Epilogue
Brent's POV:
It took me a moment to realize what had awoken me when my eyes opened to the dark room. The painful whimper of my mate had stirred me.
"Alyssa?" My voice was thick with sleep and it came out as more of a growl.
"I'm fine, just a little uncomfortable. You can go back to sleep." However, she sounded so far from fine and I wasn't buying it.
I threw the covers off and set up to look over at her, pushing my wolf forward so I could see into the pitch-black room. We had installed room darkening curtains about three weeks ago when Alyssa began having problems staying asleep. This resulted in her sleeping later into the morning when the sun glared straight through the blinds.
She was sitting on her pregnancy ball with her arms stretched out on the bed in front of her with handfuls of sheets and blankets. Her forehead rested on the edge of the bed as another contraction wracked her body and I practically ran to crouch at her side to offer words of encouragement and to rub her back. I had basically cornered Emily at the last appointment to give me a list of anything I could do to make Alyssa more comfortable during labor.
I took a deep breath, trying to calm the panic rising in me so that I could be clear headed for her, "baby, I don't think you're just uncomfortable. That contraction lasted just over a minute and you know what-"
"No," she sniffled, shifting on her ball to face me, "it's too early, I'm only 36 weeks. He is too small!" She wailed as another contraction hit, throwing her arms around my neck and burying her face into my shoulder. Her hot tears soaked my bare skin as she clung to me for the entirety of the contraction.
"I linked Emily, she's on her way," I whispered softly into her hair. My mind was in overdrive and on high alert with the level of pain she was in, once again willing myself to stay calm for her.
"It's too early, Brent. I failed him. I couldn't keep him in..." She cried, referring to the appointment we had last week where Emily had warned to be on light duty as her exam showed that Alyssa's body was already preparing for labor.
"My love, you have barely left this bed. You have not failed him in the least. He is going to be just fine and he is so lucky to have you as a mom," I soothed her and thankfully she looked as though my words had registered.
"No, no, no," she began to repeat over and over as she winced in agony again. The contractions were getting closer together.
I was just about ready to link Emily again when the doorbell went off and I used the panel in our room to allow her entrance. I could hear her soft footsteps as she quickly ascended the stairs to our room.
"Luna, Alpha," she said, addressing the both of us as she walked in, "I'm just going to turn on the bathroom light so that I can better see what we have going on here."
The light offered just enough for visual purposes but thankfully wasn't overwhelming to Alyssa .
"Alpha, if you'll help me get her onto the bed, I'd like to check her and just verify a few things." I silently nodded and once the current contraction ended I scooped her up and placed her on our bed, much to her disagreement. The new position of being on her back was absolutely not what she wanted, but it was necessary for the moment.
Emily made quick work of the exam and found that our son's head was "engaged" and that Alyssa was currently a six and 75% effaced. I was unsure of what the numbers meant, but I knew enough to know that she needed to reach a 10 and 100% effacement from the conversations we'd had at her appointment last week when Emily had found that she was a three and 50% effaced at the time she put her on bed rest.
Alyssa sobbed loudly, her fears of him being too early quickly returned at hearing that birth was imminent.
Despite my efforts, I simply could not find the words to comfort her. My own fears of him being a month early clenched my chest with worry for not only my pup but my mate. When my words failed me I simply took her in my arms and held her as she cried.
She pulled away suddenly, "I feel like I'm going to be sick."
I handed her the small trashcan next to our bed. We'd started keeping one close a week ago when her nausea had returned out of nowhere.
I helped her get to the edge of the bed where her legs were hanging over the side and she snatched the can from my hands and heaved several times, but nothing came up. Just as she'd caught her breath her worst contraction yet hit her like a freight train and the sound that left her body sent me into a full-blown panic. No longer was I the level headed birth partner I had been trying to be and looked wildly at Emily for guidance.
"Do something!" I roared in her direction. I knew yelling wasn't going to do anything, but I couldn't help it. My mate being in pain was killing me and I couldn't think straight.
Never skipping a beat Emily responded, "she's in transition. Her labor is progressing rapidly and will only get faster from this point. Let's get her downstairs to the birthing room."
I scooped Alyssa into my arms and headed down the stairs, carefully yet quickly. I couldn't help but feel like I was carrying a live bomb.
I maneuvered her just enough to throw the door open to our guest room which had been transformed with all of the necessary, and some not so necessary, items to aid Alyssa in delivery. We'd chosen it for convenience as it was on the first floor and had a large en suite bathroom.
