AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She glared at him, and he was glad to see a shadow of her normal spirit. She spat out, “I don’t fucking care which one. Just get it out of me.”
He grinned and she narrowed her eyes further at him a second before her next contraction hit. She yelled and Tristan did his best to comfort her. When it finally ended, she whispered, “I’m pushing on the next one or I won’t be able to do it.”
He nodded. “You can do it, my brave little human.”
She closed her eyes for about ninety seconds until the next contraction hit. Then she opened them as the doctor said, “Push!”
His mate gripped his hand as she screamed and after a few seconds, Sid smiled and looked up. “Your first child is a boy.”
The nurse at Sid’s side helped Sid before raising their baby so they could see his chubby little face.
Tristan had a son.
He was pink and tiny, and both the man and beast wanted nothing more than to hold him. But as the nurse nodded and took him away, he turned back to Melanie and kissed her. “Good job, my little mate. We have a son.”
Melanie looked happy despite her exhaustion. “I’m glad.”
Then another contraction hit and Sid said, “I know you’re tempted, but don’t push right now, Mel. I need to check the second baby’s position.”
Melanie gritted her teeth and clenched his hand. His dragon roared at the amount of pain she was in. Watching her suffer and not being able to do a damn thing about it tore apart both the man and the dragon.
Unlike with human children, dragon-shifter babies often died if the mother received any type of anesthetic, which ruled out both epidurals and C-sections. His human hadn’t had a choice but to deliver naturally or risk losing both of their children.
And given her personality, she hadn’t hesitated two seconds before agreeing to the natural birth despite the risk to her own health.
So far her blood pressure and toxin levels were within normal range, but that could change any moment.
No. She was his mate. She wouldn’t die.
He continued to caress Melanie’s cheek as the doctor prodded her protruding belly. When Sid cursed, Tristan’s dragon stood at attention. “What is it?” he demanded.
“The second baby’s breech. I had hoped she’d turn around after her brother came out, but apparently she’s being stubborn. I need to try turning her since it’s easier than delivering breech. Whatever you do, Melanie, do not push. Don’t do it.”
Melanie nodded and clenched her jaw. Tristan laid his forehead against hers and whispered, “Hold on, my strong, beautiful human. We’re halfway there.”
She let out a hiss. “You do this to me again and I will cut off your cock, Tristan MacLeod. Two children had better be enough.”
He would rather cut off his dick than suffer through this again, wondering each second whether she would live or die.
But right now, he pushed aside his fears. His mate needed humor more than anything. “We’re about to have two smaller copies of you. I don’t think I could handle any more mini-Melanies running around.”
She was about to scold him but he grinned and she gave a weak laugh. “An army of Melanies. That would definitely keep you on your toes.”
“And knowing your stubbornness, you’d say screw the odds and have more girls.”
Melanie smiled but then winced at whatever the doctor was doing to try to turn the baby. He kissed his beautiful mate. “To distract you, let’s try to agree on a name for our son since we still haven’t decided on one yet.”
And much like they had done for the past three months, they argued about baby names.
~~~
An hour later, Melanie was pretty sure she was going to die.
She kept falling asleep for a few seconds and waking back up again. The contractions kept coming, but the doctor kept telling her to wait. Then the nurse’s expression as she checked the monitor next to her kept getting worse with each passing minute.
If it weren’t for Tristan, she might’ve given up half an hour ago. But as he continued to caress her brow, her cheek, and her jaw, his fingers gave her the strength she didn’t think she had.
However, she was getting close to her limit. She wondered if Caitriona Belmont had felt the same way right before she’d died in childbirth four months ago.
