“Should I tell my mom to make their way to the valley? Do you want them here? What about your dad? I have the contact number to have him travel here tonight.” Colton can only talk at me while stroking my hair, empathizing with what he can see me experiencing. The pain of childbirth is one of the only pains that a mate doesn’t share. Wolves in labor need protection so their mates are spared the bonded agony so they can watch over and help them through it. Nature at its finest, I guess.
“Hmmmmm, I don’t know.” I roll and squirm to relieve the building pain and pressure. I am disinterested in thinking or feeling anything around me and not caring about who is here and not when all I can focus on is getting through each second of this.
“Your dad will never forgive me if he isn’t here for the birth. He has far to come.” Colton changes from stroking to kneading my shoulders and back and yanks the duvet away when he feels my body heating up.
“Do whatever you need to do. I just ….” I trail off, unable to say anything else as the intensity ups and I hit the peak of the contraction. Murmuring and moaning as the worst pain I have ever felt rips through me, and I spasm involuntarily. All I can do is cling onto the edge of the mattress and grit my teeth, body rigid as I try to cope with it.
“I can ease it with magic… do you want me to try?” Colton’s tone is tight and forced. He sounds desperate at seeing me suffer.
“No, I don’t know if that will slow it down and hinder progress.”
“This is hell to watch, and it’s only the beginning. Tell me what to do. How can I ease this? A bath… walking around? What about some pain med from the midwife?” Colton’s stress levels grow, yet I cannot do anything about it. I am so hyper-focused on being trapped inside my body with this horrible cramping and twisting. All I can do is breathe in short pants and try and remember everything they told me when preparing for birth. I have to remind myself that this is normal and I’m okay. I can do this.
“In through the nose, nice and slow, and out through the mouth. It can help reduce the pain.”
“No… just go notify my dad.” I blurt out in a snappish tone, irritation rising, and it’s all I can do to keep myself together. I am instantly wracked with guilt at being that way toward him, but this is excruciating.
“I already linked Meds and told her to do it. Try and stay calm. I know you’re sore, baby, and I’m probably annoying you, but I’m somewhat out of my depth here.”
“I just want it over… get them out. It hurts.” Tears fall rapidly as the throws of what seems like the longest contraction ever grows into minutes. I don’t know how it’s supposed to go in early labor, but this feels huge like there isn’t much time. It seems fast.
“I know, baby. They’re coming. I won’t leave you alone, I swear.”
“I’m here! I’m here!” Meadow bursts into the room without knocking, in a frenzy of chaos as someone falls in behind her, and a yelp of more bodies outside our bedroom door alerts us to the fact we have a group audience.
“Move. Your ass is bigger than ever. Doorways can barely contain it anymore.” Carmen shoves Meadow further and falls over her for a second time, missing face-planking the floor by an inch as her beloved mate catches the back of her clothes and stops her midair. Jasper pulls her into his arms and rights her on her feet.
“Can you do things at normal speed? Then I wouldn’t forever be stopping you from injuring yourself.” Jasper croons at her and hooks his arm around her waist as he guides her past the glaring Meadow.
“Did you just tell me I have a fat ass, Puta?” Meadow spins on her and is met with Jasper’s raised palm, a sign of defeat and apology. The buffer between these two these past weeks.
“She means you look amazing, and the new baby weight is starting to show.” He smiles with that charming smooth way of his, the calm to the trouble Carmen creates, and shrugs as Meadow scowls his way.
“She’s lucky she has you. And for the record, my ass is not that much bigger.” Meadow spits sarcastically and throws her hair over one shoulder defiantly.
“Pftttt, at only a month gone, I’m sure that’s a lot of excess baggage you’re already hauling in the trunk. If your head were on backward, then you would see what I do. I guess you’re one of those femmes that grow out everywhere but the belly.” Carmen mumbles with a sly side eye and smirk, and Jasper clamps a hand over her mouth with a sigh of defeat.
