I woke up screaming.

“Oh, God! Help me, Matias!”

He was up before I could blink, leaping over me so he was right beside me, staring into my eyes.

“What is it!?” He cried out, his face twisted in concern. “Is it the baby? The babies!?”

“Yes!” I gasped, feeling what must have been a contraction grip my body like a giant’s fist. It was like a cramp twisting through my back and lower abdomen, sweeping across me like a wave of heat and pain that I had no control over. “Oh, it hurts!”

My head tilted back as I gasped and sucked in air, trying to focus and calm myself down. I could see it was still dark outside, with the sun just barely beginning to peek out over the tops of the trees.

Another contraction, weaker but still horrible, jolted through my abs. It was uncontrollable, that was the worst part.

“Ahh!” I yelped. Without even meaning to, my hand snatched Matias’s shoulder and gripped him hard, so hard I must have been hurting him. But if he was in pain, he didn’t show it.

“Okay – breathe,” Matias stammered. “You just have to breathe—”

“Go find Osana!” I roared. I was being a complete dick, but I couldn’t help it. My body was screaming, sweat was pouring out of me and I was about to have two children.

“Okay!” He cried back, leaping into action. “I’ll be right back!”

He hit the door running, and I heard it slam as he barreled outside like a train at full steam.

“Shit,” he grumbled as I heard him stumble and hit the ground, but he was up and running instantly. I saw him out the window as he raced toward Osana’s cabin.

Okay, focus, focus, focus, I thought, doing my best to force myself to relax. The last contraction hadn’t been major, maybe I had a little bit of time before the next one.

Nope.

Another wave of pain gripped my lower back then spread quickly to my abdomen. It felt like someone had their hands beneath my skin and was squeezing me like a ketchup packet, trying to get the last drop out onto their French fries.

“Hurry up, Matias!” I screamed out the window. I was probably waking up the entire camp, but I couldn’t care about that. All I could think about was the pain and the fact that I was about to give birth to two baby boys.

I grabbed the corner of the comforter and used it to wipe the sweat off my forehead. I was absolutely burning up. The term “hot mess” had never been more applicable to anyone.

Somewhere outside, I heard another door slam and two sets of footsteps racing across toward the cabin. Seconds later, Matias burst through the door, followed closely by Osana, who looked like she’d just been awoken from a deep sleep.

“I got her, baby,” Matias said as he raced to my side. Carefully, he brushed the hair from my face and kissed me gently on the forehead. I loved him, but all his kiss did was make me hotter and I pulled away, taking deep breaths as another contraction hit me.

“Oh, God!”

“How many is that?” Osana asked, rolling up her sleeves.

“I don’t know – how many, babe—”

“I don’t know!” I shouted, cutting him off. My head was spinning. My body felt like a traitor, cramping and twisting, burning with pain that was completely out of my control.

“Get his pants off,” Osana said to Matias.

I felt my mate’s hands around the waistband of my pants and managed to lift my hips for him as he tugged them down. Being naked in front of Osana probably should have made me self conscious, but I wasn’t thinking about that. I could have been naked in front of the entire world if they were standing there and not cared.

“Okay,” Osana said as she stripped the bed of all the sheets but the one beneath me. “Those babies are coming, Chase. I want you to focus with me, okay?”

“Ah, it’s killing me!” I gasped.

“You’ve got two of them,” she said softly. Her voice was soothing and I fought through the pain to focus on her. “The first one’s going to be tough, but the second one will be much easier. Just stay with me and focus. Take deep breaths – count with me.”

She arched her back and sat up straight on the bed at my feet with one hand on her stomach.

“Breath in, one, two, three, four,” I tried to count with her. “And then out, one, two, three, four.”

“One, two, three – ah!” I gasped. Something inside me shifted and I felt a wetness on the bed beneath me. “What’s that!?”

Osana ducked her head and peered down, lifting one of my legs slightly.

“Oh,” she said, sounding concerned.

“What is it!?” Matias shouted. He was feeling helpless. I could hear it in his voice.

“Well, your water broke,” she said, looking up at me. “These boys really want out.”

“What’s the red stuff!? Is that blood!?”

Blood?

I could see by the look Osana gave him, that she didn’t want him to say that. She didn’t want me to worry.

Too late.

“Blood!?” I asked, forgetting about my breathing. “What blood? Is that bad? Is that normal? What does that mean!?”

Osana took my hand in hers and stroked it gently.

“Don’t worry about anything, Chase,” she said firmly. “All you have to do is breathe and push. Breathe and push. That’s it. Let us worry about the rest.”

“Are the babies okay!?” I said frantically, trying to look between my legs, but my damn belly was so big and in the way that I couldn’t see a thing.

“I’m sure they’re fine,” she told me.

“It’s okay, Chase,” Matias said quickly. “They’re going to be fine. I’m sure of it. Just do what Osana says.”

Another contraction wracked my body with pain. This time it felt like it went on forever, and I cried out as my body arched up off the bed.

“Push, Chase! Push!”

“Ahhh!” I screamed as I summoned everything I had inside me and pushed.