Chapter Twenty-Three
Even though Cade had explained it to him, Kai was still surprised that there wasn’t more pain. Instead, there was just a pressure that came and went as his stomach tightened.
For the first while, they just lay there in bed, Axel asleep next to them while Joe rubbed soothing hands across Kai’s lower back until each contraction faded. It seemed like a slow process but it was still dark out when he finally felt the urge to push.
“Axel,” Joe called softly, his hand still on Kai’s back, offering silent support and comfort.
“Hmm?” Axel rolled over and sat up, blinking at them. “What is it? What’s wrong?”
“It looks like our litter is making an early appearance. Can you go get my kit from the clinic and let Jensen know? Ask him to have Cade and Ollie on standby.”
Axel didn’t react at first except for another slow blink of his eyes.
“Oh. Okay. Wow.”
He leaned down and kissed Kai’s cheek. “How are you holding up?”
“I’m okay,” Kai managed to say but his voice shook a little.
“He’s doing great,” Joe added and Axel leaned over Kai to kiss him.
“Be back soon,” the alpha said, climbing out of bed, grabbing some clothes, and disappearing off into the night.
The urge to push came again and all Kai wanted to do was get onto his knees. Joe helped and by the time Axel returned, he was kneeling up, bracing his arms on the headboard.
“This is better,” he said to Joe.
“Definitely,” Joe agreed readily. “We’ll go with what’s comfortable for as long as we can, okay?”
Kai was starting to feel under pressure; sweat beading on his forehead.
“Jensen’s here, do you want him to come in?” Axel asked.
Though he knew Axel was asking Joe, Kai answered. “No.”
“Kai, we should really…”
“I have you, and Axel. I don’t want strangers here, just family.”
Joe wrapped arms around him, hugging him tightly. “And we are right here. But Jensen isn’t a stranger, and neither are Cade or Ollie. We’re going to need help when the babies start coming, okay? Remember, they’re our friends, our den mates. They’re family of a different sort.”
Kai couldn’t explain it. His instincts were screaming at him that mates were safe and everything else meant danger.
“Hey.” That was Axel, kneeling next to him on the bed. “It’s okay to be spooked after what happened yesterday. You were in the den, your home, the place you believed was safe and then it wasn’t. Anyone would be off-kilter after that. We’re right here and we would never let anyone into this room that we didn’t trust, okay?”
Axel’s hand found his shoulder, squeezing gently. Both his mates’ scents were surrounding him, a smell he thought of as home.
“You trust Jensen?” he said, glancing over his shoulder at Joe.
“With my life. With our babies’ lives,” Joe said without hesitation.
He looked back to Axel.
“I trust him, completely.”
“Cade and Ollie, too,” Joe added.
Kai let his forehead rest on his hands still braced against the headboard. “Okay, they can come in. But only when we need them.”
Joe slipped off the bed and went outside. Kai could hear the quiet murmur of voices through the door. He reappeared a minute later.
“They’re going to make some tea and stay out in the kitchen for now. Would you like some tea, Kai?”
Just then, a cup of hot, sweet tea sounded like heaven. He nodded eagerly then moaned as the urge to push returned.
Axel and Joe were right there, encouraging him and comforting him until it passed.
“Not long not,” Joe said as it eased. “And then the real fun starts.”
The cup of tea arrived a moment later and Kai almost gulped it down. A cool flannel appeared in Axel’s hand and he pressed it to Kai’s forehead.
“That feels nice,” he said, closing his eyes.
The next contraction came fast and strong. He did what felt natural, hearing Joe and Axel’s voices urging him to push.
“That’s it, the head’s out,” he heard Joe cry. And then there was a third voice in the room, followed by the cry of a baby.
He glanced over his shoulder, wanting to see. Joe was cradling the baby in his arms, checking him over.
“It’s a boy,” he said, as Jensen stepped up quickly, handing Joe a blanket.
They helped Kai turn so his back was against the headboard and the baby was laid across his chest, the blanket covering them both.
“To keep him warm,” Joe said.
“He’s so small,” Kai managed to say, feeling tears in his eyes.
“But perfect,” Axel said. “He’s just perfect.”
Kai stared down at him, rubbing a hand across the baby’s tiny back.
“I want to name him after my dad.”
“That’s a wonderful idea,” Joe said.
Kai had another minute to lie there, the baby cradled in his arms, before the urge to push came back with a vengeance.
“Axel, take the baby,” he said, as Joe reached for his arm and helped him back up onto his knees.
The next few hours passed in a blur of needing to push followed by moments of sweet relief and the cries of the little ones. Kai got to hold each baby after it was born, sometimes for only a few moments before it was time to push again.
Joe and Axel stayed by his side the whole time, murmuring words of encouragement in his ear.
“Last one, Kai. You can do it.”
“You’ve been so brave.”