“Hey, my queen is as sexy as ever, and she’s just keeping our baby fed. More to cuddle, and she suits the curves.” Cesar appears among them and motions for them all to back out as he catches Colton’s glare and my wide-eyed look of panic from our position on the bed. Their invasion is loud and not exactly welcome mid-contraction.
“Sorry, couldn’t stop these two freight trains fighting to get in.” Cesar apologizes in his usual calm dad tone, and Jasper releases Carmen to walk past her as he comes to my side.
“Hey, sis. You look like it hurts a lot. We’ll be outside and close if you need us. We just all wanted to see you. We’re excited and worried, and I’m sorry about those two. You know how they are.” He brushes a gentle finger over my face and gives Colton a quick smile that translates to ‘you’re doing good.’
These two are firm brothers nowadays. So much so that Matteo has been jealous of the bromance and Radar’s new position as Colton’s father figure, and he feels left out.
“It does. It’s worse than I thought it would be.”
“Hang in there. The midwife is on her way; she was dealing with some early pains from a half-term femme. The pack is all waking up and eagerly pacing their homes for the arrival of their Princessas.”
“I’m scared,” I whisper back at him, a tear collecting in the corner of my eye, and we sigh in unison. Once again more bearable and able to communicate between the highs of this labor.
“You’ll be fine. We wolves very rarely lose pups in childbirth, and you are strong. Stronger than most. Colton is right here, and your two crazy femme sisters won’t leave the room. Varro will hightail it here to see his prized girl producing his much-awaited grandkids. You have nothing to worry about except how to be a mom very soon.”
“I know. That’s when I’ll really be scared.” I smile weakly, trying for humor, the pain again subsiding to a bearable ache of nothing and relaxing my body.
In the past weeks, Varro has come here every single week without fail. Showering me with affection and gifts and getting to know everyone around me as a real father would. It was hard at first to see past what he is and how terrifying he looks, but now even some of the pack children have started to come out to meet him upon arrival. Calling him Uncle Varro. The enemy who became family, and our world is completely different from what it was some months ago.
I can admit that I have a love for him, and our relationship grows with every meeting. I never thought I would see the day I willingly called him father or dad, but I do, and I miss him when I don’t see him.
“Won’t be long before it’s you.” I prod him on the cheek, knowing he has convinced Carmen to start trying for a family. Since they marked, they have been an inseparable smitten couple, and he seems to know how to handle Carmen's fire so well. She’s healing and growing as a person. Letting love in warmed her up and made her less defensive around some of us. Although Jasper is the only one who gets to experience all her softness, she can still be bristly with Meadow, even though they love one another on some level.
Now that the war is over, many Lycan have decided to try for pups and settle into our new peaceful life with real hope for a bright future. The twins are the beginning of the Santo pack, stepping into a new life.
“Yeah. Hopefully, soon, it’s not like we aren’t trying. Meadow beat us to it, and Carmen can’t forgive her for that.” Jasper laughs at the ongoing rivalry between the two that’s so obviously skin deep.
Pain hits again, severe, and knocks my breath away. Clutching at the bed covers, I’m rocketed back to that place of misery. Colton shoos Jasper out of the way so he can come and take my hands and, this time, tries to breathe with me to guide me through it.
“These are fast. I don’t think we have long to wait to meet our daughters. The midwife just got here. Try and stay calm, baby.” He croons and softly kisses my forehead, grazing lips gently over my head and then my lips.
“I just want it to be over.” I exhale in a breathless whoosh, clinging to him, and close my eyes once more to try to find the way through what I know will only worsen.
“I’m here. Everyone except Mommy and Daddy out. You don’t need to be in here unless I call you. We have babies to deliver.” Marda, the most experienced midwife of the Santo pack, sweeps in with authority and reassurance, and despite not being able to respond to her, my heart calms a little, knowing she is here.
She has delivered hundreds of pups over the years. She ever delivered me. I can relax in her care and know I’m in safe hands, and she will help me through whatever needs to be done.
“I know these babies are slightly different, but don’t worry. Whatever they throw at us, we can handle it. You’re not our first mix breed birth under my watch.