Stripped (Wolves of Mule Creek #2)

by Katharine Sadler

  “I don't know anything about babies or delivering them.”

  She gave me Doc's number and I tried to call her. Another contraction rolled through her while I was sent to voice mail.

  “She's not answering, is she?” Julie said. “What am I going to do? I had this whole birth plan, but I can't remember any of it. I wrote it all down, but what good does it do me—ow, fuck.”

  I waited for the contraction to finish, rubbing her back. “Aren't you supposed to breathe a certain way?”

  “Oh. Right.” She huffed out three quick breaths and one long one, then repeated. When the next contraction hit, she seemed only slightly less pained.

  “You should try Doc again,” she said. I figured Doc was either vamp food or helping other wolves, but I didn't want to deliver this baby, so I tried her again. No answer.

  I got Julie through the next contraction and then I searched online for information about what to do in these circumstances. Very little of it was comforting. I really hoped Axel or Doc showed up soon.

  As though in answer to my wish, someone banged on the door. I hurried over to it. “Who is it?” I yelled through the door.

  “It's Aron,” he said. “Let me in.”

  “Don't let him in,” Julie said between huffs. “He might have been compelled.”

  Crap. She was right. This was an impossible mess. “I can't let you in. Go get Axel. We need him. Julie's injured.”

  Aron banged harder on the door. “Let me in. There are three vamps after me.”

  Julie was doubled over with another contraction. When it passed, she looked at me. “If he's been compelled, we can't fight him. He'll kill me and the baby.”

  “You should run,” I shouted through the door. “We can't let you in.”

  Aron continued banging on the door, which would suggest he wasn't in immediate danger. I sat next to Julie and rubbed her back. “We should call the council,” I said. “This can't be what they wanted.”

  “Do it. We don't have any better options. Call Darius. Somehow, he hasn't been fired from the council, yet.”

  She gave me his number, I was impressed with her ability to memorize numbers, and a deep male voice answered on the third ring. “You don't know me,” I said. My throat felt better, but my voice was still raspy. “But I'm with Julie Jacobs of the Mule Creek pack. She's in labor and the pack is being attacked by the Aspens Whiten coven.”

  “Attacked?” Darius asked, sounding far less surprised than he should have. “Why in the world—?”

  “I think you know why. It has to do with the water here and the wolves who drink it. Ringing any bells?” I looked to Julie to see if I was doing the right thing, but her eyes were closed and she was curled in on herself as she experienced another contraction.

  Darius cleared his throat. “I don't know about anything to do with the water there.”

  “Good. For a minute we thought you were part of the conspiracy to turn this pack over to the vampire coven so that they would be powerful enough to keep the rogue vampires in line. If you aren't, you won't have any problem sending us some help out here.”

  “I'm afraid I can't do that. It's not our protocol to get involved in community spats.”

  “Really?” I asked. “'Cause you were pretty damn quick to get involved when Axel and Julie killed a couple of vamps.”

  “That was entirely different,” he said. “I don't know who you think you are, but I—”

  “I'm a human. A human with a video camera and a whole lot of footage to share with all my human friends.” It might have been the stupidest thing I'd ever said. Not only was I lying, but Darius could just make sure to tell the vamps to kill me and his problem would be solved.

  “I seriously doubt that,” he said. “Since Julie Jacobs pulled her little stunt, we've hired our own PR team. We'll spin this as vampires putting down rabid, rogue werewolves. Humans will thank the vampires. They'll be heroes.”

  “Tell him,” Julie panted. “Tell him our fans will never believe his version of the story and werewolves all over the country will mutiny against the council.”

  “Bullshit,” Darius said, obviously having heard Julie. “All humans want is assurance that the vampires and werewolves are no threat to them. The other werewolves will be only too eager to pledge their loyalty to us and avoid having to be put them down as rogue.”

  “You don't want humans to know about the possibility of wolves going rogue,” Julie said. “You're bluffing.”

