"Mummy, will Daddy be home soon? I miss him," Jongin whines as he continues to begrudgingly do the laundry, or at least attempt to help his mother. It was play time but everyone didn't feel like doing anything other than to write out and decorate messages into the sand, wishing for their youngest brother to come back home. It's been days, and though D.O is always quiet around the rest,  his presence was still sorely missed. 

 

"Daddy came home last night when everyone was asleep. But he had to go off again to find D.O. We all miss our little man, don't we?" Baekhyun sighs as he muses aloud to himself. Chanyeol had specifically told him to get some rest while he was gone and doing the laundry didn't seem like too much of an effort. But the moment he had gotten up to do so, Baekhyun felt his babies kick at him in a violent manner as if frustrated for having stayed inside for so long and he had no choice but to enlist Jongin's help after all despite having decided before that he would let the chocolate brown pup off for his antics during their last bath time. Needless to say, all Baekhyun could do was to perch on a smooth rock nearby, handing out articles of clothing to Jongin who assisted in hanging them on the rope tied between two trees. 

 

"Mummy, do you need to poop?" Chen bounds over to his mother who's hunched over himself on the rock. Baekhyun musters whatever energy he has left to force a smile at one of his triplets. 

 

"No, donsaengies are being stubborn today." Baekhyun explains, taking Chen's hand in his own and then placing it at his tummy to let him feel just how flustered the babies inside were. 

 

"Why are they so naughty?" Chen frowns at his mother's swollen belly.

 

Baekhyun laughs. "I think they can't wait to get out and see you boys."

 

"Well, I hope they can be a bit more patient because I don't like seeing you hurt."

 

Baekhyun leans forward to place a light kiss to his pup's head out of adoration for his concern, and when he pulls away, Chen holds a small hand on the side of Baekhyun's tummy. 

 

"Please be good, dongsaengies. I promise you will get to play with all your hyungs when you come out. Okay? Okay."

 

A small smile lingers on Baekhyun's face as Chen turns and springs back towards the rest to join them in the story telling session they were having around the scrawls in the dirt. Just then, Jongin manages to successfully throw the last cloth onto the rope.

 

"Good job, Jonginnie." Baekhyun calls out to his pup. "You can go join your brothers in their play time now."

 

"Thanks mummy!" Jongin happily stalks away.

 

Baekhyun's smile disappears at once as another wave of pain hits him, this time much more painful than the last. He doubles over at the sudden attack and clutches at his tummy, biting back a curse that had almost slipped. Baekhyun could feel it. The abrupt change in the atmosphere only he could feel. Some kind of stillness to his surroundings, the same kind he only experiences when something bad is about to happen, or all those times when he had gone into labour before. The scary thing about the feeling he was experiencing now was the fact that he couldn't really tell if it was just his body telling him it was time, or if it really is a bad omen this time. One thing's certain; none of his other pregnancies had hurt as bad as this one was hurting and without Chanyeol there to talk him through his worries, Baekhyun couldn't help but start to picture the worst case scenarios. One that included losing his babies.

 

"Mummy?" Baekhyun hadn't registered Kris' presence before him and he silently cursed for having let one of his pups see him in such a state. Once he started, Baekhyun couldn't stop himself from having a mini attack at his self-worth. Such an excellent mother he is, relying on his pups more than it is the other way around just like it should be. If Chanyeol were there, he would have sent a disapproving gaze ar him and proceed to convince him that it's only natural he would need a little bit of help now and then because carrying babies is not an easy task, for goodness' sake. But his mate isn't here to tell him so, and Baekhyun has a tendency to overthink things sometimes.

 

"Mummy are you hurt?" Kris' authoritativeness rings in his tone. Baekhyun has a fleeting thought of how Kris would make a good Alpha one day. A terrific leader who would lead a pack of trusting young wolves. A little like Chanyeol, in a sense.

 

"Should I call for help?" Kris asks uncertainly, his back already partially turned away to face the southeast entrance of their territory to sprint away if given the word to.

 

"No, don't." Baekhyun is quick to deny his pup, holding a hand on Kris' arm to stop him just in case. Baekhyun didn't need any more of his pups missing. He didn't want anything else to go wrong, especially in Chanyeol's absence

 

"But you're clearly in pain, Mummy." Kris sternly says, and for a moment, Baekhyun sees Chanyeol in him. 

