Chapter Thirty
Ronan watched Noah in the distance. The omega’s pregnant form was unmistakable even from far away. Sometimes it felt like only yesterday that they’d mated and not the eight months that had passed since then.
This would be Noah’s last job for a while. At least until a month or two after the baby was born, or maybe even until he or she was weaned. The omega wasn’t happy about it, but, thankfully, Griffin had put his foot down so Ronan didn’t have to. This job was a compromise. Low risk, with Noah perfectly placed to provide just the right sort of distraction.
Darcy was walking with Noah through the marketplace, chattering and pointing out this and that. They were already drawing some attention, given Noah’s obvious condition. He’d only caught sight of Griffin once, though he knew the omega was there, lurking, waiting for the time to act.
They’d chosen seven minutes past the hour as their go time. Ronan started walking to the opposite end of the market, knowing he’d need to be in position for when he heard Noah yell. While he tried not to worry about anything but his own role, he couldn’t ignore his concerns about his mate. There was nothing to be worried about, given how low risk the job was, but worrying seemed to come naturally to him now that he was almost a father. Now that he had so much to lose.
He stopped at a stall selling baby toys. Pointing to a wooden rattle, he spoke to the seller. “How much?”
While they haggled over price, he kept an ear out. There was a cry from the other side of the marketplace, then Darcy’s voice calling.
“Shit, that’s my mate,” he said, dropping the money and rattle, and turning to race through the winding rows of stalls.
People saw him coming, diving out of his way. There weren’t too many who’d risk getting in the way of an alpha going to the aid of his mate. He rounded a corner and caught sight of Noah, on his knees on the ground, Darcy hovering next to him.
“Ronan!” Darcy yelled when he saw him. “It’s the baby.”
The crowd around them cleared a path, and Ronan ran right to them, crouching beside his mate.
“Hey, what is it? What’s wrong?”
“A pain, in my stomach and my back. I think something’s wrong. The baby…”
Ronan caught sight of Griffin then, the omega on the other side of the path, making eye contact for one brief moment before melting back into the crowd. Ronan didn’t wait to hear the rest of what Noah was going to say. The job was done. He reached for Noah, lifting him into his arms in one fell swoop. As he did, he noticed a wet patch on the ground where Noah had knelt.
“It’s okay, sweetheart. Let’s get you home.”
Darcy kept pace with them as they hurried toward the car, the crowd slowly dispersing. Noah gave a few more cries for appearances’ sake, clinging to Ronan as they moved.
Seconds later, they were in the back of the car, Griffin driving, and Darcy in the passenger seat. Tinted windows shielded them from the eyes of those watching as they pulled out of the parking lot.
“We get what we came for?” Ronan asked Griffin once they were on the road.
“Got it,” Griffin said. “He never noticed a thing.”
He knew both Darcy and Noah were curious as to what, exactly, Griffin had been after, and was surprised neither of them asked about it.
“That was amazing, Noah,” Darcy said. “You had that whole crowd convinced you were in labor. How did you do that trick with your waters breaking? You should have warned me, I thought it was the real thing.”
Puzzled, Ronan glanced at Noah, recalling the wet patch on the ground. His mate was looking flushed. Ronan thought it was from embarrassment until he noticed how he was holding himself, bent forward a little, one arm wrapped around his stomach.
“Noah?”
“Um. It wasn’t a trick. I was pretending the pain, but I think that part was real.”
Griffin braked to a stop, turning to look at them over his shoulder. “You’re in labor?”
“Not… not yet, I don’t think. But soon, maybe?”
Ronan shared a look with Griffin.
“Then let’s get you home,” the omega said, putting the car into gear and taking off.
“You hear about people getting really into a role but don’t you think that’s taking it a bit far?” Darcy joked.
Noah shared a look with Ronan, the omega biting his lip. “Sorry.”
“You have nothing to apologize for. You did a great job. There wasn’t an eye in the place looking anywhere except at you. Just sit back, relax, and we’ll have you home in no time.”
There was no way Ronan was delivering his first child in the back of their car. They were getting his mate home, to their own rooms, where he’d feel safe and comfortable.
The pains started when they were still two hours from home. They seemed to be mostly in Noah’s back so Ronan got him sitting sideways on his seat, his knees tucked up and used his hands to massage Noah’s lower back as the cramps hit.
“Nice, slow breaths, just like we practiced.”
“We didn’t practice it hurting so much,” Noah grumbled, followed by a groan.