  She might be right, but it didn't matter. If all the werewolves in the Mule creek pack were dead, there'd be no one to contradict whatever story the council chose to spin. And I didn't want to give Darius more incentive to kill me and the whole pack. “If you call off the vampires,” I said, “the Mule Creek pack could work with you. Just imagine. They've already got the branding, the fans, and the cachet that the council lacks. You didn't come off too well in that showdown with Julie on that viral video. Think of the possibilities if you team up with the pack. There is so much opportunity you're just throwing away if you let the vamps destroy this pack.”

  Julie snorted even though she was mid-contraction. “They won't destroy the pack.”

  Darius was silent on the other end of the line, so I pushed ahead. “The pack can sell their blood to the vamps, so you'll still get powerful vampires to keep the others in line, but you'll also get the pack as poster children for the council. Show the world that the Mule Creek pack has forgiven the council, that you're all working together to keep the world safe from threats from the supernatural world.”

  “Forgive us?” Darius said. “They should be begging us to forgive them. They violated every council law in the book. They're lucky they've survived our wrath this long.”

  I waited, let him blow off some steam. The man wasn't an idiot, he'd see that my offer made sense. Of course, I didn't have the actual authority to make the offer, but he didn't know that.

  “It wasn't my idea for the coven to attack the pack,” Darius said with a heavy sigh, “but I'll see what I can do.”

  He hung up and Julie shrugged. “There's no telling what he'll do, but at least we tried.”

  “All you need to worry about is keeping that baby where it needs to be until Axel and Doc get here.”

  She grimaced, a drop of sweat rolling from her hairline and down her face. “That's gonna be pretty hard. The baby's coming. I need to push.”

  I felt faint. I couldn't do this. Julie must have seen the crazy in my eyes, because she gripped my hand and squeezed. “You can do this. We can do this together.”

  “Okay.” There was no time to search online for a how-to guide to delivering a baby. “Do you think there's any chance there are clean sheets around here?”

  She nodded weakly. “In the back. There's a linen closet.”

  I hurried to the back of the large room and through a door into what appeared to be a storage room. I found the linen closet and clean sheets. There was no way they were sterile, but clean was better than nothing. I hurried back to find Julie had pushed off her jeans and underwear and was lying back, her legs spread. Her face was pale and she looked utterly panicked. I had to stay calm for her. I could stay calm for her.

  Then I looked down and saw what appeared to be the crown of the baby's head. I swallowed hard. I could fall apart after the baby was born.

  I slid a sheet under Julie's butt and laid another one over her legs like in the movies. With everything hidden, I could pretend she was just lying down to take a nap.

  “I have to push,” Julie said, her voice tight with pain. “Make sure you're ready to catch.”

  “I'm here. I've got you. Just relax and push.” I spoke as soothingly as I could as I lifted the sheet and watched as Julie pushed and more of the baby's head appeared. More of the baby's head and some blood. I hoped that was normal.

  “Good job,” I said. “I see your baby's head, honey.”

  “Really?” she asked, awe in her voice. Awe was better than panic.

 
“I do. You're doing so good. Are you ready to push again?”

  She grunted and pushed and the baby's little face emerged, along with its shoulders.

  “The head's out,” I said, managing to keep myself calm, even though there was blood and I was in some sort of shock. “Keep pushing.”

  Two more pushes and the baby was out. “It's a little girl,” I said. I wrapped her in a sheet and used one end of it to wipe her little face clear. She let out a wailing cry and Julie gasped, gave one more push and something that looked like an organ passed out of her with more blood. For a moment, I was worried she'd passed something vital, but then I saw the umbilical cord attached to it and I relaxed. It was just the placenta.

  “Should I cut the cord or something?” I asked.

  “No. We'll leave that for Doc to do when she gets here. I've read it's good to keep the baby attached for a little while. Maybe just put the placenta in a bowl.”

  She sounded exhausted, but way more calm and rational than I'd be in her situation. “You are amazing,” I said. “Seriously. I've never met anyone so amazing.”

