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Chapter 24
Six MonthsLater
Reds and yellowsstreaked the early morning sky. I leaned a hip into the wooden railing while drinking a warm cup of chamomile tea. A cool breeze swished through my hair and ruffled my long slip-dress, bringing with it the chill from the White Peak Mountains in thedistance.
For months, I’d been living with my shifters in the middle of the Den in a massive two-story wooden house. Here I thought hunters slept outdoors and ate whatever they caught. How wrong I’d been. Most packs I visited had huts and gardens and an established society. Plus, each pack had embraced me within seconds without a single hesitation. I guessed it helped that they’d smelled my wolf side, and I felt as if I belonged as this was my home and had always been. I just had to find my wayhere.
I stared down at the green field below as a white rabbit hopped past, while birds squawked in the nearby pines. Yep, if heaven were to exist in all of Haven, the Den was it. Shifters had been smart to scare intruders away because they’d kept their simple and pure life untainted by others, who’d want to cut down trees and hunt down animals toextinction.
A tightness squeezed around my waist, and I held my breath until it passed, rubbing my hugebelly.
Another surprise… I’d fallen pregnant and as a part shifter, it meant my term only lasted six months. Damn, I couldn’t wait to pop because I’d had enough of waddling and resembling a walrus. Then I’d visit Terra again. For the past two months, the shifters insisted I stayed in the Den, near our house, protected. I had more than just me to care for, but our unbornchild.
Back in Terra, the royals had appointed a distant cousin in the position of priestess, and to date, she’d kept quiet from what I’d heard from Bee and Santos. The new priestess in Terra had kept low. There had been no attacks on locals or neighboring races in Terra. Though she hadn’t lifted the insane laws about it being illegal to leave Terra or to have others visiting the place, either. Yet there were fewer guards patrolling. A win on my end, so my shifters had been spending time there, rebuilding my shop. And in my state, I wasn’t goinganywhere.
I’ve been catching up with Bee and Santos every few weeks since leavingTerra.
Except last time I saw Santos he said Bee kept going back and forth from home to the White Peak, but she’d hadn’t returned home for two weeks now. And that worried me. Was sheokay?
The ache in my lower back deepened, and I paced along the veranda to distract myself from the pain. Past the bench and small picnic table with chairs. It was hard enough being pregnant, let alone as a shifter, as I had zero idea what toexpect.
“Little lamb.” Nero joined me outside, holding a pair of slippers in his hand. “You shouldn’t be wandering aroundbarefooted.”
“I’m fine. It cools me down as I’m burningup.”
He cocked an eye and dropped the shoes in front of me. Just as I stepped into them, Dagen emerged with a plate of egg toast, just the way I’d taught them to make it, while Oryn followed soon after with ablanket.
My men. They pampered me at every turn, and for the past two weeks, none had left my side, insisting they didn’t want to miss the birth of ourchild.
There was no way of knowing whose specific kid it would be, but that didn’t matter because we were one family. And Oryn had already carved every toy under the sun from wood, ready to become a father. Dagen took my hand and led me to the chair and placed the plate of food in front ofme.
“A girl could get used to this kind of spoiling,” Isaid.
They surrounded me, each placing a hand on my stomach, and Dagen leaned in closer, stealing a kiss. “You grow more beautiful every day. We love you somuch.”
“Have a seat,” Nero offered, “and I’ll rub yourfeet.”
“Well, when you put it that way.” I laughed just as a something crammed in my lower stomach, and I gasped, clutching on to theirarms.
A pop sounded and warmth spread down mylegs.
“Her water broke,” Oryn called out for the entire forest tohear.
All my men jumped about, as if suddenly the world was coming to an end. Oryn rushed into the house for who-knew-what. Nero darted to the end of the balcony, screaming at someone to call the birthing women, while Dagen’s eyes widened, his cheeksblanched.
“I’m going to become a dad!” His words wavered, and I swore he’d be the first one to faint. For some reason, I’d pictured it beingNero.
I held on to his arm, and he kept me close. “Looks like it,” Isaid.
We moved indoors, me in slow motion like a great whale. The weight of the baby, now that my water had broken, felt like a boulder pressing down onto my pelvis. In the bedroom, our new bed stretched across the entire length of the room with enough space for us to all sleep together. After all, wolves always huddled, so it made perfect sense that we stayedclose.
Some nights we had insane sex marathons and the guys enjoyed watching as I spent time with each one of them, and it turned me on to noend.
A sudden contraction hit, and I cried out, clasping my belly. I bent over, grasping on to the edge of the dressing table to ease the ache. Unable to move or breath as the pain lanced through me, my knees shook until the contraction finallysubsided.
Dagen rubbed my back. “Take deep, slowbreaths.”
“Nero!” he yelled. “Where’s themidwife?”
