Chapter 14 Ivy
Ivy
ONE WEEK LATER
It was impossible to write a sex scene while in agony. And not just period cramp agony, but in real, I’m-giving-birth agony.
I still tried to wrap up the scene, though.
“You are quite literally in labour,” Damon growled, tapping his foot from the other side of my desk. “Please, love, we need to get you to the birthing room.”
I waved him off with a grunt, keeping my eyes on the screen despite the pain ripping through me. No magic could keep it away. Didn’t matter what species you were, the pain of giving birth would always be there.
My stomach contracted; it felt like my insides were literally getting turned around, reshaped, and squished. It was almost like a prolonged shift, only except for all my bones breaking, it was my vagina.
Nevertheless, I held myself together through the pain while I finished the scene. I wouldn’t be able to get back to it for a while. I highly doubted twins would give me time to spend all day in here to write.
And I was so damned close to finally finishing a book again.
It was a relief. Like I finally had a piece of myself again.
“Wife…” Damon warned, taking a threatening step towards me. “We must get you to the midwife. Please.”
“Just a hundred more words, husband,” I muttered, wincing through the pain as I typed. “Just. Need. To. Get. This. Done.”
Gritting my teeth through the pain, I wrote the final throes of passion, wrapped it up nicely in a sexy bow, and hit save. It would have to do. Good thing I’d be able to edit it later. But I just needed the words.
Damon sighed in relief when I shut the computer down, and he was on me immediately, helping me out of my chair. But instead of giving me a chance to stand, the massive demon lifted me into his arms.
“You don’t need to carry me,” I said as he started for the door. “Walking can help labour progress.”
My mate growled as we left the tower, starting down the hall. As he did, the others appeared. “We do not know yet where you are in your labour, wife. That is why we must reach the midwife.”
I wanted to roll my eyes, but another wave of pain crashed through me, dimmed only by the physical connection and the appearance of the others.
Rowan was sweating as he jogged down the hall, Orion directly behind him. “The kids are with Thea and her family,” my divination mage stated.
“Go and get Thea,” I said, teeth gritted. “I want her here.”
“She’s just making sure the kids are settled,” Orion replied, voice soothing. “Then she’ll be here. Don’t worry. We know your plan.”
I released a slow breath as the pain eased a fraction. Definitely felt like my insides were being torn apart. Shredded by the two little heathens trying to make themselves known to the world.
Part of me was glad today was the day. They weren’t super early like the healers worried they would be.
If they were, we wouldn’t be doing this at home with a healer and demon midwife.
I’d be at an actual hospital in the city with a team around me.
That was the last thing I wanted, though I knew it was only a precaution.
I just hated the idea that the babies would be immediately taken from me to be put in incubators.
And for that reason, I dreaded what came next.
It wasn’t the pain that terrified me. It was them being taken out of me.
It was them no longer having the protection my body offered them.
They would be outside of me, where I couldn’t protect them.
And although that meant my mates could do that for me, I was still terrified.
Outside of me, they could be taken. They could be hurt. They’d survived so long against all the odds because my body and my magic shielded them.
Those were the fears I couldn’t hide from my mates, couldn’t make myself escape. But I told myself there was nothing to worry about. Not with my mates around me. Not when I had them.
“That’s it,” Elias cooed, sitting behind me on the bed. “You’re doing well, Angel. You’re almost there.”
Adrian smoothed a hand down my calf from where he held my leg so I could brace against him. My other foot was in the hands of Xerxes. I could ignore the slight discomfort of my mates watching my vagina be torn apart by their children, especially with the dulled waves of pain coursing through me.
Who needed the good drugs when you had mates who could absorb your pain for you?
Arthur kneeled beside me, my hand trapped between his, allowing me to squeeze the absolute hell out of his fingers as another contraction ripped me apart.
“Okay,” the demon midwife said. “I see baby number one’s head. You’re going to need to push on the next contraction, Ivy. Then let your body do the rest.”
I was fucking exhausted. I was terrified. My heart raced with every ounce of fear I felt. But I also couldn’t help the flood of warmth over knowing that soon, I was going to finally meet my babies.