"Tenley," Alyssa croaked out after I had placed her in the birthing tub as Emily worked with the nobs and the hose that would fill the inflatable tub. Water began rapidly filling from the hose as Emily handed her an additional handheld nozzle to apply the warm water directly to her stomach for what she assured was a great form of pain management. The water flowed from the other hose so swiftly that her thighs were already beginning to be covered with water. Alyssa was visibly more relaxed and I let out the breath I was holding.
"Your mom just arrived moments ago along with Caitlin and Ryan. She is still sleeping, it's only 3:00 am. I promise she's fine, just try to relax as much as you can, baby." I ran my fingers through her hair and I couldn't help but take a moment to admire her. She was in nothing but a black, nursing bra and the water was now just under her belly button .
She laid her head back against the inflated ring of the birthing tub. Her hair was sticking out wildly from the once-tight braid, and her face was flushed from the pain of her efforts to bring our son into the world. She looked so ethereal and goddess-like at this moment. The emotion that struck me came as no surprise. She was incredible in every sense of the word. Unfortunately, the quiet calm moment ended all too soon as she cried out once more, her body curling over in pain.
I knelt behind her on the tile floor and reached down into the warm water and gripped her hips, squeezing them together to offer counter pressure like Emily had shown me to do. Alyssa breathed heavily as the contraction began to fade and she leaned back once more, this time resting her head against my chest instead of the edge of the tub.
"I can't do this," she moaned between whimpers.
"You absolutely can do this, my love. I know you can," I whispered encouragement and kissed her temple.
"It hurts so fucking bad!" She screamed, her cries echoing in the large bathroom, shattering my heart and the last of my resolve as yet another contraction ripped through her body.
"Hold me, please," she whimpered.
Without a moment of hesitation, I slipped into the tub behind her, pulling her against my chest where she rested against my collarbone, clenching both of my hands as if they were her only lifeline.
"Emily!" She panted out, "he-he's coming!" She growled out through clenched teeth.
"Make, make it stop, please. I really can't do this, please." She said to no one in particular, squeezing her eyes shut as she threw her head back against my shoulder and her back arched up off of my chest. I felt so completely helpless until Emily's muffled voice came back into focus as I had drowned out everything but my mate's pain-filled cries.
"Alpha, can you hear me? I need you to grab behind her knees and hold her legs please," Emily repeated for only the Goddess knew how many times.
"Oh, sorry, yes okay." I sprung into action and shifted slightly so that Alyssa was able to sit in more of a reclined position against me as I gripped her legs and helped her hold them back, holding most of her weight so that she could focus on pushing.
"Luna, you are complete and the baby is definitely coming,"
"You don't say," my mate sarcastically responded, making me have to stifle my laughter. I couldn't help it. There was the feisty woman I knew and loved.
Emily had a glint of humor in her eyes as well as she continued to coach her through the next steps, "on the next contraction I want you to push with all you have okay?"
Alyssa wordlessly nodded as she breathed in through her nose and out through her mouth as if she were preparing to jump into a battle. Her determination was palpable and my heart swelled with pride.
Moments later she bent forward, bearing down and pushing into the momentum of the contraction. Her efforts and her body's instincts working together to deliver our son.
The 10 seconds I counted out for her seemed to turn to minutes when she finally relaxed her head back against me, her breath coming out in heavy pants with her chest rising and falling rapidly from the exertion. I released her legs to allow her a short reprieve and wiped my hand across her forehead to wipe away the stray hairs that had landed on her sweat covered skin.
She lurched forward to push again, screaming this time as his head began to crown in the middle of pushing. I could even begin to see tufts of hair as Emily instructed her to give the lightest of pushes Alyssa could manage so that she could carefully help deliver the head with minimal tearing.
My throat constricted tightly with unshed tears, he was almost here. I was so excited for him to be here, but I also couldn't help but feel more relief than anything that the worst of the pain would soon be over for my mate.
"Okay, Luna, one more big push for me!" Emily announced as Alyssa gave it her all once more.
This time Emily instructed Alyssa to put her hands down into the water and Alyssa caught our son and pulled him immediately to her chest while Emily placed a blanket over him and instructed me to rub him with it to stimulate him and of course dry his body from being born into water. The two of us taking care of the new life we'd created together while Emily focused on delivering the placenta.
After several minutes had passed Emily caught our attention, "Luna, you're going to feel my hand massaging your uterus. I just need to get this bleeding under control, you're fine."
Alyssa nodded her head rapidly in understanding, gritting her teeth as I helped her hold our son to her chest while Emily dug deeply into her stomach just below her belly button. She called it a fundal massage. However, from the look etched across Alyssa's face it was unlike any other massage I'd ever heard of that usually provided relief and not additional pain.
