by Kallie Frost
“Hello?”
“Hey, it's Avery.”
“Nolan's on the way right?” I demanded.
“Yeah, he's finishing up and heading out as fast as he can. I'm actually calling because I remembered I have a buddy from nursing school a while back, who isn't that far away from you. It's still going to be another hour or so, but he said he's willing to get out there and help, in case things move too fast for Nolan. It'll also keep the doctor from having to stop and pick me up, so that'll shave almost an hour off his trip.”
A sigh of relief rushed out of me. “Thank you, Avery.”
“Sure thing. And if he isn't in already, see if Elliott wants a warm bath, that helps. Good luck.”
“Thanks.”
I passed along the news to Elliott, who looked extremely relieved.
“A warm bath sounds great,” he said.
I got it ready for him, doing my best to ignore another contraction. I helped him into the tub and hovered nearby, feeling rather useless.
“Is there anything I can do? Are you hungry? Thirsty?”
“Not at the moment, if you could just…” He held out a hand. I took it in mine and settled in on the edge of the bathtub. “Anything you need, just let me know.”
He nodded, closed his eyes, and lay back against the tub.
It may not have been entirely accurate, considering I was sensing them secondhand, but I pulled out my cell phone and started trying to time his contractions. He managed to sleep for about an hour, but just as I noticed the contractions were starting to get closer together, he woke up.
“How are you, Elliott?”
“Cold and in pain.”
“Do you want me to change out the water in the tub?”
“No, I'll get out, I just want to curl up on the couch and be miserable.”
I got his towel ready and helped him out of the tub. I made sure he was comfortable on the couch, this time with a cup of hot peppermint tea. I remembered it helping my sister when she was in labor. We tried to find something good on TV to help take his mind off things. I practically leapt over the couch when someone knocked on the door.
I flung it open and found a handsome, red-headed shifter standing there. He was an alpha and had a canine air about him, but I knew he wasn't a wolf.
“I assume you’re Rion Silvanus?” he asked. I nodded. “Avery sent me, I hope I'm not too late.”
“No, just in time I think. Do you have anything I can carry in for you?” He only had a small backpack with him.
“This is all I've got I'm afraid.” He raised the backpack up a bit. “This isn’t the first time I've delivered without the standard equipment. I just don't have any of the fancy stuff at my disposal.”
“At this point, I'll take anything.” I stepped back to allow him to enter. Elliott sat up and peered over the back of the couch.
“Is that the guy Avery sent?”
“Yes,” I said. “This is my mate, Elliott. And this is…”
“Asher,” the nurse supplied. “Now, let's take a look at you. Could we move this to a bed and get all set up? The doctor will probably want to do that anyway.”
“Yeah, of course.” Elliott climbed awkwardly to his feet, waving off my offer of help. Nevertheless I shadowed him as he slowly made his way into our bedroom.
Under Asher's guidance, I put some trash bags under the sheets and lay down some towels. Elliott settled in, propped up by pillows and spread his legs.
“All right, let's take a look at you,” said Asher.
I paced nervously as he examined my mate, repeating to myself that he was here to help. My wolf was jealous of the strange alpha touching my mate and was only making my anxiety worse.
“Okay.” Asher sat back. “You're five centimeters dilated, which is about halfway there.”
“How long will that take?” Elliott asked.
“There's no real way to tell. It could be another ten hours, or it could be within the hour. All we can do is keep an eye on your contractions, I'll check you every half-hour so, and we’ll hope that nothing happens before the doctor arrives. Don't worry though,” he added, “I do have my doctorate, I just prefer nursing. It has been a while, but I have delivered a bunch of babies over the years.”
I settled in on the bed next to Elliott, holding his hand. “Let me know if you need anything,” I said.
Time ticked by, without much of a change in Elliott’s contractions. Instead of hoping he held off, I was starting to hope that he would hurry up and get it over with.
