70. Aurora

CHAPTER 70

Aurora

February-

The poor guys have been going nuts, especially this past month. Jayce and the guys not only built me a nursery, but they are also at an undisclosed location setting up for my birth. Poor Klaus and Dimitri are on Aurora duty today. Klaus has been my designated pillow most of the day. Dimitri is taking care of my every want and need. These stupid Braxton contraction thingies have been happening most of the day today, and are getting rather annoying.

I swear to the gods, if Klaus's grandmother pokes me one more time, she's gonna be a grandma-cicle real soon. "Guys, I need to pee again!" I practically whine out my words because I'm at my wit's end with this. I don't know how other species carry for longer than three months. The baby is upside down, and I keep seeing the occasional ass print pressed against my stomach. The guys help me up; Klaus and Dimitri escort me to the bathroom. A girl can't even pee alone anymore, all because of what happened to my mother. I get it, really. I'm the first of my kind, and no one knows what will happen with Tia and me. We make it to the bathroom, and I kick the boys out as far as they will go.

I know I'm getting closer to time. I mean, if guesses are right, it's any day now. It's been really odd lately; I feel like the baby never sleeps. I bet my baby has a full-blown circus going on in there. Thankfully, my bathroom trips are always uneventful; I wobble and waddle and take care of business. We head back to what has been named my palace of pillows since regular chairs are so freaking uncomfortable right now. Klaus climbs in first, and Dimitri helps lower me back into my epicly soft snuggle area. The guys curl up around me, and I decide to take a nap until my next feeding.

I wake up late in the afternoon and my stomach feels really tight, worse than it did before I laid down for my nap. Klaus and Dimitri are both out cold, I'm actually kind of jealous. I reach out through the bond to sense how far away Alaric and the twins are. From what I can discern, they are on their way back. I'm seriously not feeling good, and I can't block the guys from feeling it anymore. Dimitri and Klaus wake up with a start, holding their stomachs and looking at me. They know it's me; they also know I've been hiding my discomfort from them.

Klaus moves and kneels before me, wrapping his strong arms around my legs. "My angel, what can I do to ease your discomfort? Name it, and if I can do it, I will." Klaus looks up at me, his eyes full of love and concern. I don't know what to say to him at this point. It's a natural occurrence; I can't stop what's already starting. I reach down and rub Klaus's scalp before doubling over, holding my stomach. Fuck, I think labor just got real. I feel my beast surge, scales ripple down my arms and spine. It's time, and now every single one of my mates knows. The power surge I feel is absolutely insane. I start pulling energy from the closest, biggest dragons I can sense.

Nicodeamus comes running into the room and looks at me with my scales rippling across my skin. "Shit! It's time! It's time!" He starts running around the room, grabbing my go bag and several other little things he thinks we need. Dimitri and Klaus come to my side and help support my weight as I almost double over from the contractions.

"Alaric is almost here; we need to go outside now." We start to walk through the hallways; one of the dignitaries attempts to block our forward progress. I feel a power surge unlike any I have felt before. I raise my now-shifted hand at him and a large ice spike shoots up from the ground, impaling him where he stands. We need to leave, and we need to go now. My beast doesn't feel safe here, and she wants to get out quickly. The guys look at me briefly and then proceed to expedite our departure. By the time we make it outside, Alaric has landed with several other dragons. He made arrangements earlier for everyone to fly with me.

"I can't climb." I'm almost crying as I look up to Alaric's dragon for understanding. I double over again, and this time my water breaks. We're running out of time, and now my father and the guys are starting to panic. Alaric opens his dragon's hand, extending it to me. He has his little finger curled so that it would act like a seat for me. Dimitri and Klaus help me get comfortable before Alaric closes his hand gently around me.

I feel safe and protected in Alaric's dragon's hand, but I'm too warm. Through the bond, I reach out to him. I'm too warm. Please use your frost if you have any; otherwise, I need to— Alaric's hand slowly becomes cooler until it is a more comfortable temperature for me. I sigh softly and relax against the palm of his hand. I can feel that he is pushing himself to fly faster than he usually would.

