As Zoey and Ashlee walked home from the woods, the topic of conversation naturally turned to their unborn cub, Bailey Kline. Zoey was extremely proud to be the one giving the pack its first cub, and Ashlee was positively giddy over becoming a sire.
"This! Is so! Freaking! AMAZEBALLS!!!" Ashlee shouted as she pumped her fist in the air. "I'm gonna be a dad! Like, who'd've thought? How many girl dads are there in the world?"
"Selena says the correct term's 'sire,' babe," Zoey said, chuckling slightly at her mate's diztiness. "But, yeah, this is a total miracle. I never thought my dreams of being pregnant with your baby would come true! I thought we'd have to adopt or get a close relative of yours to donate sperm. Ew, imagine if it was your dad!"
Ashlee winced. "Ugh, major yuck! I soooo totally do NOT wanna think about Dad getting you preggy! It's honestly terrifying enough to know that he got Mom preggy! Like, parents shouldn't have sex, amirite?"
Zoey chuckled as she rubbed her belly. "I wonder if that's how our little Bailey will feel about us one day."
Ashlee laughed. "Don't be silly, Zoey. We aren't parents! We're, like, sexy!"
"But we are parents now, Ashlee," Zoey smiled. She rubbed her stomach again. "We're her parents, her mom and sire. And soon we'll give her so many sisters to play with!"
Ashlee gave Zoey's tummy an affectionate pat. "Looking forward to Instagramming the pregnancy, bae? I know how you love all that internet stuff."
"I totes am!" Zoey grinned. "And I can't wait to show Bailey off to cyberspace once she's born. My followers will love her! How long 'til I start showing, by the way. I want to look preggers, both for the social media and to remind myself that this is actually happening."
Ashlee shrugged. "Who knows? Like, I got no friggin' clue how heinous pregnancies work."
Zoey giggled. "Hyena pregnancies. It really isn't that hard a word. You know, once I do start showing, I'll need to tell my parents something. Girls don't just wake up one morning to discover that they're pregnant for no reason."
"I actually didn't know where babies came from until I was, like, fourteen," Ashlee remarked.
"Well, Mom and Dad are a little worldlier than you, hon," Zoey said. "I'm still going back and forth on whether to tell them the truth. On the one hand, I know they won't punish me. On the other hand, it's a huge shock to learn that werebeasts, vampires, and such are all real and your only child's joined their ranks. If I can't tell them the truth, I'm planning to tell them that I got drunk with the football team and ended up being fucked with five or six of them. With that many boys involved, I don't have to name a father. I'll tell them I intend to raise Bailey with you, of course."
"I think you should be, like, honest with them," said Ashlee. "If your parents are open-minded enough to roll with their daughter getting preggo after a booze-fueled orgy with the football team, they're open-minded enough to roll with werehyenas being a thing. And wouldn't it be nice to have some adults in on the secret? They could help us hide it from the others."
"That would be nice," Zoey mused. "And if they know Bailey's a werehyena cub, they'll be able to help out with werehyena issues she might have after she shifts for the first time when she's thirteen. I'll do it! I'll tell Mom and Dad everything: about the pack, about you, about Bailey. I really do feel stupid keeping secrets from them. They've always made sure to let me know that they'll never judge me, no matter my life choices."
"Good idea," Ashlee nodded. "Jeez, it'll be exciting when Bailey turns thirteen and has her first shift, won't it? Heh, it'll probs drive her crazy waiting all those years to become a proper wereheinous."
"What if that day never comes?" Zoey asked, suddenly worried. "What if Bailey only carries a recessive version of therianthropy? You know, like Selena was only a recessive werewolf before she became a werehyena? I think she called what she was back then a wolfborn. What if Bailey's a hyenaborn, a human born of werehyenas?"
"If she wants it badly enough, we, like, use Selena's Werebrush on her," said Ashlee. "If not, then I guess we just let her know we love her just the way she is."
"Makes sense," said Zoey. "Hey, you think Morgana'd be willing to be the midwife? It sounds suitably witchy."
"What's so witchy about a midlife crisis?" Ashlee asked, scratching her blonde head.
"Midwife, babe," Zoey laughed. "That's a person who helps you to safely deliver a baby. A lot of perfectly normal midwives ended up being accused of witchcraft because of their talent for herbs."
A grin split Ashlee's face. "Then imagine how great an actual witch should be at midwifing!"
"I know!" Zoey chirped. She slipped her fingers under her shirt and let them brush over the skin of her belly. "Just think, Ashlee, that's a new life growing inside me."
"A life I helped make!" Ashlee cheered, jumping three feet in the air. "She's totes gonna be a delta like me, right?"
"That's what Alpha Selena said," Zoey answered. "Of course, Bailey's got her whole life ahead of her. Who knows where it'll take her? Maybe she'll become a leader in the pack like Mistress of the Hunt of Lady of War. Or maybe she'll heed the call of the spirits and become a shaman."
"Maybe she'll be a beta someday!" Ashlee added excitedly.
"Or she could succeed Selena as alpha," Zoey smiled, "or maybe she'll found her own pack. Or maybe she'll be content as one of the deltas. Whatever makes her the happiest."
"Delta or alpha, I'm throwing the biggest baby shower in her honor!" Ashlee declared. "How does, like, next week sound?"
"Sounds good to me," Zoey smiled. "Thanks, that's really sweet of you. Now let's go find my parents and break the news to them. I want you with me when I tell them."