Chapter 12
Asher
April
Irubbed my rounded stomach as I waddled—yes, waddled—through the house.
Calum and I were supposed to be going to his dads’ house for a family dinner, but I wasn’t so sure I was going to make it.
I was restless, and my omega line was most definitely opening.
I just needed to find my mate. He was here somewhere, but where?
I reached out through our bond and had to smile. He was in his fox form, running outside. I couldn’t believe he did that while I was napping on the couch, but sure enough, he was outside.
“Calum?”
“Yes, sweetheart?”
“I’m in labor.”
I gasped and covered my mouth, even though he couldn’t actually see me. But I knew he had just stumbled and rolled over on himself when I’d told him that.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes. My omega line is opening, and I’m in labor. Are you far away? Do you need me to bring you back?”
“I’m just down the street. I’ll be there within a couple of minutes.”
“Perfect. I’ll sit and wait.”
To be honest, what else was I supposed to do?
My mate was out running around in his fox form.
My omega line was opening, and I was most certainly experiencing contractions.
They weren’t bad yet, but they had pretty much just started.
I wasn’t sure how long I’d be in labor, but I was curious to know when our little fox kit would be here.
I was thrilled to be giving my mate a little fox, and he was beyond excited to be having a daughter.
“Sweetheart? Are you all right? I’m coming up to the house now. I’ll be on the back deck in seconds.”
“I’m fine. Truly.”
I rubbed my stomach again and started toward the back door.
“I shouldn’t have left you. You seemed so at peace for a change. I guess that should have been my indicator that something was about to happen.”
I rolled my eyes as I saw a blur of red leap up onto the back deck.
I opened the door, and in came Calum. I carefully knelt down and reached for my mate.
I loved it when he was in his fox form. He was soft and fluffy, and his tail was extra bushy.
He’d told me more than once that it was actually called a bush and not a tail, but to me, it was still a tail.
“You’re so handsome in this form. I prefer you in the other one, but this one is nice to cuddle and nap with too.”
Calum humored me for a moment, and I rubbed behind his ears like he enjoyed so much, but after what felt like too short of a time, he moved away, and I watched as he shifted back to his human half.
“You shouldn’t be on the floor, sweetheart,” he said, reaching for me. I was about to argue, but when he started to help me stand, a huge gush of fluid rushed down my legs, soaking my sweatpants and leaving a puddle on the floor.
“Yeah, maybe you’re right. Should we call Dr. King?”
“You haven’t called him yet?”
I shook my head.
“I need clothes,” Calum said and quickly rushed over to the hearth and grabbed his jeans that I hadn’t noticed were there.
He then pulled on a shirt and hastily buttoned it.
I couldn’t help but chuckle when I noticed that it was buttoned crooked.
He’d missed a bottom one, and when Calum looked down at his shirt, he grumbled and reached for the buttons.
I helped with the shirt and then looked down at the puddle on the floor and cleaned it up with a little bit of magic. I started toward the stairs, wondering if I’d be able to actually get myself up them while it felt like our daughter was already trying to push her way out of my body.
“Calum, I think your daughter is coming now,” I said, grabbing my stomach as I lowered myself to my knees.
“What? No. Your water just broke. You can’t be having her yet.
” Calum rushed to me and carefully helped me lie down.
I’d made it to in front of the fireplace, and when my mate carefully pulled on the front of my pants, his eyes widened.
“Oh, sweetheart, she’s right there.” He pulled my pants all the way off and tossed them to the side.
“Do you want me to call Dr. King? He might be able to make it here in time, but her head is already pushing out.”
I shook my head and crunched up on myself, bracing my body up on my elbows. “Just get ready to catch her,” I told him as I bore down and pushed as hard as I could. Calum seemed to search for something but then instead reached for my stomach. I felt movement, and then he looked up at me.
“Relax, Asher. That was an amazing push, but now I need you to relax for a minute. I don’t have anything here, sweetheart. Nothing to deliver her. Can you hold off long enough for me to at least get a towel? You don’t have anything but the rug under you. I have nothing to wrap her in.”
I chuckled. “It’s fitting, isn’t it?” I asked while breathing deeply.
“She was conceived on this rug; it’s only right she’s born on it,” I said before I sat back up and braced myself on my elbows again and pushed.
