Epilogue

Connor

“ B abe, did we get enough water and canned food for the blizzard coming? The news is calling it a bad one, and I don’t want to be left without the things we need.” Bryce poked his head into the pantry, and I heard him counting the cases of water we bought last week in preparation for the upcoming storm. I would have helped him, but I had a bit more urgent situation on my hands. I was currently counting the time between my contractions.

Shit. They are getting closer now.

“Sweetie, I think you will have to put prepping to the side for now.” I clutched my stomach as another contraction ripped through my back and belly. “I think it’s time we head to Valleywood General.”

A loud clatter followed my announcement before the wide-eyed face of my mate backed out of the pantry door.

“Did you say we must head to the hospital?” Bryce dropped to his knees and examined my stomach. “When did the contractions start? Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Because you would act the way you are acting right now.” I breathed out through another wave of cramping. “Can we move on from these questions and get me into the car? I don’t want to have these babies in the middle of my kitchen.”

“Yes. Sorry.” Bryce rose from the floor and helped me to stand. “We already have your bag in the car, so we should be ready to leave. Am I missing anything?”

“Nope. We’re all good to get there.” I bent over as another rolling pain came through. “Can we hurry? They seem to be getting closer and stronger.”

Bryce helped me move through the kitchen and into the garage. After opening the car door so I could slip in, he went back to the door to lock up the house.

“Do you think they will have a VIP suite available even though we aren’t due yet?” Talking was getting harder to maintain as the contractions got harsher.

“I am sure that they will.” Bryce drove down the street but kept a hand on my belly. “And even if they don’t, their normal suites are perfectly acceptable. I only booked for us a VIP suite because they looked awesome. This is our first pregnancy, and frankly, because I could.”

Now that the cramping was too close together for any relief between contractions, I stayed quiet for the rest of the ride. Bryce was right. Any room at the hospital would be nice, but I really loved how the VIP suites looked when we took our tour a few months back.

I really would love one with a view of Lake Eerie.

The rest of the drive, our arrival to the hospital, checking in, and getting sent to a room all blurred for me. My world was focused on one thing, managing this pain on my own until I could get one of the nice doctors to give me the good stuff. As I rushed through the process in a tunnel-visioned daze, I was confident Bryce had my back and wouldn’t let me walk into a wall or get sent to the wrong section of the hospital. And when the good doctors set me up in a beautiful VIP suite overlooking the lake, I had proof my mate had listened to me all those nights I babbled on about which suite I liked best and had a hand in which room we got into. Now, I needed a spinal epidural so I could get some rest before these pups arrived.

“Hello, Connor. My name is Doctor Ava Norn, and I will be assisting in your delivery tonight.” A woman with black hair and bright-blue eyes approached my bed. “I understand you would like some pain meds. I need to check first to see how far you have progressed. And I am familiar with your ancestral pack of wolf shifters. From what I understand, you have been blessed with an omega line on your lower abdomen, so that is how the children can come into the world. That will be very similar to a human having a C-section, I would assume, only with quicker healing, and it begins to open itself as the babies get ready to be birthed.”

“That’s how my parents explained it to me when I reached puberty.” I breathed in deeply and tried to ground myself. Different types of shifters, even families within the same breed, would have unique heats, pregnancies, and childbirth, much like how we vary in how we can tell who our fated mates are. Bryce and I were from the same ancestral pack, so we scented each other after reaching adulthood, and I had an omega line.

Hopefully, I will only have to wait a few more minutes to experience sweet relief.

“Well, let’s have a look.” Doctor Norn lifted my shirt and examined the opening that allowed me to give birth as an omega. “Okay, baby A is a bit excited to meet his papa outside. We won’t have time to prepare the spinal for you. This baby wants out now. I can already see his head starting to break through.”

“You should have driven faster,” I growled at Bryce, who stood at my side wide-eyed and holding my hand. “Next time, you’d better floor it, mister.”

“Hey, that’s good. You’re already talking about a next time.” Doctor Norn chuckled. “Usually, the birthing parent is screaming about never being touched again, and their partner had better be happy with an only child.”

“Nope.” I breathed deeply again and tried to focus on the spot right above the doctor’s head. “I would like to build our own little hockey team.”

“Nothing wrong with that.” Doctor Norn smiled. “But let’s get these two safely into the world first, and then you guys can try for that team in another six to eight weeks, okay?”

