Chapter 41
Chapter Forty-one
Phoenix
I was useless, utterly useless. I could take down a bear if I had to, apparently could do a half-shift, which was technically impossible, run a pack, but for the life of me, I couldn’t take away Emery’s pain.
Esther had arrived, much to my relief, about twenty minutes after I’d bellowed for her. Well, yelled and Bayer had come running in half dressed, and had taken one look at Emery and had gone to fetch her.
Unfortunately, despite Emery being great friends with Esther, Emery had decided he wanted the doctor because he wasn’t letting her see his bits. If I’d been capable of laughter at that point, hearing Em refer to his junk as bits would have done it.
I called the doctor, who’d sounded amused at my frantic call and said not to worry and that babies, especially first ones, generally took ages to arrive, and he would set off shortly.
He’d get all his things ready and to expect him in about an hour.
That didn’t make me feel any better, though.
And while there were a few she-wolves that had given birth themselves a couple of decades ago, apparently there was no one in the pack with any recent experience, and none with male omegas.
“Absolutely not,” Emery said when Esther said she really needed to look and see what was going on.
“Honey.” Esther tried to soothe him, but Emery yanked the sheet up over his chest and shot a desperate look at me.
What had I been thinking? Why the fuck hadn’t I sorted this out? Esther patted his hand after calming Emery down and said she would get Bayer to fetch Simeon.
“What?” we blurted out simultaneously, and Esther laughed. “Before her death, Simeon’s mom and her mom before that, and goodness knows how many generations prior, were the moon mothers of the pack. Maybe you were too young to remember.”
“I know what a moon-mother is,” I said. A moon-mother was the equivalent to a midwife. “But what has that got to do with Simeon?”
She chuckled. “Simeon has probably forgotten more about giving birth than that fancy doctor of yours knew in the first place.”
“Simeon?” The gruff, stubborn ex beta commander of my dad’s? “But—”
“He’s a man?” Esther arched an eyebrow and gestured to Emery. “So’s your mate.”
Emery whined and moved restlessly, and I shot back over to him, nodding at Esther, who sent Bayer out again. Twenty very long minutes later, Simeon arrived, and after knocking, came into the bedroom.
“Alpha, I was having breakfast with Isla and Matthew and the kids. What can I do?”
I gestured helplessly to Emery, who wasn’t happy one little bit. He nodded, seeming to understand the unspoken question, then went into the small bathroom and washed his hands.
Esther beamed at me. “I’ll be right outside if you need me.” And she left. Simeon sat down on the bed and smiled very gently at Emery.
“What’s a moon-mother?” Emery asked suspiciously.
“Well, they practice voodoo, burn herbs, and dance in a circle every full moon,” Simeon said with a completely straight face.
Emery giggled, then winced and put a hand on his side.
“A moon-mother is a pack midwife,” he explained.
“The last one here was my mom, and I spent all my childhood by her side helping until I grew old enough the wolves objected to having me there when their mates gave birth.” He shrugged.
“I needed a change of career, so I learned how to be stern and shout out orders, but I still stepped in if I was ever needed.”
I was completely astonished as I watched Emery smile and relax.
Simeon looked over at me. “Can you take Emery to the bathroom and help him get a quick shower to freshen up? Make sure you’re in there with him so he doesn’t slip.
Not too warm, and no oils or fancy lotions.
Plain soap is fine, but not much below the waist. I’m going to change the bed and get what we need. ”
Thrilled to have something to actually do, I carefully helped my mate into the warm shower and even managed not to panic as I gently rubbed Em’s back through another contraction.
Not that they were fierce or regular, which was a relief.
I didn’t want Emery to suffer a long time, but I was more than happy for this to take at least as long as it took for the doctor to drive here.
“Did you know about Simeon?” Em whispered to me.
“I knew about his mom. She actually delivered me. But she died about eight years ago. Simeon’s dad had died after getting into a car wreck, and trapped, he couldn’t shift.
