Adele

Marie met me at the door of Chloe and Jackson's house. A grim determination lined her wrinkled face. It had been a long day.

The deputy went to plop down on the couch in the living room and Marie bustled forward to take the basket from me.

"Go sit with Chloe while I prep these." She quickly inventoried what I'd picked. "Good. You have the Cohosh. I was worried it might be too cold. We're going to need it."

"How is she?" I asked. I'd seen people die of drug overdoses, but birth was a new one for me. Judging by the guttural screams coming from inside the house, having a baby sounded lethal.

"She's in transition, so she might try to hit you."  

"What do I do?"

"Hold her hand. Lend her your strength like I've taught you. It's a hard birth."

"Is the baby okay?" I didn't like the thin, terse line of Marie's mouth.

"Yes. A strong babe. He just needs to stop fighting the moon and come out already."  Setting the basket on the kitchen counter, she searched the cupboards of the kitchen, pulling out bowls and utensils. Moving so fast she was a blur, she grabbed a colander and dumped the herbs in.

A shrill scream rang in the air. Marie froze for a second and looked at me. "Go. She needs you."

Normally, I wasn't one to run in the direction of screaming, but I knew better than to ignore Marie.

I approached the bedroom Chloe had chosen to birth in and peeked inside. Candles flickered on the nightstands, casting a weak but warm light into the room.

Chloe writhed on the bed, the blue sheets twisted around her body. Her swollen stomach protruded and the babe within moved, causing a ripple that I could see even through the sheet. Next to her was Jackson, her mate. He tried to cradle her in his arms, but she was too restless for that.

"Uh. Hi." I stepped inside and gave an awkward wave.

"Fuck you, " she snarled at me. Her wolf flashed in her eyes, so strong, so dominant, I had to resist the urge to cower. I'd known she was the alpha's mate, known that she'd , but I'd never felt the full brunt of her power before. Damned if I didn't want to turn tail and run.

"Help her," Jackson growled at me. His wolf also ran through his eyes, glittering with a promise to make confetti out of my flesh if I didn't do what he wanted.

"Yes. Of course." I knelt by the side of the bed and grabbed Chloe's hand. It took a second to find the power inside me that could help those in need. I was scattered, scared of what was happening, and feeling wholly inadequate. I was a drug addict. A half-trained healer who mostly had no clue about what she was doing. I shouldn't be at anyone's birth.

But the moon had brought me here, and I had to trust she knew what she was doing.

The power kicked in, flaring to life with an electric shock that zapped through my gut. I winced, but didn't stop. Once I had the link between us established, I pushed energy into Chloe and also reached out into the ether for what little bit of the moon I could find. Cool, silver light on one end and hot sweaty flesh on the other with me in the middle to connect them both.

Come on, baby. It's time. The moon has called you.

Chloe screamed and her back bowed up off the bed. My eyes flew open at the intensity of her scream. Jackson glared at me, one fist up as if he wanted to hit me.

I shook my head at him, but couldn't speak. Too much energy flowed through me for that. Chloe screamed again and Jackson lunged for me. I ducked and his fist missed, but I rammed myself into the wall trying to avoid him. The drywall cracked under my shoulder and crumbled, dusting the floor in white.

"You hurt my mate," he roared, leaping over Chloe to land in front of me.

"FYI, child birth hurts." I rubbed my shoulder. "I didn't do anything. You want to blame someone? Blame yourself. You did this to her, alpha."

He snarled and crouched down, preparing to spring. In the background, Chloe panted and groaned, one hand reaching for her mate.

I made myself into a small ball and wondered if this was finally the end. I'd always thought drugs or a bad drug deal would get me. In fact, the blood slave ring had been a very close brush with death. Had I survived all of that only to be killed by a first-time dad? What a weird twist of fate.

"Control yourself, alpha. This fight isn't one you win with fists. I know you want to protect your mate, but this isn't an alpha challenge. It's a birth." Marie's voice rang through the room, brusque and no-nonsense. "Jackson, you get back on the bed. She's going to need your support. Adele, take her hand and give her strength."

Jackson stood and puffed out his chest. His eyes narrowed into slits and his nostrils widened. He huffed air, like a bull ready to charge.

Marie was unimpressed. "Alpha or not, if you don't stop this silliness, I will give you a sleeping draught that will put you down for a week. "

He took a step toward her, fists clenched at his sides.

She straightened her shoulders and stared into his eyes. "Your son is almost here. Now, decide. Will you be awake to see his birth, be there for the first week of his life or do you want to miss all of it?"

"My son?" Jackson stopped short and looked back to his wife. She'd pushed herself into a half-seated position. Her breathing came in jerky gasps and sweat rolled down her face.

"Yes. Your son."

"My son," he repeated again, a note of wonder in his voice. "My son. My son." The anger melted from his demeanor, and with a sheepish "sorry" shot my way, he climbed onto the bed.

"Sit behind her. Lift her up. She can't birth the next alpha of this pack lying down," Marie said. Turning to me, she said, "What are you waiting for? Take her hand now."

I nodded and kneeled once again at the side of the bed, grasping Chloe's slick hand in mine. My shoulder throbbed like maybe a bone had cracked, but I pushed away the pain. Opening another conduit between us, I gave her all the energy I had, noting how her breathing steadied as it filled her.

Marie knelt on the bed and checked Chloe. "He's almost here. Just a few more pushes."

Chloe nodded.

"Just wait for the next contraction and ride the wave. Jackson, keep her upright." Marie grabbed the towels I'd brought in earlier. Spreading one of them at the foot of the bed and setting the others aside, she said, "Do you feel a contraction yet?"

"Yes," Chloe hissed.

"Then push. Don't hold anything back. Push. Your son is waiting to meet you."

