“What?” Liam looked horrified.
David glanced at River.
“Is that absolutely necessary?” River asked, temple throbbing.
Angela didn’t back down in the face of the tense alpha. “It is if you want to save Sawyer and the baby. We don’t have much time.”
Liam shook his head. “But they’ve never seen a pregnant man!”
“Since I visited the compound, we’ve been doing research, and you werewolves aren’t quite the enigma you were even five months ago. We’ve treated a few at the hospital. I assure you, we will do everything in our power for your mate.” Angela turned to River. “With your permission, I’ll call an ambulance.”
River hesitated. “The cost?” he asked in a low voice.
Angela smiled reassuringly. “Don’t worry; completely covered. We’re happy to acquire more information about the species.”
River nodded, and Liam seemed relieved to have the decision out of his hands. He followed the doctor back into the bedroom as she spoke into her cell phone.
“Is this wise?” David asked. He couldn’t help finding the idea of handing over one of their own to the humans more than a little frightening.
“What would you have me do? Let Sawyer lie there and die, the pups inside him?”
“But…why can’t he just give birth? It’s done all the time. Surely there’s something we can do as a pack…”
“Sometimes werewolves die in childbirth,” River said. “Not often, but it isn’t unheard of. Something is obviously wrong, and if we sit here and do nothing, Sawyer and the pups will die. I can’t let that happen.”
David crossed his arms over his chest and frowned.
“Somehow, I didn’t think you’d be the one to have a lack of faith in the humans,” River said.
“Why, because I regularly fuck one?” David asked, anger pooling in his chest.
“Because you’re mated to one.”
David made a derisive sound.
“I need you to take care of the pack while I’m gone. Josiah and I will accompany Kane and Sawyer to the hospital.”
“Of course,” David muttered, and watched River go back into the room.
Brooks waited for David at the end of the hall with the others, all eager for answers, and with a sigh, David headed that way.
Chapter 10: Josiah
Josiah watched River pace the length of the waiting room. He knew his alpha wasn’t just worried about Sawyer; River was agitated over being around so many humans. Knowing him, he also was probably second guessing his decision to bring Sawyer to the human hospital. It pained Josiah to see the once confident alpha at odds with his instincts, but Josiah didn’t know what he could do about it.
“You did the right thing,” Josiah told River, glad the waiting room was empty except for an old woman sitting in the corner, eyeing them over her knitting.
River stopped in front of where Josiah sat but didn’t speak.
“You couldn’t let them die,” Josiah said. He couldn’t help thinking, as he gazed up at River, how handsome his mate was. Tall and broad, with that long, dark hair pulled back in a ponytail, and those gorgeous green eyes. His heart clenched with love for the man. They’d come to an unspoken truce about Josiah working at the Congress, and more than anything Josiah wished he could ease River’s worries.
“They might still die,” River said.
“No.” Josiah refused to consider it.
River sat down beside him. “You have to prepare yourself. I worry about how you’ll take it.”
Josiah turned away from that steady gaze. “Sawyer won’t die, and neither will his pups.”
“You don’t know that.” River put his hand over Josiah’s, and the omega pulled away, as though arguing with River over the statement would keep it from coming true.
“No.”
“Josiah…”
“River, don’t.” Josiah crossed his arms and looked away. “And don’t think you did the wrong thing. I’ve told you before; just like werewolves, all humans are different. Not all of them are out to get us. Some, like Angela, want to help.”
River let out a breath. “I admit I feel better with her looking after them.”
“I do, too. I trust her. And she said she has a colleague who knows more about lycanthropes. So, stop thinking you shouldn’t have let the humans close to us. If we hadn’t known Angela, things could be really bad right now.”
Mark walked into the waiting room with Jaime behind him.
“I hope you don’t mind I came along,” Jaime said. “I was with Mark when he got River’s call.”