"Alpha, I need you to get out of the tub and take the baby. I just need a little more room to work. No one panic." Emily said militantly and who was I to ignore a medical professional? Even though what I really wanted to do was barge her with questions, I knew there was no world in which that would be helpful so instead I did as I was told.
I stepped out of the tub, carefully grabbing our baby from Alyssa's chest, and noted that the placenta now lay in a pink basin on the floor while the cord remained attached to our son.
I reached back and grabbed the chair we'd placed in here. Something I had deemed unnecessary but was now grateful to have and drug it as close to the tub as I could get, not wanting to be any further away from her than was necessary. I sat down and covered him with the fresh blanket that Emily tossed quickly to me. Once I covered him I squeezed Alyssa's shoulder to let her know I was still there. I couldn't help but notice how cool my mate's skin was despite the warmth the water still held.
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Alyssa's POV:
"Alyssa, reach down and grab your son," Emily coached me and I did just that. This was a part of our birth plan and I was thrilled that she remembered my wish in the chaos of labor and delivery. His screams and cries filled the room, causing my own tears to flow down my face.
I pulled him to my chest, immediately feeling the precious bond between mother and son as Brent began to rub at his vernix-coated body with the blanket Emily had tossed him. He had quite a bit more on him than Tenley did, having been born three weeks earlier than she had been.
The delivery, much like the timing, was night and day. The love and the support that my mate shown me was unlike anything I could even describe. Words would never be able to do it justice. So I just felt it, I felt it all as it washed over me. Wave after wave of pure gratitude for the life I now had, with the man I now got to live it with.
Noah immediately began to root around as I pulled my breast free from the nursing bra I had decided to wear. He latched easily and Brent's large hand remained on his back as he helped me hold the weight of him to my chest, wincing as Emily began to press around on my stomach. Through tear filled eyes I took in all of his features. I ran my finger over his cheek as he suckled at my breast, taking in his first meal on the outside. His little chubby cheeks surprised me with him being bornearly, I definitely wasn't expecting that.
I smiled down at him, looking at his sweet little ear and adorable little chin as he lay nestled into the crook of my arm, continuing to eat with his eyes closed in contentment. The ultrasounds were quite spot on and he was truly Brent's twin and I wasn't mad about that one bit.
"I am so damn proud of you, you're a fucking rockstar," my mate murmured into my ear.
I leaned back against his shoulder and looked up at his tear-stained face, still red and splotched with the signs of his emotion.
He leaned down and captured my mouth with his own in a sweet, yet passionate kiss. This kiss was quick but I could feel his love for me so purely that I teared up again, relaxing back against him once more.
"I-I don't feel good. Something is, something is wrong," I stammered out, my head beginning to feel fuzzy.
I could hear Emily telling Brent to do something, but I could barely register what they were saying and figured it must've been about the baby because I felt Brent get out, still somehow keeping a hand on Noah, and then his weight was lifted from my chest.
Brent was gone for a short moment but was back in view once more, his large body cradling our son to his bare chest. Despite the swirling going on in my head I couldn't help but smile at his disheveled look. His hair was on top of his head in a poorly done "man bun" as he called it, with hair poking in just about every direction with his shorts still dripping from having just been in the tub with me. He was disheveled all right, but he'd never looked more handsome than he did at that moment. Fatherhood fit him well and Noah looked like a baby doll compared to his large stature. He could practically hold him in one hand.
I noticed at some point Dr. Greer had arrived with what looked like bags of blood, but my vision was becoming so distorted I couldn't be sure.
"Emily, take the baby. I will lift her out of the water." He held Noah toward her. If he was trying to hide his panic, he was doing a terrible job. My weakness didn't let me have much of a reaction though. I could barely lift my head from the side of the tub as I willed myself to stay awake.
"Alpha, hold your son. You know just as much as I do how important that bond in the first 24 hours is. We prepared for this in the event something like this happened. She will be fine, I assure you."
I could see Brent struggling as he looked down at me and then held our son back to his chest. He then knelt down on the floor and pressed Noah's cheek to mine. I closed my eyes at the gesture, feeling grateful that he knew what I needed without a single word .
I felt a small pinch in the crook of my arm, but I didn't even flinch. The exhaustion from labor and the sudden blood loss kept me in a numbed state.
"Luna, we have started you on an IV of Alpha's blood. You should feel much better very soon, okay?" I hummed in response. She sounded like she was a thousand miles away. I began to feel the water level decrease as she reversed the hose and started draining the tub.
Once the tub was empty a warm towel was laid across my lap. Soon after, just like Emily said, the nausea and dizziness had begun to subside somewhat and the rapid bleeding had slowed immensely.
I was slowly regaining my strength and awareness, feeling grateful that my mate and medical team had been so diligent in trying to prepare for any and every scenario, regardless of how silly I had thought they were at first.
