A/N: Finally done! Thank you all for your incredible support and be on the look out for bonus chapters.

My hunt yielded only two rabbits but it was enough to satisfy my appetite for a while. I made sure to clean my muzzle thoroughly and rinse out my mouth before trekking home. When I arrived my mate was just finishing off one of the celery stalks with a drink of water and quickly rose to greet me. He unzipped my vest and wrapped his arms around my waist, warming me with his body heat. I smirked as I slipped my freezing hands under the back of his sweater and he shrieked, jumping forward into me. It earned me a nip on the jaw but I only pulled him closer and enjoyed the warmth he was radiating.

It was a great relief that he was not bothered by my eating habits though I resolved to be carful to never let evidence of it enter our home. As for his own food I stopped letting him accompany me as he began to show more and only let him forage with me when the sun was out to offer some warmth. Sometimes he would try to be stubborn but as his child grew he began staying inside more.

In was only a few weeks later that the show began to thaw, even if it would refreeze overnight. Spring was coming and I looked forward to no longer being confined to the den. I knew my yearling was even more eager since deer didn't seek refuge in the winter months. Though he welcomed the warmth and shelter, he grew more restless by the day.

As we waited for the lengthening days to grow warm I continued working on the cradle. My mate always sat close as I worked, wanting it to be perfect. His child would be in human form when born and it would be a year before it would learn to change. When I finally deemed it safe and perfect I sat back to take in the sight. My deer was tucked against my side and sighed happily as I kissed his head.

When I came home from my next trip into town I unpacked several towels and another cushion from the furniture we had stolen from. I set the long cushion against one of the den walls and formed a headrest using a few blankets and a pillow. With the towels stacked beside the makeshift bed it was ready. When I motioned for my lover to investigate he gave it a confused look but I gently touched his stomach and looked at the pallet. Understanding dawned and he blushed as he realized I'd created a soft place for him to give birth.

Somehow seeing where it would happen made it seem more imminent that it had before. Even though I knew the day was approaching quicker than I felt ready for I tried to hold my nerve. I was a hardened predator but still the thought of what my mate would be going though soon was a scary one. It was made even more frightening by the level of worry he often showed. He thought he could hide it from me but more and more often I found him sitting still with his arms around his stomach, brow furrowed in deep concentration.

When spring finally settled in for good we spent our days outside, only going in to sleep. The first day it was truly warm he raced into the new grass shoots and lay for hours. I hoped that it would take his mind off whatever had been troubling him but in the evenings and sometimes even in the night he would still get the look. His eyes would glaze over and he even looked pained sometimes. Something was very wrong but he never tried to show me what it was. He would be due soon and the thought things might not go well made it loom even darker than before.

Spring also meant that I didn't have to venture into the human town for food, a risk I was grateful to leave behind. Time outside was spent in our animal forms and I stayed close as his guardian. I'm sure we made an odd site when we lay curled around each other in the shade but the thought only made me smile. It was finally spring after all and my mate was content at my side.

It was well into the season when I was drawn back to the hill by a startled cry from my deer. When I made it inside he was lying on the pallet I had made and it took several seconds for me to understand what that meant. The day had come.

I took a deep breath, calming my nerves, before grabbing the water bucket and setting it beside him along with the towels. I tried to tell myself that there was nothing to worry about; nature would take her course and by the end of the day his child would be safely in his arms. I needed to be collected and give him confidence, especially since he appeared to be panicking. I settled beside him and stroked his hair as he squeezed my hand.

An hour later I was wiping a damp cloth across his face and making sure he drank a bit. He kept looking at me with so much fear, though I still had no ideas why he was so scared. My comforting kisses seemed to put him a bit more at ease so I was confident he wasn't afraid of me.

When the contractions eventually came closer together I slipped behind him so I could comfort him better. Braced against my body, he began to push and I kept his hands clasped in mine. He was crying out loudly as tears leaked from his eyes. I kept my breathing deep and strong behind him despite my inner alarm, urging him to follow my example.

When he finally collapsed against me I quickly stood, grabbing a towel. Before I could even get to the child it began to wail and I nearly fainted in relief. Never had a sound been so beautiful to my ears than the healthy cry of my mate's child. The feeling was quickly upstaged by my first glimpse and I noted that he was a boy. Lifting him into a towel, I rocked him in my arms, shushing his crying with a huge grin on my face. I couldn't stop staring at his tiny features and for several moments I was lost in my own world, just looking.

A sharp cry from my yearling quickly snapped me out of it as I glanced down to see his face crumpled with worry. I looked back at his son with a smile, eager to show him to his father when suddenly my grin faded. I had been so transfixed by the small bundle that I hadn't properly looked at him. Now though I blinked in confusion as I took in the obviously canine ears and long bushy tail.

How could I be holding a wolf pup in my arms? Seeing my face, tears began to stram down my mate's face and reached out for his child. For a long minute I froze, trying to understand. For him to have given birth to a wolf meant… It meant I was the father. My mate was actually my mate; he hadn't gotten pregnant by another deer. The child I had come to love already was actually mine.

My head spun with the force of the emotions running through me as yet again my blood ran cold. Is this what he had been so worried about? He was crying harder now, begging me with whines to let him hold his boy. But what if he didn't want him once he knew? What if he rejected my child?

Fear aside I knew I had to show him, especially as he grew more and more distraught. I sat back down behind him, carefully placing the boy in his arms with my own beneath them for support. He gave a small hiccupping laugh as he finally saw his child's face and gently ran a finger over his cheek. When he pulled the towel back to see more I held my breath and buried my face in his neck. When I looked up I was surprised to see him beaming at his son. When he looked down at my tentative smile he seemed to swell with pride.

He relaxed against me and I took our son in my arms, beginning to clean him off and wrapping him in a blanket. I stood and lay him down in the cradle, staring at him sleep before cleaning up my mate and helping him to the bed. He lay up against the side with his arm across the top of the cradle and I curled against his back, happier than I could ever remember being.

Though things could, and sometimes should, have gone wrong at every turn; against all odds everything was right. I had found my true forever mate, the one that would love me back and he was a singularly perfect young deer. Though I never dreamed it possible my mate gave me a healthy pup and loved him even more for being a wolf. I had a family. The one thing I had never allowed myself to hope for.

Now with him safe in my arms I smiled sleepily and thanked mother nature for sending him to me. My mate. My deer.