“Parker, I saw your doctor because you wanted me to. Now I want to go see my pack healer. And soon.”

Shiloh paused in the middle of doing slow, long yoga stretches to make this announcement. Then he simply went back to stretching his pelvic something or other. It was a very firm announcement, loud and emphatic, not delivered in his usual breathy, dreamy voice. So it was something I knew I’d better take seriously.

“Yeah, sure, we’ll go out for the day soon.”

“Tomorrow,” he said.

“Fine. Tomorrow. You’re getting awfully bossy there, mister. You might want to watch that.” I bared my teeth a little at him. We were definitely a partnership, but I didn’t know if I’d enjoy it if my omega started becoming more of an alpha.

He simply raised an eyebrow at me from his now-upside-down position.

I quickly shot off a message to my family, telling them we wouldn’t be around for lunch tomorrow as planned, and booked us a private compartment on the train to Stell Valley. With his now-large belly, I felt like Shiloh would be more comfortable if he could stretch out during the trip. I also arranged for a truck to drive the rest of the way to his pack village.

“Thank you,” he breathed, his arms around my neck. He slid onto my lap and fastened his lips across mine.

* * *

The trip out to the valley was uneventful. Shiloh, excited about being back in the desert, didn’t sleep the trip away like I expected, but instead spent all his time peering out the train window, watching as the landscape moved from city to forest to desert mountains.

The truck we’d acquired for the day was typical of most Stell Valley vehicles, dusty and rattling and with no working radio. Since Shiloh didn’t seem to mind, it didn’t bother me either. I just drove and laughed at Shiloh when he exclaimed how everything looked the same but at the same time different.

“Want to stop at your parents’ first?” I asked Shiloh.

“Not yet. You know how parents are. We’ll never get out of there. Especially once my mom starts mooning over my belly. Let’s go to Mama Ella’s. She’s expecting me, anyhow.”

“Oh, did you call her?” I tried to remember Shiloh being on the phone recently.

“No,” he said simply.

I didn’t bother asking how the healer knew we were on the way, I just took it as it came.

Shiloh directed me up one narrow mountain road and down another. Just when I thought we were going to drive to the ends of the earth, a clearing opened up with a small cabin that looked like it was picked up and haphazardly dropped into the middle of it. The sun had baked the boards to a faded, streaky brown and the roof had stripes of rust dripping down it.

“So, this is where you’re coming for medical care for our child?” Understanding be damned, the place looked like a tetanus shot waiting to happen.

Shiloh tutted lightly at me and pushed open the door to the truck. The cabin door popped open and an old woman, her white hair bright in the afternoon light, stood on the porch with her hands on her hips. I shook my head, keeping my thoughts to myself—as much as I could, being Shiloh’s mate—and followed him to the cabin.

“Shiloh, lovely boy, come let me see you.” The woman held out her arms and Shiloh, smiling, stepped into them.

“Ah, so sweet. The babe’s coming soon. And this is Papa?” Her voice was lyrical and soothing. I could see where Shiloh had picked up some of his speech patterns from now. She let go of Shiloh and stepped toward me.

“I’m Mama Ella,” she sing-sang, and pulled my hands into hers. “Let’s go inside, take care of the babe and little daddy.”

I was stunned into silence. This woman was like no one I’d ever met. I was tempted to push my hand at her to see if she was actually corporeal, because she seemed so much like an illusion. Instead, I simply followed her and Shiloh across the creaky, wooden porch and through the door.

If the outside of the cabin was questionable, the inside left me with little doubt that Shiloh would be okay in this woman’s hands. It was spotless, scrupulously clean. There wasn’t even so much as a mote of dust drifting through the beams of sunlight pouring in through the sparkling clean windows. It was scrubbed and organized into a warm and inviting space, smelling of freshly-picked flowers or herbs. There was no medicinal stench or cold, metal tools here. No wonder Shiloh was so put off by my doctor’s office.

“Let’s have a look at you, dear.” Mama Ella led Shiloh to a bed in the corner covered in a brightly-colored quilt. Shiloh lay on the bed and I was happy to see the healer dipping her hands into a pan of steaming water on the nearby dresser. She lifted Shiloh’s shirt and began running her hands around his belly. “How are your dreams lately?” she asked him.

She was asking about dreams? This was part of what passed for a prenatal exam in this backward area? Shiloh caught my eye and shook his head, once. I stepped back and kept my mouth shut.

While Shiloh talked about his dreams—more vivid than I realized he was having—the old healer tutted around him, probing at his belly, examining his tongue, and poking at the balls of his feet. I had to bite at my cheek to keep from speaking up. I was here for Shiloh, no other reason.

“Okay, lovely boy, everything looks wonderful. Your blood iron is low. You’ve been tired, yes? Mmhm. I’ll give you some herbs that will help. Forget choking down whatever it is those city doctors have given you. Eat some red meat, too. And also, a tea to make you strong for labor.”

Shiloh sat up and adjusted his shirt as the woman bustled around the cabin. She poured a mixture of herbs into some kind of small cloth bag, tying the end shut.

“Thank you for bringing me,” Shiloh said quietly. “I know this is strange to you; you’re being very supportive.”

“Anything for you and the baby,” I said, and left it at that.

“Mama Ella, anything else I should do?” Shiloh asked her when she deposited a few bags into his hands.

