Chapter 2: Birth

Hazel's POV

Sleep didn't come easy to me that night. I couldn't stop thinking of that strange man. It made me feel uneasy. I think my babies could sense my unease because I felt them move a lot more than usual that night.

Thinking about my babies sent me down an entirely different train of thought. Though it was one that I had become familiar with. Who was their father? Did I love him? Did he know I was having his babies? Would I ever remember him?

I felt a strange hollow emptiness inside of me whenever I thought of this mysterious man. It felt like I was missing a piece of my soul. Tears formed in my eyes just thinking about it.

I wanted nothing more than to simply remember what my old life was like before the zoo. That didn't seem like too much to ask for. I must've had a family. Perhaps I was apart of a pack of wolves that were just like me.

I looked at my sleeping wolf companions. I knew I was different from them. Just my sheer size alone told me that I was different. Unlike the other wolves I understood human language. I understood English and Spanish actually. I was smarter than the other wolves. Way smarter.

I closed my eyes and tried to block out all of my thoughts. Eventually I must've fallen asleep because the next thing I know I'm being awoken by the sound of the zookeeper bringing our food. It was daylight out. Another sign that I'd fallen asleep for a few hours.

I paced around my enclosure anxiously that day. I didn't know what it was that had me so worried that day. My mind kept wondering back to that man that had come to visit me last night.

Or maybe captivity was just driving me crazy. All I did was walk around my enclosure while countless people took pictures and recorded me. I was sick and tired of the veterinarians coming and drawing blood or taking samples of my fur when no one was around.

When nighttime finally came around I was dead tired. I fell asleep faster than usual that night. I didn't even realize how tired I was until I closed my eyes and drifted off.

I was awakened by a sudden, sharp pain in my lower stomach. My instincts suddenly took over and I knew what to do. I started pushing and less than a minute later my first pup arrived. Five minutes later two more arrived. Three minutes later my fourth pup came. Ten minutes later fifth and sixth came within minutes of each other. Then fifteen minutes later I was shocked when two more arrived.

I had eight puppies. That's two more than what the veterinarians said I would have. I guess two of them must've gone undetected somehow. Between each birth instinct would take over and tell me what to do. I licked each and every one of them clean and encouraged them to breathe.

All together I had four girls and four boys. I pushed them all closer to my body and encouraged them to nurse. I was filled with nothing but love for each and every one of my babies. I knew I would do anything for them. Anything to protect them and keep them safe.

Seven of my pups looked like me with their reddish brown fur. My eighth pup stood out from the rest though. Not only was she the runt of the litter but her fur was sandy colored and her paws seemed much to large for her tiny body. I pushed her close to my body to make sure she got fed. I smiled.

I was a mother. I could not believe that I was a mother to eight wonderful babies. I froze when I noticed something odd about one of my boys. He wasn't moving.

He had stopped suckling. He had stopped moving all together while all my other babies kept on squirming around and eating.

I nudged him and licked him. Nothing. That's when I realized that he wasn't breathing. I moved him and licked him desperately more times. Doing whatever I could to get him to breathe again. Nothing. His body remained lifeless. That's when I realized that he was dead.

I cried like I had never cried before. I carefully picked up his body and moved it away from his siblings. I held him close to me as I cried. I let out a loud mournful howl.

Grief filled me from head to tail. I didn't know what to do. I constantly checked on the rest of my pups to make sure that they were still okay. Thankfully they were all okay.

I didn't sleep at all that night. I cried for my son all night while somehow still keeping it together enough to take care of my other babies.

I didn't move until a zookeeper came and checked on me. As soon as he saw my pups he called for one of the veterinarians.

"Wow eight wolf pups. Two must've gone undetected somehow. I wonder how much like their mother they are. A lot of strange crap in her DNA that's for sure,"

"What are we going to do about the dead pup?"

"Dispose of the body quickly before any of the visitors can see it. A dead pup is no use to us anyways,"

I put a protective paw over my son's body and growled viciously at them. No way in hell would I let them take my son from me!

I snapped viciously when one of the men tried to take my son from me. I was not going to allow them to lay a finger on him!

Then suddenly I felt a sharp needle pierce my skin. I felt really drowsy and sleepy. I felt the strength in me leave as sleepiness took over. I didn't have enough energy to fight when my son's body was yanked away from me.

"She won't even remember this one when she wakes up. Animals don't have feelings and they certainly don't grieve,"

That was the last thing I remembered hearing before blacking out.

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