It feels like only moments have passed by the time Alaric lands in our secret location. The first face I see when Alaric opens his hand is my father. I carefully step out and almost go to my knees from the next contraction. They seem to be worse without Alaric; I look back to him in tears. "Shift, love, I need you!" I hold tightly to my father's one arm as the other guys run up to assist. Alaric shifts quicker than I have ever seen him do, and he runs over to me. Something about him soothes my beast, and the contractions are not as severe as they were before. I'm having a hard time making the journey to wherever they are taking me. Dominik shifts and lies down, allowing me to climb onto his back. He moves slowly and cautiously through the cavern, making the trip much more pleasant for me.

As we enter this grand opening, I can't help but look around in awe of the beauty around me. Various crystals line the walls, as well as hang down from the ceiling. I feel an odd sense of home here. An instinctual urge calls to me to go to the water.

"Dom, please bring me to the water; my beast wants to be in the water." I look over to my father and he's smiling. I love my dad, but he looks like a happy Hannibal Lecter.

"Something I need to know, Dad?" He's still smiling, and if these freaking contractions didn't hurt so much, I would almost find him comical at the moment.

My father takes my hand and begins to lead me to the water's edge. "Your ancestors, when they chose to carry their babies as humans, used to birth in these same waters. They have healing and soothing properties. All the great queens of our bloodline have swam in this pool. Now it's your turn Aurora. Go forth and deliver the future into this world." He leans forward and kisses my forehead, then moves towards the opening of the cavern. He shifts to his dragon and takes on a blocking position, guarding the only entrance.

Alaric and Klaus decide they will go into the waters with me first. As we wade deeper into the water, a sense of calm washes over me, and the contractions are bearable. The guys take turns switching out, helping support me in the water. The only constant throughout the hours is Alaric holding tightly onto me in some shape or form. I scream, cry, and want to give up at some point. I can easily take out a horde, but this tiny little being, this piece of me, feels like she's trying to rip my insides out. At some point in the last few weeks, the guys have managed to stock juices here for me as well as food—mostly for them.

When I reach hour number ten thousand and eighty-five, I feel like I'm finally progressing somewhere. My beast urges me to climb onto the moss-covered island. "I need to move. I need to climb." I'm panting between words as Alaric and Dimitri help me up onto the moss. I crawl on all fours until I find a spot that my beast and I agree on. The contractions are stronger and closer together now, and I've regained the ability to partially shift. My forearms shift to my armored gauntlets. As I sink my talons into the earth, I bear down through a contraction.

"Alaric, you need to get over here!" Klaus calls as he sits at my feet. For now, he's in charge of watching for the baby. I have my head resting on Dimitri's shoulder, my talons sunk into the earth on either side of him. Jayce and Dominik were on either side of me, pouring cool pool water over my back to keep me comfortable. Alaric is on his way back with my juice when Klaus calls him. The panic in Klaus's voice makes my father turns his great dragon head to look in our direction.

On his way past me, Alaric hands Dimitri my juice, who in turn offers me the straw. I take a nice long drink of the sweet, cool pineapple juice. I feel Alaric's hand on my hip as he bends to see what Klaus is looking at. Here I am on all fours, in labor, and the guys are having a meeting staring at my hoo-ha. "Everything is okay love, we see the baby's head, that's all," Alaric says, then comes forward and kisses my temple. The twins go back to rubbing my lower back, each of the guys keeping some form of contact with me at all times.

"Angel, I'm going to need you to push and hold it real soon, okay?" Klaus's German accent is still sexy, even though I feel fucking gross and tired.

Dimitri nuzzles my cheek then kisses it. "You can do this, baby girl. If you can take out a horde by yourself, you can push out one baby." I smile at Dimitri's encouragement as I hear the other guys back up his statement.

I'm tired, I won't lie. I feel one of the guards enter the cavern, and I start to draw some dragon energy from him. Right now, I need it more than he does. I hear Alaric say the man is down and to release him. I release him quickly and push hard again on the next contraction.

I feel my baby slide free from my body, but I don't hear any noise from it. I turn quickly to see what's wrong, and then I see it. My baby was born as her animal; Tiamat is the cutest little thing. She has almost pure white scales that are edged in fur. Her front legs are typical dragon hands; her hind legs have wolven paws for feet. Tia's tail is mostly dragon in shape, but it has fur along the underside of it. As a matter of fact, her underbelly scales have more fur on them than the scales on her back. I reach down and pick up my daughter, holding her tightly to me. Tia's eyes are like mine and her father's silver orbs with a black slit in the middle.