The Cub Club

by Serena Pettus

  Pregnancy had done nothing to curb her temper.

  “So, where would you like me to put Piper’s crib? How about against the wall next to the window? I don’t think the sun will shine on it there.”

  She tipped her head in consideration, her long blonde hair falling over her shoulder. Her warm amber eyes darted around the room, considering his suggestion and no doubt analyzing the trajectory of the sunlight during the day, before coming back to him. “I think that will be our best option. I’ll get Peyton’s moved to the other side of the wind—”

  “No,” Erik cut in, moving to her side and hugging her to him to lessen his harsh response. “You go and relax in the garden tub for a bit. That should help relieve your achy back. I’ll move everything, and if you decide you don’t like it, I’ll move it again…and again and again.” He punctuated each word with a kiss to her temple and smiled when Sarah giggled. “Okay?”

  She looked up at him before going up to her toes and placing a gentle kiss on his cheek. “How did I end up lucky enough to have you as my mate?” she asked.

  “Honey, I ask myself the same thing every day about you. You’re my miracle, Sarah. Now, we have two more tiny miracles who need their mommy to rest and take it easy for just a little while longer.”

  “So bossy, but I’ll let you slide,” Sarah teased. “Actually, a long soak sounds really good.”

  “Well, you go and grab what you need clothes-wise, and I’ll get the tub ready for you.”

  Erik moved across the hall to their master bath and started the water. He made sure to include the vanilla bath salts she liked so much before pulling out a big, fluffy towel for her, too.

  Just when he was about to go and look for her, she came grumbling into the room, her latest book in hand.

  “I don’t know which one is doing it, but one of the two has decided to use my bladder as a trampoline.”

  Unable to contain his chuckle, Erik was quick to apologize when Sarah glared. “I’m sorry, honey. It’s just that you say the funniest things sometimes.”

  Shaking her head, Sarah smiled back. “So happy that I could amuse you.”

  Erik kissed her forehead. “You know I love you. Now, you relax while I move the furniture in the nursery then you can let me know if you like where it’s at.”

  “You drive such a hard bargain.”

  Once she was settled and reading in the bath, he returned to the twins’ room. His home had more than enough space for the babies to have their own rooms, but both he and Sarah felt better about having them near their room. Once the kids became more mobile, he and Sarah would see about setting up a room for each child.

  It only took him a few minutes to get everything in place then he moved on to the kitchen to begin fixing lunch. Just that morning, Sarah had mentioned wanting some tomato soup and a grilled cheese with pickles. Though the thought of those sour little discs hiding in all that gooey cheese made him shudder, Erik would gladly prepare whatever his mate craved.

  It was a damn good thing Sarah wasn’t in the kitchen too, because he soon had the counter buried. There were soup cans, crackers, bread, cheese, pickles—shudder—and butter along with the skillet and pot. There was a reason he wasn’t allowed in the kitchen very often.

  Sarah was a neat freak.

  Erik figured it had something to do with her years on the run. She’d been forced to keep only the possessions she could carry on her back, therefore she was used to keeping things neat, tidy and in their place.

  He was just putting the soup on the burner when a sharp pain pierced his side. “What the hell…”

  A split second later, he felt a wave of worry and dread right before Sarah’s gasped, “Oh, God!”

  And then there was…nothing.

  He sprinted down the hall. When he entered the bathroom, his heart nearly stopped at the sight of the pink-tinged water and his mate’s slumped form.

  “Sarah?” With no response, Erik did his best to lift her from the water and drape the robe over her, before carefully carrying her to the bed. “Come on, sweetheart. I need you to talk to me.” He watched as her chest rose and fell with her breaths and was relieved she was alive. Still, he had no clue what was wrong or why he scented blood in her bath water.

  In full-blown panic, Erik grabbed the phone from the nightstand and quickly dialed Stephanie’s cell. He prayed to whatever god governed his kind that his mate was all right as he waited for what seemed an eternity for the phone to be answered.

  “Hello?”