Even if they were coming one at a time.
Oh, Goddess, why hadn’t I said yes to the c-section? Because you wanted to be the one to hold them first, I reminded myself.
Right. Fear won that battle, and now I was suffering the consequences. I just hoped I wouldn’t tear.
“You’ve got this,” Thea murmured from my other side as she wiped my brow with a wet cloth. “Okay? Just give the others all your pain. They can handle that. Focus on bringing my babies into the world.”
I snorted, breaths shaky. “Yours?”
“Absolutely.” She grinned, wagging her brows. “Come on. I’m your best friend.”
She had no idea how much I appreciated her being here. Having her by my side meant more than anything. I knew I would always have my mates—we were stuck together now, firmly bound by our history and our marks. But my best friend?
That was a link I couldn’t lose, a power no one could take from me.
And I so badly needed her strength, her confidence right now as I almost lost myself to the pain.
Another wave of agony hit me, and as soon as it did, I felt it slip away. In the back of my mind, I heard the midwife tell me to push, and with Elias as my strength, I pushed.
Everything in me went fuzzy for that moment; the sound of encouragement from my mates dulled, my vision blurring. There was only me and the pain and the feeling of literally being ripped open.
Then sharp clarity and wailing.
Baby wailing.
I slumped into Elias and sobbed as the midwife clamped the umbilical cord and cut it, handing my baby off to Maeve. Through bleary, tear-filled eyes, I watched as she took the wailing, grey baby from the midwife, a blanket quick to go around it.
My vampire mate met my stare with a soft smile as she brought the crying infant to me, her hesitance and worry so heavy through the bond. But with it was love. So much of it. “Here, a mhuirnín. Your son.”
A boy. The sobs grew more painful as she passed me my little boy.
Over the smell of blood and other bodily fluids, I could tell my boy was Adrian’s.
Eventually, according to my mates, his scent would shift to be his own, but right now as I breathed him in, I could smell the faintest hint of peppermint and a small mix of coconut.
The pain became non-existent as Maeve and Thea helped me move him onto my bare chest. The moment our skin touched, he quietened, his cries softening.
Adrian released my foot, passing off the job to Rowan, and crawled onto the bed to sit with Thea. “Is he…”
I met Adrian’s stare with a smile. “Our son.”
My mate ran a trembling hand over the baby’s back, the touch light. “He’s beautiful. You’re beautiful. I’m so proud of you.”
Our bond turned a bright, burning gold as he watched our boy settle, his little fingers kneading my chest. Around me, all my mates seemed to brighten with an intense dose of love.
I could get drunk off their adoration and pride. Could drown in how much they loved not just me, but the baby in my arms.
Goddess above, our son. The reality struck me as another wave of aching pain shuddered through my body.
“And based on a quick inspection, totally healthy,” the healer shared. “No lasting effects from the potion.”
“Now, we need to get the second out.” The demon midwife grinned from her position at the end of the bed. “You might be able to rest for a few moments, Ivy. But I think your second is coming quickly. Might be a little lonely without their brother.”
That had me panicking slightly, heart racing. “Take him,” I said to Adrian, panic tightening like a fist around my throat. “Just for now. I don’t—I don’t want to hurt him.”
With the panic came fear. Not just over hurting him, but over doing it all again.
He might have been out and safe, but that was for now. What would happen when his sibling came into the world and I couldn’t protect either of them anymore?
“You aren’t alone in this,” Elias murmured, kissing my temple.
“We are here,” Damon added from beside my bed, “and we are not going anywhere.”
I looked around the room, tears building in my eyes. And for the first time in months, a sense of real safety settled within me. Silently, I pressed a kiss to my son’s forehead and looked to Adrian, who gave me a single nod.
The colour drained from his cheeks, but thankfully he gently scooped our boy up. Quietly, Thea helped him settle the newborn against his bare chest, just as the pain struck me again.
My mates absorbed the contraction and gave me a chance to breathe.
Then, we did it all again.