47
Raiden
The Beast had consumed my body. I snarled at every person who entered the room if they weren’t part of my Pack. I’d shifted hours ago, and no one was sure how they were going to force me back so they could use a scalpel to do the Caesarean incision, but my Beast didn’t care.
A wave of pain across my abdomen made me want to howl, and the only thing that soothed both me and the Beast was the soft hand stroking across my face. “Shh, Rai. You’re doing so fucking good right now. I’m so proud of you,” came Naja’s soft voice, and my Beast let go of some of its tension.
Finlo and Gatlin were talking to the Doc, and Ellar was somewhere fussing about with blankets and cribs and god knows what else. He needed to stay busy, to feel needed. Hell, I needed him to be busy, to be doing the nesting that my Beast craved. He wanted to crawl into his nest and hide from the world until the cubs were stronger.
Seven, on the other hand, refused to leave my side. He stood in the corner, out of the way, and bared his teeth at anyone who walked through the door. He had my back; he would defend me from rival Packs while I was at my weakest.
The logical, normal Raiden knew that there was no chance that any other Manix would try and take my cubs, or kill me while I was vulnerable, but it was a primal part of me that was in control right now.
I vaguely tuned back into the conversation between my Alphas and the Doc. “You’re going to have to do it, Gatlin. He won’t shift back to human with outsiders in the room, even if I’m a doctor. Unless you want me to try and open him up with a chainsaw, there's no way we can get through those scales.”
I growled low and menacingly at the very idea. Finlo looked over his shoulder and gave me a reassuring expression. “Of course we don’t want that, but I think what Gatlin meant when he said ‘no fucking way’ is that he doesn’t have any medical training whatsoever. None of us do.”
I heard Naja huff out a laugh, but she didn’t stop stroking my forehead. Another clenching pain gripped me, causing me to shout. Everyone turned to stare at me with wide eyes, and I gritted my teeth.
“Hurry the fuck up,” Seven growled, and I knew that my pain was making him short-tempered. I didn’t have it in me to both deal with this and soothe him though.
I should have known my mate would take care of us all though. “Come here, Sev. Our strong Omega needs us.”
Seven kicked off the wall and dropped to his knees beside the bed. They’d laid down plastic-backed sheets, and made the room as sterile as possible. The Alphas and Doc left the room, and I breathed a little easier. Normal Manix women didn’t have this issue, so I knew it was an Omega male thing.
They were gone for ten more minutes, which was like three contractions, and I started cursing everyone I’d ever met. Fuck the Manix. Fuck the Doc. Fuck whoever thought this was a good idea. I didn’t even give a shit that it had been me.
The pains weren’t really contractions, because my womb didn’t actually have an exit. From what Gatlin had read and told me, it was my womb contracting to compel the cubs into movement. Eventually, if I didn’t get intervention from my Pack, the contractions would force the cubs to shift and they would attempt to claw their way from my body and we’d probably both die. Omega mortality had been very high until we started cutting them out while praying to the Moon Goddess hundreds of years ago. I shuddered at the thought of tiny little claws slicing my flesh from the inside. Nature was a cruel wench sometimes.
Finally, Gatlin returned with Finlo, and I tensed. But Doc wasn’t with them, only Ellar. He had a stack of warm blankets and a tub of shiny metal instruments. Finlo came to stand on my other side, gripping my hand.
“How are you doing, Omega?” His low rumbling voice let me know his Beast was riding him too.
I gritted my teeth. “Out now. Please,” I begged, and he stroked my face.
Gatlin cleared his throat and he looked a little pale, but his jaw was clamped determinedly. “Do you trust me, Omega?”
I grimaced through the pain. “With my life, Alpha.”
He nodded, swallowing hard. “Then shift back, Rai, so we can meet our cubs.”
I nodded, imagining myself in my other form, but my Beast was stubborn. It was also scared.
Finlo squeezed my hand. “Shift, Omega.” He put all his Alpha power into those two words and my Omega obeyed, my body receding into my softer human form. Someone breathed out a relieved sigh.
“Okay, Rai, I’m going to give you a local anesthetic. I don’t trust myself to poke anything into your spine. This will help, but it might still be uncomfortable.” He grabbed a needle from Ellar and gave me several injections I didn’t feel over the next contraction.
“Can you feel this?” Gatlin asked, and I shook my head. I could feel the dull pressure of whatever he was poking me with, but no pain.
Finlo squeezed my hand. “Goddess, watch over our Omega and our cubs as we deliver these lives into the world in your honor.” I looked over at him questioningly, and he shrugged. “I figured we needed all the help we could get. Gatlin, you’ve got this. Let’s go.”
I watched as Gatlin swallowed hard, and I gave him a reassuring smile. At least, I hoped it was reassuring. “I trust you, Alpha.”
He gave me a look so filled with fear and love that I knew this would be as hard for him as it was for me. “Don’t do anything stupid like die because so help me, Raiden, I will track you down in the afterlife and drag you back. You got that?”
I snorted a laugh, but another contraction stole my air. “It’s time.”
Gatlin nodded. “Do me a favor and don’t look, okay?”