“We’re almost home,” Ronan told him. “It’ll be easier once we’re home.”
There was nothing easy about laboring through childbirth in the back of a car bumping along the uneven back roads that led to their pack.
Darcy called ahead, so the gates were open for them, and a handful of people were waiting by the door, including Damian, the pack’s unofficial midwife and nurse.
“How far apart are the contractions?” he asked, hurrying forward.
“Ten or eleven minutes,” Ronan replied, lifting Noah from the car. Damian kept pace with them, Quinn hurrying ahead to open doors.
It was a relief to reach their rooms and to settle Noah down onto their bed. The omega was flushed but smiling.
“We’re going to meet our baby soon,” he said, clutching Ronan’s hand in his.
“Yeah, we are.”
Damian did a quick examination.
“You’re not quite there yet. Could be an hour, could be three, before it’s time to push. I’ll give you two some space.”
As soon as Damian had left the room, Noah was clambering to his feet.
“Whoa, where are you going?”
“I want to walk,” Noah replied. “Four hours in a cramped car and all I wanted to do was move, stretch my legs.”
Ronan wrapped a supportive arm around him, helping him walk back and forth across their bedroom floor. When a contraction hit, they sat on the bed or braced themselves against a wall.
“I… I want a shower,” Noah said suddenly, making a beeline for the bathroom.
“How about a bath?” Ronan countered.
“Oh. Okay.” Noah gave in easily, crouching on all fours on the floor while Ronan ran a bath. The omega gave a long sigh when Ronan helped him climb in.
“This feels so good,” he said.
Damian popped his head in just before Noah got out, doing a lightning-quick exam.
“You’re there, Noah. If you want to deliver where you are, we can work with that, though space is a bit tight.”
Ronan could see what he meant. There wouldn’t be enough room for both him and Damian to be at Noah’s side.
“No, the bed,” Noah said breathlessly.
Lifting his mate from the bath, he dried him off, Noah leaning against him, too tired to keep his balance. He got him into the bedroom a few minutes later, laying him down on the center of their bed, propped up against the headboard with a small mountain of pillows.
Sitting beside Noah, Ronan let Damian take over, the beta calm and reassuring as he talked them through the next stage.
It was hard work, Noah pushing and breathing, barely having time to recover before the next contraction hit.
“You’re doing great,” he told him, wiping his brow with a cool cloth.
“I thought this would be easier,” Noah admitted. “I mean, not like walk in the park easy, but… easier. Silly, huh?”
“Nope. How would you know if you’d never been through it? Besides, look how well you’re doing.”
Another contraction hit, bringing their conversation to a sudden end. Noah was growing tired, each push taking more out of him.
“I can see the head!” Damian exclaimed.
That got them both excited, energized by the thought of seeing their newborn. Noah’s pushes grew stronger, Damian and Ronan encouraging him as much as they could.
“That’s it, that’s it,” Damian said. “The head is out. Pant now, Noah.”
Ronan leaned forward, catching sight of the head of dark hair.
“The bad news is,” he told his mate, “he might take after me in the looks department.”
Noah tried to cry and laugh at the same time.
“Little pushes now,” Damian said. “Just little ones.”
That seemed to be harder than it sounded, Noah putting all his concentration into it.
“There, you’ve done it.”
Damian held the baby up for them to see. “It’s a boy, guys. Congratulations.”
It took a few seconds while the beta tied and cut the cord and then the crying baby was laid on Noah’s chest.
“Hi,” Noah was saying, staring down at him. “Hi, baby. We’re so happy to meet you.”
Ronan leaned closer, peering down at the tiny bundle. The baby peeked his eyes open, just for a second.
“Maybe he’ll take after you in more than just his hair,” Noah said, his voice hushed. Ronan understood was Noah was trying to say. Maybe their son was also an alpha. The odds were in their favor, but it was still all down to luck. They’d know soon enough, and Ronan felt no need to rush the discovery.
“I think he has your nose,” he teased.
“It is a cute nose,” Noah said with a happy sigh.
He stared down at the baby before looking to Ronan with a hint of confusion in his expression. “What now?”
“Now you guys enjoy being a family,” Damian said, looking well used to bewildered first-time parents.
Huh, that wasn’t something Ronan had ever expected to hear. He’d had a family, of a different sort. But a family of his own, a mate, a child? It had been a pipe dream for so long. And now, there was no denying the mate by his side and the baby in his arms.
“Sounds like heaven.”