Golden Glade Forgive and.... Raise My Babies?

Takes place just a few hours after this one: http://wolf-rpg.com/showthread.php?tid=17769 . Gonna be vague, since Aspen hasn't jumped into that one yet.

While Aspen had been at the top of his priority list, Alder had another female to talk things out with. He was a little more nervous to talk to Heartha than his wife-funny, considering that she wasn't the one who slept beside him every night- but sought her out none the less.
Sure, it probably took him a little longer than it should've. But Alder needed a little bit to again breathe the scents of his home, even without Ayla there. Angry as he was with the pale woman, it no longer mattered. She was gone, and she wouldn't be welcomed back after wordlessly abandoning them all.
After a little bit of looking for her, he eventually sent out a gentle call for @Heartha. Shalon, he would have to talk to later: Aspen had finally promoted her in his absence. That mean she, alongside Nico, now made their homes in the tunnels. With the Autumn looming over them, growing closer to Winter each day, Alder was adamant on Heartha coming in too, but that he'd needed to talk to Aspen about.

Heartha's ears perked up. Her whole body trembled in fear. It was not Aspen that called her, but Alder who had now returned. But that was not why she feared. She had told Aspen against his word. What if Aspen told him that? What would become of her and the little ones developing inside her. Her baby bump had begun to form. It was a massive sign.

She slowly made her way over to where Alder was, stopping a distance away when she could see him. She was angled a bit so her bump could be seen. There was no smile, and she did her best to avert her eyes.

Alder decided to stay where he was for now, and wait for her to come to him. Would she be excited for these puppies, or was she upset? He could understand both, as both he was, but he truly hoped that she could love these pups, despite them being bastards.
Eventually, she did show, and she came at him without a smile or her usual happiness. With a whine, the King lowered himself to the earth, laying flat on his stomach and laying low his ears. It was more of an apology than submission, and he reached out with his muzzle towards her. 
            "H-Heartha...."
He mumbled out her name with friendliness, warmth, but worry: would she hate him for what he'd done? While he's laying there, jaws flapping soundlessly as Alder grabs for words, his one good eye falls upon her distended belly. It's true: she carries his children. That brings a grin to his scarred face, and his tail begins to wag. For a moment, he forgets about the fact that it was a hormone induced affair, not something that was wanted or expected. 
                                 "You're pregnant."
It isn't a question, but a comment, laced with nothing other than joy and pride- he is going to be a father, and the Court will be blessed with many Princes and Princesses, he is sure.

Heartha shivered at him saying her name. The last time he said it was during the affair. Part of her was glad he came back, having wanted to see him again. She felt stupid thinking that, but also knew there was reason behind it. He was her alpha, and had given her children which she was growing glad about.

Alder pointed out she was pregnant. That brought her back, and she turned her body and moved her tail to try and hide it, a nervous and sheepish smile. "Yes. Yours...Aspen knows." Words she dreaded to say, yet after having met with Aspen before and seeing she was not mad, it made her calm enough.

She didn't shy away, and for that he was thrilled, but she didn't come closer, either. Another whine broke though his throat, this one of excitement as his blue eye strained to see her belly. Obviously, there was little to see, but he was simply entralled. Those tiny little beings inside of her-hed put those there, they were of his blood. Hearing her confirm it brought his grin spreading wider, and finally he could no longer hold back. Standing, slowly, he shuffled his way nervously over. Despite having been around very few pregnant women, he knew that their hormones made them crazy: even a sweet, nervous female like Heartha could snap at him for being to close. In such circumstances, rank was void; if a mother felt she didn't have the space she needed, well, then she needed to tell others to back away. For now, though, tail wagging, Alder scooted close and reached again for her belly. Should she allow him, he would gently breathe on the thinning fur, press his nose against it in hopes to feel a squirm or two. All the while, he spoke softly to her. 
             "I-I'm sorry, Heartha, for that night.... I don't know what came over me. It won't happen again.... B-But I really hope you bear no ill will towards our children."

Heartha held back a growl as Alder approached. He proved no threat, ash e remained close to the ground and only shuffled forward. A light shiver went through her spine as she felt his nose against her distended belly. She was feeling more glad to have him near.

"I forgive you...How many do you think?" She belived it might be three pups, but things like that were never fully accurate. Only when the birth of them came would she know.

