The Silver Guardian Bk. 02 Ch. 06

"When we call your name step forward and kneel, and receive our blessing to form the Alpha and Pack Bonds."

Again the ritual was conducted with each Elder as their names were called. Unlike the Hellhounds, the Elders each returned to where they had been standing.

"Elder Jarl Hérou"

"Elder Jorunn Onfroy"

"Elder Haskell Quétel"

"Elder Helka Trudeau"

"Elder Keld Torde"

"Elder Nanna Onfroy"

"Elder Kirkwood Renouf"

"Elder Oili Youf"

"Elder Loki Harang"

"Elder Runa Turgard"

Each time an individual's ritual was completed as blood touched an Elder's tongue, everyone already bonded felt the newly formed Alpha and Pack Bonds snap into place. The more inclusive the Pack and Alpha Bonds grew, the more comforting it felt to everyone included and the deeper their sense of family became, especially for Dante and Lily, who were assuming personal responsibility for each member of their Pack. When bonding was completed for the ten Elders, Dante spoke.

"Please be seated in the front rows of the Hall of the Moon and observe the remainder of the Pack receiving our blessing and Bonds."

With that, the Elders took their seats in the front pew and the initial group of the rest of the Pack, twenty-five wolves, filed in and underwent their bonding one at a time. It took a very long time as the more than 600 men, women, and children kneeled before their Alphas one at a time. With the incredible, even by Lycan standards, healing abilities of Dante and Lily, they were required to reopen the wounds in their palms countless times to bond the entire Pack, but it was fully worth it. Once each group had been bonded, they seated themselves in the hall to observe. Even though the entire ceremony took over two-and-a-half hours, it didn't become tedious for even the smallest children as they each experienced the growing numbers of the Pack within their bond. By the end, Dante and Lily could sense every single member of their pack like a network in their minds, and this gave them a sense of comfort, unity, family and responsibility. For the first time, they truly felt like the Alphas they were, and the Royal Pack was made whole for the first time in a millennium. It was a joyous day for everyone in the Order of Fenrir Pack.

***

After Dante and Lily had retired to their tower suite, they were assisted out of their armor, which was then mounted on two specially constructed stands in the library, and they took their lunch. Their armor had been extremely heavy to be wearing for such an extended length of time even for them, so Lily and Dante were both tired, and they took a short nap before Astrid awakened them, informing them it was time to go see the Pack Doctor for Lily's checkup. They made their way down their tower and through the bastion out into the courtyard before entering one of the other palatial buildings and walked into the Pack's medical center. Walking was so much easier without that heavy formal armor to lug around, they almost danced their way along! They were greeted by an older pair of wolves who were the Pack Doctor and his mate, who like in the O'Connor Pack, served as his Nurse and assistant.

"Good afternoon Alpha King Dante and Alpha Queen Lily. I am Doctor Sven Ericson, and this is my mate and Head Nurse Sylvi Ericson. We'll be taking care of you today Lily, checking on the development of your children the Royal Heirs. Are you ready to begin?"

Lily squeezed Dante's hand excitedly; they couldn't wait to receive fresh news of their twins and to see pictures of them as they continued growing in her womb.

"Yes Doctor Sven, we're very excited and we'd love to get started!"

Doctor Sven and his mate led them into an exam room and retired to give them some privacy as Lily disrobed and donned a medical gown. Dante assisted her in climbing onto the exam table and she placed her feet in the stirrups as Dante went to her side to hold her hand as they both smiled excitedly.

Lily called out, "Ready!"

The two medics returned into the room wheeling a portable ultrasound machine of the latest make and model; this one could produce 3D images. Sven began with a pelvic exam as Sylvi took her vitals. After the two compared notes, Sven summed it up.

"Your vitals are very good; nothing out of the ordinary at all. You're in perfect health, as is to be expected. So now it's time for the exiting part: let's see how your little Prince and Princess are doing."

Sylvi took a warmed tube of jelly to coat the head of the wand as Doctor Sven exposed Lily's stomach and then placed the wand against it, and a picture on the screen came into view.

Dante and Lily both gasped as they saw the face of one of their children appear, perfectly formed and so incredibly beautiful and adorable.

"This is the little Prince, and as you can see, he's nearly fully developed and will soon be ready to make his entrance into the world. His heartbeat is strong and healthy, and there are absolutely no issues to worry about. Let's take a look at the other twin."

Sven glided the wand around until another face came into view, also perfectly formed and crushingly adorable.

"And here is our little Princess. You can see how beautiful and precious she is, and just like her brother, she's perfectly formed with no issues. Her heartbeat is just as strong as her brother's, and she'll be ready to enter this world shortly."

He moved the wand around a bit more, dictating some measurements for his mate to jot down, doing a thorough overall check. One of the special things they saw was that the twins were holding hands within the womb, apparently already inseparable. The proud parents-to-be couldn't help but smile and shed a few proud tears each, upon seeing their children and knowing they were still healthy, whole and happy.

Sven rolled the machine out of the exam room while Sylvi cleaned up Lily and draped her gown back over her swollen stomach. Doctor Sven returned and summed everything up.

"As you can see, you and the babies are doing great, and you'll soon be ready to give birth. That could come as early as three weeks from now or a week or two later, we'll just have to wait and see. This is when the last of their development takes place and when they'll be infused with our race's magic. It's a critical time for them, so it's important that you continue eating enough to give them and yourself plenty of energy, and you should get plenty of rest as well. I'm sure the next few weeks will seem to you like the longest periods imaginable, but your cubs will be with us soon, so just be as patient as you can, and stay healthy."

Lily and Dante were absolutely thrilled, beyond excited to meet their children. They got up and shook the two medics' hands, thanking them before they were left alone so Lily could change back into her regular clothes. Lily spoke excitedly to her mate.

"Oh Dante, they were so precious, weren't they?! I can't wait to hold our children in our arms and nurse them and cuddle them and show them both how much we love them. I'm so proud right now! We'll have to show the printouts to Astrid and the others, they'll be delighted!"

Dante hugged Lily to him lovingly as a smile as wide as the Atlantic was plastered on his face.

"They were absolutely precious, Lily, I'm so proud of you, and so proud to be a father soon myself, too! Growing up an orphan as I did, I always wished for a mother and father, and I'm determined to be the best Dad I can possibly be for our children. I can't wait to hold them in my arms and hug and kiss them for the first time! I love the names we picked out for them, but also love that we're keeping those names private until they're born. Our little Prince and Princess will be so loved and surrounded by such a protective and loving Pack and family, not to mention their Mother and Father and Grandparents. They'll be cherished and kept safe as they mature, I pledge that to be true, and I know we'll both do whatever it takes for that to happen. Let's get back to our suite. It's nearly time for dinner in the Great Hall, and we'll be eating with those in the Pack that live on the castle grounds. I love you Lily, and I'm so proud of you. I know you'll be the very best Mother ever!"

***

Thank you all for your patience with me on this latest chapter of the Silver Guardian. Life got very complicated for a while, but I'm back and writing, and this is the longest chapter yet. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it, and you enjoy all the twists, turns and surprises this time around! Please remember to vote and comment, as I can't wait to hear everyone's reactions to this latest installment. Thank you!

P.S. I've created a Legend/Appendix for the Silver Guardian series, to keep track of all the characters as well as information on the books, legends, facts and all sorts of other things referred to in this developing saga. I'll be posting this legend/appendix shortly after I post this chapter. Beware that if you haven't read this, the most recent chapter of Book 2, there are a great deal of spoilers revealed, so view it appropriately.