Chapter Eighteen
Jameson
The city wasn’t as far as it felt as we drove to where our pup was going to be born. Ollie and Russell sat in the back seat together as I played chauffeur. Travis drove behind us. It had been a long time since he’d left Distance, and I was more than a little bit shocked when he said yes. Sure, I pushed the “traditions” button, but I had a feeling it would be good for both Travis and my mate to have some bonding time over something amazing like the birth of a child.
We arrived just on schedule and, as I helped my mate from the vehicle, it hit me—this was it. We would leave Distance a family of four. I wrapped my arms around Russell, trying not to choke on my emotion. He needed me strong, not a whimpering emotional mess.
A hand cupped my shoulder from behind, and I looked back to see Travis. “So you’re gonna have a city baby, I see.” He pointed to the multistory building where Hayden had his practice.
“Hayden was the closest, and he’s a really good match.” Russell stepped from my embrace and picked Ollie up, carrying him on his hip. It wasn’t necessary. Ollie was fine on his own, but this was one of the last moments when he would be the baby, and I totally got that.
“We need a midwife,” Travis grumbled before heading to the front entrance. We were lucky to be in the part of the city where many of the buildings had parking lots and not closer to downtown where parking garages were the norm. I could only imagine how Travis’s wolf would do in that scenario, if the city building had him on edge.
“Shall we?” I held my hand out to Russ, and he snagged it as Ollie flung himself at me. It was the most adorable thing ever and not his norm.
“You ready to be a big brother? I think you are. Just check out those muscles.” I squeezed him close with the arm around him, never letting go of Russell’s hand.
“Sure am.” He beamed, and we made our way to Hayden’s office suite.
The building was much quieter than it had been the last two visits. It was midweek, so the lack of others stood out. We took the elevator up to find Travis already at the door waiting for us.
“This building is creepy. There are no people.” Yeah, his wolf was on edge. I couldn’t tell if it was the city getting to him or the baby coming causing him to worry both as an alpha and a brother, but he wasn’t himself.
“Uncle Alpha.” Holy cuteness in a four-year-old bundle. “Can you hold me so Dad can help Papa have my brother?”
“Yeah, I can do that.” He reached for Ollie. What a smart kid, seeing what his uncle needed and giving it to him. He was going to be a great man when he grew up.
“Well, are you coming in?” Hayden spoke through the speaker box on the wall.
“Yeah,” Russell answered, leaning his head toward the box as he spoke. City folk can’t even open the door like normal people.
We walked inside to find the front room completely packed up. Gone were the baby books and interesting sculptures, and in their place were boxes.
“Moving?” Ollie asked when Hayden walked out of the exam room. “I moved to Distance. I like it there. You should, too.”
“Shh, be polite, Ollie.”
“Oh yeah, sorry, Papa.” He squirmed down from Travis’s arms, marched over to Hayden, and jutted out his hand. “Hello, I’m Oliver.” In so many ways, he still acted more human than shifter, and this was one of them.
“Nice to meet you, Oliver. I hear you are going to be a big brother today.”
“Yeah. Papa’s havin’ a baby.” He puffed out his little chest.
“Let me get your papa all ready. Do you and your—”
“That’s my Uncle Alpha.”
Hayden nodded at Travis, and a weird look crossed my brother’s eyes. I’d have sworn it was recognition, but Travis stuck with wolves, so I doubted that was it. Interesting.
“Would you and your Uncle Alpha like to go next door and have hot cocoa while I get your papa ready. I promise he won’t have the baby until you get back.” Hayden winked at Ollie.
“Are there people there? This place is creepy.” Ahhh, the honesty of children.
“This place is only creepy because it is being demolished to put up a financial institute of some kind.” Hayden didn’t sound too pleased about that.
“So, you’re moving? I knew it.” Ollie gave a little fist bump to Hayden, who looked far more amused than anything else.
“It looks that way. Now to figure out where, but first—go get your cocoa. Here are some coupons.” He handed him some free drink tickets, and Travis shook his head no to Oliver, who handed them back.
“I can provide,” he all but growled before hitching his head toward the door in a silent command for Ollie to leave. “We will be back in an hour. Call if you need us sooner.” He rotated on his heel and walked out, shoulders square.
“Uncle Alpha, we need a midwife,” Ollie said just as the door shut.
“That was—weird,” Russell noted. It had been, but Travis had a habit of being weird, so there was that.
“Well, then. Let’s get that baby out of you.” Hayden clapped his hands before walking into the exam, and most likely baby delivery, room.
“Do we have to be out by three?” I was only half kidding.
“Of course not.” Hayden rolled his eyes and held his arm out in invitation for us to come all the way inside the room. It smelled rancid. Like dead-things-not-found-for-a-week rancid. “Close of business. Shall we proceed?”
“He’s kidding right?” Russell faux whispered. “Tell me he’s kidding.” He was holding my hand tight enough it was beginning to feel uncomfortable, which was the least I could do since he was about to give birth to my pup.
