Chapter Seventeen
Gabe
How had it gone so fast? It seemed as if we’d just gotten the news that the baby was on the way, and now, they were due any day.
The exhaustion and sickness had faded right at the end of his first trimester, thank goodness, and he’d launched into his pack duties as well as preparing for the new arrival.
Sometimes, I worried that he never slowed down, but he felt well and shrugged away my concerns.
His big worry was that the baby was growing so fast, he’d end up giving birth to a sixth grader.
It had started as a toddler joke, but as he gained weight, so did the size of the child we were expecting.
“Are you sure you’re not half elephant and not just wolf?
” he growled at me one day when he was feeling especially large.
“No, just wolf.” I kept my tone cheerful and light. “Would you like some soup?”
“No, I don’t want any soup.”
Last week, he’d had soup for every meal in an effort not to gain any more weight. “That’s fine. What can I get you?”
“A cheeseburger.”
I started to remind him that the last time he ate a cheeseburger, he had heartburn that nothing would touch for the whole night. But when he was in this mood, he was not going to listen, so I went downstairs to ask Dad for advice.
He suggested a turkey burger, and I agreed, pretty sure it would not go well.
But before we even got the ground turkey out of the refrigerator, a shout had me, Dad, Father, and a few stray pack members racing up the stairs.
I got there first and found my mate standing in the middle of our bedroom.
In a puddle. For a moment, I couldn’t think why, but then it penetrated my thick skull.
“Your water broke.”
“I know.” All the grumpiness of the past little while was gone, replaced by a beaming smile. “The baby is coming.”
In our pack, there was always someone around to help, but we needed the midwife today, so Dad sent a teenager who was standing in the hallway trying to see what was going on in the room. He clattered own the stairs, and I heard the door slam behind him. Dad jumped.
“We need to clear out the mob scene around here,” Father announced. He almost never bossed people around anymore, but I needed to focus on my mate for the moment, and he sensed that. “I don’t want to see anyone who is not a parent or grandparent of this child in the room.”
“Except the midwife,” Dad reminded him.
“Right, except him.”
Fortunately he arrived in about ten minutes and examined Temple. “Well, this is fast. How long have you been having pains?”
“Real ones? Just an hour or so. I had those fake kind going pretty strong the last day, though.”
“I have news for you. You are just about ready to give birth. Those pains were not fake.”
And that mood had been the result of pain. I felt so bad for my mate. “So, what do we do now?” I asked.
“First, you get undressed, put on that nightshirt you bought, and we’ll get the bed made up for you with the special sheets.” From that moment, things sped up even faster. Father was sent out, but Dad was allowed to stay. He’d helped so many members of the pack give birth, Temple wanted him here.
The midwife had discussed a lot of positions and ideas earlier in the pregnancy, and Temple had it all his birth plan. While I stood there, watching and worrying, they worked through the positions, finally settling on the birthing stool. Once there, Temple said, “I need to push.”
“Go right ahead.” The midwife stood at the foot of the bed. “You’re ready. On the next pain, push.”
Feeling helpless, I took my mate’s hand and reminded him about the breathing practice. It seemed so little compared to what he was doing, but it was all I had. And then, while I was patting his hand and telling him he was a rock star, I heard the cry.
“She’s here.” The midwife held up the baby. She was not a sixth grader or a toddler. In fact, our daughter weighed seven pounds seven ounces, and she was absolutely perfect. The midwife laid her on Temple’s chest, and he encircled her with a protective arm.
“Isn’t she beautiful, alpha?” he asked.
“Yes.” I stroked her cheek gently with one finger. “She is.”
“Do we have a name?” The midwife was bustling around, cleaning up and doing whatever they do.
“Kylie,” I whispered. “Her name is Kylie.”