“What kind of movie? A drama? Comedy? Oooh, I know! That new one with—”
I screamed. A slice of pain, so sharp that tears sprang into my eyes, cut through my abdomen.
Lena whirled around and rushed to my side. “Jace? What’s wrong?”
Another wave of agony rendered me speechless. I took short unsteady breaths before I finally managed in a low moan, “Go . . . find Di. Something’s . . . wrong!”
Lena’s bright-green eyes grew wide before she raced from the room. I was left alone in the expansive living room with its three full couches and stone fireplace. The grays, blues, and whites of the home décor were normally so soothing, but right then, I felt anything but soothed.
Another moan escaped me just as a rush of liquid gushed from between my legs.
“Oh God!” The fluid seeped through my loose pants and onto the couch. I’ve ruined the furniture!
Another round of undulating pain flung all thoughts of ruined furniture out of my mind.
“My love!” Luke appeared in the doorway. His hair was windblown and his eyes wild. In a blurred second, he was at my side, his large fingers pushing hair from my face. When he saw the rush of blood and body fluids on the couch, his eyes glowed as brightly as the sun.
“You’re here?” I grasped his hand tightly and held onto it. “Ow!” I clamped down on his fingers when another contraction exploded through my body.
“I saw it in a vision, but I was twenty miles away when it came. I ran back as fast as I could.” His worried gaze roamed over my body. He leaned closer to the fluid and sniffed. “It’s amniotic fluid. Your water broke. There’s no stopping your labor now.”
“Yes! They’re coming!” I screamed again just as Father, Di, and Lena careened around the corner and into the room.
Moaning, I grabbed hold of my belly. “Are they healthy, Luke? What did your vision show? Are they okay when they’re born?”
His eyebrows knitted together as his golden eyes glowed. “I don’t know. All I had was a vision of you in labor.”
I threw my head back and screamed as another round of painful waves cut through my stomach. “I need to get up! They’re coming!”
Father and Di crowded around me. They pushed Luke out of the way, or they tried to. He refused to budge.
“We need to start an IV!” Di’s dark gaze assessed me rapidly as Father said something about readying supplies before he hurried from the room.
A growl tore from Luke’s throat, and Lena wrung her hands while looking on helplessly.
“Luke, carry her to the medical wing. Now!” Di’s voice was calm but firm.
In one swoop, I was off the couch and flying down the hallway in Luke’s arms.
The sounds of footsteps filled the hall as Di and Lena ran several rooms behind us.
When we reached the medical room, Father waved at the examination table. “Put her here.”
Luke set me down but refused to let me go. I screamed as another sharp pain cut through my insides.
Di and Lena appeared beside me. Both were panting. Lena stepped back to stay out of the way while Di grabbed supplies to start an IV.
I gripped her hand. “There’s no time. They’re coming. Now!”
Wide-eyed, Di raced to the end of the examination table. I struggled up onto my elbows and started to push. Everything inside me told me to get the babies out.
“How can this happen so quickly?” Lena asked from the side of the room. “We were just playing chess a half an hour ago.”
“I don’t know.” Father’s grim reply said it all. “Most labors don’t happen spontaneously like this.” He continued readying supplies.
Luke supported my back as I sat up higher on the exam table.
“Okay, Jacinda,” Di said. “Scoot your bottom down here and push when your body tells you to.”
A scream ripped out of my throat as a powerful contraction rippled through my abdomen. I pushed as hard as I could and felt like I was being ripped open from the inside out. Murmurs came from my family in between the sharp contractions, but the entire world around me disappeared. All I felt was pain and the need to push. Everybody faded away as my body took over.
A part of me registered somebody rubbing my back and speaking encouragingly into my ear. Another part registered someone coaxing me to push and telling me to keep going.
But those voices faded into the background. I clenched my teeth as wave after wave of excruciating pain came at me like a tide. Minutes passed, or maybe hours, or days. I had no idea. But just when I thought for sure I was going to die, a cry filled the room.