  “Stephanie, I need you to come over right now! Something is wrong with Sarah, and she won’t wake up. Please!” Erik wasn’t above begging and knew his desperation was a sign of weakness alphas strove to never show, but this was his mate.

  “Erik, slow down. I need you to tell me exactly what happened.”

  Erik heard voices in the background and knew she wasn’t at home.

  “Listen, Abraham is gone on a security assignment, and I just barely got to Adam’s house in all this snow. Now, explain everything to me so I can—”

  “I’m not sure what happened. She was trying to move stuff around in the nursery again, but I made her stop and sent her to take a bath and relax. I was fixing lunch when I felt a really sharp pain then I got a feeling of fear and dread from Sarah before everything disappeared. Why can’t I feel her?” He’d always been able to feel Sarah. Even when she was asleep and dreaming, he could tell if it was a good one or a nightmare, but now, there was just…nothing.

  “Calm down. Is she breathing?”

  “Yes.”

  “How’s her heart rate? Fast? Slow? Even? Strong?”

  Erik placed his ear to Sarah’s chest and listened intently, releasing a relieved sigh as he replied, “Regular and strong.”

  “Okay then, she likely passed out. Do you think it was the pain?”

  He thought for a moment. Sarah had been in bar fights where she had experienced much worse than that. “No, she’s experienced worse pain, besides it usually just makes her mad,” he replied. Then he remembered the water. “The bath! The water was pink when I got her out.”

  “Shit!” Stephanie hissed. He heard her on the other end as she moved the phone away and began firing off instructions. “Adam, do you have a sled and rope?” His brother answered with a “yes” and she kept going. “Good, you’ll need to get me to Erik and Sarah’s as fast as you can pull the damn thing. Angela, I’ll need you, too. It looks like the twins are coming now.”

  “Stephanie, we need to hurry,” he heard his mother say. “Our women adjust to birth much quicker than humans. We don’t require hours to dilate fully. She could deliver very quickly, depending on how strong her contractions are.”

  What? But after Eva’s delivery, Stephanie had told Sarah the babies needed to stay put for another few weeks? “Will they be okay? If they’re born now, will they survive?”

  He wanted to hear the answer, needed the reassurance, but at the same time, a tightness gripped his middle and gradually increased until he informed Stephanie, “I think I’m feeling a contraction. It’s not terribly strong, and it’s beginning to ease already, but I’m almost positive that’s what it was. I’m think you’re right, she must have just been scared into a faint, because I can sense her discomfort, just not any strong thoughts.”

  “Listen, we’re ready to roll out of here, and we’ll be there as soon as we can, but you’re on the opposite side of town and it’s snowing again, so this could take a bit. Do you have the kit I put together for the birth nearby?”

  “Yes, it’s in our room where we are.”

  “Good. Make sure you have some clean towels on hand, and work on waking Sarah up. It sounds to me like she passed out. Totally unlike her, but seeing the blood might have scared her bad enough to make it happen,” Stephanie explained. “Lots of pregnant women faint. It’s something about the added hormones in the system.”

  “Thank you. Be careful, and I’ll see you when you get here.”

  After disconnect
ing the call, Erik quickly set about drying Sarah and covering her with a quilt to keep her from getting chilled. With her lying on her side, he placed one hand on her rounded belly and the other on her hair. Beneath his palm, his children moved, and Erik whispered another prayer.

  “Sarah, I need you to wake up. We need you to wake up.”

  He gently ran his hand over her stomach in an effort to soothe the restless cubs. His fingertips encountered the puckered scar where she’d been stabbed just a year ago. He’d nearly lost her last Halloween when she’d been attacked and stabbed with a silver blade.

  To this day, he thanked whatever higher power had brought Stephanie into their lives. She’d done everything in her power as a medical professional and saved Sarah that night. And now, here he was, his mate unconscious, with the same helpless feeling he’d experienced back then enveloping him once more.

  Another contraction began, stronger than the last, and Sarah moaned. It was music to his ears as he brushed his knuckles over her soft cheek.

