Dalton: NAC & The Holly Group (Alpha Team Book 2)

by Chelsea Handcock

  Ryleigh squirted an obscene amount of gel on Emma's stomach. The cold viscous stuff momentarily stunned Emma to the point where she almost forgot about the pain she was in. But when Ryleigh started moving the device around for what seemed like forever, Emma began to panic when Ryleigh wasn’t finding a heartbeat. Her baby might not be her blood but she was her child just the same. She loved her and wanted her with every fiber of her being. No one, not even God, was going to take her away. Emma knew that thought was irrational, but hey, she was entitled, wasn’t she?

  Mia took the Doppler from Ryleigh and started to manipulate her belly. Moving the Doppler, Ryleigh was holding it to a new location on her abdomen, picking up the unmistakable thumps. And that is when Emma began to cry.

  Dalton whispered in her ear, “There she is Emma, that’s your little girl.”

  Emma noticed the awe in his voice and it brought tears to her eyes. This stranger was just as taken back by the sound of her baby as she was. Looking into his eyes she noticed the moisture pooling in the corners of those enchanting eyes. Dalton Hayes was truly a wonderful man.

  Hearing that heartbeat triggered something in Dalton. he felt it in the very core of his being; this deep contentment that was never a part of his life before. That little thud was important to him. Emma was important to him. All of it was entangled in his heart. His bear’s pleasure at hearing the little sound was glorifying; the beast had never felt so much pleasure. Dalton was pretty sure if the beast could purr it was doing just that at this very moment.

  Emma was confused by her own unprecedented feelings towards this stranger, as well as Dalton’s actions. Why was this man, a person she had just met, acting so protective and caring towards her? It was both comforting and confusing to her. Even before being taken, she had never known such kindness from a man and she was soaking it like a sponge. Tight now she needed it like her next breath. It felt right and opened up all kinds of thoughts, although they were short lived when another contraction hit harder than before.

  “Okay Emma, your contractions are coming about every thirty seconds and your little one is more than ready to make an appearance but now we need to get her headed the right way,” Mia declared. “Ryleigh and I are going to try and move the baby now. Like I said before, it is going to hurt. Scream, yell, or do anything you have to in order to get through the pain. But do not push, okay.”

  Mia and Ryleigh worked for about fifteen minutes and got the baby in the right position. Emma was in pain and exhausted. Mia wasn’t kidding when she said it was going to hurt. It was worse than the contractions, and that was saying something. She felt like they were ripping her insides apart and she was pretty sure her uterus resembled something close to a hamburger at this point.

  Dalton never wanted to see something like that again. Mia and Ryleigh were causing Emma pain. Even though he knew they were doing it to help her and the baby, he wanted to kill something. No one should be causing Emma pain. It was like they were ripping her apart even though there was no blood or gore. What really surprised him, though, was Emma. She called out it pain only a couple of time, but during that last fifteen minutes she seemed to strengthen; enduring the pain in silences. He wasn’t sure if he liked that or not. Her skin was clammy and pale and Dalton could see the bruises developing on her stomach from the rough treatment, but Emma just gritted her teeth and endured. The woman had so much strength and he was in awe of her.

  “Okay Emma, that baby is in the right position but I think you need a little help. Dalton, I need you to get up on the Exam table behind Emma,” Mia directed. “Emma is tired and she is going to need your help to get this baby out. I want you to get on the table behind her, placing her legs over yours and scoot down as far as you can towards me on the table without knocking her off. Then I want you to put your hands on top of her belly, lying back while she is at rest. When a contraction hits, I want you to push down on her stomach, curling up behind her like a sit up. Do you understand?”

  Dalton didn’t, but shit, Mia was the doctor.

  “Emma, I need you to push every time you have a contraction. Now, Dalton is going to help you with his hands and curling you up. He is going to be your muscles. I know you are tired but we need to get the baby out, okay?”

