LUCAS

One week later…

 

“Ahhh!”

The pain was excruciating. More unbearable than anything I’d ever experienced.

All of the fights I’d been in. All of the beatings I took as a Primal. The times I got roughed up working at Sawyer’s.

They were nothing. None of it compared to the pain surging through my body. I felt like I was right on the verge of death, just waiting for somebody to push me into it.

“You’re doing all right, Lucas. Stay calm.”

Stay calm. This asshole is telling me to stay calm when death has its hand wrapped around my throat.

My heart raced. My chest rose and fell. I was stuck between trying to catch my breath and exhaling.

I was squeezing Donovan’s hand so tight in mine but I didn’t care. He was straining all of his muscles to give me something to hold onto.

“Just listen to the doctor,” my Alpha said. “Relax.”

“How can I… relax?” I replied, barely able to get the words out.

I’d seen other men go through birth. The agony on their faces was excruciating just to look at. Now that I was going through it myself, I felt more sympathy for them than ever.

“Look into my eyes,” Donovan whispered. “Look into my eyes and breathe.”

“I… I can’t…”

“Yes, you can. Focus on me. I’m here with you. I love you, Lucas.”

I stared into Donovan’s piercing blue eyes. Bluer than the ocean on the coast of Azure. I could almost see the waves crashing in his pupils. He was so handsome, so disarming. It provided me a brief respite before the doctor issued further instructions.

“The child is coming,” he said. “You’re doing a good job. But you have to keep pushing.”

I was straining so hard that my muscles were going to explode. The spot on the bed I laid on was drenched with sweat. My heart was moments away from leaping out of my chest entirely.

“I… I can’t…” I pleaded.

“Yes, you can. Yes, you can. I’m here. I’m here for you. Lucas, you’re so beautiful.”

“Oh… Fuck you! Ahh!”

I cried out the obscenities. I didn’t care. Donovan was the reason I was going through so much pain.

He didn’t take offense to it, thankfully. He just smiled his handsome smile at me.

There were times when I regretted being an Omega but Donovan made me proud to be his. Only now did I realize we would have been better off if we switched places. I should have impregnated him. He should be the one to bear this burden.

“The child is almost here,” the doctor said. “I see the head beginning to crown.”

“Do you hear that?” Donovan said. “You’re doing a wonderful job.”

“It… still… hurts…” I cried.

“I know,” my loving Alpha said. “You’re almost done. I promise.”

He leaned forward and kissed my sweaty brow. His touch provided me a bit of comfort. If I were to endure this, I could only do it with him.

“Push, Lucas. Push!”

The doctor gave me his orders. I gritted my teeth. I shut my eyes tight. I squeezed every muscle in my body and stretched as much as I could. I did everything I could to force out the child stuck within me.

“There you are…”

One final push and suddenly, Donovan was whispering to me.

“I’m so proud of you. I’m so proud of you.”

Another kiss, this time on my lips, and I was able to relax.

I leaned up against the bed, my head resting against a stack of pillows. I was completely drained. I only had enough strength to force my eyes open.

There before me I saw the doctor holding a child. My child. The baby was covered in red, crying as he writhed in the hands of the doctor.

“A healthy baby girl,” he said as he handed the baby to Donovan.

I watched as Donovan took the child. He cradled her in his arms. The sight of my masculine Alpha rocking the baby back and forth was a dream I never thought possible.

The baby started to quiet just as Donovan gave her to me. I took her in my hands and rested her against my chest. Her eyes were closed. Her skin was pale underneath the blood that covered her. But she was beautiful.

“Everything seems to be in order,” the doctor said. “She appears to be perfectly healthy.”

“So it would seem,” Donovan said. “I want you to come by here every day to check on her.”

“Of course. I’ll give you two a moment.”

The doctor excused himself from my bedroom. Donovan invited a few guests to watch and they were in almost as much awe as I was.

“Congratulations, Donovan, Lucas,” Andrea said. “I’m proud of you, Donovan. You’ve finally fulfilled your destiny as an Alpha.”

“I couldn’t have done it without Lucas,” he replied.

I listened to their words, still focused on the daughter who was resting peacefully on my chest.

“I knew it was only a matter of time,” Goro said. “The first time I saw you two together, I was waiting for this moment.”

“Wait…” I said, finally looking up at him. “What do you mean you saw us together?”

I raised an eyebrow at the mountain of a man. Goro let out a hearty laugh as he thumped Donovan on the shoulder with a big slap.

“There’s no shame,” he said. “You were in Kai’s campsite. Making love is something us bears are all accustomed to seeing.”

“I… I suppose.”

I shifted my eyes toward Donovan. He chuckled softly and shrugged at me.

“Come along, Goro,” Andrea said to him. “Let’s give a moment to the two new parents and their child. Why don’t you show me what Dirk made for you the last time you were here? I’ve been eager to try some new food…”

Andrea and Goro left the room.

Alone with me, Donovan sat along the edge of the bed. My focus was solely on the small baby writhing in my arms.

“Incredible,” he said. “You were incredible.”

He leaned forward and gave me another kiss on the forehead.

“I don’t think I can do it again,” I said. “Next time, please give me a c-section.”

“You don’t mean that. I know you wanted a natural birth. Am I right?”

I grinned. The child in my arms was enough to make me smile at any comments.

“You’re right,” I sighed. “The pain I endured was all worth it.”

“Sometimes we have to go through a lot of pain. But when we do, we’re always better off after having survived it. That’s what makes us stronger.”

He leaned in closer to me. He wrapped an arm around me. I’d never felt more safe and secure. And I would do anything to make sure that my child would feel the same.

“A name,” Donovan said.

“What’s that?”

“A name. What’s her name?”

“Oh… Right… I forgot.”

“It’s all right,” he said, laughing softly. “You were giving birth, after all. And neither one of us knew the sex of the child until now.”

“I was already thinking of names. There’s only one name I want to give her. What I think of when I see her.”

“What’s that?”

I looked into my baby’s eyes. They were half-closed but I could still peer into them. She didn’t know but I knew she was looking back at me when I said her name for the first time.

“Hope.”