at various parts of Cheryl’s sweatshirt, as if she were feeling each part of her alpha’s body, reassuring herself that she was, in fact, alive.
They sat, huddled together and listening to the rain, for a while. Cheryl found herself dozing off. It had been so long since they had had a quiet moment together to cuddle, to love each other, to relax.
She didn’t even realize she had started purring until a fussy cry broke the cozy atmosphere that had been created.
Toni’s maternal instincts had her up and off Cheryl’s lap in moments, scooping the baby up and placing him safely in the crook of her elbow. She cooed softly and kissed his head, bouncing him lightly. Cheryl watched, entranced by the amazing mother Toni was, and felt her heart expand as Toni smiled down at him, his own toothless smile reflecting back. He reached up and tried to grab some of the stray curls that feel from the incredibly messy updo the omega had created earlier that morning.
She felt her alpha whine with her family so physically far away from her and Toni looked up with a tiny smirk on her face. Cheryl blushed but held her arms open and fell back into the nest of blankets and pillows.
A nest…
Cheryl felt like the biggest idiot in the world. She had noticed the growing number of missing blankets and pillows from around their home but had figured Toni was doing laundry or redecorating. In reality, her mate had been sending her signs of her distress. Signs that would have told her sooner that her mate was lonely, scared, and calling for the alpha.
In her subconscious attempt to replace the warmth of the alpha, Toni’s omega had been creating a nest- somewhere safe where she and their pup could spend their days.
Toni carefully climbed onto the couch and handed the baby to Cheryl before falling down beside her. Cheryl placed a few kisses on his flawless face and adjusted the blankets so the young family was covered from the damp air.
Her mate laid her head on Cheryl’s shoulder and the redhead sighed, “Toni, love, we need to talk.”
Toni only scooted closer and wrapped her arm around Cheryl’s abdomen.
“I want to apologize, babe, for being a horrible mate this past week. I haven’t been here, for you or our son and I want you to know that it ends now.”
The omega sat up to lay her arm across the back the of the couch and gaze down at Cheryl. “Cher, where is this coming from? You’re the best mate I could have ever asked for… I love you.”
Cheryl smiled softly, “I love you too, TT, so much, but I need you to explain to me what’s been going on the past week. You’ve been distant but needy at the same time. I can feel your wolf calling for me all the time, even if I’m in the same room but I don’t get any messages from you at work. You hardly talk to me when I come home.”
Again, Toni’s omega instincts kicked in when she picked up on her mate’s distress. Her scent changed to one of comfort, of calm to try and ease the alpha.
She moved to be kneeling next to Cheryl and cradled the redhead’s face in her hands. While brushing her thumbs against her cheeks, Toni moved to press her lips against Cheryl’s, kissing her with so much affection, both of their wolves were purring.
The omega pulled back and smiled down at her mate but their moment was interrupted by a fussy pup in Cheryl’s arms. The two mothers laughed and smothered him with kisses.
“He is going to have to learn quickly that kisses for Momma are not to be interrupted,” Cheryl chuckled. It only took a few moments for her to get him settled again in her arms and Toni watched with pure adoration.
“Cher,” she all but whispered, and the alpha’s dark brown eyes found hers.
“Ever since our baby was born, I haven’t felt in control. My wolf is all over the place, alert to every single noise he makes. It is constantly searching for threats, even when I’m staring at him, safe in my arms or his crib. I can’t turn it off, even at night, so I haven’t been sleeping well. Those first few weeks were manageable, however, because you were here and when you’re here, I always feel safer. My wolf and I felt better. Then you went back to work and suddenly, I was spiraling. I was so worried about being the perfect mother for him that I forgot about you and us. I thought I was being a bad mate and a bad mother.”
Cheryl’s free hand reached out and brushed a stray tear from her mate’s cheek and gently worked her fingers down to the mating mark on her neck. Her long fingers grazed the soft skin and Toni shivered.
“Toni, you are the most amazing mother I have ever seen. You are so in tune with our baby, it’s quite remarkable and it is absolutely amazing to watch you grow with him. I know you will do whatever it takes to protect him.”
“Of course I will, Cher, but what if we change because of it? I do not want anything to happen you and me because we’re parents now. My focus is him but it’s always been you.”
Cheryl sighed and pulled her omega down to lay against her side again. She laid her head on Toni’s and wrapped her arm around her hips. “I can’t promise you things won’t change, love. They already have, after all. But if we talk, if we are honest with each other, we will make it work. I know we will, but I need you to communicate with me. If you need me, tell me. I want to take care of our son but my job is to care for you too.”
Toni snuggled in closer to the warm alpha, bringing a blanket with her. Cheryl purred softly and her omega yawned. “Well, if I’m being honest, I don’t want you to go back to work. I want you here, with us, with me.”
Cheryl felt her alpha growl in frustration. She could have saved her mate so much distress if she had just waited longer to go back to work. All the beautiful woman needed was to be with her mate. Tomorrow, Cheryl was going to call Veronica and discuss working from home. She was also going to run the necessary errands to ensure all three of them could stay coped up at home for the weekend with no interruptions.
For now, she was going to hold her mate and her son close and let them sleep. Her son was already snoozing, with his face tucked into her chest. Toni was on her way there, her own nose pressed into the crook of Cheryl’s neck. The rain continued its relentless pounding on the porch roof but inside, it provided a calming white noise, eventually lulling the alpha into the same afternoon nap as her tiny, perfect family.