Chapter 13

Colt

Anger was not what I expected to feel at the birth of my own children, and yet here I was, furious. At Mum for pulling her usual bullshit, even as I warned her not to. At the dads for enabling her. At the whole damn town, sniffing around Riley’s stomach, as if the golden ticket to running the town lay within. Most of all, though, I was mad at myself. I took a step forward, then another, reaching for Riley’s legs as my brothers helped her get into position. Her hands went around Haze and Ryan’s necks so she was suspended in almost a squatting position. I hadn’t stopped her from going on this drive. I hadn’t kept her here, where she was safe. Where people cared about what she wanted and made that happen. She was never going to get that in Bordertown.

But maybe Riley needed to work that out for herself.

“Coooolt…”

Her voice was part scream, part howl, so I surged forward.

“Here, baby.”

We’d stripped her down, and for just this once, I couldn’t focus on the fact other people got to see my mate’s naked form as she laboured. Riley was beautiful, strong, and I told her that in a low voice, over and over, as it happened.

We’d watched videos, attended antenatal classes, and schooled ourselves on what to expect as much as possible, but nothing prepared me for this. To watch her tendons pop, her arms shake as she gripped my brother’s hands. Her stomach was drum tight, and as if played upon it, I heard a steady beat. Thud, thud, thud… It wasn’t Riley’s heart beat that drew me closer. That was going a mile a minute. No, it was his. Head first, I watched him crown, feeling a pang for the pain Riley must be in, but I couldn’t dwell on that because he came bursting out. My arm shot out in time to grab my son the minute he whooshed out into the water, and then I was pulling him close.

My son.

My fucking son was in my arms and I watched his little arms quiver like he was the most precious thing in the world. Maybe because he was. His eyes blinked owlishly as he looked blindly around him.

“Buddy…”

He was cradled against my chest when he answered me with a lusty wail, the sound ringing out through the entire room.

“Hey… Hey…”

In the dark of night, I admit part of me was scared I wouldn’t know what to do, that I’d screw things up somehow. What if my sons were forced to leave us and never look back due to who their fated mate was? None of those worries could exist in the same space as my son. I pressed him into me, starting to sway, making the same soothing sounds Riley’s heart made as he grew, and that’s when he melted into me. Little grunting noises and snuffles followed, but even they eased off.

“OK, he is not allowed to be that stinking cute.” I looked up sharply, a snarl on my lips, only to find Candy there. She was part of our extended pack, my wolf had decided, especially when she stared at us with tears in her eyes. “Like I’ve never wanted a crotch goblin at all, but I don’t think I’d yeet him into the sun.” She sniffed. “I don’t think I’d yeet him at all.”

I didn’t want to let him go ever. He was my child, and I knew then I would do anything, absolutely anything to protect him, but some small part of me knew I’d never need to do that with Candy. Maybe explain away some of her more inappropriate comments, but still. I forced my arms to unlock and then held him out.

“Did you want a cuddle?”

“Doesn’t Riley…?”

My mate would enjoy lots and lots of skin to skin contact with our children, but right now she was actively labouring, her face bright red as she screamed and then Blake was surging forward, catching our next son. A shock of dark hair, a shocked look, and then he was curled in close, the big guy making clear just how goofy I looked when our first child was born, because he was the same.

“Um…” Candy held my son out with stiff arms as he began to squall. “Pretty sure he wants you right now.”

He did. As soon as he was back in my arms, he quietened, and that led to us clustering closer as Riley laboured.

“You’ve got this, babe,” Haze said, gripping her hand.

“You’re doing amazing.”

“So strong.”

I was raised an alpha, expected to protect, to look after my pack my whole life, but it was now I realised how hollow that was. We couldn’t take this pain away from Riley. We couldn’t do this for her. There was nothing to fight or slay, and god, how I wish there was. Anything but watch her hurt. But my girl was always tough as nails, and she showed it now, making clear we would all have to fight to keep this pack together. We would protect it from external threats and she… She would fight to give us all the greatest gift of all.

One long, ragged sigh, that’s what it took to birth the last of the kids, and Riley collapsed, seeming to know her work was done. It was her head lolling on Fen’s shoulders that had us all moving. She looked so limp and pale.

“Riley?” I said, not daring to raise my voice, but when she didn’t reply, I waded closer. “Riley?”

“Babe, are you OK?” Fen asked, all the tension I felt in his voice.

“Lets get her out.” Candy the idiot was gone, and Candy the highly qualified medical professional stepped forward. “Onto the concrete. That’s it.” She crouched down beside Riley, her fingers going to her pulse. “Her heart rate is strong and it doesn’t look like she’s lost too much blood, though…”

She blanched as she looked back at the water and so did we. This wasn’t a safe place anymore, our wolves told us, forcing us out of the pool and around our mate. We needed to get her into our den. We needed?—

“Heart monitor now.” Candy clicked her fingers, and the rest of the team moved. “Oxygen and?—”

“My babies…” Riley’s voice was barely a whisper, but she rolled her head up and looked around her, getting more and more frantic by the second. “My babies?—”

“Here.” I slid down beside her and then tucked our son into the crook of her arm as the others moved closer. Riley couldn’t seem to work out where to look. One child, then another, then us, her bottom lip quivered for a second before she burst into tears. Seeing our son was safe in her grip, I moved behind her, cradling the woman that held my son. “Baby, you did it. You did it.”

I said that over and over as I stroked her hair, her shoulders, anything to stop her from crying, but in the end, it was our boy that recentred her. He let out a lusty wail, then started rooting around, unconsciously seeking nourishment. She moved then, tucking him against her breast, right before he latched on. Those small sounds of contentment, I had about 2.5 seconds to enjoy them before the rest of the babies started up.

“Here you go,” Fen said, tucking his baby in against Riley. Both boys seemed to have a quick and easy latch, suckling hard from the get go.

“How the hell does this work?” Candy sounded somewhat panicky. “How do you feed five babies when you only have two tits? Why didn’t we think of this before? We don’t have any formula. There’s some milk in the fridge, but god knows when that was bought and you can’t…”

I grinned as my son popped free, because I knew something that Candy didn’t. Omegas were a picture of feminine beauty because they were like beta mothers on steroids. Their milk supply was legendary, meaning our children could fill their stomachs in seconds rather than minutes. The next child was passed over and then next until everyone was fed.

“They’re all OK?”

Riley sounded exhausted, and I hated the crushed look on her face right now. I looked down, watching our son suckle before meeting her eyes.

“Better than OK,” I told her, my voice breaking on every word. “So much better. They’re perfect. You’re perfect.”

Her arms curled around the children she was feeding, and then she let it out. One, long, shaking sigh, and I knew why. Relief, joy, pain, and need, that’s what I caught in her scent as I held her close.

“Everything is perfect.”