4. Greylen
Greylen
Our mate was phenomenal.
I knew that already, but seeing her take charge of a room and deliver that baby was…
I wasn’t sure how to put it into words. Remarkable?
The truth was, it had been incredible to watch a person give birth at all, and I knew how important Rowan had been to that situation.
It could have been so terrifying and confusing.
Hell, I’m pretty sure Allison and Colin could have lost the baby, but our mate had stepped up, like the trained healer she was, and made it all look easy.
It was anything but.
“Well, hello there.” Rowan smiled as she looked down at the baby, who was now resting on his mom’s chest. “I think we can go ahead and cut the cord. Dad, would you like to do the honors?”
Bastian had grabbed the supplies Rowan had requested, and we all watched her clamp the umbilical cord and hand Colin the specialized scissors to cut it.
I’d never been particularly obsessed with babies, but even I had to admit something special was going on as the new father cut the cord while the baby rested happily on his mother’s chest, making adorable little gurgling noises.
God, it really has been a long time since we had a baby around.
The energy was so slow and calm, compared to during the birth. As Rowan got the baby settled again, the rest of us were sort of just standing around with nothing to do.
Except that’s when I noticed Orsen’s intense stare, drilling right into the new dad.
He turned to Colin, striding across the small room. “Now, for you—”
Fisting Colin’s collar, Orsen snarled low, pulling him away from his mate and newborn child, all that new familial sweetness replaced by an Alpha’s wrath. He was determined to dole out some punishment—right the fuck now.
Shit.
“Orsen!” Rowan growled, turning her attention away from the baby and rushing over to pull on his arm.
Orsen didn’t look away, his brows low. “He kidnapped you!”
“He had good reason!” Rowan continued to tug on his arm. Bastian and I exchanged a look while Nix rushed over to Orsen’s other side.
“There was no good reason to kidnap our mate,” he barked in response, glaring at Rowan in disbelief, his hands still fisted in Colin’s shirt.
The poor guy held his hands up; he wasn’t risking saying anything. While I’d been just as furious as Orsen, I had to admit my perspective had changed. People did crazy things to care for their mates. I would have done the same for Rowan in a heartbeat.
“Both of them could have died, Orsen. They needed help, and no one was listening.” Colin’s eyes flared wide as Rowan spoke, confirmation of how desperate everything had been turning him green. “Goddamn it, Orsen. Look at yourself. You’re being just as rash.”
The asshole finally faltered as Bastian and I stalked closer.
We both had the unspoken understanding to pull him away if he didn’t calm the fuck down.
Even though Bastian was generally acting like he was less attached to Rowan than the rest of us, he still knew homicide without cause would be bad for us.
Then again, in my opinion, there was plenty of cause.
“You were gone, Rowan. Again.” We could all hear the pain in Orsen’s voice; even his anger wasn’t enough to hide it.
“Technically speaking… I’m an Alpha of North Oak, aren’t I?” Rowan asked in a sweet voice, trying to defuse the tension.
Orsen didn’t answer. He wasn’t even looking at her. I stepped up, putting a hand on her shoulder. “Yeah. Being mated to the Alphas makes you one, with all the associated power.”
For some reason, I had never considered that before today, and apparently, neither had my clanmates judging by the shocked glances they gave one another.
Though I supposed I shouldn’t have been so surprised.
That stipulation hardly ever got used. We’d been running things without our mate for so long.
A slow smile spread across Rowan’s face. “In that case, I want to officially offer this family sanctuary.”
“You can’t do that,” Bastian growled. He shot me a look, but I shook my head.
Rowan had mentioned something about it during the birth, but we had all been highly distracted. I understood why the guy had done it, and frankly, we all would have done the same if it had been Rowan.
I was on her side.
Colin looked between us: Orsen’s hand still gripping his shirt while his mate lay in the bed, staring at the scene in disbelief, her child clutched in her arms.
“I think I can.” Rowan shrugged, that innate confidence in her shining through.
“Let’s be real, he’s not a threat. He was just desperate.
And I, for one, don’t want to leave a new mother and a baby to fend for themselves out here.