“River, this is Jaime,” Josiah introduced them. “He’s the omega I told you about who’s helping with the shelter.”
River nodded at Jaime. “Nice to meet you.”
Jaime smiled. “Same here. You’re kind of a legend among the rogues. Leader of the pack everyone wanted to belong to.”
River blinked, and Josiah saved him from having to reply by turning to Mark. “Did you talk to anyone when you came in? Did you see Liam?”
“Sid convinced him to sit down and drink some coffee.”
Josiah was suddenly glad Sid had insisted on coming with them. Perhaps the beta just wanted to feel useful. Unburdened by heat lust, betas were level-headed and responsible, taking on some of the most important tasks in a pack. Sid hadn’t quite found his place yet, but Josiah hoped he would soon, if for no other reason than the selfish one that Josiah wanted River to quit worrying about him.
“No news yet, they said,” Mark added. He looked at River. “Can I get you guys anything? Sandwiches maybe?”
“That would be nice,” River turned away and walked over to look out the windows on the other side of the room, back stiff and shoulders taut.
Mark glanced at Josiah. “What crawled up his ass?”
“This isn’t easy on him,” Josiah whispered. “After everything that’s happened, River second guesses himself a lot.”
“Werewolves have exceptional hearing,” River reminded them without turning away from the windows.
Behind them, the old woman surprised everyone by letting out a quiet chuckle.
“Let’s go to the cafeteria,” Jaime urged Mark.
Half an hour later the two returned with Sid and Liam and a bag of sandwiches. They sat with Josiah as River continued to pace from window to hallway and back again. The waiting was driving Josiah crazy, too. The omega worried about Sawyer. Was he still hurting? Terrified? He didn’t have any of them with him. Josiah had tried to get Angela to let him stay, but she had been adamant, stating that they would probably have to sedate Sawyer anyway.
At least another hour passed before Angela walked into the room looking weary, her white physician’s coat wrinkled. By this time, the old woman had left and been replaced by a family of five, all of them huddled on the seats on the far side of the waiting room. Josiah wasn’t sure how they knew the group were werewolves, but the furtive looks the father kept shooting at them told him they did. Perhaps they’d been listening to their conversation.
“Angela.” Josiah jumped to his feet when he spotted her. “How’s Sawyer?”
Liam approached the doctor, looking like he was steeling himself for bad news, and Josiah glanced fearfully from him back to Angela.
“He’s stabilized. We had to take the pups.”
“What do you mean, take them?” Liam asked. “And what does stabilized mean?”
Josiah felt River’s tense presence behind him.
Angela looked at the agitated werewolf alpha and softened her voice. “Sorry for the medical jargon. What I mean is, we had to surgically take the pups out of Sawyer, because the birth canal had not opened, and only blood could get through when he pushed. Sawyer and the pups were going to die if we didn’t intervene. Your mate lost a lot of blood, but his vitals are normal for now. The pups are doing well.”
“So, there are more than one?” Liam’s voice broke. “H-how many?”
“Three.” Angela gav
e a tired smile. “I’ll take you to see them, if you’d like.”
For a moment, Josiah thought Liam was going to pass out, and Sid must have thought so, too, for he wrapped his arm around the alpha’s waist, supporting him as they walked out of the waiting room with Angela, Mark, and Jaime following.
“Thank you, Jesus,” Josiah whispered as he turned to River. The pack alpha enveloped him in a hug, and Josiah laid his head against River’s chest, taking a moment to listen to the steady beat of his mate’s heart.
“Let’s go,” River said when the mutters from the family across the room became too loud to ignore. “Everyone will be anxious to hear the news.” They walked out to the nurses’ desk to wait for their friends.
Liam had disappeared, and Sid stood talking to a nurse.
“Ready to go home?” Josiah asked the beta.
“I think I’ll stay a while,” Sid said.
River handed Sid the keys to the VW bus. “We’ll take a cab home, then. Liam may need a ride.”
