Chapter 12
Oscar
April
“Come on, munchkin,” I said to Mae as I reached down for her.
We were getting ready for our day, and I just wasn’t really feeling it.
I was tired. My due date had come and gone, and both Monroe and I were more than ready to have our little girl.
She was stubborn, though, and determined to stay inside and not join our happy family.
I lifted Mae, and a sharp pain hit my stomach, causing me to gasp. I then felt a sudden gush of fluid and looked down around my large, rounded stomach while holding on to Mae as tightly as I could.
“Daddy?” Mae said and pointed at the floor. “Go potty, Daddy?”
I couldn’t help it; I started laughing. She was about to turn two, and we had started to see if she was possibly ready to potty train.
She knew what it was and where everyone in the house went to the bathroom other than her, but when you were twenty-one months old, what else were you going to think when you were suddenly standing in a puddle of fluid on the kitchen floor.
I laughed until a second sudden sharp pain hit my stomach. That one managed to bring my mate rushing toward us.
“Oscar!” he shouted from upstairs. I’d been downstairs getting Maelie her breakfast while he was helping Mason get ready to go off to the daycare center for a few hours.
We’d put him in it during the mornings, mostly because although my pregnancy had been mostly uneventful, it was a lot to keep up with a four-year-old and a one-year-old.
That and they had a preschool program that was offered mornings, and we’d jumped at that opportunity.
I got to spend afternoons with Mason while Mae was down for her nap, and then when she woke up, Joseph and Hailey were both here to help tire Mason out.
Who knew four-year-olds were so full of energy?
“I’m all right. But it’s safe to say that our little girl is ready to finally come out and join us,” I told him as he rushed toward me.
Immediately, he took Maelie and placed her in her high chair.
I grabbed my back, which suddenly hurt, and went to take a step so I could go sit down but remembered that I was standing in a puddle.
Except when I glanced down, the mess was gone.
Monroe was back at my side, immediately wrapping an arm around me.
“Is it bad? Can you hold on for a few minutes? I need to call Alpha Forest and get the kids to him.”
I laughed again. Well, until another contraction hit. Then I gasped and grabbed for my stomach.
“Yeah, I’m good. Can you…I don’t know. Help me to the chair? And put something under me so I don’t get it wet?”
Monroe winced. “Let me help with that.” I felt my pants suddenly change. They were no longer wet, nor were they sticking to my legs.
“That’s really very useful.”
“Papa!” Mason called from the direction of the stairs. Monroe sighed.
“Of all of the mornings for Joseph and Hailey to have to go to school early. They could have taken Mason and Mae down off the mountain with them.” Monroe helped me sit in a chair, and I sighed in relief. It wasn’t that it hurt that much, but it was certainly uncomfortable.
“I’m good. Call Aspen, not Alpha Forest. I’m sure Aspen is home, but Alpha Forest is probably taking their kids to school.”
“Oh, good point,” Monroe said.
“Papa! You left me!” Mason shouted again. This time, he was definitely closer. Monroe winced and seemed torn. I waved him off.
“Go,” I said with another chuckle. “I’m good for now,” I told him as I rubbed my stomach.
I felt it tighten and wondered just how quickly this little girl would arrive.
They had estimated my due date to be a few days ago and, up until just now, nothing.
I had, of course, felt the normal movements from her, but so far, our little girl hadn’t wanted to make an appearance.
Even my omega line hadn’t had much of a change.
It had gone from silver to pink, but just barely.
I heard Monroe on the phone as he came back into the dining room, where I was sitting near Maelie.
She was happily eating her breakfast, shoving diced fruit in as fast as she possibly could.
She was going to be a complete mess when she was finished, but there wasn’t anything that could be done to help it.
She was almost two; they were messy eaters.
When she reached for her yogurt with her bare fingers, I handed her the plastic spoon and watched as she dipped it in the bowl and then put it in her mouth.
“Good job, Maelie. You’re doing a good job with your spoon.”
“Yes. His water broke, so definitely for today. Maybe tonight, if at all possible?”
I smiled at Monroe’s side of the conversation. We both already knew that Alpha Forest and Aspen had volunteered to watch Mason and Mae for us for as long as we felt we needed in order to welcome our daughter into the world.
I refocused on Mae as a contraction hit me.
It was fairly strong, and I rubbed my stomach as it knotted up on me.
I took a few deep breaths as Mae dipped her spoon into the yogurt and then into the bowl of dry cereal.