“I’m kidding.” He tapped the exam table and Russell climbed on up. “I have until the end of the week. Now go in here and drink all those nasty little shot glasses I have on the tray for you in order from left to right counting to thirty between each one.”
I hadn’t noticed them when I walked in, but I should’ve since they were apparently the source of the odor.
“They look like swamp water and smell worse.” Russell wrinkled up his nose. I couldn’t blame him.
“Which your wolf would happily drink, so down them all, and I’ll go get you something more comfortable to wear. If all goes well, we are going to have a baby by shortly after lunchtime.”
I glanced at the wall and counted how many hours that would be. Not many. Not that I wanted my mate to suffer through a long delivery, but wasn’t that kind of a thing?
“That fast?” I asked in sheer confusion. “Isn’t it supposed to take like forever?”
“Oh, sweet mate of the expectant one, you are just too adorable. Why put you through all that if we can have this baby out by lunch?” He shrugged pointing to the shot glasses of nasty. Not many people could get away with addressing me so informally, especially not in the pack, but bears had a much different sense of order than we did so maybe this was acceptable there. Not that I cared. I had far more important things to worry about like the birth of my pup.
“Then why didn’t we do that last week when I begged to not be pregnant anymore?” Russell was pissed. I couldn’t blame him. He had been beyond uncomfortable this past week.
“Because it wasn’t time. Drink up, already. I have packing to do.” Hayden feigned exasperation, humor dancing in his eyes.
Russell did as asked, drinking every one and only turning four shades of green before reaching the end. came in then with what amounted to an oversized shirt that went down to his knees and snapped up the front.
He’d barely gotten dressed when the contractions started. They were slow at first, but as they sped up and got more intense, I was second-guessing the whole let my mate drink cups of yuck. It wasn’t as if he were human and could have an epidural or whatever it was that made it not awful. There was no epidural on Earth strong enough to make a shifter not feel pain. Our metabolisms were too fast.
By the time Travis came back, Russell was no longer pacing the small room and was instead on the exam table, his eyes squeezed shut.
“Papa, I’m back. I brought you cocoa.” And from the looks of things, the entire restaurant.
“I thought my brother and his mate might need to be provided for.”
What the fuck was that about? Before I could ask, Hayden came over, put his hands on my mate’s belly, and announced, “Perfect timing. Baby should be here in fifteen minutes, give or take.”
“No,” Russell screamed. He was pissed. “I’ve had a baby. The pain isn’t even bad yet.”
This wasn’t bad? I couldn’t even wrap my mind around that one. If it had been any worse I was going to lose my ever-loving mind and it wasn’t bad?
“You, my sweet omega, had a craptastic midwife if you think this isn’t bad.” He pointed to two rolling chairs in the corner. “Mr. Macho Provider Dude, go drop those bags of food in the front room and then you and my friend Ollie can sit in those chairs, but I promise you, if you get out of them, you will have to wait in the waiting room. I have coloring books and everything. That goes for you, too, Ollie.” Hayden smirked. Why was he poking the alpha?
Russell groaned, and all attention was back on him as, miraculously, Travis obeyed without comment.
Hayden picked up the hem of the gown and took a peek before reaching below and exclaiming it was time. Everything from that moment on until I heard the cry of our beautiful baby girl was a complete and utter blur. I just held his hand and kissed his cheek, reassuring him that I loved him and he could do it on such a repetitive reel that all else fell away.
“Here is your baby girl.” Hayden handed her to Russell, who had already unsnapped his gown. “She’s going to be good and hungry. Wolves are born that way and never seem to stop. I bet you eat well, Ollie.”
“I do. It gives me muscles.” He smiled, and I could see him itching to leave his seat but staying put and not wanting to be sent to color in the waiting room.
“Would you like to meet your sister?” I asked, and he popped over fast as his legs could carry him.
“She’s smushy and covered in yuck.” He wrinkled his nose. “Did I eat like that, too, Papa?”
“Yes, my sweet boy, you did, and after she eats, we are going to make sure she gets a bath so she isn’t full of yuck.”
“She is quite lovely,” Travis announced from his seat. “May I?”
Hayden nodded he could. Umm okay.
“As the alpha present at birth, would you like me to name her?” he asked, all traditional and serious.
We had names picked out. Too many, actually. And it was creepy to give someone the kind of power to name your child, but with wolves it was also considered a great honor. I was leaving it up to my mate. I liked my life just as it was.
Russell arched a brow at me, and I nodded.
“Brother mine, we would be honored for you to name our daughter.” Russell met his eyes the entire time he spoke.
“Then I bestow upon the newest daughter of our pack the name Havannah Rose. She will forever be protected and loved by the wolves of Distance.”
It was a tender and sweet, if old-fashioned, moment and one completely broken by our bear midwife. “You wolves are freaking weird. Give me that baby. I need to get her cleaned up. The movers will be here by one.”
“So you do have to be out by the close of business?”
“One week’s notice. Gotta love it.” He snagged the baby, and I just shook my head.
Bears were weird.