“Are you sure? I doubt he’ll leave, and I don’t mind walking. I know you don’t like to take cabs.”
“If I wasn’t sure, I wouldn’t offer.” River folded Sid’s hand over the keys, and Josiah was surprised at the intensity of the jealousy that zipped through him.
He didn’t like his alpha touching Sid. The feeling wasn’t rational, but there it was.
* * * *
Josiah hadn’t meant to be unusually quiet on the way home, but he must have been because River questioned him on it as soon as they were settled feeding the girls in the kitchen.
“I’ve just been going over all that’s happened,” Josiah said, which was half true. “I’m glad Sawyer’s okay. I was scared there for a while.”
“I didn’t like sending him to the hospital to be at the mercy of humans.”
“I know, but they saved his life, River.” He leaned back in his seat, watching Sadie drink from her sippy cup. He smoothed her thick, dark hair from her face. Now the twins were maturing, Josiah could see definite differences in their looks. Sadie continued to be smaller than her sister, and her eyes had the shape of River’s, although they were blue like Josiah’s. Sophie looked a bit more like some of Josiah’s baby pictures. Not for the first time, he wished he’d known his parents.
“Sometimes I think you forget I’m half-human, and our daughters are probably entirely human.”
The glance River gave him was half-shock, half-irritation before he resumed cutting up the meat on Sophie’s plate.
Sophie picked up one of the small pieces and popped it into her mouth, chewing. Seconds later, she opened her mouth and pushed the meat out with her tongue. “Yuck.”
Sadie was busy arranging her portion into a smiley face.
“Sadie, eat,” Josiah said.
“Hate meat.”
“Eat some anyway. Two bites.”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” River responded to Josiah’s previous statement. “You’re more werewolf than you think, and the girls are showing signs; they’re much more developed than human children their age.”
“Yes, but it’s slowing down. Haven’t you noticed?”
Whether River wanted to admit it or not, at less than a year old, the girls’ development had slowed considerably, leveling off to where a three-year-old human child would be. They should have shifted long before, but they’d shown no signs of it; their favorite food was macaroni and cheese, not meat; their body temperature was that of a human; and their senses weren’t particularly sharp. They also took longer to heal than werewolves did.
And the girls had begun noticing the humans around them. The day before, as they’d passed a park in the van, Sadie had spotted some children playing and begged to stop.
“Look!” she’d squealed. “Issa girl! She like me, Da!”
Josiah had felt terrible that Sophie and Sadie were being denied the companionship of other children, especially of their own gender. “Yes, sweetheart. She’s a girl just like you and your sister.”
“Can I play wif her?” Sophie had had her nose pressed to the window, and the sight had made Josiah’s heart ache for her.
“Not today, baby.”
Josiah had been tempted, but the playground had been full of people, and he’d been scared. So odd that he was now afraid of the kind of people he’d grown up around, but he was. River was right; Josiah was now more werewolf than human, and as much as the omega didn’t like it, some humans were a threat to him and those he loved. It was one thing for him to go out among them, but another for the girls to do it.
That’s probably how River feels about you, he thought. And you think he’s being ridiculously over-protective.
So, who was right? Josiah studied the girls.
Sawyer’s boys wouldn’t be old enough to play for quite a while, and Josiah wanted Sadie and Sophie to have playmates now. Was it right to deny them because Josiah was afraid?
“I’ve been thinking,” Josiah began.
River looked up from his plate. “Should I be worried?”
“Not funny.”
River grinned and resumed eating.
“Down, please,” Sadie said.
When Josiah saw she had eaten most of her food, he reached over to wipe her mouth and hands before River moved the tray and released her. Sophie immediately wanted down, too.
When the girls had gone to the back porch to play, Josiah settled onto his chair again. “I’d like to take the girls with me to the Congress.”
“Absolutely not,” River said without looking up.
“River.”
“I can’t believe you even suggested it.” River’s jaw tensed.
