“My name is Cole Travers and this is my diagram of all the known objects and phenomi—uh, phenomenon we know is in space,” he said, and I my heart filled with pride.
“Um… Linc,” Shawn said.
I glanced at him and found he was looking a little panicked.
“It's maybe not fine,” he whispered.
“What? What's happening? Is the baby?”
“Yes. It's, um, it's fine but it's happening. I think I'm going into labor.”
I shot back to my feet. The scraping of my chair rocked through the auditorium and all eyes were on us as I helped Shawn to stand. Nicole, Paco, and Gavin sprang up to help us through the aisle. Cole had fallen silent. I looked up at him and gave him a nod to encourage him to keep going with his speech. But as we hurried through the auditorium, I heard Cole clear his throat.
“Thank you for the award, but I have to go help my dads now!” He dropped his model and raced off the stage to join us as we left through the large doors. Applause erupted through the auditorium as we spilled out into the soft fall light.
Jaxon and Bryce were right behind us as we stumbled toward my truck.
“I can't get in the truck, no way, it’s too high.” Shawn shook his head and let out a pained sigh.
“I'll get our car,” Jaxon said, handing Lori to Bryce and quickly rushing off to the other side of the parking lot.
Shawn tried to smile in appreciation but let out a pained groan and doubled-over. I rushed forward but I had no idea whether to touch him or let him be. My legs were shaking and my wolf was pacing back and forth, on high alert, ears back and nose sniffing violently at the air. Paco sat still for once, looking on with a worried expression.
“Breathe through the contraction, that's it, breathe,” Nicole said in encouragement as she stepped in front of me and started rubbing Shawn’s back. He visibly relaxed under her touch. “This is normal. This is good. Everything's happening just right.”
Cole raced up to my side and wrapped his arms around my hips.
“Is the baby okay?” he asked quietly.
I looked to Nicole who gave me a warm smile and reassuring nod.
“It's fine, Shawn's going into labor and he's going to have the baby soon,” I told him, then I reached out and rubbed Shawn's back, following Nicole's lead. He gave me a warm, appreciative smile and I felt for a moment like I knew what I was doing.
“Yes! Brother time!” Cole said, pumping his fist in the air.
“How about you and I drive Paco home, then head over to the hospital in Dad's truck? We can get everything ready for Shawn,” Nicole said to Cole, and I happily handed her the keys.
“You'll be fine,” she whispered to me. “It's just like how it was with Cole.”
“That was over a decade ago,” I whispered back. “I'm not prepared!”
“Then it’s lucky you're not the one going into labor.” She laughed and slapped me on the back before heading for the truck with Cole and Paco. Gavin, Bryce and Lori went with them, and I stayed with Shawn, rubbing his back and encouraging him to breathe in the calmest voice I could muster. Admittedly, it wasn't very calm. I hated seeing him in pain, and every groan he let out made me feel like I was on high alert, ready to defend my mate.
Fighting the trembling in my hands, I helped Shawn into Jaxon's car, and then clambered into the backseat with him. I held his hand and counted out his breaths as our pack leader drove us across town to the hospital.
“Can you hurry?” I asked Jaxon.
“I got Maddie on the phone earlier,” he called back to us from the driver's seat. “She said the delivery room will be ready for you, and not to freak out because these things usually take hours.”
“Hours? I don't remember Cole's birth taking hours.”
“Yeah, well, Lori took a long time comin' but I remember it as being two seconds. The mind has a way of shortening high stress situations.”
“It's fine, darling.” Shawn chuckled, patting my hand. “It really does take hours. I just need you to keep me calm and—oh god! Ouch! Shit! Shit!”
“This is the first time I've ever heard you swear, Shawn,” Jaxon said, laughing.
“Well… Shit!” Shawn yelled, and Jaxon howled. I couldn't help but let out a loud laugh. It broke the tension and we hooted and howled until we pulled up to the hospital.
Maddie met us at the door with a wheelchair. “It'll help to speed things along if we walk, but we can use the chair if you need it,” she said.