  Emma pushed with Dalton's help for over an hour. She was so tired and she was barely helping at this point; Dalton was doing most of the work. He had been whispering encouraging words all along but Emma had checked out. She was so tired. Every time she came back down from the pain of the contraction Dalton rubbed her rounded belly, providing her with comfort and strength.

  Mia started whispering to Ryleigh, “Listen, you don’t have any forceps or suction for me to get this baby out. If Emma doesn’t manage to push the baby out in the next few minutes, we are going to have to do a C-section. This place isn’t set up for that kind of surgery, but I need you to start getting everything you can find together.”

  Emma could tell by the worried looks on Mia and Ryleigh’s faces that she needed to dig deeper; something was wrong with the baby.

  Dalton sensed her panic.

  “Everything is going to be okay. we are going to meet your little girl really soon. I can’t wait to meet her. I bet she is going to look just like you, honey. Just like a little pixie. Emma, I know this sucks and I know you're tired, but I am here for you and your baby. It won’t be long now.”

  Mia interrupted, “Okay Emma, I know you’re tired. having a baby is the hardest work you are ever going to do. But Emma, we need this little one out. The baby’s heart rate is dropping. If you can’t get her out vaginally, we are going to have to figure out another way for that to happen. And Emma, I truly don’t want to go that route. It’s not safe for you or the baby,” Mia said.

  “Come on we can do this. I’m going to give you everything I got can you do the same. I want to meet your little girl Emma. Scream and fight for that baby,” Dalton pleaded.

  Emma pulled everything she had, and when Dalton brought her forward with the next contraction, she pushed with everything that was left in her body. Dalton encouraged her every bit of the way, saying sweet nonessential things, but making her believe she absolutely could do this.

  “Good Emma, the baby is crowning,” Mia announced. “Not long now. One more really hard push, okay.”

  Dalton wanted to pass out. He was not made for this. Seeing a woman’s pussy had always been one of his favorite things, but now, damn, he had no idea. Watching Emma’s bits’ bulge and contract back was not something he wanted to see. He was a fucking guy; he wasn’t supposed to see things like what was happening in front of his eyes. The stuff that was coming out of that area was downright disturbing. On the other hand, he also knew he would do whatever this woman needed and right now he needed his strength. He would think about all the other crap later. However, he sure as shit would never look at a woman’s pussy the same way again.

  Dalton felt the contraction starting and encouraged Emma.

  “Come on, honey. Here we go with another one.”

  Curling forward Dalton pushed on Emma’s stomach. He had been so caught up in the move that he hadn’t noticed she had delivered the baby’s head. When he looked down he saw the most amazing sight: the little baby was still within its mother but it looked as though it was staring right up at him.

  “Good job, guys. Looks like you got a sunny side up baby,” Ryleigh said. “Take a look.”

  With Dalton holding her up from behind, his voice, thick with emotion, brought Emma out of her daze.

  “Look Emma, there she is.”

  And that is when Emma got her first look at the most beautiful baby in the world; her dusky blue eyes just checking everything out around her. Sure, Emma knew she didn't actually see anything, but she figured you never knew. After all, up until today, she didn’t even know that there were people that could turn into an animal. Why couldn’t my child be the most intelligently aware child ever born, right? Emma wondered. She also noticed that her baby’s tiny pixie n
ose was the same nose she looked at every day in the mirror. With this identification, Emma knew that this little one was her child. All of her questions went out the window just by noticing that little detail; this was indeed her baby.

  “One more push, guys, and we can meet the first baby of the Alpha Team,” Mia encouraged.

  Emma didn’t need to gather her strength. This time seeing her little babies face was all that she needed to push her the rest of the way out of her body into the world.