Chloe gave a shrieking howl and bore down, her face turning red with the effort.

"Yes, that's it. One more and you're done." A smile flickered across Marie's face.

Chloe howled again, this time joined by her mate, and after several long seconds, a mewling cry joined them.

"Is that my son?" Jackson asked.

Marie wrapped the small babe in the towel and held him up. "Yes, that's your son."

"Oh. He's here. He's finally here. I thought he would never come." Chloe trembled so hard she made me shake.

Marie set the babe in the crook of his mother's arm. "Congratulations. He's perfect."

Chloe kissed her baby's head, and a sudden arc of liquid shot out from between the folds of the towel. Their son was peeing the bed. Jackson laughed and Chloe smiled, amused and their eyes shining with new love.

I didn't laugh, though. I'd always thought that someday I would settle down and have a family, but watching Jackson and Chloe, I didn't feel anything other than loss.

I could barely walk away from a high.

What made me think children were ever going to be doable? That a future with a mate was out there for me? I wasn't my sister who had found her happy ending. I was me. And being me sucked.

I'd thought I was fixing myself by becoming a healer, but I was still just as broken as I'd always been. Deep down, nothing had changed.

Marie quickly picked up a towel and set it over the babe's stomach. "You'll have to watch for that. Boys are always boys."

Marie handled the afterbirth and then helped Chloe nurse the babe for the first time. Once that was done, she had me change the bedding. Jackson helped Chloe stand while I stripped the sheets and put on fresh ones.

Motioning for me to follow her out of the room, she said, "Grab the sheets."

I nodded and followed her out, fighting to see past the huge mound of laundry I carried. Dumping all the bedding and towels into the washer, I turned on the machine. For a quick second, I leaned against the washer, listening to the gurgle of water filling the tub. I wanted nothing more than to collapse, but Marie had other plans.

"Come. We must tell the pack." She headed for the front of the house, stepping out onto the small porch.

I joined her, the deputy trailing behind me. Above us, the moon had reached her full power. Her brightness stirred my wolf who'd slept through most of Chloe's labor. The urge to cast off my clothes and let the moonlight bathe my skin washed over me, but I held myself back. I was so tired my eyelashes ached. My wolf would have to wait.

Marie raised her arms to the moon. "Our pack grows as you grow."

She threw back her head and howled. Other howls answered her, carrying the news through the night.

A footstep sounded behind us and I turned to see Jackson, holding his son. He joined us on the porch, carefully unwrapping the towels that swaddled the baby. Lifting the naked child high, he howled. The babe didn't like the change in temperature and squawked, his small fists waving in the air. Another arc of urine shot out, glimmering in the moonlight.

I smiled and bit back a laugh. The kid sure had a penchant for peeing.

"This is my son," Jackson yelled into the night. "And the moon knows him." He let loose a long howl, filled with pride and triumph. Once his voice faded, he wrapped his son back up and returned to the house.

Marie and the deputy followed him inside, but I lingered on the porch. There'd been a shadow deep in the woods that had caught my eye with unexpected movement.

"You coming?" The deputy poked his head out the door. I'd dawdled long enough that he'd become suspicious.

"Yeah." I held up a hand though, wanting another second.

"What is it?"

"Now I'm seeing things." I squinted into the dark, but the forest was now motionless. Maybe the deputy's paranoia had gotten to me.

He stepped out onto the porch. "Where?"

I pointed. "Over there. I saw something move."

"I don't see anything."

"I don't either. Not anymore."

A twig cracked, the sound loud and then a gun shot in the quiet night. We looked at each other.

"Probably just a deer," I said with a hopeful smile.

The deputy sniffed. "Doesn't smell like deer."

I inhaled a deep breath, scanning the air with my nose. "Doesn't smell like anything. Come on, let's go inside."

Another twig snapped and branches brushed against each other, rattling dry leaves and stiff evergreen needles.

"You go. I'm going to have a look around." He pulled out his flashlight and clicked it on.

"Do you want me to come?"

"And let you and your partner gang up on me? I don't think so."

"I don't have a partner," I said, annoyed.

"We'll see. Just stay in the house. I might shoot you if you pop up unannounced." With that, he pulled his gun and stepped off the porch.

"Adele? I need you," Marie called from inside the house.

"Be careful," I said to the deputy, but he didn't respond. I went to join Marie in the kitchen, firmly shutting the front door behind me. A cheerful fire crackled in the stone fireplace, radiating bone melting heat.

"You can rest on the couch. I'll finish cleaning up," she said to me.

"Are you sure? I can do it." Being younger, I felt some obligation to be the one who took on the more physical work.

Marie nodded. "No. I'm fine. I'll take the first shift, you take the second."

"Shifts? For what? The baby is born. Aren't we done?"

"Not yet. We need to help Chloe with the babe and manage the door."

"The door?" I looked at the front door of the house, wondering what needed managing.

"We need to keep the pack from disturbing Chloe and the baby. They'll all pile in here if we let them." She looked at me closely, catching my confusion. "You've never had a birth in your pack?"

"To be honest, I wasn't paying attention."

"So, this is your first baby." She gave a curt nod as if she approved. "Tonight you helped bring strength to the entire pack. Not just a new babe, but the son of an alpha. There's a lot to celebrate."

I gave an awkward shrug. "I guess."

"Where's the deputy?" she asked, chopping the herbs I'd brought her.

"Off investigating. We heard something."

"Probably just the pack coming to pay their respects."

I relaxed a little at that. It made perfect sense. Of course the pack would come. The birth of a son to the next pack alpha would be a big deal.

Dropping the herbs into a mug full of steaming water, she nodded toward the couch. "I suggest you sleep now because it will be busy later."

I didn't wait for her to ask twice. I collapsed on the leather sofa and was dead to the world before I knew it.