 

"I'm fine, Kris-ah." Baekhyun replies in a firm voice, hoping it was convincing enough. Kris looks like he was about to protest again, but Baekhyun's loud cry and tight grip on Kris' arm interrupts him. Everyone's heads snap around to see what the noise was, their eyes flying wide open in terror when they see their mother who was now in his wolf form with a pained expression painting his face. The pups turned into their wolf forms as well, an instinctual reaction to an emergency.

 

"M-Mummy... what should I do?" Kris tries to keep his calm but that doesn't stop his voice from wavering. "Please tell me what to do."

 

By then, the rest had gathered around, sticking close to each other as they watched their mother's agony in pure helplessness. Tao's eyes were already watering, for he could almost feel the pain his mother was in because of the emotional bond. Chen and Jongin were silently communicating with each other, brainstorming on ways to alleviate their mother's pain but in utter vain. Sehun, on the other hand, slings his paw into Luhan's after noticing how badly shaken up his twin was.

 

Another terrifyingly sharp stab causes Baekhyun to howl this time, hoping his mate was already somewhere close and could hear his cries for help. Seconds later, Baekhyun's prayers were answered, but it wasn't his mate who had heard it.

 

Yunho and Jaejoong who had just finished up their rounds on the forest for the missing pup had been on their way back when they heard the first shout. They immediately sprinted back towards their new friend's territory where they see Baekhyun in a bad state with the poor pups looking powerless and afraid.

 

"Baekhyun, can you hear me?" Jaejoong questions as he kneels before the younger wolf. Baekhyun was already flitting in and out of consciousness, the pain becoming increasingly unbearable. Yunho usually took the lead in an emergency, but the situation called for an omega's experience. Yunho takes to calming the pups down instead, allowing only Kris to stay close to his mother while he brought the rest a little further so they didn't have to witness it up close.

 

"Baekhyun, if you can hear me, squeeze my hand once." Jaejoong instructs, and Baekhyun does as he's told despite needing a lot of effort to do that one simple gesture.

 

"Ok, good." Jaejoong tends to where the pain was and notices that the younger wolf is already in the later stage of his transition phase. "Listen here carefully, Baekhyun. Whatever it is, I need you to stay with me. I can't have you passing out. You're going into labour and it's crucial for you to be awake to get your babies out or you'll be in danger of losing them. Do you understand me, Baekhyun?"

 

At the warning of his babies being in danger, Baekhyun feels himself nodding fervently. The thought of seeing his babies continue to push him to stay awake as he briefly notes that he's being ushered to the ground where a cloth has been laid out.

 

"Joongie, will he be alright?" Baekhyun hears Yunho's question in the distance. 

 

"He will, but..." Jaejoong's sentence trails off, and Baekhyun's fear grows with the hesitation. Jaejoong doesn't finish what he was about to say, but instead moves to get Baekhyun comfortable before they started the process of getting the babies out. In all those other times before, Baekhyun had found ease in bringing his babies to life, only needing Chanyeol to hold him from behind as he pushed them out. But this time, everything seems to be different. He was just relieved that Jaejoong was there to assist him with it.

 

"Okay, Baek, I think you're ready."

 

Baekhyun can feel it, the last of his contractions before he starts to push. Yunho decides it's best if the pups didn't witness the process of childbirth and brought the pups, including Kris,  into the cave because they were certain to be scarred for life with the image of Baekhyun looking like he was in the middle of a battlezone. Jaejoong holds Baekhyun's hand through all the grunts and whines and cries of pain, encouraging him with promises of how he'll finally be able to hold his babies in his arms. The first baby makes it out safely, and his cries punctures the cold afternoon air in undulations. Somewhere close, Chanyeol's ears perk up at the sound and he feels himself being pulled in the direction of home by a strong unknown force akin to that of gravity. D.O, who had been clinging to the fur on his father's nape, had also heard the cries.

 

"Daddy, what was that?" D.O timidly asks.

 

"Baby, I think that's your dongsaengie." Chanyeol urgently says after straining his ears to pick up on his newborn's voice, in the process also detecting his mate's cries. Chanyeol braces his pup on his back before sprinting off in the direction of home at a much faster pace than before.

 

The sight that greets him is one he wishes to never see again. Baekhyun is out in the cold, an unknown wolf tending to him, and his face is contorted into a pained expression, his magenta fur matted with dark patches of blood. Chanyeol deposits D.O into the cave where the rest of his pups gives a warm welcome to their brother.

 

"D.O!" A chorus of high pitch squealing echoes in the cave before D.O is swamped by his brothers. A warm fuzzy feeling grows in Chanyeol's chest as he takes a second to watch the dramatic reunion. He hopes D.O is convinced now of how his brothers love him all the same, and how he would be dearly missed by everyone regardless of if he were their blood brothers. Baekhyun's screaming outside tugs him back to reality and his expression turns hard and serious as he faces the other unknown wolf in his home.