Panting, I tiredly opened my eyes. Di was covered up to her elbows in fluid as she held a squalling human baby in her arms.
Luke reached for the baby first. The umbilical cord was still attached to our newborn. With gentle movements, Luke brought him to my chest.
My eyes assessed him with wonder. He was perfect. Absolutely perfect.
“Ten fingers and ten toes and one hundred percent human.” Father stood near my shoulder while Di stayed ready for the second baby.
Luke hunkered down at my side, and our newborn’s steady cries subsided. His little mouth sucked on the skin that was exposed by my V-neck shirt. With a start, I realized I still wore half of my clothes, at least the upper half. At some point, though, someone had removed my pants.
But just as I was about to bring my son to my breast, another wave of pain shot through me.
“Hold him.” I handed him to Luke. Father swaddled him in a blanket during the exchange before Luke cradled him awkwardly to his chest.
Lena appeared at my side while Luke held our newborn. She gripped my hand tightly as tears shimmered in her eyes. “You did it, sister! One down. One to go. You can do this!”
I gripped her hand tightly as another contraction bore down on me. Panting and writhing, I pushed and screamed as the labor contractions came at me again in full force.
“That’s it. Keep pushing. You’re crowning again.” Di had crouched between my legs, but I knew something was wrong when her eyes widened in disbelief.
But I didn’t have time to think about it. The urge to push was too great. I screamed as another contraction forced the baby out.
The giant push made it feel like I was ripping apart, when all of a sudden, the pressure ceased.
Silence filled the room. Even our first baby didn’t make a sound. He was already asleep in Luke’s arms.
“What is it? What’s wrong?” I cried.
A yelp reached my ears. Mewling whimpers came next.
The strained smile on Di’s face grew as she slowly stood from between my legs.
My heart pounded when I saw our second baby wiggling in her hands. He—or she, I couldn’t be sure—was a squiggling, wet wolf puppy, just like the ultrasound had shown.
CHAPTER FIVE
“I gave birth to a wolf. I just gave birth to a wolf!” Hysteria rose up inside me as my eyes settled on the wet furry bundle in Di’s hands. But as soon as that feeling came, it went. He’s still our baby.
I held out my hands. Di handed over the squiggly, four-legged pup. Since his fur was wet, he was probably cold.
As soon as he was in my arms, I rubbed my hands over him again and again. Tiny blue eyes opened to peer up at me. I smiled down tenderly at him. My baby’s a wolf.
But somehow, that didn’t matter anymore. “Welcome to the world, my darling.”
Lena, Di, and Father continued to stand there without saying a word. Shock was apparent on their faces.
Only Luke stepped forward to peer down at our second child. He hunkered at my side and grunted happily. “He looks healthy.”
Despite the fierce love and protectiveness that stormed through me, I still realized that this posed a horrific dilemma for our family. If our second baby was a wolf, he might never fit into the human world. And more than that, we had no idea what our baby’s mind was like. Perhaps his mind was that of a wolf that ran on instinct alone.
We didn�
�t know, and it could be years before we did.
“Oh, Luke. What are we going to do?” Tears filled my eyes as the implications of everything set in.
“We’ll figure it out.” His voice was hoarse.
Luke handed me our firstborn after Di weighed him. The cherub-cheeked boy looked healthy and content despite being small.
“How big is he?”
“Six pounds and one ounce,” Di replied. “At thirty-three weeks, that’s a very good weight. He’s breathing well, and his vitals are normal. It’s almost like he’s full-term.”
“He does have Luke’s genes.” Lena smiled down at the babies. “Physically, Luke can heal faster than any of us and do things none of us can. Maybe their babies have enhanced abilities too—like growing fast.”
Father nodded. “That could explain the explosive growth of the second baby. Luke’s cells have the ability to multiply and regenerate at inhuman speed. Perhaps that’s what happened with the second fetus.”
Father and Di had discussed for hours how our second baby had emerged so suddenly. They concluded that it had to come from Luke’s altered genetics, just like I’d guessed. Perhaps that’s why he’s a wolf. Or is our second baby a girl?