  The next thing Emma knew, Mia was placing her daughter right on her stomach. Looking down at the little angel in her arms, Emma couldn’t believe how utterly sweet the baby was. Her cherub cheeks were slightly tinted pink and her tiny lips made the perfect cupids bow. She also had a little tuft of dark hair that Emma couldn’t resist stroking, laughing a little when it made the perfect Mohawk. Emma thought about all the movies she had ever watched where the parents look to make sure their newborn had all their fingers and toes, but Emma didn’t need to do any type of inspection on her daughter; she was simply perfect. Brushing her finger down her daughter’s cheek, she fell in love instantly all over again.

  Mia broke the momentary spell by asking, "Who would you like to cut the cord, Emma?"

  She looked up into Dalton’s equally moist eyes and all she managed was a weak “Please?”

  “It would be my honor,” was what Dalton said back, equally choked up.

  Dalton was dumbfounded; the child was a girl. The look of sadness and pity on Mia and Ryleigh’s faces only darkened his own mood. All children should be celebrated and cherished, but this little girl had the weight of the Shifter race on her tiny shoulders. She could birth a new generation. She could represent the future. It was all too much. If her DNA proved true, every child she gave birth to in the future would be a Shifter. The uncertainty that had followed his race for so many years would be gone. The evil people, like Pandora and Davis Defense, would want her to birth armies. The Association would want her to help produce their master race, and damn, his clansmen would even seek her after. It was all too much for a tiny baby.

  Chapter 19

  Dalton was not normally an emotional guy. As an Enforcer, his job was to remain as unemotional as possible. Conversely, watching Emma’s strength throughout the delivery was heart rendering. Then considering the babe’s future and all the implications that implied, he was overwhelmed. When Mia and Ryleigh had to change the position of the baby he thought he was going to pass out, but Emma had shown a strength that astounded him. he could see her fear and the pain she was in. The bruising had developed on her extended stomach with how hard Mia and Ryleigh were pushing and prodding. Emma had only screamed out a couple of times Dalton didn’t think he would have been that strong if he was in the same position. When she was able to push, she again showed her strength and will to have the baby. He tried his best to be supportive and encouraging when she could barely move. because of her exhaustion, Dalton took over helping the best he could. Doing a hundred sit-ups a day didn’t even prepare him for those minutes. It tore him apart every time Emma screamed when he pushed down on her extended belly. He knew he was doing what was best, but he didn’t want to be a cause of her pain. The thoughts he had before seeing the little angel’s face were long forgotten now that he had seen the baby. Dalton realized how special the moment was. He had helped bring a beautiful little girl into the world. Dalton Hayes, the Alpha Team’s Enforcer, was mush in the light of everything that had happened.

  After the delivery, all the pain and fear had left. Emma seeing her daughter's little face made it all worth it. Ryleigh and Mia had helped her into a hospital gown, removing the robe she had been wearing throughout the delivery. They had also put the bed back to rights, making it more comfortable for her. She was beyond tired but didn’t want to stop looking at her baby. Mia stopped at the bed.

  “You did excellent, Emma. That was not an easy delivery and you handle things better than most. And your daughter is beautiful.”

  “Thank you, Mia, and you too Ryleigh. I had no idea I was about to deliver. If it weren’t for the both of you and Dalton, I don’t know what I would have done,” Emma said, exhausted yet euphoric.

  “No need to thank us, Emma,” Ryleigh said. “You did the hard work. We are going to give you guys a couple of minutes to get to know that precious little girl. But first, if you okay with it, I would like Mia to take some blood samples from both you and you baby. We need to check some things out.”

  “You’re checking to see if my baby is a Shifter, aren’t you?”

  “Yes, Emma, that is one of the tests that Mia is going to run,” Ryleigh said. “I know you don’t understand the significance yet, but your little girl could be the first of her kind in over a hundred years. You and your daughter could be just like me and the others that Franklin created. But your baby could also be more. If either of you only hold one set of Shifter DNA, we need to know that as soon as possible. But right now, we are just running on theories and suppositions. We need to find the answers. I hope you understand.”