The next twenty minutes flew by in a blur of nurses and doctors, grunts and screams, and the sweet first cries of our beautiful sons. It was only after we were all cleaned up, the nurses and doctors out of the room, and Bryce sitting on the edge of the bed holding one twin while I had the other that I could pause and fully appreciate the moment.

“So…” Bryce kissed Twin B on the forehead. “Which names should we go with?”We had a long list but hadn’t selected which names to call the twins yet. I had told Bryce I would know once I held the babies in my arms, and I was right. The moment the babies were laid in my arms and the room was silent, they came to me like whispers on the wind. “Owain and Aeron.”

“Perfect.” Bryce leaned over and kissed Aeron’s head like he had baby Owain a minute earlier. “Welcome to the world, Owain and Aeron. Daddy and Papa love you.”

Bryce

“I didn’t realize how much you could love someone until I mated Connor, and we had Owain and Aeron. Papa, I understand you and Dad so much more now.” I grabbed a cup of coffee while my parents sat in the sitting area of the VIP birthing suite. Connor was taking a nap after the exhausting birth process, but luckily, the suite had a separate room where guests could congregate without disturbing the birthing parent’s resting time. This one even had a small kitchenette where I could make a quick snack and brew coffee or tea. I sat across from my father and sipped the delicious caffeine.

“I remember that rush of unconditional and immeasurable love.” Papa stared at Aeron’s face as my newborn son looked around, observing this new room for the first time. “It was pretty overwhelming, I admit. Beautiful but all-encompassing.”

“And it deepens and expands the moment you hold your grandchildren for the first time.” My father smiled down at Owain. “These babies are very curious and observant for newborns. I don’t recall you being so aware on the day you were born.”

“I’ve heard from fellow shifter friends who have had children that it seems the newest generation is born with more magic ability and innate knowledge. They mentioned their babies were born able to do things newborns usually weren’t capable of, like holding their heads up, recognizing faces immediately after the first meeting, and rolling over. Some were born with so much magic, their parents had to bind them for a few years so they didn’t accidentally cause humans to freak out or unintentionally set a fire with their minds when having a temper tantrum.” I shivered at the idea of a newborn or even a toddler holding that much power over energy.

“I can tell these two have quite a bit of magic-weaving ability in them.” Papa made a scrunched-up funny face at my son. “We’ll need to keep an eye on how much, but I don’t see them setting things aflame. They might just be intuitive.”

“If we are lucky. I remember when cousin Katie started fires all over her house during her naps. Aunt Marie and Uncle Cliff had to put a binding spell on her until she reached maturity and could handle the full extent of her powers.” I chuckled and finished my coffee, standing so I could make another cup. “Would either of you like some coffee or water? We have a couple of things here in the fridge. Hector and Bruno dropped off some groceries for Connor and me.”

“We’re fine.” My father leaned back on the couch and held my son to his chest. “Your papa and I can watch these two for an hour or so. Why don’t you go in there and rest with Connor? I’m sure he wouldn’t mind you sneaking into that hospital bed and cuddling with him after what he went through. We aren’t going anywhere, and, if you want the kids closer to you, let us know, and we will bring them in.”

“But you two need rest.” Papa smiled at me. “The next couple of days, weeks, and months will be full of learning a new routine, getting little sleep, and forgetting your own needs unless someone comes over and forces you to remember. Take the hour or so we can give you now to rest and share some time alone with your mate.”

“Thanks.” I set my mug down by the sink and kissed my parents on their cheeks, brushing a few curly stands of hair off each of my sons’ foreheads. “I’ll be back soon.”

Walking into the area where my mate slept, I tried to be as quiet as possible.

“Are the boys okay?” Connor’s whisper made me realize I wasn’t stealthy enough.

“Yeah. My parents are watching them for a bit.” I squeezed myself onto the edge of his bed and pulled him closer into my body. “They thought it would be a good time, while the babies slept, for me to come cuddle with my omega.”

“Your parents are wise men.” Connor snuggled into my embrace, and I kissed the back of his head.

“Thank you for making all my dreams come true, Connor. I love you.”

“All of your dreams? I didn’t make you into a hockey star.”

“No, but you gave me your trust, love, and our little family. Those are the dreams that truly count.”

“I love you, Bryce. Always.”

“I love you, Connor. Forever.”