“They have a daycare there with other children. Female children.”
“You mean human children.”
“Which is essentially what our girls are. Face it, River. They aren’t werewolves. They may have some traits, but I think their gender makes it impossible.”
River’s mouth firmed. “They’ll have children here to play with soon enough.”
“Not children like they are.” Josiah sat back. “I’m not giving in on this. They need to be with other children, and the Congress is the best place for that.”
“Why?” River’s green eyes bored into Josiah’s.
Josiah refused to give up, no matter how much the omega in him wanted to. “Because all the children at the Congress have parents who work there. Parents who aren’t bigoted against werewolves. A few hours a week won’t hurt anything, and it could really help the girls feel comfortable with who they are.”
River grunted and continued eating, but Josiah knew he had won when the alpha didn’t say anything more about it.
Chapter 11: David
David poured coffee into a cup and stood looking out the kitchen window to the backyard where a few stubborn leaves clung to branches that rattled in the wind. The pack had spent the last two days raking, and David’s shoulders burned from the exertion. He jumped when a hand landed on his shoulder. He recognized Jax’s scent and turned around to meet the soft gray eyes of his lover.
“Sorry. Didn’t mean to startle you,” Jax said. “I usually can’t sneak up on you if I want to.”
David tugged at one of Jax’s dreads. “I guess I was deep in thought. Coffee?” At Jax’s nod, he turned and poured another cup.
“Where is everyone?” Jax leaned against the counter, holding the warm mug with both hands. His cheeks and the tips of his nose were red from the cold.
“Josiah took the girls to the Congress today to play while he works. River just left for the club, and Leo’s working a double shift. Sid’s at the community college.”
“I think it’s great what he’s doing,” Jax said before taking a sip of coffee.
David nodded. After Sawyer had his pups, Sid had expressed a desire to study medicine, and Angela had encouraged him to join the nursing program. He was in his second week of studies.
“Did you see Josiah while you were at work?”
“I w
asn’t in the building. I worked with the rogues today.”
David raised an eyebrow. “Really?”
Jax shrugged. “Mark approached me about it. Said I was used to being around werewolves, and he hoped I could interest them in working for some of the companies Mark’s been talking to.”
David took a seat at the table. “And?”
“I think it went pretty well. These guys are different from what I’m used to—unsettled, a little belligerent.”
“Comes with fighting to stay alive,” David said.
“You said you’re on edge. Why?” Jax took David’s hand that lay on the table and laced their fingers together. “What’s bothering you?”
When David didn’t immediately answer, Jax gently cupped the alpha’s jaw with his hand. “Come on. You okay?”
David pulled back. “Just tired. This is all so different. Living here, having River gone so much of the time. Nothing’s like it used to be. River’s counting on me to help him hold the pack together, but sometimes…” He shook his head, not knowing how to put how he felt into words. David knew the pack was doing okay—certainly better than they had been in the wilderness or in Jax’s small apartment—but David felt his pack alpha’s unease, continued guilt, and general restlessness, and it was taking a toll on the second alpha. “I feel like I should be the one working, and River should be here.”
“He trusts you to run things,” Jax said.
That was the problem. River did trust him, and it had become a burden. David felt he was in over his head. If they’d still been at the compound, he knew he wouldn’t feel this way, but he was constantly aware of the latent dangers in the city.
Jax moved his chair closer to David’s and brought his lips to the alpha’s ear. “I know what you need.”
Heat sparked in David’s groin. He swallowed. “And what’s that?”
Jax’s warm breath ghosted over David’s lips. “You need to set aside your control for a while. Give it to me.” Jax took David’s lower lip between his teeth and gently tugged.
David’s cock immediately reacted. Before he could reply, Jax pushed his tongue into David’s mouth. Jax hadn’t done this in weeks—made a move to take control of David sexually—and the alpha couldn’t deny that he really needed it.
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