Epilogue - 4 Months Later
REID
I reached for a plate on the upper shelves in our kitchen, searching for the last one with my fingertips. I knew there was an extra one somewhere. The others were all in the dishwasher.
Just as I grabbed onto the edge of it, a sharp pain pulsed through my lower back. I instinctively curled in on myself and the plate slipped off the edge of the shelf and smashed on the kitchen floor, breaking into several pieces.
I clutched my belly and whimpered as another pulse stole my breath.
Fuck. I’d known I could go into labor at any time, but I’d been doing my best not to think about what that would actually mean.
I’d have to push a baby out of my body.
Gods damn, this was going to hurt.
Gritting my teeth through another contraction, I counted how long it lasted and glanced at the clock.
The baby was coming quickly. Faster than I’d expected. Although, in hindsight, I’d had an achy back all morning. I’d put it down to the strain of carrying extra weight, but perhaps I’d been having low-grade contractions and hadn’t even realized it.
Zander, I called through the mental connection we’d developed in the months since we’d mated.
Yes, sweetheart?
The smooth tone of his voice in my mind calmed me and I forced myself to straighten and waddle to the bedroom to collect our go bag.
The baby is coming.
As I picked up the duffel bag, an uncomfortable rippling sensation tore through my lower half and I bent over.
Reid? Fortunately, he sounded calm, although it could have been an act for my benefit. I’ll be there soon.
I tried to drag the duffel bag to the door, but it was too damn awkward so I gave up and looked around for my phone. I might be able to communicate telepathically with Zander, but I didn’t have that same connection with the other members of our family.
Where had I put it?
Water soaked my pants leg and I froze. I knew I hadn’t peed myself so that must be…
Holy shit. My water just broke.
The front door crashed open and Zander thumped into the house. As he entered the bedroom, his eyes were completely gold, with none of their humanity remaining.
Despite that, he scanned me up and down and—though his nostrils flared as he scented me—he didn’t seem too distracted by the more primal side of himself.
He strode over and took the bag from me. “I’ve got that, sweetheart. Let’s get you into the car. What else do you need?”
“My phone.” I hated how plaintive I sounded but he just nodded, sniffed, and disappeared from the room, taking the duffel bag with him.
A couple of minutes later, he returned.
“Your phone and the bag are both in the car.” He approached me tentatively. “How are you?”
“I’m okay. I—” I cut off as pain throbbed deep inside me. “The baby is in a hurry.”
A muscle ticked in Zander’s jaw—no doubt his alpha instincts wanting to protect me when there was little he could do other than getting me to the doctor.
He closed the distance between us and scooped me into his arms as if I weighed no more than the duffel bag.
“How far apart are the contractions?” he asked as he carried me through the house and out the front door.
“A couple of minutes, maybe.”
Was that bad?
I thought maybe it was.
“It’s happening!” someone shouted from across the street. I didn’t pay them any attention. It was probably one of the Blackwoods, and I was sure the whole family would be gathered at the medical center soon enough.
Zander set me down carefully in the passenger seat of his car and rushed around the front inhumanly fast, practically throwing himself behind the wheel and screeching away from the curb.
We arrived at the medical center only minutes later, and he zipped around, undid my belt, and raced me into the clinic so quickly that I scarcely had time to breathe.
Either Zander had called ahead or whoever had seen us earlier must have notified Dr. Black because he met us in the small reception area.
“We’re taking him to the same room he stayed in last time,” Dr. Black said, and Zander nodded and carried me past him and into the small space.
We’d discussed where the birth would happen. I’d been worried that doing it here might bring back memories from when I’d previously been held in the clinic.
Fortunately, Dr. Black had allowed Nurse Allison to help me redecorate the space with plush toys and pictures of baby animals so that it no longer resembled the makeshift prison ward it had been.
Zander lowered me onto the bed and I clung to his shoulders and stole a kiss before he released me.