Shawn shook his head and waddled forward, taking Maddie's arm. She took him in, and Jaxon slapped my back, wished me luck, and went to wait in the waiting room. I took a deep breath and followed close behind my mate and his doctor, telling my wolf to keep calm and just stay out of the way.
But the moment we stepped into the hospital, I was hit with that smell and my wolf grumbled uncomfortably. I swallowed my nausea and focused on why I was there—I was going to greet my newborn son, and I’d just have to suck it up until then.
Nurses rushed over from their posts and got Shawn set up in the delivery room so quickly he was already on the table and hooked up to monitors and an IV before I'd gotten my scrubs on. When I walked in, he immediately burst out laughing.
“What? Did they give you the pain killers already?”
He giggled. “No, you just look so cute! The hair net really adds something,” he said, reaching up and tugging at it.
I growled and grabbed his hand, bringing it to my lips and kissing it gently. He beamed at me as I sat beside him and pushed his hair back from his beautiful, glowing face.
“You're doing so good,” I told him. “I'm so damn proud of you.”
Shawn smiled, his eyes filling up with tears. I wiped them away. “Don’t cry now. We can both do that when our son his born.”
“Alright, team,” Maddie said as she came into the room. “How are we doing?”
“Contractions are about four minutes apart,” Shawn said.
“How are you so certain?” I asked. Shawn looked at me like I was a bit dumb.
“I'm a nurse.”
“Still quite some time to go then,” Maddie said. “And we're still adamant on having a natural birth?”
Shawn nodded fiercely.
“Alright, let's see how far along you are then,” she said, slipping on a glove and lifting up the sheet that covered Shawn's legs.
He turned his head to look at me and gave me a cheeky grin, then whispered, “Jealous?”
I almost choked and barely stopped myself from bursting out laughing. He smiled smugly at having made me crack, and then looked up at the ceiling as Maddie checked how far he was dilated.
“Yes, you’ll be a while yet,” she declared, snapping off the glove and throwing it in the trash. “I'll have my team keep an eye on you, and I'll be right down the hall if you need anything. Just stay comfortable and breathe through the contractions.”
Shawn gave her an appreciative smile, but I kept my eyes on him. He'd helped me calm down with his jokes, but my wolf was still on high alert. Regardless of how all of Shawn’s check-ups had proved everything was going fine, I wouldn’t know for certain until I held my baby in my arms.
Hours dragged by. I got more anxious by the second, and Shawn spent a lot of his time reassuring me, which helped but left me feeling guilty. At least the intense emotions overshadowed everything else, and I was able to ignore the smell of the hospital.
Our roles reversed, however, when Shawn was having contractions. I went into automatic protective mate mode. I let him clench my hand as hard as he could, swear at me until his cheeks were bright red, and threaten to burn down the whole hospital. I channeled Nicole's vibe and put on my most soothing voice, counted out his breaths, and told him he was doing a fantastic job. I was shocked that it always seemed to work, calming him down and helping him focus on his breathing. He walked around the room, took a warm shower, and squatted down to relieve the pressure. Finally, there was hardly any time between contractions, nurses were rush
ing in and out of the room, and someone declared he was fully dilated.
Maddie came back with her full team and brought lamps and medical equipment with her.
“Standing?” she asked, rubbing Shawn's back as he leaned over the delivery table and breathed through his latest contraction.
“Whatever it takes,” he groaned.
“Well, then. Let's deliver this cub.”
Half an hour of swearing, grunting, and sweating later, Shawn delivered a perfectly healthy, big, strong, wailing baby.
“Oh.” It was about as much as I could say, stunned as I saw my son for the first time.
Shawn collapsed forward onto the bed, and I quickly grabbed him as Maddie cut the umbilical cord and then handed our baby boy to a nurse. I helped Shawn lie down, and wiped the tears from his face as I looked into his eyes. My heart swelled as he smiled at me with the most joyful expression on his face.
“I can't believe I just had a baby,” he whispered.
“You did, sweetheart,” I said, pride thrumming through my whole body.
“Here he is—healthy, fat, and beautiful,” Maddie said, carrying our son over to the bed. He was quiet now as she placed him into Shawn's arms. My mate took a deep breath and let out a long, happy sigh of gratitude.
