Then I heard a baby cry for the first time. It felt so surreal, like my hearing was heightened only by my baby's sound. I couldn't help but cry, imagining a new addition to my life and my new role as a mother in addition to being a wife. I did it! We did it! We are now a complete family!
The midwife gave me my baby. It was wiped clean of blood and mucus, but it smelled just like me and Alpha Luis.
"It's a boy," the midwife said.
"Where is my mate?" I asked, looking around. Suddenly, he wasn't by my side.
"He's on the floor, madame, passed out. But he's okay. He'll come to his consciousness in no time."
We stayed in a private room for a couple of days until the doctors ensured our baby's vital signs were good.
Then we went home in four automobile convoys. Alpha Luis wouldn't let anyone hold the baby, other than me. But more often than that, he would carried him for me, seeing that I was still recovering from labor.
Having a baby was a different kind of experience. We had sleepless nights and challenging cries from the baby, but it was all rewarded by his smiles and laughter.
"We're going to name him Luim," he said.
"I love that."