He’d bled out before anyone knew.” I shut up at my mate’s horrified expression, because this wasn’t the time or place to talk about people dying.
Emery closed his eyes and leaned back, groaning as I gently washed his hair. “How come she died then? Was she that old?”
I sighed. How did I put this? “Sometimes, as with all people, one half of a couple doesn’t do well without the other.” I cursed myself for even starting this conversation.
“I get that,” Em said and turned in my arms, laying his head on my chest while I washed his back, then turned off the water. “Does that mean when we’re old, I’ll die when you do?”
“No,” I said thankfully, because I couldn’t imagine a world without Emery in it. “Blood mates are different.” I couldn’t live without you.
I wrapped him in towels and guided him out and to the stool, while I quickly dried and put some shorts on.
Simeon knocked and opened the door a crack. “If you have a large button-up, Alpha, Emery may be more comfortable in it.”
“I think we’re a bit past you calling me alpha in here, Simeon,” I said, liking the idea of Em in my shirt.
“He has a nice blue one,” Em called out, and a second later, it was thrust through the gap in the door. I helped Em into it, rolling up the sleeves, and while he was still having odd niggles and kept grimacing, he looked a hundred percent better than an hour ago.
Simeon had done exactly as he said and now the bed was completely changed, including a mattress cover Esther had recommended we get.
Fresh water was ready for Em in a cup with a lid and a straw, and Simeon had lined up the table fan in addition to putting the ceiling one on at a lower setting.
The room was cool without being cold, and I acknowledged that my beta had a lot more talents than I’d ever given him credit for.
“Now, Emery, I need to look and see what’s going on.
” Simeon was firm, but Emery agreed happily.
I stayed holding his hand as he winced a little at Simeon pressing on his belly and then looking between his legs.
“Your little girl is head down and raring to go. Even better, the barrier has stayed open,” Simeon said with satisfaction.
“Sometimes in male omegas, it can part a little, which obviously happened when your water broke, but then it can close.”
“And staying open’s a good thing?” Em asked.
“Definitely.” Simeon grinned, and I saw my mate relax some more. I had to admit Simeon’s calm confidence was working wonders on me, as well.
“How’s Ben and Callie?” Emery asked. “I hate I can’t see Ben. He must think I don’t like him.”
Simeon grinned. “Callie’s doing great. Into everything. I was helping them set up some sort of schedule for security because, while Callie seems to be happy with Esther, she needs the security of one person.”
“Isla,” Emery confirmed, and Simeon agreed.
“And Ben has a good dose of hero worship with Matthew. It helps if we work opposite times, but then we need to make sure we’re both on the same page, as well, so breakfast was an update.”
I thanked my lucky stars I hadn’t had a stick up my ass so much I hadn’t asked Simeon to become one of my betas.
I’d known at the time a new alpha often started with a clean slate, and he’d been shocked to be asked to stay on.
One of the best decisions I’d ever made, and now, instead of resenting Isla, he was working with her, and it was clear Isla wasn’t holding his suggestion about using Ben with the bear pack against him.
I started to thank him, but he just shrugged as if he was just doing his job.
“Sometimes it takes a pack to run a pack, Alpha.”
I didn’t remind him that time to call me Phoenix, as I knew he’d used my designation deliberately.
Em moved restlessly and grunted. I saw Simeon’s eyes flick to the clock on the nightstand. That had come a little quicker, but I knew they would speed up. The doctor should be here any minute, though.
There was a knock at the bedroom door, and I brushed a kiss on Em’s forehead and stepped out. It was my dad, and he didn’t look happy. I closed the door behind me and followed him into the kitchen. Esther was making coffee, and Bayer was pacing.
“What is it?”
“Isla sent gammas to meet the doc’s car in Minton and make sure he knew where the pack was.
” I nodded. We’d discussed that. “Except he wasn’t there, so they carried on until they found him.
A guy in a station wagon managed to drive into another lane because he was having sudden chest pains.
Three cars involved, and some casualties, but basically the doc is stuck because one of the cars had a woman who was seven months pregnant in it.