After some time had passed and the room had completely stopped spinning, Emily helped to get me rinsed off and cleaned up as much as possible and wrapped a thick robe around my shoulders as I was still shivering.
Brent lay Noah back on my chest and easily lifted us both from the empty tub once he'd cut the clamped umbilical cord, which had effectively started my tears all over again. Dalton hadn't even been willing to remain in the room once they officially announced that Tenley was a girl, let alone cut her umbilical cord. He then exited the bathroom to lay us down in the bed that was already prepped and ready with absorbent pads laid across the sheets.
Brent helped me get settled into bed and propped pillows all around me. Making sure to prop one under my arm to help support me as I offered Noah the other breast which he gladly took. He was proving to not only be his father's twin in looks but also seemed to have the Alpha traits already and was a very calm baby, even in the midst of chaos. I could tell Brent had noticed this as well and was beaming down at him with pride.
After about an hour and several, "are you sures" later, Brent went to get our parents and they, of course, fawned all over our newest addition that lay sleeping contently on my skin. However, my mom spent more time fawning over me and asking a million questions of Emily and Dr. Greer regarding the bag of blood that was still transfusing into my arm. Only once she was finally settled that I was fine did she turn her attention to her grandson, reminding me that no matter how old our kids were, we were always momma first.
They left a little while later, except for my mom who was staying behind to care for Tenley, who was still asleep as it was quite early in the morning. She kissed all of our cheeks once more and then left Brent and me to rest with Noah.
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Brent's POV:
I couldn't believe all that had transpired in the last few hours. I looked down at my mate who was sleeping soundly, nestled into my side. She had had a bout of cramps earlier, but thankfully it was a pain that the mate bond could actually help subside. Soon after she had fallen asleep easily, her beautiful features now completely relaxed. Noah remained asleep on her chest, snoozing happily. I couldn't blame him, laying on her chest was a favorite of mine as well. I laughed quietly at my own thought and lightly rubbed my finger over his little cheek.
Despite being a month early he was very healthy and despite our fears of his early arrival and the blood loss my mate experienced, it seemed that we would still be getting our 24 hour bond time with him. The thought alone lulled me into a peaceful trance as the worry melted from my mind. I kissed both of them gently and nodded off to sleep as well.
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I awoke with a heavy sigh and noticed the sun was now pouring into the room. I looked over at the clock to see it was now after 9:00 am, realizing we'd been asleep for a little over three hours. I turned to the side and saw that Alyssa was already awake and was sitting up changing Noah's diaper where he lay on the bed between her legs.
"Here, I can help," I offered.
"I've just about got it, but you can definitely hold him while I eat the breakfast my mom just brought in," she said, smiling brightly at me. Motherhood looked so good on her.
"Oh! And Tenley is awake!" She excitedly announced as she passed our son over to me and pulled the tray at the foot of the bed up to her lap.
"My mom said we should eat first, and then she'll bring her in." She dug in, shoveling in one bite after the other.
"Slow down, momma, Tenley isn't going anywhere," I chuckled softly.
She shook her head, "Oh no, this isn't about her. Breastfeeding makes me feel like I am absolutely starving 24/7," she replied between bites.
She made quick work of her meal and took Noah back since I had decided to go out into the kitchen to eat mine so that I could see my little girl.
"Daddy!" She shrieked, making Alyssa's mom turn back to look at me from where she stood washing a dish at the sink.
"Is Alyssa okay?" Mary asked with a deep frown forming on her face.
I nodded, "she's doing wonderful, just finished eating actually. I just wanted to come out and see my girl before I take her in to meet her brother."
She smiled knowingly, satisfied that her daughter was okay, and turned back to the dish in her hand.
I made a plate, thanking Mary for such a wonderful spread, and went to sit beside Tenley at the large island.
"Is bubba so cute, daddy?" She sweetly asked.
"Oh yes, the very cutest, just like you," I responded, kissing the top of her head.
I made quick work of my food, not realizing how hungry I was, and grabbed a bit more to take back to the room with me while I scooped Tenley up in my free arm.
I sat her down just outside of the door and reminded her just how important it was for her to be still and not jump on the bed so that she didn't land on mommy or the baby. She nodded curtly, giving me a "yes, sir" for good measure and I couldn't help but laugh. I had no clue where she had gotten that from. I had never made her call me sir.
I opened the door slowly, peering in to make sure they were still awake. Once confirmed I let Tenley push past me as she rushed into the room, carefully climbing onto the bed and snuggling up against Alyssa.
I leaned against the door frame, just taking in the moment, my entire heart sitting right in front of me. My family. My second chance.