Chapter 25
Chapter
Twenty-Five
After a few minutes, Eva cut the umbilical cord, helped clean me up, including the placenta that surprised me by slipping out.
Kayla weighed a whopping nine pounds, three ounces.
Eva was sure she would have weighed ten pounds if we had waited until my due date, and I was incredibly grateful we hadn’t.
Kayla was currently latched onto me. Eva had helped me with the proper way for her to latch on.
For the first few days, it wouldn’t be too much, mostly the colostrum that Eva showed me, but once my milk supply fully came in, we would do our best to get me better situated.
For now, I was dozing off with her in my arms.
After wiping her down and getting her wrapped up, she looked a bit more human. Mike and Sabrina had stepped out for a moment to shower, considering that I had given birth at six in the morning. Candice had made me a large breakfast, and I ate all of it, which was why I was dozing off now.
“Colt!”
My eyes peeled open, and I smiled as Beau stepped in. “Hey.”
“I’m sorry. Did we wake you?”
“No. Not at all. I was just resting my eyes.” I smiled, seeing Lauren peep in behind her. “Come in.”
Beau seemed to teleport to my side, smiling down at Kayla. “Colt, she’s so cute! She’s got the chubbiest cheeks!”
I nodded. “She does. She also isn’t afraid to suck me dry right now.”
“Congratulations, Colton.” Lauren reached out and rubbed my head. “How are you? How did it go?”
Shrugging, I adjusted myself a little in the bed. “Eva said it went amazingly.”
Lauren chuckled. “Oh, yeah?”
“If that’s amazing, never again.”
The two of them laughed softly. Kayla unlatched herself, and I waited to see if she was going to try again, but she didn’t.
Her eyes opened slowly, and I got another look at her bright green eyes.
Eva said her eyes might change a little, but I doubted it.
She was going to be the exact copy of Marcus, including his green eyes.
“Look at her eyes! It’s just like Mar.” Beau smiled, putting a hand on my shoulder. “You say never again, but you make some adorable ones.”
“Did you want to hold her?” I looked up at Lauren and Beau.
They both looked taken aback by my question.
Beau shook her head, but I could tell Lauren was itching to hold her.
Holding her out, now that I knew she wasn’t going to try to latch again, Lauren reached for her.
Gently, she took her in both arms. I smiled, seeing her automatically switch to gently bouncing her.
“I thought Omegas were supposed to feel so attached that they don’t want anyone touching them.” Beau narrowed her eyes at me. “Are you sure you’re an Omega, Colt? I mean, seriously.”
Laughing, I shook my head. “Surprise. Not an Omega. I just learned to birth shifters out of my ass.”
“That explains it then.”
We laughed, and Beau sat down on the bed, leaning her head against me.
“I’m so proud of you. I know my brother would be too.”
There was a stab of pain in my heart, but I just smiled. “I know.”
“He’s going to destroy himself for missing her birth. I swear. He’s going to throw such a tantrum. It will be years before he forgives himself.”
“Years and a couple of pregnancies to make up for it.” Lauren said exactly what I didn’t want to happen. “What is this sweet girl’s name?”
I smiled. “Kayla. Kayla Alford.”
They both looked at me, their eyes shining. Beau hugged me tight and whispered a thank you in my ear. I wrapped my arms around her and held her. She didn’t smell exactly like him, but there was a hint of him there. We held each other for a while before letting go.
The door opened, and Sabrina came in with a water bottle. “I got your bottle.”
“Thanks, Rin. Did you get some rest?”
She snorted. “How dare you think I would sleep! After that, do you think I could sleep? Nu uh, not happening. I was helping in the kitchen for lunch.”
I hummed and took the bottle from her, taking a drink before setting it on the table. “I need to take a shower in a minute here.”
“Don’t push yourself.” Lauren looked up from Kayla. “You need to rest.”
“I feel gross.” I chuckled. “Think Marcus’ threat applies just to the dressing room? Or was that an overarching threat, including helping me shower?”
Sabrina barked out a laugh. “I’m pretty sure it was that no one can see you undress anymore. I think he can make an exception this time around. Want me to send Mike in?”
I nodded. “If he isn’t napping. Don’t bother him if he’s asleep.”
“I will sit on him if he is asleep. He shouldn’t be sleeping either.” Sabrina went on a mission to find her mate.
Beau shook her head. “Those two are something else. Oil and water, and yet they coexist perfectly.”
Sitting up, I stretched out my arms, cracking my neck as I did. Everything felt sore, but it wasn’t terrible. I managed to get some sweats on earlier, since I knew a few people might show up if I fell asleep. Still, I felt gross.
Mike opened the door, rubbing his chest. “She hit me.”
“Awake? Or she just hit you?”
“I wouldn’t dare sleep. She already threatened me once.”
I nodded, reaching out for him to take my hand. He helped me slide to the side of the bed, putting my feet down on the floor. Looking back at Lauren and Beau, they were observing me.
“Do you mind holding her for a second? I can have Candy come in or Rin if you don’t want to.”
“Not at all, Colt. I don’t mind. She’s such a sweetie.” Lauren smiled and nodded toward the bathroom. “Shower. We will be right here.”
Reaching out, I grabbed Mike’s arm, and he helped pull me up.