 

"Who are you and what are you doing on my territory?" Chanyeol growls at the wolf who's a shade lighter than him.

 

"I come in peace. I'm Yunho, and the one tending to your mate outside is mine, and he's Jaejoong. We're the ones who found Baekhyun unconscious when he was out looking for his pup." Yunho explains as briefly but as concisely as he could. Chanyeol relaxes upon hearing Yunho's account, remembering Baekhyun telling him about the incident. He gives a short nod and is out the cave in the open, hurrying to Baekhyun. 

 

"Baek, baby, I'm here," Chanyeol softly says against Baekhyun's muzzle before pulling back and holding the magenta wolf's paw to give him some comfort. Their first newborn is a tightly wrapped bundle by the side, protected from the cold, and eyes screwed shut. Chanyeol gives him a quick and returns to his mate's aid.

 

"You're doing so well, Baekkie. Just a little more and it's done." Baekhyun gives another shout, his stomach clenching as the head of his next newborn makes it through the ring of muscles and from there on out, the rest of him is a smooth glide out. Baekhyun whimpers just as the last of his baby's tiny toes leaves the safety of his body.

 

"You did it, Baekkie! You got them all out!" Chanyeol cheers as he takes his other newborn from Jaejoong's hold. Chanyeol cradles the yelling baby in his arms, quietly soothing him till his cries cease from his father's deep humming while he allows a heavily panting Baekhyun to take a breather. 

 

"What do you want to call them, Baek?" Chanyeol asks, placing a kiss to Baekhyun's forehead. 

 

"Yixing and Joonmyun." Baekhyun weakly replies as he leans into Chanyeol's touch. Everything is relatively quiet for awhile, apart from Baekhyun's heavy breathing, but the moment is broken when Baekhyun suddenly swears as he doubles over once more, the nails of his paws digging into Chanyeol's flank. 

 

"What's going on?" Chanyeol demands, a little panicked at his mate's sudden outburst. He gently places Yixing and Joonmyun to the side after ensuring they were wrapped with a heavy layer of cloth and proceeds to hover over the side of his mate's fragile form.

 

"Your last pup is coming." Jaejoong says as a matter-of-factly before he assumes his position once again. Chanyeol's eyes widen at the revelation.

 

"But we're only having twins." Chanyeol says, feeling slightly overwhelmed of the news of a third unknown pup. Chanyeol was certain he couldn't be wrong, not after the number of times Baekhyun had always referred to the babies he had been carrying as twins. Two, not three.

 

"Channie..." Baekhyun whimpers, finding his voice to mutter a word for the first time since the painful process begun, as he rocks forward to brace himself for the oncoming baby.

 

Chanyeol snaps out of his daze at once upon hearing Baekhyun's voice.  "I'm right here, baby. Don't worry about anything. Just push him out. Everything will be fine."

 

The third pup was the easiest of the three. He was out within seconds, and Jaejoong had wrapped him up in an instant before cleaning Baekhyun and the mess up. It was starting to snow again and Baekhyun shivered violently in the cold. Chanyeol quickly pulls Baekhyun into him upon noticing this. He would have carried Baekhyun back into the warmth of their cave but Baekhyun was far too exhausted to be moved, insisting to stay till he gains a little of his strength back.

 

"Congratulations." Jaejoong says with a kind smile, patting Baekhyun on the head for his hard work. "I'll leave you guys to it. The pups must be wondering what's happened. I'll go and settle everything inside."

 

Chanyeol gives an appreciative smile as Jaejoong stalks away. He gathers all three of their newborns and hands them over to Baekhyun one by one as Baekhyun covers them with his body.

 

"Surprise, Channie," Baekhyun whispers with a hint of a weak smile, the playful glint evident in his eyes. Chanyeol lets out a soft chuckle.

 

"You're really something, aren't you? Keeping the news of a third baby till the very last minute." Chanyeol shakes his head fondly at his mate. "I'm glad you did, though. It makes the moment ten times more worthwhile."

 

"And everything is even more exciting, isn't it?" Baekhyun giggles in a hoarse voice. Chanyeol captures the laughter with his muzzle and caresses Baekhyun's sides.

 

"What are we going to call the third?" Chanyeol raises a paw to at the sparse fur on the top of his newest pup's head. He lets out an almost inaudible whine but Chanyeol swears he sees a hint of a smile.