I grunted and screamed through the pressure and pain, wanting nothing more than to deliver our little girl into this world.
“Good, sweetheart,” Calum said. “You’re doing so good. Probably two or three more big pushes like that and she will be here.”
I panted and fell backward onto the rug.
I took several deep breaths, trying to get my mind to focus on what I needed to do.
I reached out to my left and felt what I’d hoped I’d be able to use magic for.
While giving birth wasn’t necessarily the best time to be trying to use magic, grabbing a towel from the bathroom, as well as the suction ball and Calum’s phone, wasn’t too difficult.
“There,” I said, pointing to everything.
Calum’s eyes widened, and he reached for the phone, and after touching it twice, he dropped it back on the floor beside us.
I heard it ringing just as another contraction hit, and I sat up, needing to push.
Back on my elbows I went, and I grunted and pushed as I heard a familiar voice on the other end of the line.
“Calum? Is everything all right?”
“Dr. King, no. Asher is in labor, and he’s already pushing. It just happened. His water broke, and then she was coming out. Please help. What do I do?”
“Arrrgggg!” I shouted and then fell back onto my back.
“You go help your mate sit up and support him, and I’ll take over from here,” Dr. King said as he suddenly appeared in the room with us. It was good to have a warlock doctor around. He knew all about delivering babies, and he had magical powers that were quite useful.
“Oh, thank the fates,” Calum said. He crawled over to me, carefully lifting my shoulders and placing my head in his lap.
“All right, Asher. You’ve almost delivered her without me. Let me help just a little, and with the next push, your baby girl will be here, all right?”
I nodded as I panted. I was tired, and my body was covered in a sheen of sweat. I didn’t know it would be so difficult to deliver a baby, but here I was, lying on the floor of our house and pushing her out.
“Calum, during the next contraction, help him sit up and support his back while he pushes, all right?”
“I can do that.” Calum’s hands were busy rubbing my shoulders, and I was trying to get the energy to sit up and push again.
“Whenever you’re ready, Asher,” Dr. King said.
I just panted, trying to breathe and regain some energy. “I skipped it. I’m not ready.”
“That’s all right. There will be another contraction soon. Whenever you feel like you can push, I want you to nod, and Calum will help you sit.”
I took several more deep breaths, and as I felt the contraction building, I nodded. Calum lifted me, his strong arms holding my shoulders and back up, and I pushed with every last ounce of energy I had in me. I screamed toward the end, and I felt another gush of fluid and then instant relief.
“She’s here,” Dr. King said seconds before I heard the beautiful sound of our daughter’s cry as she took her first breaths.
I was still panting, trying to catch my breath, but I looked toward Dr. King as he held our daughter in his hands.
“She’s here,” I whispered as I reached up for Calum’s hand that was now on my shoulder. He had somehow moved, and I was resting between his legs, and my back was now against his chest.
“She is, and she’s absolutely beautiful,” Calum said.
Dr. King ran his hand down her body, his palm glowing green as he did so. Almost instantly, our baby girl stopped crying, and when Dr. King held her out, she was now wrapped up in a purple blanket.
“She’s ready for you to hold her. I need to take care of everything else.”
I reached for our daughter, and when she was gently placed in my arms, the room started to spin, and my eyes filled with tears.
“We have a baby,” I said. I wasn’t really talking to anyone, just stating that we had a baby. I was blinking, trying to focus on her, but my eyes were too full of tears to be able to see.
“We do,” Calum said. He leaned down and kissed my temple and then moved his arms so they wrapped around my arms as I held our daughter. “You have given me so much, sweetheart. I fell in love with you months ago, and today, you’ve given me another piece of you to love. Thank you.”
I couldn’t help it; I started crying in earnest then. I held our daughter to my chest and cried as my mate held me against his.
“I love you too,” I said in between gasps for breath.
“Asher, I’m sorry, but I need you to give me a little push, all right? Just a little one. I need you to help deliver the placenta, and then your omega line can close.”
I did as requested; I crunched my stomach a little and pushed. It felt weird, and I suddenly felt a warm blob come out of my omega line. Dr. King’s hand was glowing green again for a brief moment, and then the blob and the umbilical cord that was attached to it were suddenly gone.
“Very good. It’s complete, and now your omega line can start closing,” he said. I felt him touch my stomach gently, and then suddenly, I was wearing a pair of thin pants.