  “Sarah, wake up. I need you to talk to me.” Erik spoke softly and hoped he managed to sound calm. He had no doubt she’d catch the scent of his fear once she gained her focus, but he couldn’t help that.

  “S-something’s…wrong,” she whispered. “There was blood.”

  “I saw that,” he replied. “I called Stephanie. She was at Adam’s house with my mother, and they’re both on their way now.” He paused as he recalled his conversation over the phone. “It’s snowing pretty heavily, and it’s a long way on slick roads, but I heard her ask Adam if he had a sled and some rope.” He shrugged when her eyes widened.

  Sarah chuckled, groaned with another round of tightness in her belly then began laughing again. Erik felt her amusement, was happy that she seemed to be better, but failed to understand it.

  She obviously caught on to his confusion because she explained, “I think she’s using Adam as a sled dog.” She laughed again until she began to groan, “Ow, ow, ow,” as her abdomen constricted.

  It hurt Erik as well, but he tried his best to push his discomfort aside so he could help his mate as much as possible.

  “What can I do?” Erik had read a few books and had spoken to Adam, but all he’d learned was that every labor was different. In truth, he had no idea what to expect. Sarah was a werewolf, just like him, and there were no parenting books for them. Hell, his own father had refused to talk about childbirth. Every time Erik had asked the man, his father had paled and would always walk away without answering.

  “Help me onto my back. I want to sit up some,” Sarah answered.

  He quickly helped her reposition herself then went about adjusting the blankets to better cover her. He was just about to move on when he noticed that the bedding was wet.

  “Sarah, I think I should change the bedding. It’s wet, and I don’t want you to get chilled.” Damn it, he needed to do something to feel useful. Sarah would be delivering their children soon, and he had no idea what he could do to make things easier for her. I’m not a doctor, he thought frantically. I have no idea how to do this!

  “Don’t bother. My water broke, and I’m pretty sure it happened in the tub. Every time I have a contraction more fluid comes out,” she panted as yet another one took hold. “It’s kinda gross.”

  He couldn’t deny that. Apparently the saying, “children are messy” began at birth. Erik quickly moved to the bathroom and grabbed all of the towels from the closet before returning to Sarah’s side. He put some under her legs to keep them off the wet sheets then doubled over when a particularly strong wave gripped his middle.

  Adam had told him labor took hours and was rather boring in the beginning, but Sarah’s seemed to be picking up speed and proceeding at an alarming rate. No doubt she could feel his worry just as he felt hers. When she spoke, she only voiced it aloud.

  “This is happening too fast, isn’t it?” she whispered.

  “Over the phone, I heard my mother say our kind doesn’t require same time as humans for our bodies to prepare for birth. I’m not sure what the timeframe is, so there’s no telling if you’re progressing normally or not.”

  “Well, shit!”

  “Pretty much,” he agreed. “I’m going to grab the birth kit Stephanie left here and bring it by the bed. I want to have everything—” Another contraction overtook them both, and this time Erik felt an increased pressure on his spine and tailbone that alarmed him. “Does your back hurt? Maybe, we need to lay you down more.”

  “I feel like I need to push, Erik. The urge is so strong, I don’t think I can stop myself when the next contraction hits.”

  He looked into her wide eyes and saw fear in their crystalline depths.

  Chapter Four

  Erik’s mind scrambled. Push? Now?

  “I need to get you covered.” He knew he wasn’t really thinking straight, but she was still naked, and his brother was among those coming. Erik would be damned if anyone was seeing her bare body besides him and the other females there for the birth.

  He grabbed the first T-shirt he saw in his drawer and gently pulled it over her head, helping her thread her arms through the sleeves.

  “Hurry, Erik. This next one is going to be bad.”

  “Shit! Shit, shit, shit,” he chanted as he scrambled to open the kit. He grabbed the soap inside and dashed into the bathroom. Inside, he quickly scrubbed his arms from the elbows down, just like Stephanie had shown him. Once he finished, he returned to the bed and managed to grab the hemostats to clamp the cord, scissors—that he carefully hid from Sarah’s view—and a soft blankets to wrap the babies in, just in case. If he needed anything else, he’d have to pray he could reach it because right now his panicked mind wasn’t clear enough to remember everything from the birthing talks they’d had with Stephanie.