She had fallen in love with the round oat cereal, and Monroe was only too happy to let her have them whenever she wished.
We would often find little round pieces of cereal all over the house as she carried a small bowl around with her.
“Yes, their bags are packed and ready. Thank you so much, Aspen.” Monroe touched my shoulder, and I looked up at him as he set Mason down on the floor. Our little guy came directly to me and reached for me. I reached for him, wondering just how this was going to work.
“No, Mason. Sit in your chair,” Monroe said.
Mason looked up at his brother, immediately crossing his arms in a pout.
“Mason, can you sit in your chair for me? I’m not feeling very good this morning, and my tummy hurts,” I told him.
He seemed to think about it for a moment before he dropped his arms and sighed.
“Fine.” He huffed as he rounded the table and sat in his chair.
When fruit, yogurt, and waffles suddenly appeared in front of him, Mason’s eyes widened, and his little fit was completely forgotten.
Mason immediately took the yogurt, dumped it on the waffles, and then poured the fresh fruit on top.
I chuckled. He wasn’t actually my blood, but that was my boy right there.
I absolutely loved waffles like that, and after he’d seen me eat mine like that the first time, that was the only way he’d eat them from now on.
“I still don’t get that combination, but if the two of you like it…” Monroe said as he bent down to kiss me. I turned my head, catching him before he made it to my cheek. There was a knock on the door, and Monroe pulled away. A contraction hit just then, and I nodded as Monroe stood.
“That’s probably Aspen. I guess Canyon and Thomas were visiting for some reason.”
“Probably because they knew what was going to happen with me this morning. Go let him in.” I took a deep breath and pushed on my side, hoping the newest contraction would relent soon. “I’ll watch these two, and then they can go stay with Aspen for a few days,” I said. That caught Mason’s attention.
“Aspen? Really?”
“Yep,” I said. “But you have to eat your breakfast first.”
Mason nodded and started eating again. Monroe gave my shoulder a pat before he went to the door.
My contraction eased, and I was able to take a deep breath.
I could feel a burning pain where my omega line was, and I knew that since my water had already broken, my omega line had opened in a hurry.
When I heard voices returning, I was surprised that it wasn’t Aspen’s that I heard.
“I’ve been told that I’m needed this morning,” Dr. King said as he came into the house beside Monroe. I looked at my mate, and he shook his head.
Dr. King chuckled. “I was told by Master Edison that I’d be needed.” Dr. King looked over at the children and smiled. “Will they be attending the birth?”
“No,” I said, possibly a bit too quickly.
Monroe shook his head. “No, Aspen is on his way.”
“Knock-knock!”
“Aspen!” Mason shouted. He dropped his fork before he slid off his chair and took off toward one of his favorite people.
Honestly, I was almost certain it was Rene more than Aspen, but Rene spent a lot of time at his son’s house.
Rene had spent a long time as alpha mate of the pack, and when Alpha Forest took over for his father, well, Rene still liked to help out as much as he could in an unofficial capacity. Aspen didn’t seem to mind at all.
“Well, now. It seems that reinforcements have arrived,” Dr. King said. “Should we get the new daddy somewhere comfortable?”
“Yes, please,” Monroe said. “Did you want me to carry you, Oscar?”
I rolled my eyes just as Aspen entered the dining room area with Mason on his hip. I myself looked ridiculous with Mason on my hip, but I was a wolf omega and a smaller one at only five foot eight. Aspen was a bear shifter, and he was so much taller and more muscular than I was.
“I am sure I can walk,” I told everyone.
“Or, you could simply be teleported there?” Dr. King suggested.
“Before you do that,” Aspen interrupted. “Bags? And did you wish for me to take him to his morning school?”
“Bags are there,” Monroe said, pointing to the pair of bags that were on the floor by the counter. “As for school, that is your call. If that’s what you wish, then yes. If you want him to have some time off, we aren’t going to be upset.”
“All right, then,” Aspen said.
I glanced at Maelie, who was still working on eating her breakfast. The little sweetheart didn’t know what was going on at all. I stood carefully and leaned down to kiss her cheek.
“Love you, munchkin. Daddy will see you in a few days,” I told her. She looked up at me with a spoonful of yogurt. I stood, grabbed my stomach as another contraction hit, and looked to Aspen. “Maybe let her finish breakfast?”
“Would it be all right if we simply borrowed the high chair for a little while?”