Prologue
19 years ago
*Narrator*
The agony arrived with swift intensity, leaving no room for escape.
Mae Tempest gasped in surprise, clutching her swollen abdomen as she inadvertently released the ladle brimming with soup. It collided with the time-worn oak table, the contents splattering her eldest who eagerly extended his bowl towards her. This contraction wasn't the first of the day, but it was undeniably the most piercing, accompanied by a moist sensation coursing down her legs. "Kai, fetch Mrs. Winters posthaste!"
The boy, who had been delivered to her doorstep during the deepest hours of night fourteen years ago, bolted out the door in search of the midwife. Her remaining brood… three boys and a girl… gazed at her with saucer-like eyes, their expressions a mixture of anxiety and bewilderment. She offered them a comforting smile. "You will need to serve yourselves tonight. Enjoy your meal in the garden and remain there until I come for you."
With careful steps, she navigated her way to the modest bedchamber. As she began to unfasten her bodice, she became conscious of faint footsteps echoing behind her. Casting a glance over her shoulder, she beamed at her daughter reassuringly. "Go on, Gina. Do as you were instructed."
"I'm stayin’," Gina declared with resolute stubbornness, striding towards the wardrobe. Nearly thirteen years had passed since she had been left swaddled in a blanket, nestled within a wicker basket on Mae's doorstep. However, all of Mae's children had found their way to her like that, delivered under cover of darkness, one way or another. Gina retrieved a nightdress and held it out to her mother.
Resigning herself to her daughter's obstinate nature, Mae sighed. "Very well, but only until Mrs. Winters arrives."
By the time Kai burst through the door, panting and flushed, Mae had donned her nightdress, braved two more contractions without screaming, and tucked herself into bed… though the effort to remain silent was becoming increasingly challenging.
"She's off deliverin' another babe," Kai solemnly informed her, sounding as if he was announcing the midwife's demise.
"In that case," Mae declared, tossing back the covers, "I have best boil some water."
"We will handle it," Gina asserted, her stoic expression barely concealing the fear in her eyes.
Mae looket lovingly at her. "I can manage, love."
"Just tell us what to do, Mum." Gina insisted.
And so, Mae did. Four hours later, she cradled within her arms the most stunning infant she had ever laid eyes on. Gently caressing the baby's dark tresses, she allowed herself a brief moment of sorrowful reminiscence, recalling the two children she had borne her husband and the pure joy they had brought into her world. But then Mick had perished, and soon after, so had her little ones. She had begun taking in by-blows as a means to earn a meager income. Now, she held one of her very own.
"Wot ye going' to name 'er?" Gina inquired.
"Leah," Mae responded, her voice tender. "One day, she will rise above the squalor her mother endured. She will marry a real ranked wolf, reside in a fancy pack house, and revel in a fancy life." Her smile radiated warmth as she gazed at the five children encircling her. "You will all have fancy lives of luxury, my darlings."