The doc was nearly involved himself, but the woman’s now in full-blown labor, and it’s too risky to move her.
He’s got an army of paramedics with him and a helicopter on its way, but he can’t do anything until she delivers. ”
“Fuck,” I said and glanced back to the bedroom.
“I know you’re worried,” Esther said. “But Simeon’s very good.”
“With females,” I ground out. “Over twenty years ago.”
“The doc says they’re sending another obstetrician with the helicopter to take over, but our doc is still thirty minutes away when he’s done,” my dad said.
“Keep me updated,” I growled, but then turned back to the bedroom as we all heard a cry from Emery that was much louder than before. I shot in there in time to see Emery arching his head back and fisting his hands on the sheet.
Simeon glanced over at me, but he remained calm and spoke encouragingly. “That’s just your daughter letting us know she’s getting a little impatient.”
“But—” Emery broke off panting, and I guessed he was going to say something like the doctor wasn’t here yet, but he didn’t want to upset Simeon.
“Don’t worry,” Simeon soothed. “The doc will be here before she decides to make an appearance. Have you decided on names?” I knew he was talking to keep Emery calm, but he seemed pleased when Emery explained we were calling her Ashtani.
“My great-grandmother was called Ashtani,” he confessed.
Emery was also pleased at that, but another pain started suddenly, so I took his hand and tried to get him to breathe through it.
I didn’t dare look at Simeon. Even I knew that was too damn fast.
“Don’t you have any drugs?” Em wailed when it was over, but Simeon shook his head.
“I imagine the doc will bring some.”
“Well, I wish he’d hurry up.” Em grimaced and moved restlessly.
“Let me check you again, and then I suggest you get up and walk around some.” I gaped at Simeon because he had to have lost his mind, but Em seemed happy with that idea.
“My back’s killing me.”
Simeon examined Emery a second time, then he suggested he get out of bed. “Don’t let go of him, Phoenix. If he wants to lean over, just support him. Sometimes, leaning over and just swaying his hips can relieve the pain a little.”
So we did. Em couldn’t walk much, but even though the contractions seemed to settle into a more regular rhythm, he seemed to find it easier being vertical.
Simeon kept encouraging Em to take sips of water, and Esther kept coming in with fresh cups.
At one point, I saw Esther look over at Simeon, and she arched her eyebrows when he put up eight fingers.
Then my dad knocked and stuck his head around the door. “Doc’s twenty minutes out,” but I was too busy holding Emery up through the biggest contraction yet. Simeon kept up his praise and soothing talk even when Em got snappy at us both.
Not that I blamed him. I was ready to snap at someone myself, but then Simeon made Em get back down on the bed when the next contraction didn’t seem to give him any respite between.
I watched Simeon’s face, but he just smiled at Em.
“This little lady’s in a hurry. You’re fully dilated.
Do you want to stay there or get on your hands and knees? ”
Em cried out again and tried to push back, so Simeon just instructed me to get in bed behind him so he had someone to push against. The next ten minutes seemed to pass in a blur of noise.
Esther was in the room with us now, but I doubted if Emery even noticed.
Then, with a final push where Em turned so red I was worried he was going to have a heart attack—if I didn’t beat him to it—Simeon suddenly had his hands full of a slippery baby.
It seemed like everyone held their breath while Simeon turned her over, but then she gave a little cry and discovered her lungs worked.
The next one seemed loud enough to bring the pack running.
Esther helped Simeon wipe her mouth and nostrils, then he simply laid her on Emery’s chest and grinned up at both of us.
The door burst open, and my dad rushed in, accompanied by Dr. Coughran.
Simeon seemed relieved himself and quickly surrendered his place, but then the doc called him back when he found out it had been Simeon who’d delivered her, and they both got to the business of cutting cords and other things I tuned out after declining to cut it.
I was too busy holding my gorgeous mate and our daughter and thanking any celestial being that might be looking down on us for this precious gift.