Chapter Twenty
Hudson
I leaned against the hood of the car, eating a double cheeseburger and fries while Evander shifted in the woods. I watched him dart in and out of the shadows, never far from my sight.
He hadn’t wanted to shift at all, but I knew he needed to. Through our bond, I could feel how antsy his wolf was. How he craved a shift and running as a way to work through the hectic schedule and our family expanding.
If I could’ve shifted with him, I would have. The healer said to stop when my wolf told me to, and he hadn’t shown interest in shifting for over a month.
As soon as Evander’s fun was done, we had another appointment with him. A last one before the birth.
Today, we would see our baby on ultrasound.
Burger finished, I watched my alpha shift before walking over to me. He amazed me every day. He was a chef, an owner of a successful club, and he treated me the way all omegas deserved to be treated and more.
Plus, he was damned fine.
“Keep staring like that, and we won’t get to the appointment,” he said, smirking. He knew he looked good. I placed my palms over my eyes, making him chuckle. “Never mind. I love your eyes on me.”
“Are you excited?” I asked.
“I’m nervous.” He chuckled, rubbing his hands along my belly. “That’s silly, right? You’re the one doing all the work, and I’m nervous.”
I put my hands over his. “You’re right. I am doing most of the work.” We laughed. “But we’re going to see them and this time, they are not just a seedpod-looking baby, they’re almost fully ready to emerge. Are we going to find out the sex?”
He shrugged one shoulder. “I would like to but the decision is yours.”
“I want to. I’m kind of tired of buying all the beige and yellow things.”
We drove to the healer and I put on the gown, opened toward the front. The ultrasound tech squirted the cold blue stuff onto my belly and began the scan. My tummy fluttered with nerves.
She pointed out all the things. Their arms and legs on the screen. She took all kinds of measurements and finally turned to us, smiling. “Big question, daddies. Do you want to know the sex of your baby?”
I looked at Evander. He wouldn’t care if I changed my mind at the last second but I hadn’t. I wanted to know. “Yes. We would like to know.”
The woman smiled. “Good choice. I found out with all of my children as well. Life throws enough surprises at us without adding any.”
She moved the wand around my belly, clicked some button, and then zoomed in.
“There. Between the legs. There’s no pee-pee…
” She laughed. “That means a girl. She’s strong and healthy.
Excellent heartbeat. Everything is going well.
All that’s left is giving birth. And the way she’s positioned in your womb, it looks like it could be any day now. ”
That made me panic a bit. My heart thrummed hard in my chest. “Any day? I thought we had almost a month left?” I took Evander’s hand and squeezed it tightly like our daughter was coming right that minute.
“Well, each case is different, and shifters generally don’t carry all the way to term like a human.”
She patted my leg. “Everything is going to be okay.”
I cleaned up with Evander’s help and reached for my pants, when I felt a big whoosh come from my backside. I held onto the bed and let out a gasp.
“What is it?” Evander asked, looking at the floor. “Oh, Hudson. I think your water just broke.”
“What?” I exclaimed and then instantly tried to take deep breaths. “Get the healer. Please.”
I calmed myself as much as possible while Evander called out for help. In minutes, the healer came in along with a nurse and looked me over. “Your water broke. It’s okay. You still have time, unless…”
A gripping, gnawing pain started at my lower back and radiated throughout my lower body. I gripped the bed harder and bent over with the force of it.
“That’s a big contraction.”
The healer helped me back on the bed and examined me. “When a baby is ready to come, she’s really ready. You’re fully dilated, Hudson. It’s time to move you to the birthing room.”
“I don’t have my bag. My things. My…I’m not ready, alpha,” I whined. None of those things mattered, my brain told me, but fear stepped in and took the spotlight.
“We will get someone to get your things, and I’m here. You’re here. You are strong and brave and absolutely ready, omega mine. You can do this. I’ll be with you every step of the way.”
They moved me to one of the birthing rooms we’d toured only weeks ago, turning on soft lighting and even softer ocean sounds.
I rode wave after wave of the pain until the pressure became too much. “This is it,” the healer said. “It’s time to push.”