  She smiled weakly. I handed over her little girl and went in search of a bowl. When I got back, bowl in hand, she had the baby's little mouth pressed to her breast and, judging by the way the baby's throat was working, she was drinking. “You're a natural.”

  “I have no idea what I'm doing,” she said. “But thanks.”

  I put the placenta in a bowl and placed it on the floor next to them. We didn't have diapers, so we just stuffed an extra sheet under baby's bottom. I sat next to Julie and we admired her daughter. Every little thing the tiny baby did was beyond miraculous.

  ***

  Someone banged on the door to the jail. “Jules, it's me. Let me in.” I was holding the sleeping baby girl while Julie recovered, she'd shifted to her wolf form to heal her arm and her body from the birth process.

  The voice was clearly Axel's, but Julie stalked to the door in her wolf form and growled. On the other side, Axel chuckled. “Glad to hear you're alive, too, sweetheart. I swear I wasn't compelled. I've got Zane with me, and he's hurt. We need you to let us in.”

  Julie shifted to human, her body tense, her expression worried. We couldn't hide in the jail forever. At some point, we'd have to let someone in and find out the hard way if they'd been compelled. “Hold the baby,” she said. “If they do anything squirrelly, run out the back with her.”

  I nodded and shifted the baby higher against my chest. I grabbed the bowl with the placenta she was still attached to and held it with one hand. It was awkward and precarious and I doubted I'd be able to run fast, but I'd try. I was already in love with that little baby, and I'd do everything I could to protect her.

  Julie nodded and opened the door. Axel stumbled in with Zane over one shoulder, blood seeping from him. My heart froze in my chest, but I didn't move. I was protecting that baby.

  “Why didn't you take him to the clinic?” Julie asked. She locked the door behind them.

  “Clinic was burned to the ground,” Axel said. He slowly lowered Zane to the floor and I could see a huge gash in his neck. “He'll be okay once he shifts.”

  Axel bent over Zane and said something to him in a soft voice, Zane groaned and shifted to his wolf form. I'd never seen it before. He was fluffy and gray and enormous. I wanted to run my hands through his fur, but I was holding the baby and I was still ready to run, just in case. Axel checked Zane over and looked at me. “He'll be… Where'd that baby come from?”

  Julie knelt next to Axel and laced her fingers through his. “Daddy, meet your daughter, Daisy Alison Montgomery.”

  Axel turned his wide eyes on his wife. “You gave birth? In the middle of an attack on the pack?”

  Julie smiled. She still looked tired, but seemed otherwise entirely healed. “If she's anything like me, she wanted to help with the fight.”

  Axel groaned. “She would take after you. I'm not sure my heart will survive two daredevils.”

  Julie pressed a kiss to his lips and he ran his hands over her face and body. “Are you okay?”

  “I'm fine. I shifted after she was born, and I feel great.”

  “She was amazing,” I said. “I've never seen anyone give birth before, but she was a genuine rock star.”

  “Good job, Momma,” Axel said. He stood and walked over to me, and I handed over the baby. He and Julie cooed over their daughter and pressed kisses to her sweet, warm skin.

  “How are things with the pack?” I asked.

  Axel looked up from his daughter and I hated myself for asking the question, because the joy and peace on his face fled and was replaced by sorrow. “The vampires have retreated. From what I've seen, a good many of them are dead. We've lost some people, too. I won't know how many until we get out there and start cleaning up, figure out who's under a compulsion. We'll be on our guard for a long while.”

  I nodded. “So, I'd be free to leave?”

  Axel glanced over at Zane and sighed. I could see the question in his eyes, but he didn't ask it. “I wouldn't recommend going back to Aspens Whiten, but you're free to leave.” He looked at Julie and then back at me. “We'd love to have you stay. Julie and I are so grateful to you for delivering our daughter.”

  “Julie did all the hard work,” I said. “But I appreciate the offer.”

  He nodded and he and Julie went back to cooing over their daughter. I didn't ask any more questions or interrupt what I knew would be only a stolen moment of joy with their daughter before they had to get to work rebuilding the pack town and burying the bodies. That baby would probably never know what a bright spot her birth was in an otherwise dark, horrible day.

