by Jana Leigh
Hairy spawn? Cloe thought and laughed at the outrageous little woman. “Well, I have done some research on that. From what I can tell, it would be very safe for you to have an epidural. In fact, I would encourage it. The couple of humans that have given birth to shifters that I have seen usually need it. More than once, multiple births caught us off guard. Have they told you yet if it is a boy or a girl?”
“Yeah, they already told me I was having more than one.” Cami grunted.
“Oh, well at least you are somewhat prepared. I was saying though, about multiple births, was that we found that triplets or quads usually came. That was with one mate, I am interested to see what happens with two.” Cloe said looking at the rounded belly.
She thought for the size the woman was, she had to have at least three pups in there.
“The fuck you say.” Cami ground out, turned to her mates, and hit them on the back of the head. “Drugs!”
“How far along are you?” Cloe asked.
“Six months. Jo is five and Casey is just one. So you have three new patients.” Cami said.
“Cool, you do know that you will deliver in less than a month right? We have also found that pregnancies seem to be shorter with shifters.” Cloe said.
“Yep, ole doc said that I should be popping in about a month. Although he was not sure since I am a human though.” Cami said.
“He is right, even with humans it still takes only about seven months. I can do an examination later so we can see what is going on. I have developed a special ultra sound that will show us exactly how many you have in there.” Cloe said.
“Fire it up. Let"s go.” Cami said pulling her toward the door.
Jo stood up laughing, holding out her hand and said, “Whoa there, little Hitler. I am sure that your mates have business to take care of first. I don"t want them to miss this.
When they pass out, I will take picture to post online.” Cami laughed and nodded her head. “You are right. You get one too. I want to know if you are having more than one. I think the doc was wrong about that, why would the Gods torture just me?”
Jo laughed and shook her head. “No, I am pretty sure there is just one in there.” Cloe laughed and shook here head; she was going to wait to tell her that she was too big to have only one child in her belly. These women were going to be fun to be around.
She did not have too many female friends, since she was the Beta of the Pack, well the ex-Beta. Grimacing she remembered why they were all here.
“So, what are we going to do?” Cloe asked looking at Quin.
Quin stood up and walked across the room until he was standing before her. He placed his hands on her shoulder and smiled down at her. “We compromise.” Cloe"s eyes widened as she thought about what he just said to her. It was crazy to think the Alpha of the Pack was willing to compromise. It was a surprise, one she hoped that continued once they actually started talking.
“Okay, how?” Cloe asked stepping back and walking to her mates, and then sat down between them. She felt better already, a glimmer of hope flared in her and she held on with both hands.
“This is how I see it. Your town is only about 30 minutes from the Pack. I was having several more buildings built in order to house the new Pack members. Cami pointed out to me that although we could build the apartments, many of the Pack would still like a place to run. We have the mountain property, but soon we will be building a training site up there for the new Enforcers. There is too much going on to all be in one place.
We need more room and I really don"t think the city"s the place for it. So, here is what I propose. We extend the Pack to include Milliken. Here we will build the headquarters for the Denver Pack Council. Instead of keeping the Packs separated, they will be combined. It was too hard to do that anyway. In the city we will have the apartments and here we will build a compound on the land your father offered.” Quin said as he paced around.
Cloe watched as the people in the room listened intently. She wondered if they were going to be pissed because he was changing things for her.
“The offices will be in the city because, of course, that will be the easiest. It is only thirty miles away, so we can commute. Being in the country has made me realize how much I missed the open space. In addition, it is a much better place to raise children, and as you pointed out, there are shifters and humans living together in peace. What better place to have the New Council?” Quin said and sat back down waiting for a response.
“Where will we live until the Pack compound is built?” Tey said.
“What about security?” Devon asked.
Questions erupted from everyone in the room. Cloe was impressed with each of the members of the Council and the thoughts they had. Casey wanted to know how they were going to deal with her brother and so on. Someone brought food in, and chairs moved around. Before long Cloe saw that it was dark out and the pregnant women were yawning. They called the meeting to a close but Cloe wanted to discuss things with her father before she agreed to anything.
Once they were alone, her mates smiled at her and pulled her back into the bedroom.
She was too tired to argue and let them fuss over her for awhile, letting them change her out of her clothes and into a t-shirt to sleep in. She frowned when she realized that she was going to be sleeping alone.
“Guard duty.” Darien said and kissed her on the forehead.
“Clinic duty.” Teagan said and did the same.
Cloe sighed and sank back down into the mattress and let sleep claim her. She was too exhausted to argue with her mates about anything.
Chapter 9
This was getting to be a habit, Cloe thought when she heard the banging on the door again. What the hell was going on? People just thought they could beat on her door, and she was going to answer in a good mood?
“It"s Cami.” She heard someone call through the door and she leaped from the bed and grabbed the knob, as it swung open. Before her stood Jaden, looking half crazed as he kept saying. “It"s Cami.”
Cloe pushed him aside and ran out the door; she knew the Alphas had been staying across the street at the Pack house in the Master Suite. Obviously, she had been right because Jaden ran in front of her and opened the door while she ran through it and up the stairs to the Suite.