 

"Your call, Channie."

 

"I think I want to give the honours to D.O. I think he deserves it." Chanyeol says after a moment's thought. Baekhyun gives a small and content hum in reply, letting his triplets snuggle closer to him.

 

"Kris, Chen, Tao, Jonginnie, Luhannie, Sehunnie, D.O, Joonmyunnie, Yixing and Little Maknae," Baekhyun murmurs under his breath, going through the names of his children. "I love them all. Don't you, Yeol?"

 

"Yes, of course I do." Chanyeol says without missing a beat, shooting his mate a grin. He gives a to the side of Baekhyun's face, a gesture to show his love, and if it were any other time, Baekhyun would have grumbled about Chanyeol getting his pretty fur drenched in slober but Baekhyun welcomes it with extreme fondness this time.

 

"But... I think I love you the best, Chanyeollie." Baekhyun drawls in a sleepy manner, his muzzle opening slightly to let out a small yawn. Chanyeol chuckles at the cute display, knowing full well Baekhyun is drowsy with exhaustion and might not really be understanding the implications of his seemingly innocent claim.

 

Chanyeol's thoughts are interrupted by a small gasp and instinctively, Chanyeol's body goes rigid as every fibre of his being ignites with worry. Baekhyun's head snaps around to look Chanyeol in the eyes, the dazed look gone.

 

"What's wrong, Baek?" Chanyrol questions with urgency.

 

"Don't tell the kids I said that." Baekhyun says in a hush tone. The seriousness and anxiety that has replaced the sleepiness makes Chanyeol fall a little more in love with the purple wolf.

 

"I think it's too late for that, babe." Chanyeol nods in the direction of the cave where their other pups are all sprinting over to them. Chanyeol knows just how sharp their hearings are, able to pick up on the snallest of sounds within a mile's radius.

 

"Mummy, don't you love us anymore?" Tao wails, stopping short before his parents. Being highly sensitive, Tao's eyes are already watering as he sobs dryly. Chen and Jongin snicker at their triplet's antics and proceed to plonk themselves down on the dirt beside him. Kris, being the protective older brother he is, has taken to holding tightly onto D.O's hand, leading him to their new brothers while the other follows along with a slight stumble in his steps. The twins settle for the spot directly behind their father. Having missed their father's touch, they began to bury their muzzles into the thick velvety flank, taking in the heavy authoritative scent.

 

"You heard me wrongly, Tao-ah." Baekhyun meekly tries to defend himself, though it comes out a little weak. 

 

"But you said you love Chanyeollie... you don't love us and daddy anymore," Tao retorts, stamping his paws lightly on the ground. Chanyeol watches in sympathy as Baekhyun lets out a heavy sigh, looking too worn out to try and convince their pup otherwise. Baekhyun was too tired to even laugh at his pup's silly notion. Chanyeol takes the initiative to interfere, motioning for Tao to come into his embrace where the other three newborns were resting.

 

"Come here, Tao." Said pup hesitantly trots over to his father, wiping the tears with a free paw.

 

"Tao-ah, Chanyeollie isn't anyone else. Chanyeollie is me." Chanyeol explains. Tao mutters a sheepish oh and smiles in embarrassment. "And your mother was telling me how he loves everyone equally."

 

Lucky for them, Tao is easily distracted, so the subject is seamlessly changed to that of the newborns in mere seconds. Tao eyes the sleeping baby warily, as if assessing them individually. The rest also has their eyes fixed on the almost furless beings, marveling at how tiny they were as compared to them.

 

"Why don't they open their eyes? I want to play with them!" Tao says a little too loudly, causing Little Maknae to stir awake from his slumber as his muzzle quivers dangerously. 

 

"Shh, don't talk too loudly, Tao-ah. They need peace and quiet right now." Chanyeol gently chides, moving to rock the youngest back to sleep before it became a full blown crying session. 

 

"What are their names?" Luhan asks in a small voice, earning himself a chorus of agreement.

 

"This is Yixing," Chanyeol points to the yellow furred ball. "This is Joonmyunie." He points towards the darker coloured pup. 

 

"And this is our new maknae." Chanyeol smiles. "Mummy and I decided to let D.O name him. Pass on the baton."

 

Everyone oohed and aahed as they turned to look at D.O peeked from behind Kris, eyes widening in disbelief. Kris helps to pull D.O to stand beside him, squeezing his paw in encouragement.

 

"Really?" D.O asks uncertainly. Baekhyun, who had been closing his eyes for a short rest, opens them a crack.