  The impact of those answers could be staggering, Ryleigh thought. Only one person, Cassie Larson, had tested to have only one strand of Shifter DNA. And Pandora went to elaborate lengths to kidnap the teen. Ryleigh and the others, products of the first generation of the breeding program, had several strands of different animal DNA. None of them, including Cassie Larson, were able to shift. If Emma’s baby was able to do, then dangers increases exponentially for the child. Even after determining if Emma and the child had Shifter DNA, it would be years before they knew if the child could shift. Shifters, to their knowledge, didn’t exhibit any signs until puberty. Then again, none of them had any idea whether Emma or the baby had been medically altered in any way.

  The only thing Ryleigh knew for certain was that they all needed to know what was going on. The team would help Emma regardless, but they needed to know exactly what Davis Defense had done to Emma. Finding Emma and the now having the baby within their home only fueled Ryleigh’s fire. She was already obsessed with finding answers for her and the Team’s benefit, but now that need escalated. She needed to know more to help protect not only the teams, but Emma and her baby too.

  Damn, she wasn’t thinking rationally. Ryleigh knew that she needed to take better care of herself and her baby. There just wasn’t enough time; they needed answers and they needed them now. Shit, even her own child was in jeopardy with all the unanswered questions. She just didn’t know what to do and how to cope with everything that was coming at her. First on her list, before Emma had shown up, was to talk with Jacks and explain her fears. She thought that she had time to come to terms with everything. Forty weeks was plenty of time to come up with answers, run tests, and work through her fears, but now she only had about sixteen. Even worse, those answers needed to be sought for Emma and the child. Ryleigh was convinced that Franklin’s notes would provide them with some, if not all, of the answers they needed. He was the person that spearheaded all of this. She just had to find those answers. Ryleigh just had no clue on how she was going to go about doing that.

  For the first time in her life she felt like a failure. She couldn’t decode the data fast enough, she wasn’t finding the patterns quick enough, and she didn’t know how to process all the failures that were mounting up. To top it all off, she knew she would have killed Emma and the baby if Mia hadn’t been there to save the day. All because she didn’t have the training she needed at the time. Ryleigh could feel the tension in her body. She also knew that if she kept up this pace, she would do anyone a damn bit of good. but what else was she supposed to do? Everyone was relying on her for the answers and she just didn’t have any to give them. Top all that off with the fact that her biggest failure could be her own child. Eli told her she was tainted, a failure, and all those seeds he planted had taken root deeply; embedded and strong. She would do what she could, but she was afraid that she wasn’t equipped to handle any of it. She felt utterly and completely inadequate. />
  Emma didn’t honestly care what her daughter was human, Shifter, or both. What she did know was that if her daughter was a Shifter, her life was in even more danger. She almost didn’t want to know. Did it really matter, she questioned? She also didn’t want anyone hurting her child, and taking blood was going to hurt. But Emma knew that not knowing would hurt more in the long run. She never thought about being a mother, but she had to admit, even if only to herself, her connection to the little baby was absolute. She would do everything within her power to protect her daughter, even if she had to suck up her emotions about her getting stuck with a needle.

  Mia broke into the conversation with Ryleigh seeing the fear in Emma’s eyes. “Emma that is not all we are checking for, you aren’t in the best condition and I think I would be remiss as a doctor if we didn’t check out the basics for you and your child. I am also going to check you for infection, organ function, and a few other things. The baby as well. I haven’t been able to give you a proper exam and we need to do that as soon as possible. Regardless of having Shifter DNA you and your baby are my patients. even if you are just plain human Mia quipped with a smile. Shifters don’t get preferential treatment in my book.”

  Mia’s attempt at humor went unnoticed, the only thought on Emma’s mind was her child, she responded, “Okay, please make sure that my baby is okay”.

  “We will Emma.” Ryleigh assured her “we will be right next door, just call us if you need anything. Dalton has to stay but if you need a couple of minutes of privacy I’m sure we can arrange something.”