Quin was calling out for Cami to wake up when she ran through the door and briefly assessed the situation. Cami was lying on the couch unconscious.
“What happened?” Cloe said, easing the man to the side so she could assess her patient.
“We don"t know, one second she said she was hungry and then next she fell over on the couch.” Jaden said more calmly than he felt.
Cloe felt for her pulse and found it racing. Cami's breathing was a little labored, and her muscles in her stomach contracted. Cloe felt the room fill with the rest of the Council members as she continued to evaluate Cami. She had never really seen anything like it.
Since she was pregnant, there could be a multitude of things going on.
“Teagan, I need a cart.” Cloe snapped and looked around at the people gathered.
“Darien, take the men into the other room. Jo and Casey, can you help me?”
“Of course, what do you need?” Jo said and stepped forward quickly.
“I need to get her clothes off. She is breathing erratically.” Cloe said distractedly and looked at the door again, hoping that Teagan would get back soon. She needed her blood pressure cuff and other supplies in order to assess what was going on.
The three women got busy and undressed Cami quickly. They tried not to move her too much because Cloe still was not sure what was going on. That was until they got to her pants. When they pulled her leggings down, Cloe saw the blood and began to curse.
No longer gentle, she pulled the pants off and started barking orders to the women.
Casey ran toward the door yelling down for Teagan to hurry. Clearly, they had made enough noise for the men to hear. Cloe heard two roars of frustration and knew that Darien
was holding them back from running back into the room.
“I need her on the floor.” Cloe said and looked up relieved that Teagan finally came back into the room with all of the things that they were going to need. Dumping them on the floor next to the couch, he gently lifted the small Alpha and placed her on the floor so Cloe could examine her better. He quickly finished cutting off her clothes and then sat back and waited for Cloe to give him something to do.
Casey was standing next to Jo, holding the other woman who had begun to cry. Cloe did not want to waste the time or energy ordering the women out of the room, so she blocked them out. Cussing again, Cloe looked at Teagan and frowned before saying.
“We have to get the babies out. I think her placenta has separated from the uterine wall.”
Teagan nodded and said, “Across the street.”
Cloe nodded and yelled for Darien to come back into the room. She was busy taking Cami"s vitals so she left it to Teagan to fill him in on what was going on. The Alphas must have felt they could follow, because once again, the room filled with the entire Council. She was startled when she heard a cry come from Jaden, and looked up just in time to see him try to get by Darien and be with his wife.
Darien held him firmly and yelled for Sid and Devon to hold the man, but Jo cried out and fell to her knees, her mate Tey catching her. Crap, this group sucked in an emergency. They were seriously going to have to work on that if they were going to be around her much.
Finally, Darien seemed to get a little control of the people that were in the room. Teagan lifted Cami once again and cradled her against his chest. Without looking at anyone in the room, he quickly left to get her prepared for the procedure. Cloe slowly gathered her equipment and got her thoughts together before facing the crowd in front of her.
“Listen, I know this is hard. Cami needs a C-section. I believe her placenta has separated and is causing the bleeding. She needs you to be calm. I will take care of her.” Cloe said quietly and then stalked from the room.
She knew that she was under pressure to get this right. Quin and Jaden looked like they were hanging on by a thread. If something happened to Cami, Cloe was going to have to find a large rock to hide under. Not that she did not have confidence in her abilities, she did. But this was a human, not a shifter, and she was so much more fragile than they were.
Cloe thought for a moment before she crossed the street to her office. Teagan was efficiently getting things together still, making sure that everything was sterile and ready to go. When she stepped in the room, he was barking orders to the nurses who were on duty. Cami laid, pale and unmoving on the table, hooked up to several IV"s for pain medication and fluids.
Cloe wasted no time talking to anyone, she went into her small room and scrubbed her hands and prepared herself mentally for what was to come. They could lose the babies and the mother if they did not so this right. She had at least two children in her stomach that needed to come out. Though they were equipped to deal with this in the office, they did not have the manpower that they usually had to deliver multiple shifters with complications.
She walked into the waiting room where Darien brought the Council. She saw several Enforcers standing guard in front of the door and nodded to them, stopping long enough to order them to get a few more guards for the babies.
“Quin and Jaden, if you think you can handle it, I would like you to come into the room while we deliver the babies. You said earlier the reason you never changed her was because she was pregnant. I think it would be a good time to change her if she was willing to before.” Cloe said quietly.
Quin frowned and looked at his best friend who was nodding. “She wanted to wait until the babies were done nursing.”
“Changing her will not change that, she can still nurse. I think she may have to be changed is what I am trying to tell you gently.” Cloe said grimacing when both of the men realized what she was saying. They could lose her if they don"t change her.
“Darien, I could use another set of hands also, I have Teagan and two nurses, but that"s it.” Cloe said briskly and smiled at her mate who turned a little green.
“Okay, point me to where you need me.” Darien said bravely.
Cloe led the men back into the room where Teagan had gotten all the monitors set up and surgical equipment ready. She instructed the men to wash up while she went and looked at the monitors. Cami"s heart rate was getting erratic as was the babies and Cloe knew they had just run out of time.
