Chapter Eighteen
It was getting closer, and Poppy knew she had less than a week to gather all of the ingredients she needed.
Wilder was starting to panic, and she didn’t want to worry him, so she told a tiny little white lie that wasn’t so bad.
He didn’t need to know she was missing one small plant that happened to have had a bad season, which is why she couldn’t find any of it.
Wilder seemed happier. He’d even done the finishing touches on the nursery and rather than ignore her little bump, he’d put a loving hand around her stomach, kissing their child. She loved the attention. Loved that he finally started to show some feeling for their baby.
She also hadn’t told Wilder that Alder hadn’t quite disappeared. Every now and then, kind of like now, when he’d find her in the forest, he would assist her in gathering the herbs and plants she needed.
“Hello, Alder,” she said, sensing him even before she heard a twig snapping.
“It’s getting closer,” Alder said.
Alder and Wilder both knew she had special abilities that had only happened because of their baby.
“Yes, it is.”
“And Wilder doesn’t know you’re missing the final ingredient.”
“No, he doesn’t, and you promised you were not going to tell him. Do you think if I play classical music twenty-four-seven, it will stop him from doing his first change inside me and tearing me apart?” She spoke the last part in a singsong voice, as she didn’t want her child to panic.
She knew he was just a baby, but that didn’t matter. She wanted to know her son was loved. Wilder had accidentally let it slip that they were having a boy, and it wasn’t like she could fault him.
“If that is his way inclined,” Alder said.
She looked toward the other gruff man and knew he was lying.
There had been a lot of changes to him in the last few months.
He stopped looking unkempt and actually took the time to shave, although he randomly still had stubble, but it didn’t look dirty.
It added a masculinity and sense of control to him.
“You’re learning to be nice, that is so sweet. So, go on, tell me how did it go?” Poppy asked.
Alder continued to keep coming to her for advice, which she found so utterly adorable. She found him quite lovely, especially when he was trying to get a woman to fall in love with him.
“She accepted the flowers,” Alder said.
He’d been stalking, well, not according to his words.
He hadn’t been stalking, but he’d been watching his little hiker, who happened to live in town and owned some kind of bakery.
She wasn’t quite sure if the woman owned the bakery or just went there often or worked there.
Alder now went every single day to get a treat.
He’d become partial to a ginger cookie. His words, not hers.
“And?” Poppy asked.
He winced, which meant it didn’t go quite as well as they’d hoped. “She’s allergic.”
“Oh, no,” she said.
“Yeah, so, that didn’t go quite according to plan, but I’m not disheartened,” he said. “She did sneeze, and there were red blotches that came up on her skin.”
“Perhaps what you need to do is ask her out for coffee, do you like coffee?”
“I do.”
“Then try that,” she offered as way of a suggestion.
“And if she says no?”
“Then you accept no, and perhaps be her friend.”
He growled.
“And be there for her, but as a friend. You know, let her trust you.”
“And then take her back to my ... place.”
Poppy shook her head and laughed. “No, not back to your place.” She gritted her teeth, as she pressed a hand to her stomach. The baby kicked and twisted inside her. Unable to contain her cry of pain, she felt sweat cover her brow.
“Poppy?”
“I think my baby is in distress,” she said, as he turned and she couldn’t contain her scream.
“It’s time for you to take that medicine.”
“It’s missing that ingredient,” she said. “I couldn’t find it, and with how hot it’s been and the ground was so dry, we have not had ripe conditions.”
“Which is why I brought you this,” Alder said, holding out a glass jar. “I’ve been growing some in my green house. Ever since I found out about the interspecies risk, I grew it.”
She gasped. “Why didn’t you say anything?” she asked.
“Because they’re a pain in the ass to grow. Why do you think I’ve not been able to spend a lot of time in town?” Alder asked. “I’ve been babysitting this, and if you die, I’m not going to even consider pursuing my feelings for ... her.”
Alder would not tell her the name of the woman he had fallen for, and that was fine.
Wilder had told her it was because he didn’t want to create a connection.
In Alder’s head, while it was still just the hiker or the baker, or the woman, there was no connection.
It sounded so lame, but with these men, it made total sense. She couldn’t exactly argue with it.
She bent forward and let out a scream. It hurt.
Alder picked her up, and Poppy tried to tell him to stop. If Wilder knew or sniffed him, it would drive him crazy.
“You’re overexerting yourself. We need to get you to your home and finish this now.”
Poppy wanted to argue, but also knew if she did, Wilder would suffer just as much as her baby. She had been overdoing it, especially when Wilder wasn’t looking. She wasn’t trying to hurt him. She wanted to enjoy her pregnancy with him.
“You’re not going to argue with me?” Alder asked.
