Something was very wrong with his mate, it would be silly to ask him how he knew, but he knew it. The last time he had a feeling like this it was the single most horrific day and night of his life. He swallowed hard and looked around slowly wondering what the hell was going on.

The deep gashes on his chest burned and stung he was hovering over the carcass of an elk and he grabbed it by a horn and dragged it at a staggering pace back to the caverns. The elk was tossed next to the fire but far enough away that it would not cook. He arrived to hear the first scream of agony and his heart began pounding as if it was trying to come out of his chest. Down the hall he tore still covered in blood, it was frozen into his hair. He found her there and growled. Tradition be damned he shouldn?t have seen her through any of the birthing but he wasn?t going to leave her there. He pulled her into his arms, still cool considering he had been outside. It might lower her temp a little bit, he carried her to their little nook in the caverns. Laying her on their bed and stroking his fingers through her hair with a sigh. He didn?t know how this went. He didn?t know how to help her. He ran to the door for a moment and called loudly.

?Amber! Mihaela! Could you join us back here please?!?

His shout sounded angry and imposing but he hadn?t intended it to be. A rumble of a growl echo?d through his throat as he knelt beside her his voice soft for only her to hear.

?Please forgive me for being here. I know I shouldn?t be, but I cannot leave you alone right now. Youll be ok. I promise everything is going to be alright.?

Massive hands reached up and stroked her forehead and cheeks. When the girls came he prayed they would bring her water. He would prepare the elk for her. Good thing he had been hunting. He needed to find Scales. He would need someone to pace with him while all this went on. For right then and there though he was holding her hand and mopping at her forehead with his hand.

Roused from his watchfulness atop the cliff, the saurian peered down through the rock with those all-seeing golden orbs.

It was time.

No longer content to watch from on high, the saurian leapt from the precipice, landing before the cavern's entrance. In this time, this moment, none would pass without leave from the Ulfric.

And then, after the event, would he know his path, for good or ill. If it were to remain here, or to be cast out to wander.

To quote a cliche, only time would tell.

The sweat painted her flesh as she near could sense the embers ignited and spilling like molten fire in her veins. There was no doubt in the Coyote's mind that the triplets were of her blood. They carried the fire.

Her eyes closed as she felt that cold against her skin and she sank into that welcomed chill. Fingers curled to his wrist as she shook her head. A pleading sound in throat as her eyes rolled back and that blade of fear sliced through her eyes.

"Please Stay. Forget... the laws."

Her voice was thick with the embers and heat as she closed her eyes once more. Scales presence was felt and sensed even as Moon Runner had come. Faint relief threaded her eyes as she nodded her quiet submission to Amber's administrations and attentions.

With Ariahn's birth... the Coyote had been alone. Packless. Mateless. Betrayed in so many ways that it made her turn against her own daughter. Made her loathe her, hate her, wish she was dead. Abandonment had been the option for Brilyah then.

To leave Ariahn to the desert and hopes of the heat and sand to devour her daughter.

What did the future promise for these triplets. Would they carry the insanity of the Coyote? The strong will of the Red? Or would a mark of blood patterns and bonds by Scales make them near unstoppable forces?

What if they were all of the above?

Strong willed, unstoppable, killers .

Fear trickled in her eyes.

What if they were the paying for their mother's sins?

Her hands rubbed her belly when they were not gripping at Godric's wrists.

A sense of Scales and Frosty Paws before she closed her eyes once more and slumped.

All she could do now was follow orders and wait for the worst of it to pass... or begin.

Godric cared little for laws, as far as he was concerned he made the laws around these parts. Of course Briar too made the laws and if she wanted him to stay with her he would not argue the point with her. Especially not now. There was no hesitation as he sat on the bed, positioning himself behind her so she could rest against him. He passed the fingers of his free hand through her hair gently. Stroking over and over again. Godric knew not what to do and for the first time he felt completely helpless. Here was his mate, cradled against him, panting and in pain and there wasn?t a damn thing he could do for her.

Her nails dug into the flesh of his wrist. Leaving tiny little cresent moon shaped lacerations, blood would pool around her nails. If he felt it, he wasn?t acknowledging it. His eyes went towards the cave door where Scales would be. A rumble of throat as if he was asking the saurian what he should do.