“Is it rude to ask what kind of shifter you are?” Elliott asked as Asher gave him another examination. “It's just, you and Nolan are the only other shifters I’ve ever met. And Chandler of course.”
“Really?” Asher shot me a confused look. As Elliott’s sire, I was the one with the connections in the shifter world, so if he hadn't met anyone it was my fault.
“I'm doing my year away,” I explained, wondering if I should have at least invited my family to come visit. I kept putting off telling them about the pregnancy because I wanted to do it in person. I thought my mother would announce her imminent arrival any day, but it was the height of tourist and wedding season and she was extremely busy. She didn’t even know about Elliott yet! Although, it would be a great surprise to arrive home with my mate and baby in tow…
“Ah, what a memorable year,” Asher chuckled. He turned back to Elliott. “I've never met anyone who thinks it's rude. I happen to be a fox. And you, are at about seven centimeters now.”
“A fox,” Elliott said. I could tell he was focusing on that rather than his impending delivery. “A fox, very neat.”
Someone knocked on the door.
“Oh, thank God!” I sprinted out of the room and opened the door, relieved to see Nolan there. Unlike Asher he had plenty of gear with him. “How is he?” he asked, bustling right into the apartment.
Asher stepped out of the bedroom. “Seven centimeters and everything else looks good. I'm Asher. You probably don't remember me but…”
“Of course I do, I was giving a lecture a few years back and you were there. Avery introduced us.”
Asher smiled widely. “That's right!”
“I assume you're happy at your practice, but if you ever want to come to Half Moon, I'd love to have you.”
“Thank you, Dr. Craik. I'd be honored to take you up on that someday.”
Before I could clear my throat to interrupt them, Nolan was already walking briskly toward our bedroom.
“Hello Elliott, how are you feeling?”
“I've been better.” I knew he was in the middle of a particularly painful contraction.
“I believe in our earlier discussions you expressed interest in an epidural?”
“God, yes!”
“Asher, do you know how to prep the patient?”
“Absolutely, I'll take care of it.”
I stood back out of the way and watched as Nolan started setting up a machine. Asher helped Elliott undress and into a gown from Nolan, sending my wolf into a tizzy. Then, the fox found a stool from our kitchen and had Elliott sit on it.
“Are you ready, doctor?” Asher asked.
“I am indeed,” said Nolan.
“Okay, Elliott,” said Asher. “I want you to lean forward like this, and bend down between your knees. Yes, perfect. Now breathe slowly.” He wrapped his arms around Elliott, holding him in place. “You're going to feel a poke…”
I clenched my fists as Nolan guided the needle into my mate’s spine.
“Just breathe,” Asher purred.
“The line is going in,” said Nolan. “Please let me know if you feel pressure on either side.”
“No, it just feels… weird.”
“Okay, I'm going to start the drip.” Nolan did something with the machine and then stepped back. “Please tell me if you feel, taste, or smell anything strange immediately.”
“I feel cold,” said Elliott. I rush forward in concern. My mate reached up and touched the bac
k of his neck, fingers feeling for something. “I thought you put it in my lower back, but it feels like you just dumped cold water on my neck.”
“That's normal,” said Asher. “Strange, but normal.”
“Hey,” Elliott gasped. “My legs are already numb. I can't feel a thing!”
“Also normal,” said Asher. “Let's get you back to the bed. Rion, can you lend a hand?”
Together, Asher, Nolan, and I lifted Elliott and carried him back to the bed. He scooted with his hands, helping us get him into a comfortable position.
“My legs are useless,” Elliott said. He poked at one with his finger, and then pinched his thigh. “I can't feel that it all.”
“But do you feel your contractions?” asked Nolan with a smile.
“No,” Elliott said flopping back onto his pillow with a content sigh. “I just feel… numb.”
Nolan sat him back up and attached something around his belly. “Since you can't feel them anymore, this is going to help us track your contractions, so we know when it's time for you to start pushing.”
We both watched the monitor with interest as the line measuring his contractions spiked and dipped.
