Chapter 178

The next month Raphael and his mate were out in their backyard, working in their garden.

Brooke was on her knees weeding through old garden beds and Raphael was digging up and old, rotten tree stump.

The ambiance was that of Twenty-one Pilots coming from Brooke's phone hooked up to a Bluetooth speaker.

"Tomorrow we can get a load of topsoil and fertilizer and then we can start planting things." She said happily, her back turned from him.

He smiled, "Excellent."

"Eggcellent." She said.

He chuckled and said back, "Vundabar."

She giggled and they continued in their game.

Finishing on her garden bed she stood and stretched. He paused in his work and he couldn't help but admire her.

She was wearing light blue jeans and a blue and white flannel patterned shirt, the top two buttons undone showing her collarbone and fair skin off.

The shirt looked familiar and he rested his chin on his shovel as he tried to recollect why.

His eyes sparkled as he remembered that she was wearing the exact shirt when he first met her.

Smiling he set off to work again.

Finishing with the tree stump he hauled it to the corner of the yard that Brooke had deemed was suited for scraps.

Clapping his hands together to rid them of the dirt he walked quietly to where Brooke was kneeling, humming to the song playing as her gloved hands plucked the weeds and dead plants out.

She turned her head to look at him, "What?" She asked a laugh in her voice.

"Hmm, nothing. You just look beautiful." He said his eyes not leaving hers.

She giggled, "Yeah, and you do too. You always look gorgeous." Her eyes scaled down his body then returned to the garden bed.

He smirked and came up behind her, "Gorgeous, eh?" His hands found her soft stomach and began to tickle her.

"Raph! No, no! Stop… stop it!" She said but she was laughing too hard for her words to sound serious.

He continued his assault and she attempted to claw his playful hands off but he wouldn't let her.

Her laugh was musical and he could listen to it for hours. His own laughter joined in the mix as her small hands found his stomach.

They both fell to the ground on top of each other, both endeavouring to beat each other in the tickle fight.

"Alright.. alright, enough." He said through laughing pants. She stopped in her movements, her face resting on his chest which was heaving from the laughter.

She giggled then through hard breaths, "You sound just as tired as me."

He chuckled and stroked her hair.

They rested on the grass and watched the sky while holding the other's hand.

"I like this." She said quietly.

He closed his eyes, "Mmm… me too."

Hearing the sound of a car driving quickly Raph turned on his shoulder and looked in the direction of the road that was blocked by their house.

They both stood and walked quickly to the front yard, their clothes still smeared from their dirty hands.

A minivan zoomed before them and parked in front of the Alpha's house. A group of people came out, grabbing bag and equipment from the van and rushing into the house.

"What's going on?" Brooke muttered next to him.

"I don't know." He searched his brain for a reason, "Isn't Luna due?"

He was used to speaking more casually with Brooke but they were outside and he felt as though he should use Thresh and Charm's titles.

"Oh, should we…?" She asked looking at the house.

"No, they'll call us if they want us there." He put his hand on her small shoulders and rested his head on hers.

They hung out at Thomas's and waited for news of the labour.

It was quiet and boring so they pulled out monopoly and began playing it.

As the placed their pawns on the board Raph winced feeling his Alpha's anger, looking up he saw that Thomas's expression was the same.

"What is it?" Brooke asked, raising her hand and placing it on his shoulder.

Raph shook his head, "Alpha's angry."

Brooke snorted, "Of course he is. His wife, or mate, whatever, is in labour, that's never a particularly fun time for either of the parents."

"Isn't it only hard for the woman?" Thomas asked rolling the die.

"No." Brooke replied, "Even though the woman gets to deal with all of the pain, the father can't really do anything except watch and try and comfort her, but from all of the pregnancy stories I've heard, the mom is just tired and impatient and in pain." She smiled pleasantly and looked at Raph. He could imagine Brooke in labour, yelling, grasping at his hand, she would look beautiful, her hair pulled back and her face covered in a sheen of sweat. Though she would be in pain she would soon give birth to their child. Their child.

He smiled thinking of the idea.

They began the game and when it came to Brooke's turn he tapped her shoulder, she raised her index finger while a mischievous smile played on her lips.

"What are you doing?" He asked having a pretty good idea.

A few more seconds elapsed and she looked up at both of them, a pleased look on her face.

"What?" Thomas asked, Raphael was curious too.

"Thresh is upset because it's taking too long." She said a smile still on her lips.

"Huh, how long is it supposed to take?" Thomas asked giving some money to Brooke as he was the banker.

Brooke shrugged, "Don't know. There's all of those horror stories of labours lasting for days, but my mom always had quick births. Who knows, everyone's different."

The game continued till four in the evening and Raph, as usual, came out on top.

They had dinner at Thomas's and waited to hear news of their Alpha and Luna.

At quarter after seven in the evening Thresh called them to come up to the house.

As they headed up the hill Raphael could see the excitement and the apprehension in his mate's eyes.

-It'll be fine, you know that right?- He said giving her a side hug.

She nodded, -Yeah.-

Knocking on the door, a very disheveled Thresh opened it, his usually gelled blonde hair was sprouting in tufts and his grey shirt was untucked and unbuttoned in the middle, and for some reason one of his socks was missing.

He wasn't smiling but Raphael noted the glint in his eyes.

"They're upstairs." He said and they followed him up to the master bedroom, that was much larger than his and Brooke's. He felt a little jealousy but just reminded himself that this was the Alpha's house.

Walking to the bed they found the Luna—looking very tired—and in her arms was a baby.

Thresh walked to where she was sitting and crouched next to them, putting his finger up he stroked the small child's cheeks.

The couple seemed to wake from their intimate bubble and remember they had guests.

Thresh stood and putting his hands on his mate's shoulders he announced, "This is our son."

Again he didn't smile but Raph could see the pride in his eyes.

Both he and Thomas bared their necks in respect of their Alpha's offspring.

"Does he have a name?" Brooke asked her voice light and cheery.

The Luna smiled proudly and looked down at her son.

"His name is Griffin."