Chapter 22

Twenty-Two

ALANA

I leaned against the couch as I slowly walked around it, my face scrunched in pain.

I hoped I could at least get to my phone on the table before another contraction seized me. But right before I reached the table, my belly squeezed in pain like a rubber band around my waist. I took three deep breaths feeling a heaviness drop between my legs.

Oh my god.

I was so stupid for letting Lio go like that. Even if the baby was half-vampire, Lio would accept us. I couldn't imagine him throwing us out. When the contraction released me, I quickly reached out for my phone, grasping it tightly. I dialed Grandma's number and put it on speaker.

"Hello," she said. "I can't hear you. Hello."

"Grandma, it's me," I said breathlessly. "Can you hear me?"

"Yes, dear. What is…"

"I'm about to have the baby! The pack aren't here right now," I said. "I need your help."

"Oh my, are you serious?"

"If it's a vampire baby, we need to go into hiding," I said quickly, my words tumbling over each other.

"I'm coming," said Grandma.

Another contraction squeezed me as I hung up.

I yelled and grunted in pain. I leaned against the birthing ball, which helped ease some of the pain. This hurt way more than I thought it would. I never expected the pain to be so intense and unforgiving.

"I can't do this," I groaned to myself when the pain finally released me. The contractions were only seconds apart, and the heaviness between my legs increased. I pressed a hand between my legs and felt hair.

The baby's head was there.

My blood ran cold as I leaned against the ball in shock. The baby was coming right now. I lay on the floor on my back, and it felt like a balloon stretching below me, ready to burst. The pain was incredible. My breaths came out in gasps as I cradled the baby's head with my hand and pushed. I gritted my teeth and screamed in pain. It felt like every inch of skin was ripping down there.

I heard the front door open.

"In here!" I screamed.

Heavy footsteps ran towards me, and I opened my eyes to see Lio, Markus, and Owen with horrified expressions on their faces seeing me on the ground like this.

"She's having the fucking baby," said Markus.

"I knew we should have taken her to the hospital!" screamed Owen.

"Owen, grab blankets," said Lio, going into professional mode right away while I screamed in agony as the baby's head came out further. Lio knelt between my legs with serious determination on his face. "Markus, get scissors and boiling water to disinfect. Then purr into her when you're back. The calming effect will make this easier on her and open her up."

"It hurts," I moaned.

"I know, baby," said Lio. His calming voice reassured me that all wasn't as dreadful and horrifying as I thought. It felt like my entire world was going to collapse within minutes of giving birth if the baby wasn't Lio's. He would know immediately if the baby wasn't his. "Push Lana."

I took a deep breath and pushed with all my might. The pain between my legs was unbearable as I screamed.

"Again," said Lio calmingly. "You're doing great, baby."

"Listen to him, sweetheart," said my grandmother's voice. I looked up and locked eyes with her. Only she knew my secret.

"What if something happens?" I cried out. Her eyes flashed. She knew what I was talking about.

"You will be strong if anything happens," she said firmly- in a suck-it-up tone of voice. "You are a strong omega, and you can survive anything. Go ahead and listen to your alpha. Push like you mean it."

I took another deep breath and bore down with all my strength. I would have this baby, and I would love him or her.

No matter what.

I gritted my teeth and pushed again, my screams echoing throughout the house. When I heard the baby's cries, my heart beat faster, and tears streamed down my face. My baby was here.

"There she is," said Lio when the baby plopped onto his arms. He handed the baby to Markus. "Markus, wipe her face down."

I screamed again in pain when I felt a second heaviness press down my vagina.

Twins?

"Another one!" shouted Markus in excitement.

"Hold my hand," said Owen, and I grabbed his hand as I pushed again while Lio peered between my legs. The baby slid right out in the next couple of seconds, and the pain finally dissipated.

"This one is a boy. Here you go," he said to my grandma.

I collapsed against the ground, my eyes shut tight as I heard the babies crying. My body was weak in all the places, and my pussy hurt so bad as Lio cleaned me up. After a few minutes, I opened my eyes to see everyone staring at the crying babies in silence.

"What? What's wrong?" I asked, my heart sinking.

"There's something…" said Lio slowly as he stared at the baby in Grandma's hands.

"The boy doesn't look normal," said Markus in a shocked voice.

"Why the fuck are you scaring Alana?" said Owen loudly as he quickly made his way to the babies. "Oh, my god."

I shut my eyes tight, breathing hard. Then I sat up in a pool of my bloody mess and stared at the baby in my grandmother's hands, who was squirming, wrapped in a blanket. He had stark red eyes and nearly translucent skin.

