by Quinn Loftis
This time it was Elle who snapped her fingers. Beautifully wrapped presents appeared under the enormous tree in the corner. “Oh, look at that,” Elle said, her voice full of surprise. “That fat guy is fast.”
Sally gave her a thumbs-up. “That’s how you do it. New tradition: fae pack members handle present wrapping and Santa duty. All in favor?”
The room filled with “Ayes.”
Costin stood and swept Sally up into his arms. He looked around the room, his dimples on full display. “I love you guys. And this truly has been the best Christmas. The only thing that would make it better would be a happy ending.”
Sally covered her face as her skin flushed. “I’m going to kill you.”
“That’s what I’m hoping for.” He purred as he carried her from the room. “Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night! And by good night I mean—” Sally slammed her hand over her mate’s mouth before he could finish the comment she’d already heard through their bond. Laughter and deep voices of agreement were left behind as he walked to their suite.
When they reached the bedroom, he laid her down, checked on Titus, and then came back to help her undress. He climbed into the bed beside her and laid his head on her stomach, a contented sigh drifting from his lips.
“We could have stayed up a little longer.” Sally ran her fingers through his hair.
Costin shook his head. “You’re exhausted. You need rest, especially now.”
Sally smiled as she felt his joy rush through their bond. “I love you, Costin.”
His chest rumbled. “And I love you, Sally-mine.” He pressed a kiss to her stomach. “Both of you and our son.”
Chapter 12
“On the twelfth day of Christmas my werewolf gave to me twelve contractions, eleven dozen headless werewolves, ten Jen cakes, nine werewolves prancing, eight laughing females, seven perfect kisses, six packs of Oreos, five satisfied smiles, four hours of hotness, three growling males, two cursing pups, and a furball in a fir tree.
Because what’s Christmas without a baby being born?” ~Jen
“More?” Thia dug through the wrapping paper piled three feet deep around the tree. Slate rolled around in it, completely ignoring his gifts, enraptured by the crinkling paper that he’d also decided—as an added bonus—tasted delicious.
“Yep,” Jen nodded. “You’ll get more. Next year. Now go start playing with your toys. And be sure to drag out all the little pieces and scatter them around before Daddy gets everything assembled.”
Thia turned to Decebel and gave him her million-watt smile while holding one of her presents. “Daddy put together?”
Decebel was putty in her hands. “Come here, beautiful girl.” He held out his hand to her. She leapt into in his lap, and he began to remove the toy from the package. Dude was whipped. Jen grinned to herself.
“I heard that.” Her mate grumbled in her mind.
“Would you believe me if I said what I meant was you were whipped cream?”
“Not even a little.” Humor laced his voice as he continued to open the boxes at Thia’s direction.
Jen looked around the room, taking in the mess. She easily looked past it all to see the joy that filled the eyes of her closest pack members and friends. This core group was the foundation of the Romanian pack, including those that had been added—no, adopted was the right word, not added—somewhere along the way. This group was her heart.
The grandparents,—aka Lilly, Dillon, and Tanya—had dropped by that morning for a little while, and Sally’s parents had come and gone. They’d watched the kids open the presents, or in Slate’s case, stare at them and slap them until someone showed him how to tear the paper. They’d snagged some cake, hot chocolate, and pictures before heading home to relax. All the while, Jen had told herself she was fine, even though her own daughter’s grandparents weren’t there. She wasn’t going to dwell on it. There was no reason to. Jen had learned to enjoy the present and take every moment she could get. And these were some pretty awesome moments.
Jacque crawled through the mess of wrapping paper and sat down beside her. Jen leaned her shoulder against her BFF and sighed. “Is it everything you hoped it would be?” Jacque asked.
“It was more. It was crazy, exhausting, fun, emotional, and a bunch of other adjectives I’m too tired to list.” She turned to look at Jacque. The alpha’s green eyes glistened with unshed tears, which made Jen’s own eyes water. “Dammit,” Jen growled. “There’s not supposed to be crying on Christmas Day.”