“Do you feel anything at all?” I asked him, wondering if there was something weak that I wasn't sensing.
“I feel sort of a pressure, I guess,” he said, “when the line gets up high. But not much else, no. It's quite a relief.”
Asher came to check him out again and this time he was nine centimeters. “Anytime now,” Asher said. “I'm going to start checking you more frequently.”
Two hours and several checks later, Asher announced that Elliott was finally fully dilated. Nolan took his place and we waited for a contraction.
“When I say to, I want you to just bear down and start pushing,” said Nolan. “Just breathe through it like we went over at your last appointment.” Elliott nodded. The line on the measurement started to inch up. I took Elliott's hand and gripped it. “And, push!” Nolan cried. Elliott squeezed my hand and started pushing. “Keep going,” Nolan urged. “Push, push, push! Keep going… okay stop and take a breath.”
Elliott shuddered and released a breath. “That's harder than I thought it would be,” he said.
“You did great,” Nolan said. “And it looks like you're just about ready for another! Get ready and… push! Push, push!”
From what I could tell, nothing was happening. Elliott kept pushing, but that was it. It took me completely by surprise when Nolan announced he could see the head.
"Want to see?" he asked me.
Curiosity didn't kill the wolf, so I gave Elliott's hand a squeeze and moved to the end of the bed. I stared in awe at the little mop of dark hair emerging from my mate. I winced and involuntarily clenched my buttocks, at the sight, even though I knew he couldn't actually feel anything. Asher leaned in and started to rub something on the little head. Bubbles started to form.
“Is that soap?” I asked.
“Soap?” Elliott strained up on his elbows, trying to see.
“Baby shampoo, actually. It acts like a lubricant, to help supplement the omega’s natural one,” Asher explained. “It also helps clean that lubricant off, and washes off easier than any artificial one.”
Another contraction spiked on the monitor and Nolan ordered him to push. “We’re there!” he cried. “Keep pushing, don't stop!”
I watched, mesmerized, as the head began to get bigger. Any moment, I expected to see the forehead, but it was nothing but hair.
“The baby is upside down!” I cried.
Nolan and Asher laughed. “Yes,” said Nolan. “But for babies being born, this is actually the right way up. Keep pushing, Elliott. You're doing great.”
“They’re born face down?” How had I not realized that? All at once, I felt wholly unprepared for being a father.
I looked up at Elliott, his face creased with discomfort as he strained. When I looked back down, the head was out and the shoulders were following.
“One more big push ought to do it,” Nolan said. “You can do it!”
With a determined growl, Elliott pushed with all his might. And then our baby slid out into Dr. Nolan's arms.
He immediately pounded on her back, while Asher used a little suction bulb to clear out of her nose and mouth. I started to panic. And then Nolan flipped her over, her face scrunched up, and she let out a beautiful wail.
Chapter Ten
Elliott
“Quick, in here!”
Laughing, I shoved the stroller as close to the wall of the store as I could, scooped out the baby, and rushed inside behind Rion. The first raindrops pelted my back as I went in.
“Are you wet? Is she wet?” he asked.
“I think we got inside just in time.”
We both turned and watched as the sudden rain turned into a hard downpour.
“We should have paid better attention to the weather,” Rion moaned. He scooped Verona from my arms and examined her.
“It’s just a little rain,” I chuckled.
“And she's only two-months-old,” he countered.
“Almost three,” I corrected with a smile. “And it's just a little summer shower, she'll be fine.”
“It's a little late for a summer shower, it's September.”
“Technically, it's summer until the 21st.”
Rion elbowed me playfully, then gave me a quick kiss on the head. “Let me win once in a while,” he teased. Verona wiggled in his arms, letting out a little giggle. “Did you like the rainstorm, sweetie?” he asked her. She broke into a wide smile and waved her arms.
“She's such a happy baby,” I said.
“I know. My sister's son cried for like four months.”
“She’ll be hungry soon, and we only have one bottle. We should get home as soon as this rain stops.”
