The days were getting longer, and this particular day had been the warmest she could remember as of late. All day the snow and ice had been melting away under the sun's rays, and the mother had been happily basking in it as much as she could. By now it was clear that her and Jethro’s children had taken and were beginning to grow within her womb. Maybe it was the hormones, or maybe it was the beginning buds of romance, but Finley couldn’t help but feel extra affectionate and content.

The only thing that plagued her mind as the sun had set down over the horizon was the conversation she would need to have with her boys. The Lennox wolf was sure the other members of the pack had figured it out by the change in her scent, but she doubted the children had. After all, why would they? Neither of them had ever been around a pregnant wolf before, and now she would need to tell them.

It was a couple of hours before she normally settled in for the night and Finley figured both of her kids would have returned from the day's adventure by now. Finding a private area within the territory she lifted her head and called for them. The mother needed to speak with Caspian and Ryder before someone else did.

Finley’s emotions were at conflict as she waited for her boys to answer her call. She was both excited by the new litter that she and Jethro had conceived, and yet suddenly felt a giddy kind of nervousness. What if they reacted poorly? What if they accused her of being a bad mother? What if they never forgave her? She had put the conversation off until she was sure that she was pregnant, but didn’t want to blind side them one day by going into labour.

Besides, they also had the - somewhat unpleasant - aspect of needing to learn where babies came from. Next year they would be old enough to have their own, a harrowing thought, and they needed to be prepared. Still, when Caspian arrived she couldn’t help but smile at her sweet boy, returning his embrace enthusiastically and giving a playful growl as she snuggled her chin into the crown of his pale head. Ryder arrived next, and as usual as of late was silent and kind of surly looking. The mother knew realistically it was probably teenage hormones, but she couldn’t help but take it a little personally.

She inhaled a deep breath, and then dove right in, matter of fact as always. ”I have something to tell you both, I’m pregnant. Jethro and I will be having a litter this year and both of you will be older brothers.” She expected this would be followed with a load of questions, and so she fell silent in wait. Still, now that the words were out she couldn’t help but wag her tail behind her a little, it really was a happy thing.

Well there were a lot less questions than Finley had been expecting. Really there was only one and it came from Caspian, Ryder staying silent and seemingly almost uninterested in this whole exchange. Blinking in surprise she nodded, ”Yes, me and Jethro, we are… exploring where our relationship is going.” That was as honest as she could be, something she strived to be with her children. There wasn’t much more to tell about what was going on with them.

Furrowing her brow for a second, she then launched into a very factual and straightforward description of what a woman’s heat was, that it meant she could get pregnant, how tempting that could be to a man, and well, how babies were made from there. This all felt very comfortable to explain, it was when she got to the end that she felt a little queasy, now she needed to be more personal. Sighing, she continued, ”The man I was with last year… he was only interested in being physical, and before I even knew I was pregnant he had taken off.” The words were chosen carefully, never mentioning “your father” because he wasn’t (but he was, she just didn’t know).

Looking at them, her face softened, ”But I wouldn’t change anything, because I’ve had the best year being your mom, and I love you both very much.” At least that was the whole truth.

Caspian just seemed embarrassed by the entire exchange, and that at least the mother had been expecting. The birds and the bees discussion was never going to be comfortable, but at least they would be informed as they went about their adult lives. That even if they knew how everything happened and what it was, sometimes things didn’t work out the way that they thought it would. Like the man who had taken off last year instead of sticking around. She chose not to press her son, letting him process his emotions.

Ryder on the other hand, her brows furrowed and she had to stop herself from reprimanding him on his tone. Now was not the time to have a lesson on etiquette, and she would need to let it go. Besides, could she really blame him? Ears pressed backwards against her skull, all of her worst fears about this conversation seemed to be coming true. Maybe she was not as good of a mother as she had been striving to be.

But, they hadn’t taken off and run away, so that was something. Smoothing her expression she did her best to settle the worries, ”Everything won’t be changing, only some things.” Finley did her best to be soft, ”I will still be your mom, and I will still love both of you very much. Jethro will still be around helping to take care of you and anything you need. We’ll just have a bigger family, you’ll have siblings that look up to you.” Maybe that they could understand, that not everything is going to be bad.