 

"Yes, baby. Since we're having a new maknae, we want the old maknae to do it. You're a Park, D.O." Baekhyun kindly reminds the pup whose face lights up with the most beautiful smile.

 

Everyone continues to stare at D.O, eagerly waiting for the verdict.

 

"Minseok." D.O finally says after some serious contemplation. "Minseokie."

 

"I love the name." Baekhyun agrees, beckoning for D.O to come over. D.O carefully stalks over the newborns to reach his mother who reaches for D.O's paw and gently guiding him to caress Little Minseokie's fur.

 

The smile on D.O's face widens. Baekhyun releases D.O's paw and pulls the pup into his chest.

 

"Don't ever do something like that again, do you understand?" Baekhyun's voice cracks as he holds his baby close. Chanyeol swallows a huge lump in his throat at the sentimental reunion. When they finally pull away, everyone seemed to be battling their own tears but Baekhyun was just glad they were all tears of joy for once in a long time.

 

"Daddy, can I hold Yixing?" Kris asks. His unexpected question opens the floodgates of a series of 'me too!'s and 'I wanna hold Joonmyun!'s as well as 'I want to hold Minseokie!'s. Baekhyun's head throbs from the noise. Chanyeol must have sensed his distress because his mate was calling for order right away.

 

Yunho and Jaejoong who had bewn watching the family in adoration from afar couldn't help but chuckle. 

 

"Kids, keep your volume down. You can all hold your new brothers later, okay? Right now, Mummy needs to rest."

 

Everyone mumble an okay, and Jaejoong takes it as his cue to help herd the kids to the play area while Yunho helped Chanyeol deposit the newborns into the cave, whereas Chanyeol carried Baekhyun inside as well. Once inside, silence falls upon them, the lively sounds of their children outside sounding muffled in the distance.

 

"Rest, my love." Chanyeol whispers, moving Baekhyun to rest his head against his soft and thick fur.

 

Chanyeol keeps Baekhyun company for awhile, letting him lie his head on his chest as he caressed him. Baekhyun falls asleep soon to the steady, calming beating of Chanyeol's heart.

 

Chanyeol wasn't planning on leaving his mate who had fallen into a deep slumber, but Jaejoong sticks his head in a couple of minutes later with a grave expression on his face.

 

"Can I talk to you for a moment?" The concern is heavy in his words, and it sparks a dull fear in Chanyeol who nods and carefully but reluctantly peels himself away from Baekhyun. Jaejoong leads the midnight blue wolf to a quiet spot a ways away from the cave where they could talk without being disturbed. Chanyeol turns into his human form so that he could better communicate with Jaejoong.

 

"What's wrong?" Chanyeol asks, anxiously wringing his hands. 

 

"I don't have a better way to put this, but you should really know that something went wrong with the pregnancy." Jaejoong starts to explain. The frown in Chanyeol's forehead deepens with every word. Jaejoong takes a deep breath and lets out a heavy sigh as Chanyeol leans in closer, dreading what was to come.

 

"Chanyeol, Baekhyun... he can't have any more pups."

 

Chanyeol feels the air being punched right out of him. Here he was, barely recovering from the ordeal of emotions of the past few days and now there's more to deal with. But the only thing Chanyeol can't stop thinking about is how devastated Baekhyun is going to be once he hears the news.

 

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Note:  Here I am with an update again after a month! Here's 4000 words for your patience! 

 First of all, I don't know how wolves give birth /fail/ please forgive me, I was winging that part. ><

And did you know a healthy female wolf can give birth to up to 60pups in her lifetime? DAMN.

 

Anyway, this will be the second to last chapter, which means I'll be ending this story in the next chapter. I've already got it typed out so expect it to come maybe tmr or the next? 

 

I want to say that the reason why it has taken me quite long to have this up is bcs i wanted to start on the new mpreg before I completed this. So FYI, I've planned it out and because I've alr started writing it, it'll have quicker updates than this. :B Comments are appreciated!

 

ANOTHER QUICK QUESTION: The new mpreg story revolves around our main OTP Chanbaek. But I'm including two other couples. I've actually already decided on the couples but I'd just like to hear your opinions on your preferred pairings :) So do rmb to leave them in your comments!

 

 

 

     It's a summary, but it's not much!

 

Parenting 101

"Marriage comes before having a child...right?

For Chanyeol and Baekhyun, the arrival of baby Sehun is an unexpected turn in their relationship. Nevertheless, Chanyeol makes a promise to be there for the both of them every step of the way. But of course, raising a child is a lot more difficult than he had thought it would be."

 

 

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