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Then she gave birth.
The pain was worth it, of course. Just like her journey across the wilderness, there was a treasure waiting for her at the end. Three treasures actually, and they were far more precious than any amount of firestone. Also like her journey, Shannon’s steadfast mates were right there with her through it all. Logan and Rufus were on either side of the bed, holding her hands and purring her through the labor pains while Tanner assisted the midwife.
Duffy Ranch’s fortunes had improved drastically over the past several months, and Shannon had acquired a number of strapping young minotaurs—much to the delight of the hucow herd. She’d also brought on an experienced midwife in anticipation of the hucow births that were sure to follow the minotaurs’ arrival. The midwife was a hucow herself, a sweet-faced woman who had formerly belonged to the late Ned Flarity. Needless to say, she was beyond grateful to Shannon for improving her lot in life, and she was more than happy to repay the favor by serving as midwife during Shannon’s labor—the first new birth on Duffy Ranch.
As it turned out, it was probably a good thing the midwife was a hucow. There was one unexpected factor that an ordinary human midwife might not have been able to handle.
Oh, there was no problem with Shannon’s labor. The pain, while great, was nothing out of the ordinary, and she made it through the process in one piece—though it would take several weeks of recuperation before she was ready for her mates’ knots again. All three of the newborns were also healthy. Exceptionally so, in fact. The first one was a chubby little alpha boy, and the second a slightly smaller omega girl. That was a rarity, since omega mothers usually only gave birth to alpha babies.
The real surprise, however, was the third child. Actually, he wasn’t a child at all.
He was a wolf.
A tawny-furred wolf pup who was not much smaller than his two human siblings. Another woman might have been disturbed to discover she’d given birth to a canine, but not Shannon. She’d been through so much weird stuff over the past several months, she was ready for pretty much anything life threw at her now. And as soon as she saw her son’s little tail and floppy ears, she instantly fell in love with him.
It was certainly going to make for an interesting family dynamic, especially once the little wolf pup learned how to shift in a couple years, as Shannon knew he would. But one thing was absolutely certain: Shannon would love him just as much as her other two children.
And her three mates made it clear they felt the same way. They hovered protectively as the midwife got the little ones cleaned up, then they brought them back to the bed so Shannon could hold each of them and feel the warmth of their tiny, living bodies. At last, she ended up holding the little sleeping omega against her chest while Logan and Rufus stood at the foot of the bed, cradling the alpha and the wolf pup, respectively. Tanner sat on the edge of the bed and looked down at her lovingly.
“How do you feel?” he asked.
“Tired,” Shannon said, with a smile. “And… happy. Very happy.”
It was, in fact, the happiest moment of her life, and she knew she would remember it forever. She was surrounded by the three most loving and protective mates an omega could ever ask for, and now she was a mother too. That fact only made her more determined to carry on her father’s legacy. The country in which she lived was not a perfect one, but she would do everything in her power to make it a better place for her little ones to inherit.
And she knew her mates would help her, every day for the rest of their lives.
“Thank you,” Shannon said, looking around at the three incredible men surrounding her bed. “Thank you for always being there for me. I love you.”
“And we love you, little omega,” said Tanner McBain. “More than you will ever know.”
His two brothers rumbled softly in agreement.
* * *