“As your alpha female, I’m going to have to disagree with you on that one. I think tears of joy, tears of pain, tears of all the things we wish could be different but can’t change, and tears of acceptance are completely appropriate for this Christmas.
“You’ve made it amazing, Jen. Just like everything you do in life, you gave it all you have and then some. Thank you. This pack would not be complete without you.” Jacque wrapped an arm around her and squeezed. Jen’s arm instinctively moved around her best friend as she returned the hug. She couldn’t help the fact that she was probably holding Jacque a little too tightly. Her wolf had risen up and sought the comfort of her new alpha. She needed it just as badly as the human did. Jen felt the bond that now linked wolf to alpha tighten, growing stronger, as they helped one another bear their burdens.
“Am I missing out on a group hug?” Bethany’s voice broke through their moment.
“Was I that annoying when I was pregnant?” Jen whispered to Jacque.
Jacque snorted. “Sorry, babe, but you were worse.”
“Scale of one to ten?” Jen’s brow rose.
Pulling back, Jacque met Jen’s eyes. “I’ll have to go with ‘What is one hundred and fifteen?’ for the win, Alex” Jacque answered with a cheeky grin.
“That’s not how I remember it,” Jen muttered.
“If I remember correctly—” Jacque started.
“Which you don’t because the high fae jacked with our brains,” Jen interrupted.
Jacque ignored her and kept talking. “We’ve got video proof of your amazing prego-assery.”
“Sorry, I don’t think I heard you,” Bethany called out. “Group hug or not?”
Jen turned to look at the pregnant she-wolf. She was sitting on the couch sideways with her legs laying across her mate’s lap. “If you can get your butt up off that couch, without any help, waddle over here, get down on the floor with us, all without peeing on yourself, then yes, you get to join the hug, which is not actually a group hug because there’s only two of us.”
“That begs the question of what constitutes a group.” Zara pulled out her cell phone.
“A few of you are older than petrified wood. Do any of you know the answer to that?” Bethany asked.
“That was a good one.” Jen laughed. “Old as petrified wood. Love it.”
“Good point.” Sally said. “Y’all should have some knowledge that us younger, non-petrified people don’t yet possess.”
“So, because we’re older and wiser”—Peri’s eyebrow cocked, and her head tilted to the side when she looked at Sally—“we should have an intimate working knowledge of the vagaries of the English language?”
Sally nodded. “Exactly.”
The high fae ran her finger across her jaw. “How would that information help us kill bad guys and save the world?”
Bethany opened her mouth to speak, but then snapped it shut. Sally held up a finger as she pressed her lips together, her eyes narrowed in thought. Finally, she said, “I got nothing.”
Jen laughed, but then abruptly stopped when Bethany swung her legs off her mate’s lap.
“Well, if two people hugging doesn’t equal a group hug, then three certainly will,” Bethany huffed as her swollen feet finally hit the floor.
“Is this sudden, irrational need for girlfriend camaraderie related to her pregnancy?” Drake tried to keep Bethany from attempting to stand. Jacque could tell he was trying to be gentle, but Bethany kept slapping his hands away
, which wasn’t helping things.
“How many times do we have to tell you not to blame anything on the pregnancy?” Decebel exhaled and shook his head. Jacque glanced at him and snorted while Thia tried to place an empty box over his head.
“She blames stuff on the pregnancy all the time.” Drake placed his hands on either side of Bethany’s hips, trying to hold her in place.
“She’s allowed,” Jacque said. “It’s one of the rules of pregnancy.”
“They need to write a book about this crap,” Bethany’s mate grumbled under his breath.
Jen laughed. “Dude, there’s no less than ten thousand books on the subject of pregnancy. It’s called the Internet. Step out of the dark ages and join the light.”
“Or you could just listen to Aunt Jen.” Titus was playing with construction blocks on the floor at Bethany’s feet. “She says all the time that she refuses to get pregnant again because her stomach and thighs look like a road map, and her girls definitely have more sag in them than before.”