Slowly, I took steps toward the bathroom.
Everything was sore, and I was pretty sure I didn’t plan on having anything near my ass for months.
Mike was patient with me, stepping into the bathroom and then turning on the shower for me.
He pulled down my sweats and then helped me step into the shower.
“Do you need me to come in?”
I shook my head. “I think I’m okay right now. I just needed to rinse off at the very least.”
He stood against the glass of the shower, his back to me. “I’ll be honest. I’ve never been so amazed and scared in my life.”
Laughing, I quickly lathered up my hair with shampoo. “You and I both.”
We were quiet as I tried to soap up the rest of my body. It was such an odd feeling. Months of having her inside me. Now, my body was empty. There was still some belly, but it had gone down considerably and all of it squished in deep. I reached down and turned off the shower.
As I did, the door opened. “Colt, I have some clothes for you, but don’t put a shirt on. I’m going to wrap your mid-section.” Eva called out, handing Mike some clothes.
“Thanks, Eva.”
Mike helped me out of the shower and squatted down, helping me get into the boxers and clean sweats.
I felt a little better and could take more measured steps.
Eva was waiting with a huge swath of fabric.
Helping me stand, Eva wrapped it around me, tightening and pulling everything tight. Looking down, my eyes widened.
“I almost look normal.”
She snorted. “You look thin. The calorie count doesn’t go down just because you have had her. You need to keep it up to produce milk. You understand that, right?”
I groaned and rolled my eyes. “When does my weight get left alone?”
“Never,” everyone answered, and I let my shoulders fall.
“Fuck.”
I was struggling. Kayla was latched onto me, but I was leaking from my other side. It hurt to even touch, and I knew I needed to pump at the same time. The problem came when trying to step it up one-handed, while trying to not jostle Kayla.
Finally, I sat in my chair and lifted my head up. I let out a soft sob, covering my face. I felt like I was fraying at the edges. Even with help, I felt myself falling apart. After Sabrina and Mike left, it left such a hole, and I was struggling to pull myself out.
I knew I needed to, but I just couldn’t. Even the simplest frustration brought me to tears. There wasn’t anything I could do right. Nothing. Part of me wanted to just sit here and waste away. Closing my eyes, I let the tears fall.
“Colt…”
Sitting up, my eyes widened as Lauren stood in my doorway.
I hadn’t even heard her open the door. She hesitated for a moment before stepping into the room and shutting the door behind her.
Coming over to me, she took out my mess of hair I’d tried to tie back and helped pull it into a more cohesive bun on my head.
“How can I help?”
“I…I need to attach the pump and I can’t get it connected.” I nodded to the pump on the desk. “I need to do it at the same time, but she surprised me with this feed.”
Lauren brushed my cheek before untangling the mess. Screwing the bottle into the bottom of the pump, she adjusted the cup to fit within the wrap I had around my chest. Reaching out, I turned it on and I winced, giving it a minute before the pain ebbed away. Sinking into the chair, I sighed.
“Did you need anything else? Water? Food?”
I shook my head. “No. Thank you.”
“You know you can always ask us for help. Mom and Dad have actually been worried about you. You aren’t asking for help as much as you should.
Don’t worry about being a burden.” Lauren squatted down next to my chair.
“I came over because I knew you needed someone. No one else wanted to brave the room, but I needed to talk to you at least.”
“I’m sorry. I just…” Rolling my eyes, I swiped away the tears. “I feel like I’m fraying.”
“That’s okay. Colt, if anything, that’s the most normal thing I’ve heard you say.”
Chuckling, I shook my head. “No, I should be able to handle this. I can do this. I have to do this.”
“Not alone you don’t.” Lauren smiled up at me. “You don’t need to do this alone.”
I opened my mouth to retort, but she put her finger on my lips.
“Colton, no one ever told you that you needed to do it alone.”
We stared at each other, and I realized she was right. All this time, it was me who said I had to do this alone. Even when Marcus was by my side, I was thinking I was alone. I had to carry her and then care for her. I had to do everything on my own.
“Now, what do you need?”
Smiling, I nodded. “I’m…really hungry.”
“Alright. Let’s get you some food. Did you want to stay here or did you want to go into the kitchen?”
“Here, if you don’t mind.”
Lauren got up and squeezed my shoulder. “I’ll be right back. I think Eva left some things for you, too. A juice and some vitamins.”
“Thank you, Lauren.”
“Always, Colt.”
I looked down at Kayla in my arms, happily sucking away. Maybe I needed the reminder. They might not be my mate, or my best friends, but it didn’t matter. They were still my family. I needed to lean on them. Especially now.
“I think we will be okay, sweetheart. At least for a little while. Then your Papa will come home and it will be better.”
I brushed her soft skin with my fingers, reveling in their softness. She was ours. Our little dragon. Somehow, we had created her. A single night, a chance encounter, and we made something this beautiful. Smiling, I nodded to myself. No matter how hard it was, I had to keep strong.
My phone buzzed and I snorted. Sabrina was asking for more photos. Adjusting my phone, I took a photo and sent it off. She sent an emoji with heart eyes before telling me she didn’t want to see my nipples.
Colton
You know what, just wait.
I’m going to make fun of you and your nips when you have pups.