Pregnant

Chapter 32

By unspoken agreement we left the boys snoozing in the backseat as we brought in groceries and warm pasta dinner makings. Soon the cosy kitchen was filled with fragrant garlic and simmering marinara sauce. I sliced bread as Collins ladled out steaming servings. Finally the peaceful night wrapped just us two up in its scented embrace.

“Wish we could freeze time forever in that magical spot, you know?” I mused as we ate.

Collins nodded, eyes crinkling affectionately. “I know just what you mean. But then we’d miss them growing up into fine

young men too.”

“Very true,” I sighed. “Tll gladly take any phase, as long as it’s them.”

We clinked wine glasses, silently toasting our shared pride and marvelling over the mysterious workings of fate that had brought two lost souls together to nurture this unlikely but beautiful family against all odds. The past was written. But our story’s next chapters remained ours to craft day by day

After we had cleared up and gotten the boys to bed through herculean effort, I knew the day’s perfect are neared its close.

Dim silence blanketed the old cottage, only the ancient timbers creaking and rain’s hypnotic pattern remaining

I curled deeper under the faded quilt, wishing fleeting moments like tonight’s ordinary extraordinary magic could last

forever.

Nathan

I stood frozen in the hospital corridor, mind reeling. Those three exuberant boys barreling past were the mirror image of my own boyhood self. It was impossible…wasn’t it?

Curiosity rooted me in place a few moments more as I struggled to process logical explanations. But the revelations remained elusive. I had to know the truth.

Fortunately, even in human form an Alpha’s nose exceeds average tracking abilities. I followed the boys’ careless trail through various wings until it ended at an unmarked door, left slightly ajar.

I hesitated, debating the ethics of eavesdropping. But my instincts demanded understanding. Bracing myself, 1 peeked through the narrow gap into a cosy office.

There sat the children, giggling as they showed Terra colourful drawings. Her body language exuded maternal pride and affection. My pulse quickened. Terra had always adored children, but treated none with such casual warmth before.

I watched, entranced by this glimpse of her tender nurturing side rarely observed during our youthful acquaintance. Her gentle teasing and praise came so naturally, so different from our guarded recent interactions.

Many puzzling things suddenly clicked into place. Terra’s frequent trips away from the estate. Her fierce protectiveness- when questioned. The mystery of who needed the sanctuary she had built here. But how were those rambunctious youngsters connected to her?

Deep in thought, I almost missed Terra and the boys leaving the office. I ducked out of sight, pulse racing. The idea taking shape seemed fantastical..yet my instincts sang that it was so. Much needed unravelling, but direct confrontation would only estrange Terra further. I must bide my time and keep watch for now.

Over the next weeks, I found excuses to linger frequently at the hospital and clinic, observing surreptitiously. Between my duties tending Father, I searched for clues to confirm or dismiss my wild suspicions about Terra’s newly revealed motherhood.

During occasional glimpses of her doting on the triplet boys, my breath still caught unexpectedly. Her unconcealed joy glowed, even from afar. Much buried emotion stirred watching Terra develop so fully into her nurturing role since the days

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Chapter 32

of our naive youth. I ached up understand this enigma that was at once new yet familiar.

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But Terra remained maddeningly elusive, disappearing for long stretches without explanation. The boys came and went in the care of a kindly nursemaid or the stalwart physician, Collins. His easy affection with them raised new questions.

Though I strained my ears when able, no answers were forthcoming. The boys addressed him familiarly as “uncle”, but something about their rapport conveyed a deeper bond. Puzzling indeed. But I remembered well how effortlessly Collins won over everyone the man seemed to hold no enemies.

Gradually insight distilled that Terra and Collins maintained no romantic connection. Her focus stayed singularly consumed with work and caring for the rambunctious trio. And there were no obvious signs of conjugal life in the clinic living quarters I discreetly toured while the occupants were away. Platonic friends and guardians appeared the full truth.

But that still left the greatest mystery unsolved – the boys’ origins. Details in their young faces, so uncannily akin to my own, convinced me we shared blood. But until I could gain Terra’s trust to explain fully, only hypotheses existed.

Patience wore severely testing my temper – but even I must acknowledge it was justly strained after hiding her traumatic departure all those years ago. Perhaps fate granted this perplexing puzzle as an opportunity to forge understanding and build trust anew where shattered. I must rise to the challenge.

Much inner reflection had revealed hard truths in our painful past. I too had much to answer for in youthful arrogance and headstrong-selfishness. We both played a role in our calamitous parting. Blame and denial would only perpetuate the lingering damage, as Terra’s secrecy proved.

I vowed to approach openly from now on, with compassion not accusations. My friend, confidante and first love yet endured within this woman who wore more masks and defences than I ever realised. But she was also the mother of children I now ached to know, whatever our history’s lingering echoes. We would find the way forward together, no matter how rocky the terrain traversed already. Of that, I was newly certain.

These children were breaths of fresh purpose finally filling my tired spirit. I lived no longer for sole duty, but with renewed hope and vision. Terra would see time’s changed me from the brash, controlling youth once too blind recognize her true needs. The man I became better understood life’s greys and honoured fierce loyalty defending one’s vulnerable loved ones. We would come to terms through open hearts, not hardened wills.

Until answers proved within reach at last, I contented myself studying the boys’ sweet faces from afar when possible. Their antics often made me smile even in gloomy moments. My own flesh and blood. However miraculously wrought, their existence gifted profound new meaning. I would know them, guide them, share in shaping fine future men. The patience required was but a small price.

Though mystery still veiled definitive truths, recent revelations whisper