“He's perfect.”.
“He is perfect,” I said, looking down at his tiny face. “I thought he'd have your nose, but it looks like Cole's. And everything else is all you.”
“Do you think so?” Shawn asked.
“Oh, yes. Like I said, perfect.” Shawn smiled, and I leaned down to give him a little kiss.
“Do we have a name?” Maddie asked, beaming down at the little boy.
“Samuel,” Shawn said softly, never taking his eyes off our son.
I smiled and nodded, reaching out and running a thumb over his cheek. “Samuel Kyle.”
Once Shawn and Samuel were settled in, I walked out to the waiting room. Everyone looked up expectantly, and I could barely manage to hold back my excitement.
“Everything okay?” Bryce asked quickly. I bit down on my bottom lip and nodded happily, a little bit lost for words.
“Yes!” Jaxon cheered, and the whole group applauded. Even Lori let out a happy gurgle.
“He's so beautiful! He's just—wow!”
“Shawn or the baby?” Gavin asked with a chuckle.
“Both,” I announced.
“It's a boy, right?” Cole asked.
“Yes, he's a boy. Want to come and meet your little brother?” I asked as I blinked tears out of my eyes.
Cole immediately bounded off the couch and ran over to me for a quick hug, and then power walked down the hall.
“Wrong way!” I called, laughing as he turned around without hesitation and marched in the order direction.
Back in the delivery room, Shawn lifted Samuel up and let me take him from his arms. I snuggled our baby for a moment then carried him over to Cole who was sitting patiently in a chair. As I placed our bundle down on Cole's lap, my heart felt like it was at absolute maximum capacity.
It was on the verge of exploding when Cole bent down and kissed his new brother on the cheek and whispered, “I'm going to take care of you no matter what. You'll always be my best friend.”
“Oh shit,” I swore, unable to take any more.
Shawn and Cole looked at me and I looked up at the ceiling, trying to hold back the tears. “I love you all so much,” I said, sobbing all over again.
Both Shawn and Cole laughed and cried at the same time. “We love you too.”
I couldn't believe how good things could be. My whole family, finally together. My fated mate, and our sons. There was just one member missing… LuLu.
20
Shawn
LuLu was at doggie daycare when I went into labor, and Trevor had sweetly agreed to keep her overnight for no extra charge. My coworkers had fixed it so I could stay at the hospital for a whole week if I'd wanted, but by the third day I was more than ready to get the hell out of there. Linc was visibly uncomfortable there too, constantly covering his nose with his hand whenever he came to visit. I kind of got what he meant, now my senses were heightened—it did smell pretty gross in there, but I still thought he was overreacting.
Samuel slept through the nights like a perfect angel, and he was a big eater already. He did a great job with the formula and had only lost a little bit of water weight by the time we were discharged from the hospital. Linc drove us to the homestead and got us set up in the nursery together before he went to get LuLu. Cole was staying with his mom, and I enjoyed how quiet the house was as I relaxed in the rocking chair with Samuel in my arms. It was so peaceful up here. It was barely out of town, but it felt like we were miles away from civilization. I let out a soft sigh of satisfaction as I gazed down at the little miracle in my arms.
He was so perfect, and I simply couldn't believe how much I loved him. I thought my love for Linc was next-level, but this was a whole different thing. Maybe it was my wolf growing more powerful inside me, but I felt so protective of Samuel. I would truly kill a man to protect him, with no hesitation.
He curled his hands into tiny fists and yawned, and I just about died from how cute it was. As he fell back to sleep, I closed my eyes and concentrated on my wolf. I was always aware of it, just there in the background, but now it came to the fore, taking me a little by surprise at how natural it felt. I'd expected it would take some practice to get fully used to it, but it was like my wolf had always been there, and now he was just as protective over Samuel as I was.
A little while later, I heard Linc's truck pull up to the house. I loved how easily I could hear the patter of LuLu's paws on the porch, and then the creak of the back door opening. I opened my eyes as the footsteps grew louder, and then Linc poked his head into the nursery. A huge smile spread over his face as he spotted the two of us.
