8. Sage

Chapter eight

Sage

D ays filled with hot chocolate and presents made the rest of the week go by in a flash. Even though Christmas day was technically over, we decided to celebrate the rest of the year as if it was Christmas every day. Call us cheesy, but it somehow brought us even closer together.

I never met an alpha who loved the holidays just as much as me, and we wanted our first official Christmas together to be extra special.

After a brief visit from my friends Mark and Jill the day after Christmas, the rest of our time together was spent with just the two of us. Well, us and Bootsie, of course. We spent the week together mostly on bedrest, thanks to my pregnancy, but it was filled with our favorite Christmas movies and wonderful conversations about our future.

My midwife, Tammy, has been incredibly helpful. Especially during the past three weeks. Even though my pregnancy is a little more unpredictable thanks to my fox shifter side, she reassures me that the muscle aches, bloating, and heartburn are normal.

Flipping over onto my side, I bite back a groan. My lower back is killing me, and I can’t seem to get comfortable in bed.

Xavier sits up in bed and pauses the movie. “What’s wrong, sweetheart? Do you need something?”

I nod. “Could you get me another glass of water?”

“Of course.” He hops out of the bed with a grin. I give him a small smile back. My lovely mate is always smiling at me. I underestimated how seriously he takes his vows when he said he’d make me feel cherished.

My abdomen is seized by a sharp cramp. Bootsie hops up on the bed as if sensing my pain and begins purring by my swollen feet. Whoever said that pregnancy is a wonderful experience must have magic on their side, because I’d kill for this back pain to go away.

“Thanks, kitty. Between you and my mate, I don’t think anything will go amiss.”

Bootsie swishes his tail in reply, causing me to chuckle.

An overwhelming desire to get up and rearrange my den is taking over me. Slowly sliding out of bed, it takes me longer than I expected to get up. When I finally do, another cramp forces a groan from my lips. I waddle my way over to the other side of the room when suddenly liquid gushes from between my legs.

“Xaiver!” I cry out. “Xavier!”

“Yeah, baby? Want something else?” His voice is muffled.

“Can you call Tammy? I—I think our baby is on the way.”

Plates crash in the kitchen and footsteps pound as Xavier runs back into the room. He has his phone already pressed to his ear as he takes in the scene before him. “Oh fuck. Our baby is is really on her way?” he asks, sounding excited but looking pale and terrified.

Despite the pain, I give him a tight smile and nod. “Addison is on her way.”

Xavier rushes to my side and helps me back to bed. “Let’s get you safe and comfortable as possible on the bed.”

Another pain slices through me and I give him a narrowed eye look. Comfortable? My inner fox growls, ready to see our baby.

Three hours later, I’m crying happy tears as the midwife passes me Addison, and I hold my daughter for the first time. Xaiver is tearing up and grinning just as much as I am.

“Thank you, Sage. She’s gorgeous. Xaiver presses a kiss to my sweaty temple, and I lean against him for support.

“It’s because she looks like you,” I reply.

“No.” He shakes his head. “It’s because she looks like us .”

I glance down at our beautiful child and smile. “You’re right. It’s because she looks like us.”