Calling for the men to come into the room quickly, Cloe began to get everyone into position to get the babies out. Teagan took his place and quietly lent her the strength she was going to need to make sure everyone made it through this. When she made the first cut, she heard Quin growl, crap, she knew this was going to be hard but she hoped the Alpha would be able to control himself.
It only took three minutes for her to have the first baby out of Cami. It was a little boy, who screamed his unhappiness very loudly. Teagan took the wiggling little baby to the nurse to clean up. She could tell he was a little on the small side, but his lungs worked so that was a good sign. The next little boy came out the same way and Jaden and Quin stepped forward. With both of their pups out, they planned to change Cami when Cloe stitched her up.
“Not so fast daddies.” Cloe said. “I think you have one more little surprise. It"s a girl.” Jaden gasped and Quin paled when Cloe pulled one more little baby out. This one was quiet. Ordering Teagan to get the bleeding under control and sew Cami up, Cloe took the small baby into the next room.
It was breathing shallowly; she worked quietly on the small infant praying to the Gods that she would be okay. Slowly the baby began to improve, taking better breaths and moving her limbs. When she turned the baby over, Cloe frowned at the mark that she saw on the babies shoulder. Looking closer she saw that it matched the tattoo that Teagan and the rest of her Enforcers shared. It was two wolves howling at a red moon.
What the Fuck? She thought and rolled the fragile little girl back over. The small bundle was staring at her, if she did not know any better she would have sworn the child knew who she was looking at. A connection formed between them and Cloe smiled and leaned down and kissed the baby"s head.
She heard a loud roar come from the other room and knew that Quin and Jaden had changed Cami. Thankfully, it looked like everything had turned out okay. Cloe wrapped the girl in a pink fluffy blanket and carried her back into the room. Quin and Jaden were sitting by their mate, each of them holding her hand as she shook from being bitten and changed.
Teagan and Darien were standing, holding the two small boys, each cleaned and wrapped in blue blankets. They were bigger than the small girl she was holding.
Walking to her mates, she smiled up at both of them and whispered. “Aren"t they beautiful?”
Her mates nodded and looked at their new Alphas with a worried expression. Cloe nodded and went to the two big strong men who had seemingly deflated at the thought of their mate hurting. She placed a hand on Quin"s shoulder and drew his attention from his mate.
“Quin, I would like to look at Cami, could you hold your daughter?” She said softly.
It was like a light bulb went off in the man"s head and he looked around. Jaden and Quin had been so consumed with thoughts of their woman, that they forgot she had given them the gift of three children. Nodding as if in a daze he held out his arms, the tiny little bundle looked even smaller in her father"s arms.
Cami continued to shake while Cloe checked her over. The stitches that Teagan had sewn were closing up already. She was becoming a wolf; of course, she would not complete the change until the next full moon. That was not for a few weeks yet, but she would benefit from the change anyway. Her wounds would heal and she would feel stronger, move faster when she fully woke up. Cloe nodded in satisfaction and then smiled at the Alpha men.
“She will be fine, a few more hours and she will wake up. I gave her a big dose of anesthesia so she would sleep through the change. She has bee
n through enough today.” Cloe said softly.
Jaden nodded and came around the table to see his daughter. He laid a hand on Quin's shoulder and leaned down. Cloe motioned for Darien and Teagan to bring the other two babies to their fathers. She watched as they gently laid one baby in Jaden"s arms and the other in the free arm of Quin. Jaden reached out and touched Cami and at that moment, all of them were touching, Cloe felt and saw the bright light that exploded around them.
Darien and Teagan gasped at the power that filled the room. Quin and Jaden looked shell shocked at Cloe as if she was going to tell them what was going on. She shook her head, smiled, and pointed to the small girl that Quin was holding tightly. The small hand that reached out, glowed the brightest, and seemed to encompass the entire family in her power.
“Holy Shit.” Jaden said looking at the baby.
“What"s going on?” Quin said shakily.
The door opened behind them, and she felt the rest of the Council enter, as some power drew them there. Jo stepped forward and said, “Crap, you are gonna have trouble with that one.”
Quin looked up at her worriedly. “Why?”
“I felt her when she joined the Pack; she is full of piss and vinegar.” Jo smiled at her friends.
Cloe laughed and felt the tattoo on her shoulder burn a little, Teagan did too, and he frowned. “Uh, we have a few things to talk about.” Cloe said and then gasped when the room filled with her Enforcers. They all knelt in front of Quin who was holding the little girl.
“What the hell?” Quin murmured.
“She is your gift from the Gods.” Blaine said stepping into the room. He held out his forearm where the tattoo had been placed on his arm and showed the Alphas how it glowed. Teagan sucked in his breath and went to the small mirror that was over the sink and pulled his shirt aside and looked at his tattoo that was doing the same thing.
Epilogue
Quin called a meeting of the Council the following morning. So many things happened in the last twenty four hours, a meeting was necessary. Bryan and Adele were formally stepping down from the head of their Pack and combining it with the Denver Pack. The town voted the previous night while they had all still been at the hospital.