“Yes, sit for a moment. Let me teach you the chants for labor and childbirth.” She pointed Shiloh to a rocking chair. “And here, Alpha Papa, a mixture for you. To make your mind strong for the birth. Shiloh will need you.” She dropped a small paper bag into my surprised hands.

“Oh, um, thank you?”

I stood back and sniffed surreptitiously at the bag while the woman went to Shiloh and taught him a series of chants and meditations. It didn’t smell bad. It fact, it smelled a little sweet, like syrup made from blueberries or something. I guessed I could give it a try. And it would probably make Shiloh feel better.

When we were finally done, the old woman kissed Shiloh on each cheek and made him promise to bring the baby back once it was born. I tried to hand her some folded money when she came to kiss my cheeks goodbye, but she pushed my hand away. “I don’t take money for helping new life into the world,” she said. “Do you want to put the taint of greed and avarice onto a child before it is even born into this world? No. Just bring my lovely boy and that lovely baby back to visit me soon.” Then she patted my cheeks like I was a three-year-old kid and sent us on our way.

We dropped quickly by Shiloh’s parents’ before heading back to Stelline City. He was right. His mom did moon over his baby belly. And then she packed up enough freshly-baked pies to open a bakery and sent them with us, admonishing me to ‘put some meat on her baby’s bones.’ They were so simple and open and I loved them because of their love for my mate.

On the train back home, Shiloh finally slept. He lay across the seat, his head cradled in my lap, his feet tucked under a pillow. I ran my fingers through his soft hair, made thicker by the pregnancy. His eyes fluttered beneath his closed eyelids and I wondered what he was dreaming about. I was trying to wrap my mind around the events of the day.

I wasn’t sure I’d ever get used to living with Shiloh and his abilities. There were things that happened around him and to him that left me in a haze, not quite sure what happened at all. The anthropologist in me wanted to put Shiloh under a microscope, study him, find out exactly what it was about him that was different from everyone I’d ever known. But the alpha mate in me just wanted to protect what was mine, keep him and the baby safe and happy, even if that meant turning him over to some old woman who looked at his tongue and gave me grass clippings to make my balls stronger. The thought made me laugh quietly.

I guessed I’d just have to take life as it came now. It was always going to be a surprise with Shiloh.

* * *

“What are we doing?” I sniffed at the cup of herb tea Shiloh handed me. When it didn’t cause me to recoil, I took a small sip. “Huh, not bad. Like warm honey and berries.”

“We’re going to do the meditations Mama Ella gave us. And have some of her herbs. The baby will come soon. I want us all to be strong and ready.” Shiloh smiled dreamily at me and stirred a handful of what looked like leaves into his cup.

“Whatever you say.” I sipped at my drink again. It was causing a pleasant warmth to spread across my limbs. And it tasted better with every sip. “This is good, actually.” I drained the cup.

Shiloh just smiled and sipped at his own tea blend. Then he led me over to the window, where he’d placed a couple of large pillows on the floor in a pool of sunlight. “Have a seat. Like this.” He sank to his pillow and demonstrated, crossing one leg over the other and shifting around until he was comfortable. I shrugged and dropped on the pillow opposite.

“Your hands please, love,” Shiloh said, after I’d arranged my own limbs in a manner somewhat similar to his. I’d say this, he was far more elastic than I was. Shiloh slid his hands under mine, letting my fingers rest on the tops of his palms. “Now just let your eyes close.”

The tea was making it easy to close my eyes. They slid shut and I had no desire to open them again any time soon.

“Okay, now, just listen to my voice. Let it lead you. Let all other thoughts float away. It will be easier than you think.” Shiloh’s voice was fuzzy and warm inside my head.

“Mmhm,” I mumbled.

Then the chant began. It was soft and low and circled around us, wrapping us in a cocoon of gentle, feathery warmth. There was a hazy glow around the edges of my eyelids. A shape moved toward me in the haze.

The chanting had stopped and so had the shape. It was small and tiny and pink. And then I was back in my living room, sitting on a sofa cushion, with Shiloh in front of me. Smiling.

“What just happened?” I asked, groggy.

“You shared my visions,” Shiloh answered, still smiling.

“So.” I glanced down at his belly, then leaned forward and pressed my hand against it. His belly button was protruding now, a soft mass against my hand. “A girl? With green eyes?”

“Looks like,” Shiloh said.

“Are you sure? It’s not just a dream or something in the tea?” I was having a hard time believing I actually saw our baby.

“Well, we’ll find out soon enough.” Shiloh’s hands rubbed in absent circles over his stomach.

“You have no idea how thrilled my mother will be if we have a girl. Especially one with green eyes like hers. There hasn’t been a Marks girl born in three generations, I think.”

“Can we keep it to ourselves for a bit?” Shiloh stood, rocking on his feet, thrown a little off balance by the bulk of the growing baby.

“Yeah, sure.” I jumped up and grabbed his elbow to help him steady himself. “Let’s get some food. I’m starving.”

“Happens a lot after visioning,” he murmured. “Do you mind if I rest?”

“No, go ahead.” I gave him a quick kiss and sent him off to the bedroom to nap.

All the while, when I was ordering food, buzzing in the delivery bot, dishing out food for us, I couldn’t stop thinking about the tiny, pink baby I saw floating in my… vision. I wasn’t entirely convinced it wasn’t a daydream, a hallucination brought on by whatever was in that tea. But even if it was, it still left me with a longing for my child. I hoped Shiloh was right and his time was short, because I couldn’t wait to meet our baby. Our baby girl with green eyes.