Shifting our wolf baby, I glanced at Di.
“Can you tell me if our pup is a boy or a girl?” Before she could step in, Luke gently lifted our secondborn from my chest. The puppy wiggled and squirmed as Luke turned him over.
His eyes misted when he appraised the organs. “It’s a girl.”
Tears of joy, fear, and disbelief rose up inside me so strongly that I burst into tears. I have a girl. I have a baby girl, but she’s a puppy.
~ ~ ~
Luke transformed into a wolf an hour later. After Di and Lena helped clean me up, we debated the best way to care for my daughter.
Since she was a puppy, and possibly would never be human, we all agreed that she would find it more comforting to be with a similar species. Consequently, Luke had transformed to his wolf form to lick her clean and snuggle her against his warm body. She had readily curled up and slept in the crook of his legs.
So for the moment, Luke and I were back in the guest room where late-afternoon sun streamed through the windows. As I breastfed our firstborn, Luke cared for our second. She had already downed a bottle of formula that Lena had prepared. However, feeding her was going to be tricky. We didn’t know if she would take breast milk, formula, or if we needed to find a supplement of wolf milk. Luckily, considering how peacefully she slept, she seemed to be tolerating the formula.
Regardless of the dilemma we faced, she was beautiful. Her coat was a shiny gray. We didn’t know if she would eventually grow into something similar to Luke’s tawny coloring, or if she would have colors unique to her. But she was still healthy and small—but perfect.
“How are you feeling?” Lena tiptoed into the room.
I unlatched my son from my breast. He was already asleep. Tenderly tracing my finger along his cheek, I smiled down at him. “I feel wonderful if a bit sore.”
Lena sat at my side. “Are you hungry? Everyone’s here and is making dinner.”
I wrapped my firstborn in a blanket and moved to stand from the bed. I wore loose cotton pants again and a nursing bra under my shirt. At least my shirt was a designer top, although my hair was in desperate need of a salon trip. “I’ll put him in his crib. I can’t believe how hungry I am.”
“Everyone wants to meet them. The whole family arrived an hour ago.”
I nodded. “After dinner. Let’s let them sleep right now.”
Lena stepped away to give me more room. “Have you thought of names yet?”
I nodded, cradling him in my arms. “We just decided an hour ago, but we’ll wait until everyone’s here. Then we’ll announce it.” My gaze drifted to Luke and our daughter. She looked so small curled in the crook of his leg.
Luke lifted his head and chuffed.
I eyed my partner. “Should we put her in the nursery too? Dinner’s almost ready. Do you want to transform back?”
Luke stood, careful to not disturb our secondborn. She curled into a tighter ball but didn’t wake.
“I’ll carry her.” Lena padded over to where our daughter lay. Gently lifting her, she cuddled her to her chest. A look of wonder crossed my sister’s face. “She’s so soft!”
“Isn’t she beautiful?” I replied. Now that Luke had licked her clean, she was a ball of downy fur. Tears misted my eyes again as Luke trotted from the room to transform in private.
I held out my free arm to Lena. “May I?”
Lena’s eyes widened. “Oh my gosh, of course!” She carefully handed my daughter over.
With both infants held against my breasts, I gazed down. Our daughter shifted in her sleep and wiggled closer to her brother. When her nose brushed against his hand, he wiggled toward her too.
Lena’s green eyes grew wide. “Did you see that?”
A crescent of a smile lifted my lips. “Yes! They want to touch. Do you think they recognize each other?”
“They must.”
“Even though she only grew within the past two weeks?”
Lena placed her small hand on my forearm and squeezed. “She was always there, even though we didn’t know it. They’ve been together the entire time. Of course, they recognize each other.”
My heart burst with an emotion I couldn’t describe just as Luke walked into our room. He wore jeans but was shirtless. My heart pattered. He’d always made my heart race, ever since that first moment I saw him, when we rescued him from O’Brien’s warehouse.