“We're back,” he said, rather unnecessarily.
LuLu popped her head around the doorway too. She offered a big doggy grin, and her tail started wagging like crazy when she spotted me.
“Hey, Lu!” I said, encouraging her to come in. She trotted over and sniffed gently at my legs. She could tell there was something interesting in my lap, and I couldn't wait to show her.
“She's not going to get jealous, is she?” Linc asked as he knelt down and scratched LuLu's back. She panted and sniffed harder at my knees.
“I don't think so,” I said. “I mean, she's already been putting up with you taking all of my attention for over nine months.”
Linc laughed and shook his head. LuLu put her paws up on my knees, and I watched her face as she spotted Samuel. She cocked her head to the side, and sniffed like crazy, but she quickly sat back on her butt and looked up at me like she was waiting for a command.
“Come up here, silly girl, it’s okay, you can meet him.” She quickly jumped back up and balanced with her paws on my knees. She sniffed the baby again and her tail started to furiously wag. “Well, I guess that means she likes him,” I said.
“Who wouldn't? Everyone loves him,” Linc replied proudly.
I let LuLu completely absorb Sam’s scent so she’d quickly come to recognize him, and then when she dropped back down, I looked up at Linc. “Would you put him down for me?” I asked.
Linc scooped up Samuel from my arms as LuLu intently watched every move he made, never taking her eyes off Sam. Linc placed our baby gently into his crib and leaned down to kiss him. I hauled myself up out of the rocking chair and stood beside my mate, looking down at our little cub. LuLu put her front paws up on the side of the crib so she could keep an eye on Sam too.
I ran my hand over Linc's muscular back and felt a thrill of arousal move through me. I leaned against him and placed a soft kiss on the crook of his neck. He moaned softly and craned his neck so I could land more kisses there, and I happily obliged, trailing my lips up and down his neck. Linc let out a needy sigh and moved so that he could bring me closer and press a firm kiss against my mout
h. I whimpered at how good it felt, and kissed him back, hard and deep. I moaned again when he began sucking softly on my bottom lip.
Suddenly, he pulled away. “Six weeks, right?” he asked with a strong sting of frustration in his voice.
“Ugh,” I groaned. “Yeah, six weeks until I can have sex.”
“That sounds like an eternity,” he said, pushing his fingers through my hair.
“Well, as I tell my patients, it’s better to wait than cause any issues. Anyway, there are other things we can do while we wait…”
“Oh yeah?” A spark lit Linc’s toffee colored eyes, making them soft and warm.
I nodded, grinning up at him. “But first, there’s something exciting I want to show you.” I stepped back and he tilted his head to the side. LuLu did too, and I gave them both a reassuring smile before I closed my eyes and focused inward. I took a deep breath and felt for my wolf. I was sure I could do it. All I had to do was allow him out.
When I opened my eyes I could see the tight weave of cotton of Linc's pants in high definition, and the smell of his cologne smacked me so hard I reeled back. He gasped, and the sound of it made the fur inside my ears stand on end. I looked up to find him staring down at me with an expression of absolute glee.
I tried to speak, but all that came out was an excited yap. I suddenly felt a cold sensation on my rump and spun around to find LuLu sniffing my gray and black speckled flank. She jumped back, then lowered her head in submission. I felt my heart surge with compassion for her, and I nudged her with my snout to let her know I was still her friend. Then I felt the same kind of nudge against my side. I spun back the other way and was face to face with a wolf… With Linc. His amber eyes burned into mine, and every part of my fur-covered, long-limbed body felt drawn to him. I ran my snout against his, and he pushed back, nuzzling into me and licking at the fur on my neck. I whined low in my throat, and Linc’s wolf moved back. Before I knew what he was going to do, he shifted back into his human form. Looking up at him I felt a surge of panic as I suddenly wondered if I’d remember how to be human. Maybe I’d be stuck as a wolf forever. But just as quickly as the panic came, it left, and I found myself standing on two legs, a little wobbly and light headed, but totally human.
Surprised Daddy Page 19