  I knelt by Zane and ran my hand through his thick fur. It was every bit as soft and warm as I'd imagined. His chest rose and fell in a steady rhythm and there was no sign of his injury. He'd be fine. “Have a good life,” I said softly. “You deserve to have every happiness imaginable.”

  I pressed a kiss to his furry snout, which wasn't nearly as weird as I'd thought it might be, and stood. “I'm going to head out,” I said to Julie and Axel. “Lock up behind me.”

  “Abby,” Julie said. I met her gaze and she studied my face before she sighed, her expression sad. “Thank you for everything. Keep in touch.”

  I nodded, having no intention of contacting her ever again. It would hurt too much to hear about Zane when I couldn't see him.

  I unlocked the door and stepped out into the dark night. A cold wind blew, making me shiver. We'd run out of the house without coats, but I hadn't felt the cold until that moment. It smelled like there would be more snow soon.

  I jogged past the vampire corpses on the ground outside the jail without looking at them and down main street to Zane's house. I needed to hurry. if I lingered, if Zane asked me to stay, I wasn't sure I'd leave. I needed to leave. Needed to get to Denver and a new start.

  I let myself into Zane's house. I didn't bother to look around, but hurried back to his room, grabbed a bag and filled it quickly. I took my car keys and my purse from the floor next to the night stand and turned for the door.

  Someone was standing in the doorway, moonlight at their back, so I couldn't see their face. I backed up until I hit the night stand, my heart thumping loudly.

  “Abby,” Iris said, stepping into the room. “It's alright. It's just me.”

  “Iris,” I said. “Are you and Zeke okay?”

  “A few scratches, but we're fine. Are you hurt? Where's Zane?”

  “I'm fine. Zane was hurt, but he shifted to wolf and he's sleeping it off. Axel said he'll be fine.”

  Iris flicked on the overhead light and I blinked, my eyes watering. She gasped and rushed over to me. “Your neck. What happened?”

  I touched my neck, wincing at the soreness. “A vampire tried to choke me to death.”

  She leaned in and studied my injury. “You should let Alexis look at you. You might be okay now, but if there was serious damage done to your neck, your airway could become blocked
.”

  “I'm fine,” I said, promising myself to stop at an ER on the way to Denver. “I'm actually in a bit of a hurry.”

  She took a step back and frowned. “You're running away.”

  “I'm moving to Denver and making a good life for myself. It's been the plan all along.”

  “It's not weakness,” she said. “To let someone care about you, to let them take care of you. My husband and I, we take care of each other, we always have.”

  “And I'm sure it's wonderful. But it's not what I want. Love might be enough for some people, but it's not enough for me.” My parents had loved each other and they'd struggled every day of their lives, until they lost their lives. I wanted more than that.

  “So, you do love my son,” she said, taking me totally off guard. She smiled. “There's hope, yet.”

  “No. There's no hope. Your son deserves someone who'll be happy with small town life, who'll be happy to have a small job and raise his kids. That's just not what I want.”

  She shook her head. “I thought you knew my son better than that. You two have spent too much time in bed and not enough talking to each other.”

  And that was my cue to leave. “I'm sorry. I won't give up my dreams. Not for anyone.”

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  Two weeks later

  “Hi, honey, I'm home,” Gage said. He stalked into the apartment we shared, and tripped on the curled-up corner of the rug, like he did every time he stepped inside his apartment. Maybe I'd replace it for him before I moved out, it was the least I could do to thank him for letting me stay. When I'd gotten to Denver, two weeks earlier, he hadn't hesitated to let me crash with him, had seemed thrilled to have me.

  I shoved another bite of cereal into my mouth and gave him a little wave. He'd been at work all night at the strip club he managed and I was eating breakfast. I was trying to eat breakfast, since my stomach was whirling with butterflies. Today was my first day at a new job. It wasn't much, an entry-level sales position, but it was with a huge national supply chain and there would be tons of opportunity for me to move up in the company.