The room went silent as all heads turned to look at the four-year-old. Titus continued playing, apparently oblivious to his shocked audience. Jacque turned to look at Jen. Her blonde best friend chewed on her lips, eyes narrowed as she stared at Titus. Everyone seemed to hold their breath, waiting to see what would happen.
Finally, Jen threw her hands in the air. “All right, I admit it. Your hunting skills have improved, Timber. I’ve only ever whined about those things when it’s been me, myself, and a mirro…” Jen paused as something appeared to dawn on her. Jacque’s eyes widened as well. “Dude, I was not fully clothed,” Jen growled.
Titus shrugged. “Yeah, you need to remember to lock your doors, Aunt Jen.” He didn’t miss a beat as he added, “You never know when there’s a big, bad wolf standing just outside.”
“Gavril!” Jen snapped at the same time that Bethany finally disengaged her mate’s hands and pushed herself up.
“Finally,” the pregnant wolf huffed.
She took one step and then froze.
Titus’s back straightened, and he went still. Then he slowly looked over his shoulder and down at something Jacque couldn’t see. “Aunt Bethany, I think you just peed on me.”
Bethany’s feet squelched in saturated carpet. She heard Titus say something about peeing, but the only thing she could process was that her water couldn’t possibly be breaking. It was much too soon, which she promptly voiced out loud. “It’s too soon!” Her head whipped around to look at Drake. His eyes were locked on her bare calves. She could still feel water running down them.
“Okay, nobody panic.” Jacque jumped to her feet. “This isn’t our first rodeo.”
“And it certainly isn’t our most dangerous birthing situation,” Jen added. “I gave birth in a—”
“Cave,” Sally, Peri, and Jacque all said at the same time.
“We know, Jen,” Peri said. “You won’t let us forget it.”
“Crina, get towels,” Jacque commanded. “Rachel and Sally, get ready to do whatever it is you healers do in these circumstances. Elle, blankets and pillows. Zara, warm water and washcloths.”
Bethany stood petrified while everyone hopped into action around her, though the males seemed frozen in their spots, too, staring at her as if she’d suddenly become Medusa and turned them all to stone. “It’s too soon,” she whispered this time, and then doubled over when her stomach tried to twist itself into a knot.
Drake jumped up, released from his frozen stupor by the look of pain on Bethany’s face. “Is this a Brix Hackston?” His voice was guttural with worry and his wolf.
“Okay, first, that’s not a thing.” Jen began laying down the blankets and then towels that Crina and Elle delivered. “Second, once the water breaks, the contractions are as real as it gets. No more fakies.”
“So, the baby is coming?” Drake asked. Bethany growled in pain and barely kept herself from snapping at him, “What was your first clue?” Labor Bethany wasn’t any nicer than pregnant Bethany.
“Yes, Drake.” Jacque looked him squarely in the eyes. “That baby is coming, and your mate needs you.”
This seemed to jolt him out of his momentary lapse in badassery. He swept Bethany up into his arms and laid her down where Jacque directed.
“Drake, get behind her. Bethany, lie back against his chest. In a minute, you will need to help hold her thighs up and apart.”
“And that’s my cue.” Wadim stood and practically jumped over a couch to scramble out of the room. Bethany would have found it funny if she wasn’t sweating profusely and experiencing blinding white pain.
“I’m with you.” Adam was on his feet next. “I’m pretty sure when another male is instructed to hold his mate’s thighs up and apart that it’s time to make like a fae and flash.”
Jen snorted. “Good one, fairy boy.”
“I think it would be a good idea if all the males except Drake got out of here,” Fane said. He and Decebel started to grab kids and shuffle them toward the door.
Costin tossed Titus over his shoulder and walked from the room. “I’m not mad that you peed on me,” the boy called out to Bethany. “Your baby is going to be very pretty, and I’m going to love her. The angel told me so.”
Bethany smiled, though it probably looked like a grimace. Apparently, they were having a girl.
“Wait.” Jen stopped stacking towels. “Did he just say the angel said he was going to love this chick?” She motioned toward Bethany’s spread legs. Awkward much? “Does that mean they’re true mates?”