I understand that we can’t make it seem like it’s acceptable to take the horde’s healer, but we can come up with a different way to handle that.
I mean, there has to be something in the horde’s law for extenuating circumstances.
What about putting Colin to work in the house?
He’ll have to work off his debt, so to speak. ”
“Work off his debt? Are you fucking serious?” Bastian glared at Rowan, his jaw tense. I hovered behind him, putting a hand on his shoulder so he didn’t get any bright ideas.
“Please try to see this rationally,” she countered. “I know you’re all upset that I was taken, but it wasn’t with malicious intent. They needed a healer to save their child. They had been petitioning your horde for weeks, but you guys have been so distracted with my return, you never saw it…”
Rowan pleaded, no exaggeration on her face.
Just the honest truth that the couple had done the only thing they could think of.
I glanced at Nix. He was already on board because it was something Rowan suggested, her lapdog forevermore, but he also seemed to get the desperation, though the lugheads were still having a hard time putting two and two together.
Jesus, you’d think they shared half a brain cell between them. Pot, meet kettle.
Shifting closer to Orsen, Rowan tugged on his arm again, and he looked down at her as she met his gaze head-on. There was no challenge in her stare this time, just that look you gave someone when you were desperately asking for something.
“Please, Orsen.” She paused, blinking slowly. “For me.”
That’ll do it.
Reluctantly, Orsen relaxed, grumbling as he dropped his hold on Colin. The dragon rushed over to Allison, who immediately clutched at him, tears smearing into her mate’s shirt. They’d certainly been through an eventful forty-eight hours.
Orsen reached out, pulling Rowan into his chest. The relief that hit him at the touch was clearly bone deep. His entire body sagged as she wrapped her arms around him.
“I can’t fucking believe this,” Bastian quipped, rolling his eyes as he beelined for the door and stormed out. “We’re far from done discussing this.”
The words echoed as the cabin door closed behind him.
He’d only go to the den, so it wasn’t a huge deal to rush after him.
And yeah, we’d have to discuss a lot of things once we all got back.
But if I were honest with myself, I was just glad we were returning together.
Rowan going missing like that had fucked with all our heads, and I, for one, was ready to get her home where I could keep an eye on her.
“We’ll need to be careful with Allison. Traveling right now, she’ll need someone to carry her.” Rowan gathered up the supplies from the bed, putting everything back in the bag that Bastian had brought for her. “And the baby will need to be kept warm. No flying for that one.”
“Will you take him, then?” Allison asked, her brows raised as she sent nervous glances at the Alphas around her. “Colin can carry me, but…”
“I’ll take him. Don’t worry,” Rowan soothed Allison, with an easy smile and a light grip on her forearm. “And we’ll all meet up at the house, so we can get you settled in. Won’t we?”
She directed that last part to Orsen, who just rolled his eyes, giving her a curt nod.
“Nix and I will fly next to them,” I offered, yanking my clanmate up to me, who bobbed his head with a dopey grin. “We’ll make sure that you and Colin get back there safely.”
“Thank you,” Colin whispered, his head lowered to me in a show of respect.
It didn’t really matter what the rest of us thought; Rowan believed him, believed they needed help.
Not only was she an Alpha with all the prescribed powers, but she was our mate.
And both Orsen and Bastian needed to come to terms with the fact that meant we’d do anything for her, including putting our own shit on the back burner.
“Ugh, let’s go, then.” Orsen shot Colin a look, his eyes narrowed. “I expect you to prove your dedication to the horde at every fucking turn. Understood?”
Colin inclined his head. “Of course. Truly, we are incredibly grateful.”
“Yeah, don’t thank us just yet.” Orsen proceeded to the door, pulling his shirt over his head so it wouldn’t tear when he shifted. “I haven’t decided what punishment you’ll be getting. Actually,” he turned back to us, “Nix, you walk back with Rowan. I want to keep an eye on this guy.”
With that, he stormed out. The air shifted, and a heartbeat later the silence cracked open with the combined roars of him and Bastian overhead as they met in the sky. The room descended into quiet, and I sighed.
Yeah, this is going to be real fucking fun.