Godric released a breath he didn?t know he had been holding and leaned in close to Briar?s ear. His lips a hair away he began to hum lightly. A norse folk song, intended to comfort sick children. The sound wasn?t all together unpleasant but it was all too clear Godric was unsure of how to comfort her. His head snapped towards Amber and then Mihaela with a set of stern amber eyes. As a norse male, he knew not what he was supposed to be doing.

?Could one of you explain what the &*%# I should be doing right now? Or what you?re supposed to be doing for that matter? Or are we to leave her to this madness??

Godric didn?t sound a thing like himself as he barked out the questions like a man half rabid. Taking a deep breath and a thick swallow the Ulfric peered around the room. He hadn?t even chastised Amber for the way she had spoken to him, because right now he didn?t care nor did he even believe that the woman being there mattered. This was about the coyote and everyone else could be damned. Some part of him knew that Amber was needed but in his eyes the world began and stopped with Briar. This was apparently why single sighted Were males weren?t welcome in birthing rights.

There was a flood of panic that washed over him, over and over again. Eyes shifting then to Amber and Mih. Briar had made it cleae that he wasn?t to go anywhere, so he decided that he at least wanted to be helpful. A deep sigh.

?Tell me what I can do to help here?Help me to make her more comfortable?less pained.?

It looked like he had been struck dumb, and for the alpha to ask for help meant something was not right with him. He trusted the females of the pack to keep this little meltdown to themselves but more than anything he trusted them to help Briar through this.

"Keeping yer mate calm is yer job right now, an' tendin' t'yer own calm as well. If ye' can't be strong an' face the mess of childbirth, leave..." Her voice trailed, not even realizing the severity in her words or the misstep of her tones; perhaps she was unconsciously meeting and matching the Ulfric's. It had been a long time since Amber had had to fall in rank and truly listen to another's ruling; old habits were hard to break, even more so when during a birthing where for but an odd meeting of the celeste and fates, matron's hands and words were law. It was simply the old ways rearing their no nonsense heads, and it was a palpable taste to the air that Amber was uncomfortable with Godric's presence here despite his mate's piteous, breathy pleas.

Eyes fell to the Miha's comforting presence; she could sense the feline held some steeled manner of purpose. If things got hairy, which was often the case with multiple birthings, she might just depend on Kitten more than expected.

Then, realizing the drop in her voice, the she wolf picked up where her words had left off, finishing. "... because the last thing all of us in this room need is an alpha male loosing control and falling into a frenzy from his mate's stress." It wasn't a chide nor a judgement, just a simple relay of chilling fact. From the dark glean catering to the bright gold in her eyes, one might assume she'd seen such a travesty before and was not keen for a repeat performance.

"Now.. First's first. I need someone t'brace her legs and prop her back. Comfort is essential, as is a decent baring for Briar to push and bail as she needs." Old motions were going through her head at a feverishly fast pace, her hands unable to keep still as she moved to swath the bedspread below with a very bright, very white towel. A smaller one was set aside with the rest of her things; most of which Miha would no doubt recognize to some extent. "Hot water too..." She added, though knew it might be a false hope; their cave was not meant for modern pleasantries, but Amber knew that even if their swollen female here needed the moon, Godric would have exercised his entire power to make it so.

"Mihaela... a measure of her heartbeat please, their temperature concerns me." And but 'their' she of course the meaning was obvious; not only the mother, but her unborn children.

Nick dropped the ball. It wasn't like him, but the pager on his hip started to buzz. Admist hecklings and protests from his team mates and the other team, Nick waved them off and trotted towards the sideline. A towel was brought up to wipe his face and he drank from the water bottle before glancing down at the pager. "Huh."

The towel was dropped and before the other players in the gymnasium could say "boo," Nick was gone. The door slammed behind him as he had sprinted out of the building.

And he didn't stop. The cold air burned his lungs and his heart trip hammered against his breatbone, but he did not stop. It wasn't until he was upon the mantel of rock that held the lair did he come to a slow, and then a stop. Seeing J'Rial and Frosty there, he nodded to them both. Instincts had served Nick true. Just from their expressions, and the sounds from within the blocked lair, he knew it was time.

A slow grin broke out on his face and he circled the clearing a few times to stretch out his muscles, cooling them down. Finally stopping in front of the pair of sentinels, he looked up and smiled at them both. "Just here for moral support guys." With that, he went to gather wood and buckets of water.