  Man, he hoped the others got here soon. The last contraction had nearly brought him to his knees, and Erik worried he would be useless to Sarah if they got even worse.

  “See where Adam is,” Sarah urged.

  “He’s not exactly where he can answer a phone.” The look she leveled at him would have frightened a lesser man. “Right. I’ll, uh, just call him.”

  Erik stepped to the bedroom window, opened it then howled into the forest beyond. Adam’s answer was quick and fairly close, easing some of Erik’s worry.

  “Thank goodness,” Sarah sighed. “They sound like they’re almost here.”

  “Yes, we just need to hold on a lit—”

  Excruciating pain tore through his lower body, and Erik lifted his head in time to see Sarah with her knees brought up as she bore down and pushed. Fighting through his agony, he struggled to get to the end of the bed. When he lifted the blanket away, he was stunned to realize the intense pressure had been caused by his child’s head breeching Sarah’s body.

  “I can see a head!” he exclaimed. “Push a little more, Sarah.” He rubbed the insides of her thighs in both a show of encouragement and a way to ground himself.

  She pushed, her face going red with the effort, and Erik thought he might pass out. The pain was excruciating! The pressure on his tailbone eased as a new, burning pain took its place, located near his balls. A moment later, his first child slid from his mate’s body and into his waiting hands.

  His boy!

  “It’s Peyton, and he’s perfect,” he announced.

  “Suck out his nose and mouth,” Sarah panted, bringing Erik’s mind back from the awestruck state he’d drifted into. “Hurry. Piper might not wait much longer.”

  “Wait as long as you can, sweetheart,” Erik urged as he quickly located the little blue bulb. Obviously, he son didn’t appreciate it and let loose a grumpy cry that left a big smile on Erik’s face. “He’s got a healthy set of lungs. Now, let me clamp and cut his cord, get him wrapped in his blanket, and then—”

  Another contraction cut off his words as he bent over his newborn son and groaned. Little Peyton wiggled, his chin quivering from cold, and Erik reached for a blanket. After quickl
y placing two clamps on the cord, he carefully snipped between them then swaddled his son.

  Once the pain subsided, he looked up to Sarah. “Are you ready to hold him?”

  Sarah lifted her head and smiled, holding her arms out. “Come here, baby boy.”

  Erik settled Peyton on Sarah’s chest and marveled at how quickly the child calmed. It was such a beautiful sight, his mate, with her hair in disarray, a flush on her cheeks, and her eyes shining with happiness.

  “He’s so small,” Sarah whispered, gazing down at the baby resting in her arms. “Do we have somewhere to lay him down? I feel another contraction, and I don’t think Piper is going to wait much longer.”

  “I don’t have anywhere in here. We were planning for this to happen with more people around. Either my mother or me would have held the first baby. I’ll set up a spot on the bed. The others should be here soon.” At least, he hoped they would be. Erik honestly wondered if he’d be able to remain upright for the second baby to be born.

  The level of pain he’d experienced when his son’s head had come out was unreal. If he hadn’t already been on his knees at the end of the bed, there was no doubt he would have dropped to them at that point. To be honest, he was in awe of women. For them to go through that level of suffering then be willing to do so again? Yeah, he had a newfound respect for the female body that was for sure.

  Erik made certain Peyton was in a safe place up near the head of the bed, with Sarah on one side, and a pillow on the other. He didn’t expect the baby to roll, but his protective instincts demanded he take every precaution. Luckily, he had just laid his boy down when another contraction overtook both Sarah and him.

  He scooted down to the foot of the bed just as Sarah began to push again. Sweat poured down his face as he struggled through the agony tearing through him. A moment later, he glimpsed the crown of his daughter’s head.

  “I can see her! She’s got your blonde hair,” he informed Sarah.

  Sarah moaned, collapsing back as she caught her breath, and Erik watched as the strangest thing happened.