After learning that their firstborn had taken his first steps without them, the two mothers were stunned and heartbroken. The quiet room felt completely heavy, the faint light from the tablet screen illuminating their pale faces as they sat frozen on the mattress.

Leonny had started walking much earlier than expected.

As an Alpha baby, his first steps were supposed to come around 7 or 8 months old, but he hadn’t even reached 5 months yet. It was freakish, a completely unnatural speed that left both teenagers feeling like the ground had been pulled right out from under them.

Neither of them had expected it to happen so soon. They had even planned to quarantine themselves during the expected month just so they wouldn’t miss the pups’ first steps, just as they had been there to witness their first crawl.

Faye and Princess sat upright in bed, staring at the tablet. Their shoulders were slumped, their bare skin shivering slightly in the cool morning as the device remained clutched between them.

They had been replaying the CCTV footage all night.

"I thought you said Alpha babies usually took their first steps around the 7th month," Faye said. Her voice was cracked from crying all night. She wiped a fresh tear from her cheek, her chest heaving with a shaky, ragged breath as she stared at the pixelated video.

"I was told I took my first steps when I was 7 months, 2 weeks and 3 days old," Princess muttered, her eyes still glued to the screen. Her voice was incredibly low, her jaw set into a hard line as she watched her son stumble into the laundry pile for the hundredth time.

"Well, this one walked too early... and none of us were there. Nobody actually saw him walk." Faye sniffled, her fingers tightening around the edge of the blanket as a fresh wave of guilt washed over her stomach.

Princess stayed silent for a moment before speaking. She let out a long, heavy breath through her nose, her eyes flickering from the screen to her girlfriend’s sad face.

"Since no one actually witnessed those steps, and he probably took them by accident... let’s just pretend we never saw the video and wait for Leonny to walk in front of us for the first time."

"It still doesn’t count. We missed our baby’s first steps." Faye shook her head. She pulled her knees up to her chest, her breathing turning shallow and fast as she refused the easy way out. "I’ve already seen the video. I watched him walk. There’s no way I’ll ever forget it. It’s stuck in my head forever."

"I know... but let’s pretend, just for the sake of our motherhood." Princess pleaded softly. She reached out, her large palm resting on Faye’s bare shoulder to try and offer some kind of comfort.

"I can’t. I’ll just make sure I’m there to witness the other three taking their first steps." Faye said, her tone turning firm as she pushed the tablet away, the screen finally going black.

Faye checked the time.

"Well, it’s morning. I’ve got to go take care of the kids."

She climbed out of bed and headed toward the nursery.

Princess, however, refused to let it go. She stayed under the sheets for a second longer, her fists clenching tight against the fabric as her stubborn alpha pride flared up.

She made it her personal mission to witness her first son walk in front of her. She wasn’t going to let some security camera be the only thing that saw her boy stand on his own two feet.

During breakfast, while Faye prepared the food, Princess fed the pups.

Three of them sat in their high chairs. Minny, Ronny, and Donny were all strapped in safely, plastic spoons banging against their trays as they made a loud, chaotic rhythm.

Leonny, however, remained on the floor. He was sitting on the small mat near the pantry, his big eyes watching the bowl in his Mama’s hands.

Princess stood a few steps away, holding his bowl. She kept her knees slightly bent, her breath held tight as she stared down at the toddler.

She wanted him to walk over and earn his breakfast. She gave the bowl a little shake, the plastic spoon clinking against the rim to get his attention.

Instead...

Leonny happily crawled toward her. He dropped onto his hands and knees, his little limbs moving in a quick blur as he dragged his stomach across the floor toward her.

Princess took another step back.

Leonny crawled after her. He let out a happy little grunt, his small fingers scratching against the floor as he pursued the food.

Princess kept moving in circles around the kitchen, hoping he’d eventually give up on crawling and stand. She kept her eyes locked on his posture, waiting for him to grip the edge of a cabinet or a chair leg to pull himself upright.

"What are you doing?" Faye asked after noticing the strange game the two of them were playing, a wooden spatula held in her hand as her eyes took in the sight of her girlfriend walking backward like a crazy person.

"Trying to get him to walk for his food," Princess answered.

She crouched down. She held the colorful plastic bowl right at his eye level, just out of his reach.

"Come on. Take a few steps and come get your breakfast."

"Okay, that boy needs to eat. At least put something in his stomach before turning this into morning exercise," Faye said. She shook her head, a soft smile breaking through her morning tiredness as she watched her alpha try so hard.

Leonny simply giggled as he chased his Mama around the kitchen on all fours. He didn’t even seem hungry. His small mouth was wide open in a toothless grin....

He honestly thought his Mama was playing with him. Every time she took a step back, he just squealed louder, thinking it was a fun new variation of tag.

Faye focused on feeding the other three while guiding them to eat by themselves. She smeared mashed bananas onto their trays, helping their small fingers grip the blunt plastic handles while keeping an eye on the chaos behind her.

After breakfast, Faye played with the remaining pups inside their playpen, secretly hoping one of them would start walking.

"When you guys decide to take your first steps, make sure Mommy is around to watch, okay?" she said in a childish voice. She leaned over, tapping Minny’s nose with a soft smile, her chest rising with a quiet, hopeful breath.

Faye smiled watching her pups..

Then she noticed something.

Donny was unusually quiet. Her small breathing was entirely regular, but there was a strange, dull look in her eyes that hadn’t been there the day before.

Yesterday she had been energetic and noisy. She had been the one screeching the loudest while Kiara was around, knocking over block towers and making a total scene.

Today she was content playing by herself, barely acknowledging that Mommy was nearby. She didn’t even look up when Faye called her name, her little hands just continuing to pat the floor mat in a slow, rhythmic motion.

Ronny, meanwhile...

...was happily eating clay from the play area. He had managed to snag a red lump from the crafting bin, his chubby cheeks moving as he tried to swallow the sticky substance.

"Hey! Don’t do that."

Faye quickly scooped him up and gently got him to spit the clay back out. She hooked her finger inside his little mouth, wiping the smear away from his gums while the baby let out a loud, angry whine.

She sighed. Her shoulders slumped as she wiped her hand on a paper towel, her mind suddenly spinning with a weird sort of anxiety.

Then she wondered how Kiara had survived an entire day babysitting all four of them. If they were already acting this bizarre and destructive after just one night, it was a miracle the house was still standing at all.

Maybe they should take the pups for a checkup, just to make sure everything was alright.

"Babe, I think we should take the kids to see the doctor today," Faye called out.

Princess walked into the room carrying Leonny by the back of his shirt collar with one hand. She held the boy out at arm’s length like a wet puppy.

"Faye..." Princess said with a completely serious face. She didn’t blink, her eyes deadpan as she stared at her girlfriend.

"I think your son is the Boss Baby."