He was laying on his back, his legs too tired to kneel. Joe and Axel were holding his arms, supporting him as he pushed. He could see all five of the babies already born. Cade and Ollie holding two each and Jensen wrapping the fifth in a blanket. They were all boys.
“That’s it, you’re doing great,” Joe said as Kai gave one last push and a sense of relief washed over him.
Then the baby was being lifted onto his chest.
“A girl?” Kai asked, catching a glimpse as they laid her on him.
“A girl,” Joe agreed.
“Well done, Kai. It’s all over,” Axel said.
A blanket was laid over him, covering the baby and him. Just as well, as he was starting to shiver.
“Just a few last things to tidy up,” Joe was saying, “and then you can have a rest.”
A rest sounded good right about then.
“What about the babies?”
“They’re not going anywhere,” Axel assured him. “We’re all staying right here.”
Axel had known there were six. Joe had counted them on the ultrasound three separate times, to be sure. But seeing them on that grainy screen was very different to watching Kai birth them, to actually seeing them, holding them.
The one he held in his arms was an omega. He was tiny, his little hand peeking out from the blanket he was wrapped in and waving around. Axel caught it in his marveling at how perfect every part of him was, right down to the fingernails.
Beside him, Kai was murmuring something to the babies he held. There were two cuddled against his chest, their little beta girl and an alpha. Ollie had another of the babies and was standing by the window, rocking him, as the early morning light filtered through the curtains. Cade was sitting on the side of the bed, another sleeping baby in his arms.
But everyone’s attention was on Joe and Jensen, who were huddled with one of the babies over on the dresser opposite the bed. He’d been fine at first, all the babies had. Then Ollie, who’d been holding him, had noticed his lips turning blue. There’d been a lot of hurried calling, as Jensen had stepped outside and Joe had his arms full. And now they were waiting.
Axel hated the helpless feeling that dug at him, knowing there was nothing he could do right then but watch. In contrast, Kai seemed quietly confident.
“Don’t worry,” he was saying to the babies. “Your brother will be just fine, your papa’s taking such good care of him.”
Axel took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. If Kai could hold it together, then so could he.
The minutes ticked by and then there was a hoarse cry from the corner where Joe and Jensen were. A minute later, Joe crossed the room, carrying a squirming bundle.
“He’s okay,” he said, his face wet with tears. “Gave us a bit of a scare, but he’s fine now. There was just some mucus stuck in his throat.”
He leaned over so they could both see the baby in his arms, eyes scrunched closed and fists waving angrily.
“He’s not too happy,” Kai said, reaching to catch one tiny fist between his fingers. “Don’t cry, baby.”
“Would you like to hold him?” Joe offered to Kai.
“You’ve got him,” Kai replied. “Let him get your scent, he’ll know it’s okay then.”
Joe climbed up onto the bed beside Kai, cuddling the baby close to his chest. Axel leaned over to get his scent. Their beta boy.
Ollie handed Joe their second omega while Cade passed their second alpha to Axel.
“Two for each of you,” Ollie said with a grin. “Two alphas, two omegas, and two betas, boy and girl. A well-balanced family.”
“One for each hand,” Axel said.
Cade snorted. “Believe me when I say you need two hands per child. You’re going to need help with this lot.”
“Which you’ll have tons of,” Ollie added, bouncing with excitement. “I can’t wait until they start to shift.”
Kai clutched his two tighter at the words and Joe went wide-eyed.
“Not for a while yet,” Cade soothed, throwing Ollie an exasperated look.
“Why don’t we leave you three alone for a bit?” Jensen said. “We won’t go far, but we might have some breakfast and bring you back some food, how done that sound?”
It sounded fantastic and Axel said so. He knew Kai would be hungry very soon but at the same time, right then, he didn’t want to leave his mates.
The others slipped out, leaving the three of them alone.
“We’ll have to name them soon,” Axel pointed out. “It’ll lessen the confusion.” He felt a little like he was seeing double. Everywhere he looked, there were babies.
“Two for each of us,” Kai said again. “I’m calling her Amber. And this little guy is Robin, after my dad.”
Axel looked down at the two in his arms. “This little guy looks like an Andrew. And you… I’m naming you after my brother,” he said softly to the alpha.
“Oh. Hi, Dex,” Kai cooed, leaning toward him.
“And this little omega looks like a …”
Joe fell silent, cradling the two babies close, looking thoughtful.
“You don’t have to name them right now,” Axel said. “We have time.”
He got a smile from Joe, who sighed and looked down at his charges. “Peter for our little omega. But for this little guy…” He nodded to the beta boy, who’d settled into his arms, blue eyes watchful. “…I’m not sure. Maybe Conor.”
“That’s a lovely name,” Axel said. “I think it suits him.”
“Is it nap time yet?” Kai complained. “I think we’re overdue.”
Laughing, Axel swung his legs onto the bed and helped tug the blankets up so all three of them were covered.
“Get some rest,” he told his mates. “I’ll keep watch and wake you for breakfast.”