The pale woman didn't seem happy at first, but he pushed through and she did indeed let him close to touch her. She shivered, though, and he pulled back a fraction to aim his eyes up at her, but with her forgiveness, he smiled again. Her question threw him off guard, and he pressed his cheek flat against her belly in thought before answering:
                   "I dunno.... For halfway through, you are pretty small, so maybe two or three?"
Aspen's wide belly seemed much bigger compared to Heartha's so he suspected that she had more like three or four. So many puppies! 
Alder wouldn't change a thing, either. Every pup, no matter the mother, would be treated the same, for they were all Princes or Princesses of the Royal Fire Court, all of his blood.

"Two or three..." She had given birth to two before. The first time, no stillborns. But sheh ad lots of help then. She lay down on her side slowly, her head perked up with her eyes on Alder. "Aspen, she seemed to not be mad. We will have a large bunch of puppies around, won't we?" Knowing how much trouble they could be, that put a bit of fear in her.

Heartha layed down, and Alder followed suit so he wasn't towering over her-but first, his blue eye swept around them to make sure they were safe. Even in his own lands, he worried for his unborn pups. Who knows what things could hurt them-or the women carrying them. Much as he wished he could be with both Heartha and Aspen all the time, at the same time, he just couldn't. He had a rank to handle, moreso now that the Queen would be busy, and even with Shalon as Duchess beside him, there were still many things holding him back from being in the same place as both females. 
She talked about Aspen next, and the King was glad he'd told his wife before anyone else could. That's all he'd wanted her to wait for, really, so he didn't even know that Heartha had told Aspen-hence him not even talking about it. His grin faded a little.
                        "No, she isn't mad at you. Just dissapointed-and I think that's more towards me than you."
Heartha didn't have a mate to be loyal to, and it wasn't her fault he'd found her in heat and had been unable to control himself. The patchy male smiled again when talking about the babies.
                                                "Well if Aspen's size says anything, yes, we will have a bunch of puppies running around the Court."

Heartha smiled lightheartedly. Perhaps Aspen was accepting this. As long as she was not mad, Heartha felt more safe than before. "It's going to be hard for everyone with so many" she said, resting her chin on the ground. She lay there in deep thought.

Then she lifted her head back up to Alder. She couldn't help but start to feel something for him. "Things will be okay in the end, right?" She wanted things to be back the way they were.

Her smile made him feel much better about things: she wasn't bitter or hurt, it seemed, or at least it was fading. Aspen seemed to be her only worry for now. Alder laughed as he joked with her, swiping his tongue gently over the curve of her belly. 
                 "Oh, it'll suck, I'm sure, once they get mobile. Get all the sleep you can now!"
She layed her head on her paws for a moment, but something seemed to bother her: she looked back up at him and asked if everything would be okay. His heart faultered at her worry, and he reached forward to lick her face. They might not be mates, but she was still mother to his children. Even if he didn't want to admit low-laying feelings for her, there they were.
                             "Everything is okay, and everything will continue to be okay. I won't let anything happen to you, Heartha, or our babies. I'll be as good as a father to them as Aspen's children, and I'll be better to you than I've ever been. Do you trust me?"

Heartha laughed at the joke they shared. There was truth in it, there would be a lack of sleep. That was certain. But no matter what, she would still fulfil her den mother duties, taking good care of Aspen's babies as well as her own. That was a promise.

She smiled lightly. "I trust you. You will turn out to be a great father for them." She knew he spoke the truth. And she would return the favor in raising them.

Her laugh made him even happier than her smile, but it was the trust she put in him that really made him at peace with everything. Alder really, really hoped that he could be a good of a dad as he wanted to be.... As good as a father as his own had been. Head hanging low, he rested his cheek again on her belly. 
         "I sure hope so, Heartha. I don't want to let my kids down like I was."

She didn't catch the words at the end as odd, as she was already drifting off to sleep. Although her heart did warm up inside as he promised to care for them. They were his, and they would have Aspen's as siblings. She felt the warmth of his cheek on her belly, and it somewhat soothed her as she went to sleep.

It took a moment for Alder to realize she'd even fallen asleep, intently focused as he was on trying to feel or hear the babies. He failed, of course, and when he raised his head and saw Heartha's peaceful, sleeping face, a smile spread over his maw. While she was not his in the sense that Aspen was- much as he cared for her, nobody would ever compare to his goddess- the pale woman was, truly, his. He had claimed her that night, even wrongly, and now that she was having his children, she couldn't leave. Who would be so cruel as to take away children from a well-meaning, loving father? 
Rumbling deep in his chest, an elated sound, Alder stayed there to watch over her. He lay tall, head and ears up high and on a swivel-if anyone other than Aspen were to approach, they'd likely be met with a show of his fangs and a high show of dominance.