A knowing glint filled his golden eyes before he went to the wardrobe and pulled out a T-shirt. Once fully dressed, he strode to my side and encircled my waist with his arm before pulling me close. Lena tiptoed out of the room as quietly as she’d come in.
“Look at them.” He ran his finger along our daughter’s back and our son’s cheek. “You did amazing, my love.”
I lifted my head as he leaned down. His lips brushed mine. I closed my eyes and inhaled his woodsy scent.
Growling, he tightened his arm around my waist as his tongue ran along my lower lip. I opened my mouth to him as he deepened the kiss.
He pulled back after a moment and rumbled his appreciation. His eyes glowed brighter as his arm locked possessively around my waist. “They’re making quite a feast out there. Come, my love. Let’s put these babes down so we can eat. Di tells me you’ll not be getting much sleep now since you’re breastfeeding our boy. You’ll need to keep your strength up.”
I bit back a smile at how he was already thinking ahead. All of this was as new to Luke as it was to me. While we’d tried to prepare for parenthood, we could only do so much. Since neither of us had grown up with other families, being around little ones was completely foreign to Luke. My job had prepared me a little, but caring for other people’s children was still different from having our own, but I’d read dozens of books since discovering we were pregnant. And I figured instinct would tell me what to do.
“Come.” Luke guided me from the room. Next to our room was the nursery. Father’s home held several guest rooms that could easily accommodate our entire family, so we could all be together if we chose.
We’d redecorated the room after deciding to stay for a few weeks following the birth, but I stopped short in the room’s doorway.
“We only have one crib.” In all the chaos of the previous week, I’d completely forgotten that we’d only been planning for one baby.
“They’ll stay in it together. Look. They want to be together.”
I glanced down at our sleeping newborns. My breath caught in my throat. Our son’s hand was curled around our daughter’s paw, and she’d moved to rest her chin on his leg.
“They belong together,” Luke said gruffly.
I padded to the crib and set them down. Neither stirred except to shift closer to the other.
Luke lifted a blanket and covered them. Their heads, one canine and one human,
peeked out from the top. The sight made fear rise up inside me again.
“What are we going to do? What if she’s never human?” My hand clutched my throat.
His hand tightened on my waist. His unspoken words said everything.
CHAPTER SIX
“Congratulations!” Jet’s voiced boomed in the kitchen when we entered it. “To the new mom and dad!” He lifted a glass. From its frothy contents, I guessed it was beer.
“Yeah! Congrats!” Mica ran up and gave me a hug. Her square teeth flashed in a wide smile.
“I hear they’re both healthy!” Amber raced up behind her, quickly followed by Susannah, Edgar, Jasper, and Raven.
Flint stood by Lena. The two of them joined everyone else around Luke and me. The large granite island spread out before us. Scents of something baking in the oven filled the room. Only Di and Father stood back as they let everyone else rush to our sides.
I was surrounded by warm hugs, congratulations, and everyone voicing their happiness. Despite my earlier concerns about what the future held, a warm feeling slid through my chest. Nobody had voiced disgust or unacceptance over our daughter’s wolf form.
“We hear you have a boy and girl.” Amber sidled up next to me.
I put my arm around her shoulders and squeezed. “Yes. One of each.”
“And one’s furry?” Jet’s lips lifted in an amused smirk. “She must take after her dad.”
Jasper laughed, and Mica soon joined in. My lips twitched in a genuine smile. The twins and Mica always had a knack for turning scary or tragic situations into something to laugh about.
“When do we get to see them?” Amber clapped her hands together.
Luke pulled me to his side. “After we eat. Jacinda needs to keep her strength up. That’s most important right now.”
“Are you hungry?” Di asked.
I nodded. “Starving.”
“Dinner’s almost ready.” Father stood at the stove. “I made your favorite, Jacinth.”
I grinned warmly. “Salmon?”
Father’s hazel eyes crinkled in the corners when he smiled. “Yes. Poached salmon with baby potatoes and asparagus.”
The Complete Lost Children Series Page 93