Instead, even though she didn’t want to, she held on as Alder started to carry her back through the forest. Neither of them talked. They just stayed silent, she rested her head against his chest, thinking about her child, and it worked.
Slowly, her son stopped moving and causing her pain, but for how long?
****
Wilder loved his woman more than anything in the world. She was everything to him, and yes, he would love their child, but it wasn’t going to be the same.
“I’m fine. We’re going to be fine,” she said.
Seeing Alder bringing her back to the house exactly two weeks ago had crushed him.
The two had somehow become friends, and it was all because Alder was trying to win some other human’s heart.
He got it, but he was also a little jealous.
They should not be getting along. However, without Alder, they would not have the final ingredient, and he already sensed his son was not as active.
Wilder looked toward his woman, and he knew her time was near. Perspiration beaded on her brow, and she tried to hide the pain she was in, but there was no mistaking it. Not anymore.
There was no one to help bring his son into this world. There was just him, and in his spare time, he’d been reading everything he needed know, to do all the right things.
“I think it’s time,” Poppy said. She let out a sob, and then he sensed her contraction, and she tried to hold in her screams.
“Baby, just let it out. Scream if you have to. I don’t care.”
“I don’t know if I can do this,” she said, after releasing a scream. Her face was bright red, and the sweat glistened on her.
The nightdress she wore was covered in her sweat to the point that it was nearly sheer. He saw the hard point of her nipples and the tension in her stomach.
“I’m going to have to check,” Wilder said.
“No, no, no, you can’t, you can’t do this, Wilder. You can’t watch.”
“I’m the only one here,” Wilder said, “And I am not going to let you do this all yourself.”
“I’m here,” Alder said.
Wilder turned toward Alder, who was in the doorway, and he looked pale. “What the fuck are you doing here?”
“You should hold your mate, Wilder. Hold her, and I can do this. I’ve seen births and I’ve been there.”
“Human births?” Wilder asked.
Poppy screamed.
“No, shifter births, but you’re going to want to hold her, and you’re going to need to help her. Humans are more delicate and their pregnancies come with a great deal of risks.”
Wilder looked to Poppy who was panting. “I can do this. You don’t want him looking.”
“I don’t want him looking either, but Wilder, we don’t have a choice. Get up here now!” She screamed out the last part.
Wilder stepped away and looked at Alder. “If anything happens to her, I will fucking end you, do you understand?”
“I happen to like Poppy. I’ll do everything I can, and if I see your child turning, do I have permission?” Alder asked.
Wilder looked toward Poppy. He couldn’t live without her. “As a last resort,” he said.
And then, he gripped his woman.
“What is a last resort?” Poppy asked.
“I will do whatever is needed to stop your son from turning,” Alder said.
“Do you mean to kill him?” Poppy asked.
“No,” Wilder said. “He will sedate him.”
It was a risk he was willing to take with Poppy.
“No, Alder. You do not sedate him. We trust in the medicine. Birthing is hard, and stop scaring me, both of you.”
There was no time for talking as Poppy screamed, the veins in her neck popping out. Wilder sat behind her and continued to look at Alder, as Poppy pushed. Before their son was even out, he heard his wail—the scream that said he had a healthy set of lungs on him.
Alder smiled, and it was the first smile he’d ever seen on the man. Another push, Poppy collapsed against him, and there he saw his little boy.
Alder took care of everything, and rather than swaddle their son in a blanket, he handed him to his mother.
His little son.
His boy.
So precious.
“Look what we made,” Poppy said.
Wilder looked toward Alder and nodded at him. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” Alder was washing his hands. “My job here is done.
Poppy lifted her head. “Would you like to see him?”
Alder nodded and came closer.
Wilder didn’t like how close he was, and then Alder chuckled. “He looks like his momma as well as his pop.”
“Thank you,” Poppy said. “For everything, and if your woman doesn’t want you, she is a fool.”
Wilder nodded, and he held his woman. His son’s hand was clenched and as he reached down to touch him, his little boy held onto his finger.
“He has a strong grip,” Wilder said.
“He is perfect,” Poppy said. “Don’t ever use sedation.”
“I couldn’t risk you.”
“I can handle it. I know it’s strange, but I don’t think he wanted to hurt me.” Poppy smiled and tilted her head back. “I guess he’s like his father in that way.”
This made him smile. “Then he and I will get along great.” He leaned down and kissed her head. “But this will be the only child we have.”
Poppy sighed. “No, it won’t be.”
“Poppy!”
“What if I want a little girl, or a brother and sister for our boy?” she asked. “Are you going to stop having sex with me?”
Wilder growled.
“See, I knew it, and besides, as much as you love making babies, I can already see the love in your eyes for our son. We’ll have more.”
“You’re bossy,” he said.
“I need to be, I’m surrounded by bears.”
The End
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