The Broken Warrior’s Daughter

Chapter 0149 So much has happened in the two years since Rik and | took over as Alpha and Luna of the Canyon Ridge Pack.

We found my mother’s wolf's spirit. Or rather, she found us. She and | have becgreat friends and I’m so glad to have her in my life. The only thing that was better than finding Andra’s Guardian spirit, was the birth of our daughter. We named her Lily after her grandmother, a strong and loving Guardian.

Rik has never letlive it down that he was right from the very beginning that we were having a girl. And, although I know he wants a son to carry on and eventually take over the pack, he’s been scared of what that might mean for me.

My pregnancy and birth of Lily were not easy. | was pregnant during a tof great strife, war and loss. The pain of it almost causedto lose my precious daughter and both of us nearly died in childbirth. But Rik was there for both of us, and we survived.

Lily is the apple of her father’s eye. He takes her everywhere, carrying her around on his shoulders. And she is definitely a daddy's girl. Even after she was born, unless she was nursing, she preferred Rik holding her to me.

Lacey and Chase’s little boy is exactly the same. It’s cute to see the dads having play dates and taking the kids to the park or to get ice cream. They are both great fathers.

| was shocked at first that Lacey gave in to Chase, but when she had her birthday a month after mine and realized that he was her mate, it all made sense. He, like Rik, had his birthday first and realized what she was to him. He pursued her relentlessly until her birthday, and then everything fell into place. They had their second child, a girl, a couple months ago.

Rik’s fear of losinghas kept him from wanting to have another baby. Artemis and | were ready a couple months after Lily’s birth to try for another one, but he refused. The fear of losingor worse,and our child together was too much for him. But the Moon Goddess has her own plans, and we don’t always get to choose when or how many children we will have.

I'm finishing a shower, putting on a bath robe instead of clothes, anticipating. Rik’s response to finding out we're going to have another child. | hope he’s ast happy as he was with Lily and wants to go peanut hunting again. That’s what | started calling it, since he called Lily ‘Peanut until she was born. He and Kai would sniff my stomach every night before laying their head next to her and

telling her about their day.

As I'm walking out of the bathroom, towel drying my hair, Rik walks in with Lily in his arms. Rik’s eyes go dark as soon as he seesin only a bathrobe. My love and desire for this amazing man have only increased with time.

“Mommy, mommy. Guess what?” My daughter squirms until Rik puts her down and she runs over to me. | reach down and scoop her up. “What?” | ask her as | take her over to the love seat sitting under the window in our room.

“Kai took fora ride then Daddy showedall the constations in the sky.” She mispronounces constellations.

“He did?” | ask acting excited looking at my mate who has a sheepish look on his face. | give him the barest of head shakes and his grin just gets bigger.

| turn my attention back to my daughter. “Did you fall off Kai this time?” | ask her. “Nope, | held on tight like Daddy said.”

“Did Daddy show you the Dory constellation?” | ask and she nods her head in exaggerated excitement. “Yep! He showedher nose and her tail and her...” She turns and looks at Rik for help.

“Her dorsal fin” He fills in for her as he sits to take off his shoes. “Yes, that, mommy.” “Wow. Daddy is really smart, isn’t he?” She nods her head in agreement again. “Well guess what?” | ask my little girl.

“What?” She asks, bouncing up and down in my lap.

“Mommy knows something that Daddy doesn’t know. If | tell you then you'll know too, and you can share it with Daddy. Do you want to know what it is?”

She nods her head. | lean down and whisper in her ear. “Tell Daddy that it’s tto go peanut hunting.” She sits back and looks ather brow furrowing, then looks at Rik.

“Why would Daddy want to go peanut hunting?” She asks, blowing the entire surprise. Rik’s head whips around to look at me and now it’s my turn to grin at him.

Without looking away from my mate, | answer my daughter. “Because Daddy will be really happy to know that it’s tto go peanut hunting.

| watch as Rik’s face breaks into my favorite megawatt smile.

“If you want to make Daddy happy, why don’t you tell him that you have my little +15 DONOS

brother in your tummy?”

My head whips back to look at my daughter. “What did you say?”

She's looking at my stomach and she pats a spot on my right side, before looking at Rik. “Daddy, wouldn’t you be happier to know that Mommy has my little

brother growing in her tummy instead of going peanut hunting?”

Rik comes over to sit on the love seat with us, putting Lily in his lap. “Princess, why do you say Mommy has your little brother in her tummy?”

“I can smell him. Can't you?” She says, looking between us.

“What does he smell like?” | ask her.

“Like hot chocate.” She says, mispronouncing chocolate.

Rik and | look at each other over her head. Then he sets her in my lap on the left side and points to where she was patting my stomach. “He’s right here?” He asks as Kai pushes forward.

My daughter takes his finger and points to where she thinks her brother is. Rik leans down and sniffs. He sniffs in a small circle around the area and then pushes his nose into my stomach right where Lily told him. When he sits up, he’s looking incredulous.

“She's right. | can smell him, and he does smell like hot chocolate.” “See Daddy, | told you.”

| look at Rik. “Her sense of smell is stronger than yours? And she doesn’t even have her wolf yet?” | look back at my daughter then at my mate. “What does it mean?”

He picks Lily up and holds her in his arms looking into her eyes and she puts both her hands on his cheeks. “I think it means we have another Guardian in our midst.”

The end.

This series continues in book 2: Alpha’s Guardian Angel