The baby looked exactly like the vampires in the secret city. An exact replica of James but with my facial features. The girl baby in Markus's arms looked normal without the omega mark on her shoulder. The omega mark was three small claw marks on every omega's shoulders, signifying that she belonged to a pack. My baby girl could be either a beta or an alpha female, but I wouldn't be sure until she had grown.

"What is this?" said Lio, blinking rapidly and staunching my bleeding with a cloth. "How is this possible? The man who dropped you off at the clinic. He was a vampire wasn't he?"

Tears streamed down my face as I nodded, crying.

This was the worst-case scenario, and I thought all of it was behind me. I didn't even want to look at the babies. My heart was beating so fast that I thought I might pass out.

"Be patient," advised my grandmother gently.

Lio exhaled after a moment. "Listen, I need a moment, okay? She lied to all of us. I don't know who to fucking trust now." He washed his hands in the kitchen, walking out of the house, and my heart felt like it was torn into a million pieces.

I tried to get up, but Owen pressed a hand to my chest.

"Don't. We'll take care of you," he said, his eyes darting wildly between the vampire baby and me like he couldn't believe what was happening.

"I'm so sorry," I said weakly, getting up on my elbows. I was in excruciating pain, and I was getting dizzy. "I should have told you."

"It's okay," said Owen, scooping me up in his arms. "Let's get all this blood washed off you and take care of you. I would drive you to the hospital immediately, but I can't because they'll want to see the babies. Stay with me, Alana."

I struggled not to let the dizziness overtake me as my head bounced on his arm.

"Owen," I said.

"Don't, it's okay," he insisted, rushing me up the stairs. "Relax, baby. Just relax."

He sat me down in the bathtub and removed my bathrobe.

I was too scared to look down there and see the mess. I knew it was messy from all the blood all over his arms. The bathtub was cold underneath me until he turned on the water. I couldn't focus as he poured the water over me, scrubbing my skin. My eyes burned with tears and soon I was crying uncontrollably while he washed me, my tears mixing in with the water and blood. Owen pressed kisses on my head while he washed my back and legs.

"It's all my fault," I blubbered. "Lio is leaving because of me."

"He'll never leave you," reassured Owen. "Don't cry baby."

"The baby…isn't his," I hiccupped, feeling like I was going to faint.

"I need you to relax. Now," commanded Owen. I looked up at him when he used that sharp tone. He was never rough with me like that. "I don't want you blaming yourself and making yourself weaker baby. You have to be strong for your babies."

"How?!" I yelled through my pain and tears. "How will I go on living like this?"

"Shh, take a deep breath baby," said Owen and I inhaled. "Another one."

I took another deep breath still in shock. How would I feed my baby boy? Would he drink milk? James hated all the normal food I ate. Fear and terror flowed through me, worsening with every minute passing by. Everything passed by in slow motion, by the time Owen dried me up, placed a pad in my new underwear, and tucked me in my bed with blankets all around me. He was the best when it came to taking care of me.

"Why are you so nice to me?" I asked exhausted from my tears, leaning against the headboard as I watched my grandma and Markus enter the room with the freshly washed babies. The baby in Markus's arms was crying uncontrollably.

"I care about you, Alana. And so does the rest of us," he said, tucking in the blankets around my legs.

I looked away from the babies, terrified to hold the vampire one.

"Sweetheart dear, time to meet your babies," said Grandma. "You need to feed your little boy."

I froze. I couldn't do it. Tears blurred my eyes as I stared at the blankets, hearing his cries.

"I can't," I muttered. From the side of my eye, I saw Markus walking to the side of the bed, and then he put a weight between my arms. The baby stopped crying, and I was scared to look.

"Little omega, look at your baby," said Markus gruffly. "He loves you already. He knows your voice."

The tears fell harder, my heart heavy as Owen dabbed my face with a tissue.

I finally turned my head to look.

The baby's eyes were a calmer shade of red now, his little mouth opening and closing in a sucking motion. He was like a little bird, searching for food as he pressed his mouth against my arm. His pale face was so small, and I stared at him in wonder and amazement.

My heart grew ten sizes, wanting to feed and take care of this baby that I pushed out on my own.

Right now, no one matter but my baby. Not Lio, not anyone.

"Hush, baby Jay," I whispered, kissing his little cheek, and he cooed upon the skin contact. I pulled my blanket down, exposing my breast to feed him.

"What if he drinks blood?" muttered Markus.

The baby latched onto me, sucking with his tiny bird lips.

"Oh, it's painful," I said, gritting my teeth as he sucked. It felt like the milk was straining to come out, burning within me.

"It will get easier, I promise, dear," said Grandma, cooing at the little girl in her arms. "You're doing so good, Alana. I'm so proud of you."