“Thank you,” I whispered. “Stay with me?”
He pulled up a chair beside me and took my hand. “I’ll be right beside you the whole time.”
Dr. Black joined us and asked Zander to remove my pants so that he could check my dilation.
Meanwhile, he peppered me with questions about how I’d felt all day, when contractions had started, and assured me that no matter how quickly the labor might be progressing, nothing seemed out of the ordinary.
Some shifter births simply happened fast.
Contractions continued to roll through me, closer and closer together. Dr. Black asked me to hold off on pushing so I clenched my teeth, fisted the sheets, and concentrated on breathing until it was time.
When the birth happened, it was over quickly.
All of a sudden, I couldn’t resist the urge to push for any longer and an almost unbearable pressure made it both painful to push and to resist. There was nothing I could do to escape the pain but Zander stayed beside me as I sobbed and cursed and brought our baby into the world.
“He’s out,” Dr. Black told us.
I gasped and flopped against the mattress, aching everywhere but weak with the relief that it was finally over. Dr. Black showed Zander how to cut the umbilical cord and then he tied it off while Nurse Allison cleaned up the baby.
“Is he okay?” I asked, pushing my exhausted body up onto my elbows. Why wasn’t he crying?
“Your little boy is just fine, Daddy,” Nurse Allison said, bringing over a pink-faced bundle wrapped tightly in a swaddle.
The baby blinked at me with blue eyes. It was impossible to tell if they’d remain blue or later change to match that of the alpha who’d donated his DNA.
My face crumpled and a tear leaked out as I reached for him. “He’s perfect.” I turned to Zander, suddenly conscious of the fact that this wasn’t actually his biological child, as much as we would raise him that way. “Isn’t he?”
If I’d worried about Zander rejecting him, then I needn’t have. He was staring at the baby as if he was the most incredible thing he’d ever seen.
“I love him already,” he rasped, his voice tight with emotion. “Can I hold him?”
Nurse Allison passed him to Zander. “We’ll give you two a moment alone.”
She and Dr. Black disappeared, but I hardly noticed, too preoccupied with my mate and our son.
“Is he a wolf?” I asked, mesmerized by the tiny hand that reached for Zander. We’d known he had magic, but I hadn’t been certain he’d also possess the ability to shift.
“Yes.” Zander inhaled and his eyes—which had returned to normal at some point–flashed gold again. “And he smells of magic.”
“A warlock wolf shifter.”
Zander nuzzled the baby, breathing him in, his chest swelling with alpha pride. “Where do you think the rumors of shamans started?”
“Huh.”
Zander came closer and I shuffled as far across the bed as I could go. “Do you think you can support his weight?”
I tested my limbs. They were weary but there was some life left in them. “Yes.”
Cautiously, he settled the baby onto my chest. I wrapped my arms around him and snuggled him close. He was little and big-eyed and the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen.
He made a sound and I tilted his chin up. “What was that, baby?”
He rubbed his lips together and gurgled.
My heart filled to bursting. “Do we still like Luca as a name?”
“He looks like a Luca to me,” Zander said. “What do you think?”
I considered it and nodded. “Definitely a Luca. Hi, little Luca. Welcome to the family. Your Papa will get the others so we can introduce you.”
Zander went to fetch the others and I made myself comfortable. As the Blackwoods filtered into the room—Melinda and Aaron, Danny and Knox, Milo and Everett, with Garrick taking up the rear—I couldn’t stop one last tear from rolling down my cheek.
Growing up, I’d never had the family I wanted. Instead, the people who should have protected me allowed me to be used and abused for the sake of power.
Now, I had all the family I could ever want, and they would never leave me.
“I love you all,” I said, gazing down at Luca so I wouldn’t have to meet their eyes.
A warm hand landed on my shoulder and the familiar scent of my mate blanketed me. “We love you too, sweetheart.”
And all around the room, others echoed his words.
Because finally, I was home.
THE END