“Jen, it’s really not important right now,” Jacque pointed out. Sally and Rachel knelt down on either side of Bethany.
“What’s wrong with my girl? Why can’t he be her true mate? I mean, yes, he has horrible taste in sweaters and is a peeping Tom, but he’s a genius and it would make me and Sally in-laws. We’d be family.” Jen got down beside Jacque at Bethany’s feet.
“We’re already family, you obsessive compulsive, narcissistic she-wolf,” Sally practically snarled. “This isn’t about you, or Titus, or Thia, or anything other than Bethany and this amazing miracle that’s about to happen.”
Jen looked up at Bethany and smiled. For all of Jen’s quirks, she was a rock in the midst of chaos. “You got this, Beth,” Jen said, her voice firm. “And you know I’m just kidding. I would be absolutely thrilled if Titus and your awesome chickadee were true mates. Humor and self-pity are the ways I cope with stress.”
“And everything else,” Jacque muttered.
Another contraction hit, and Bethany couldn’t continue to focus on what the girls were saying. She felt both of her ankles being pushed so that her knees were bent further up and out. The nightgown she wore had been folded up until her stomach was exposed, and one minute her underwear was there and the next ir was gone.
“Okay, that was weird.” Bethany heard Jacque’s voice.
“But much easier than trying to pull them down and safer than Jen wielding scissors to cut them off.” Peri’s words caught Bethany’s attention.
“Definitely no scissors,” she gritted out through clenched teeth.
“Don’t worry, Bethany, Jen will not be allowed to have any sharp objects,” Jacque assured her. Bethany liked the fact that with Jacque as the alpha female, if she said Jen couldn’t do something, then she actually had the power to control the blonde. That was quite comforting.
“How are you, beloved?” Drake’s voice was soft as he leaned his mouth down next to her ear.
“Scared.” Bethany panted. “I don’t want anything to happen to her.” Sally and Rachel put their hands on her bare stomach, and both healers closed their eyes. Warmth spread all over her abdomen as their hands emitted a soft, golden glow.
“We’re not going to let anything happen to this little pack member,” Sally told her, though her eyes remained closed, and she seemed intently focused on whatever it was she and Rachel were doing.
Bethany’s stomach tightened, and she braced for another contr
action, but the pain was much less this time. Then Drake tensed behind her and cursed under his breath. She looked inward toward their bond and realized he was taking some of her pain into himself.
“Sorry it took me so long to remember I could do that,” he told her. “You shouldn’t have had to suffer that first one.”
“You don’t have to do that,” she told him, switching to the mate bond. “I don’t like the idea of you suffering, either.”
“You just worry about doing what the girls tell you to, and I’ll worry about helping you get through this with as little pain as possible. I love you, Bethy. I’m scared, too, but I know our little girl is going to be fine. I feel it in my gut.”
Bethany couldn’t help the tears that appeared. Drake had told her once that he never wanted her to experience any pain ever again because she’d been through enough to last several lifetimes. Though she knew he was excited about their child, he’d been dreading the labor since they realized she was pregnant.
“Bethany, you’re doing amazing.” Jen leaned forward and pressed a cool washcloth to her collarbone, which caused Bethany to sigh in relief. “You’re beautiful and calm, and you’re not even swearing at the man who is to blame for what is about to happen to your vagina. I really feel like someone should curse him a blue streak right now.”
“Where’s Thia when we need her?” Bethany heard Zara quip.
“The last thing we need is that mini-hellion witnessing childbirth,” Peri said dryly. “She’d get it in her head that all females were supposed to be pushing out babies and probably try to shove dolls between our legs in an effort to recreate this whole miraculous event.”
That made Bethany laugh, because it sounded exactly like something the mischievous, wild child would do.
“Okay, your contractions are two minutes apart.” Rachel spoke and everyone got quiet. “The heartbeat is strong. Sally is working her magic, making sure the baby is healthy. It looks like all of her organs are doing what they’re supposed to be doing. You’re doing great, Momma.”