“Agreed.” He put an arm around me and shifted Verona into a comfortable position against his chest. She hated to be laying down if she wasn't eating, so he carefully kept her upright. Her head wobbled and bobbled as she swiveled all around, looking this way and that. I looked in the same directions that she did, pointing out things that were within her line of vision.
And then I saw him. I almost didn’t recognize him at first, it had been so long since I saw him. But I was absolutely convinced that the man on the other side of the store was the one I had seen watching us, back when I was still pregnant with Verona.
“He's here,” I gasped.
“Who's here?”
“That guy who was glaring at me in the restaurant, like six months ago! From the black SUV?”
“Take her.”
I didn't argue as Rion handed Verona to me, growling under his breath. He turned and strode straight toward the man, hands balled into fists.
I started to call after him; we didn't know for sure what the man wanted and it was six months ago, after all. But the moment the man saw Rion coming, he bolted. I was stunned as he turned and rushed out the back door of the shop.
For a second, panic rooted me to the spot. Did I rush after them and try to protect my mate? If I did I'd be risking our child. I took several frantic steps closer, then stopped. Verona started to fuss.
“It's okay, it's okay,” I told her frantically. She didn't seem to believe me and started to cry. I looked around, unsure of what I was actually looking for. I heard a squeal of tires and turned toward the window. A black SUV was racing down the street.
The only thing that kept me from completely freaking out was the fact that I could sense Rion and knew that he was okay. Sure enough, just moments after the SUV vanished, Rion was rushing back across the store to us.
“Are you okay,” I asked him, raising my voice over Verona. “What happened?”
“I couldn't catch him,” he growled in frustration. “Believe it or not, he jumped into a black SUV.” His eyes narrowed. “But he wasn't the driver. And the driver smelled kind of familiar…”
“How?”
“Remember last full mo
on, when I said it smelled like someone had been hiking around the bunker?”
I felt a shiver and swallowed hard. I noticed he was holding something. “What is that?”
“His camera,” Rion said in satisfaction. “He dropped it. I don't know if there's anything incriminating on it, but I sure as hell wasn’t going to leave it there.”
“Let's get somewhere safer and look through it,” I suggested.
We had an umbrella, so we rigged it up over the stroller to protect Verona and headed home. Neither of us wanted to stay out with the mysterious man in the black SUV at large.
“You didn't catch the license plate, did you?” I asked.
“Pennsylvania,” he said. “But that's all I saw. Does it match the one from last time?”
“I don't know, it wasn't in-state before, I know that.”
The rain was just letting up as we got home. We rushed inside and locked the door. Rion shoved a chair up against it, just to be safe.
“Let's see what's on this camera.” He turned it on and immediately growled.
Cradling a contently sleeping Verona in my arms, I joined him. I snarled the moment I saw what was on the camera. It was us. Specifically, it was us pushing the stroller down the street just a few minutes before the rain started.
Rion swiped to the previous picture. There were several in a row of us shopping today. It turned into pictures of the woods. I felt a surge of rage from Rion and he held the camera so I could see it better.
“That's the clearing where the bunker is,” he said.
He kept swiping and we watched in growing horror as the camera proved to be full of pictures of us. It slowly went back through time. The bastard even had pictures of our first ever outing with Verona. I knew, because I recognized the outfit she was wearing. There were some of the day the SUV was following us, followed by the night in the restaurant when I caught the man glaring at me.
Rion set the camera down furiously as he came to a picture of him in the woods, obviously returning the morning after a full moon, before I started joining him.
I picked up the camera, terrified and fascinated, by the contents. I scrolled through some more of us before finding one of Rion sitting in a coffee shop I didn't recognize. There was a male, sitting with his back to the camera. Rion was smiling broadly, presumably at him. In spite of the seriousness of the origin pictures, I felt a stab of jealousy. The previous picture was same the man standing by the table, with his profile visible. He was holding a cup of coffee and offering a second one to Rion. A warm smile was across his face as well.