The look that Amber was given could have been constituted as deadly but he ignored her words. He honestly didn?t care what she said, too soon afterwards would come the pleadings of the coyote. Strong arms would gather around Briar and he would smile softly. It would be the last time he would bother to say a word to Amber. It was more than clear she didn?t want him there. Which in all bluntness was too damned bad for her. Godric didn?t WANT to be there either. It was not his place to be there he had never seen anything like this. He may never see it again. But for now this was how it was going to be he would stay out of the women?s way. He would extend his arms for Briar. Reaching around her to brace her legs. She would be pressed against his back and his head would be on her shoulder. He was whispering things over and over. He wasn?t going anywhere. They would get through this together. He wouldn?t dream of leaving her. Such things muttered only for the coyotes ears. He spoke a bit more freely for just a moment.

?She can brace herself against me. I might as well be useful if I am going to be here.?

He said it to no one, but said it none the less. His arms were steady around her like the arms of a chair. She could pull and push, the blood on his wrists was looked upon with a raise of brow, a shrug of shoulders as he gently brought his wrist to the lips of his mate. The droplets pressed against her lips. She would need her strength and he could offer her a bit of his. Once the gesture had been made, he went back to bracing her legs. Endlessly long arms taking hold of her in what he hoped would be the right way. His eyes went to the Geri in a way that said: If Im screwing this up please let me know.

Godric held perfectly still, a man of stone and solid support for his mate. He was the brace for her to bring their children into the world. He had never seen a birthing before. As every male before him, Godric hadn?t been permitted in proximity while the young were born, he tried his hardest not be watch as Amber worked, but she seemed to know so much more than he did in this matter. It fascinated him but at the same time he didn?t want to outstep his bounds, a hand reached up to stroke over the braid in his coyotes hair. He focused on her, cool fingers trailing over her cheeks and down to trace her jaw. Brushing gently with the backs of his fingers.

At the wails of birth from the first of the triplets. He chewed his bottom lip and watched as cleaning and swaddling was taking place. An arch of neck and he was craning to see his son. A word that seemed more of a breath than anything else.

?Liulfr?

No one would know that a human would have considered this name to deserve a JR fixed at its end. Godric had been known as such so many years before. Another time and another place perhaps so the name rolled over his tongue as if foreign and new. He smiled. It simply meant wolf. But in Norse it had the strength and predominance of alpha. Godric smiled and stroked the back of Briars neck. This had to be the worst of it and he could tell that this was tiring her beyond anything he could describe. After several moments a second pair of healthy lungs aided in the wails of newborns. To which Godric responded softly with:

?Vithar.?

Son of Odin, Vithar had avenged his parents death by killing Fenrir in cold blood. A strong name matching a strong pair of lungs. Godric was craned again and he was watching the women at work taking care of his mate and his sons. There was a serene look on his face. As if this was what he was supposed to do with his life. If the third of the pups wasn?t struggling into the world his chest would have swelled at this point. Instead he pressed his palm to the side of her neck trying his best to sway between the pride of being a father and the pain he could feel through the pain of his mate.

When a third wail entered the hollowed out room of the caverns Godric waited and pulled Briar close and wrapped an arm across her chest so she could rest against his bare chest. Waiting to be able to hold their children. A pause in his breathing before he decided on the last of the names.

?Brandt.?

Most Weres were not named when they were born, typically because the father was responsible for naming them and typically was not allowed there. Brandt?s name was the only one he was sure of when he had thought of names for children. The name was special in that Godric?s first freki had been Brandt. Died in a vampire raid come century and a half before. An honoring of a man worth honoring so to speak. There was a freeze then and he looked down at the Alpha in his arms. A smile crept across those lips stained in crimson, whether from animal or fanged assault was a mystery. His lips pressed against her ear, a whisper so soft so the moment could be theirs alone.

?You?ve made simply wonderful children. May they grow happy and healthy, and may we live to see their next hundred winters.?

With that he fell silent and stroked her hair softly. He was in complete and total awe of the wonder that had unfolded in front of him. He was so amazingly impressed at what she had gone through, the things she had done that night. Eyes sweeping then to Amber and Mihaela in complete and total gratitude, something never present on the Ulfric?s face. For the first time in innumerable years he felt indebted to another person, and more than one for that matter. He paused and just turned to watch his mate. As three tiny squirming bundled proved they would change life as he knew it.