Chapter Twenty-Five

"You've got to be kidding me? Now?" I asked, staring at Tyrus and the others. There was a clear puddle beneath me, and some of the team had already started to move. Aziz quickly came back into the room with towels and blankets, and Jack was saying something about getting me to the bedroom.

They all sounded so far away.

"Sloan!" Tyrus said, putting his face right in front of mine. "Are you with me, sweetheart?"

His bear reached out to my wolf and we snapped back into the moment. "Yes. The baby is coming, right?" I asked even though the thought of giving birth had become all too real in seconds. It was one thing to read about it in a book, but quite another to feel things moving inside me. "Oh!" I cried out, bending over with the sheer force of the first contraction. My back tightened with more pain than I'd ever felt and, after everything I'd gone through, that was saying something.

"Come on," Tyrus said, scooping me up in his big arms and carrying me toward our bedroom. Jack laid out towels. Gray and Hutch were there, but no one else but my new omega friends and my mate.

"Let's get you undressed, okay?" Jack offered. "Remember that your body and your wolf know what they are doing. You have to step back and let them do it. Slow breaths. Everything is going to be fine."

Tyrus snorted. "Jack should be our resident doula."

Jack looked at my alpha. "That's honestly not a bad idea, Tyrus. Thank you."

"That's a g-great…" Another contraction hit me hard. Tyrus helped me out of my pants and boxers, and I leaned back on the bed, just trying to ride the waves of pain. I felt a shifting inside me and a great drop.

"I think…I think he's in the birth canal now. I…"

Jack moved in front of me. "Can I check if you're dilated? Quick check, I promise."

He really would make a fabulous doula. Jack checked me and his eyes widened. "What?" Tyrus and I asked at the same time.

"The baby is crowned. Not long now, Sloan. You've got this. What position is your body telling you to get in?"

I reached inside me to commune with my wolf. "I think on all fours. That's what my wolf is sending me."

"Good. Let's get you on the floor, then."

Tyrus helped me get down on all fours, and no sooner was I there than my back entrance turned to fire as the baby pushed through.

"Breathe through it," Jack encouraged as the others did.

A whooshing feeling came over me and I pushed, bearing down on my bottom and spreading my hips. Gods, that hurt. Tears spilled from my eyes, and I fisted the towels all around me.

"A couple more," Tyrus said, caressing my legs. "A couple more, and we've got our babe."

That became my focus. Seeing our babe for the first time. So I yelled out while pushing and soon, my body released the babe and a surge of relief took over.

"There we go!" Tyrus called out. "He's beautiful, Sloan. Just like you. We have a son."

While Gray and Hutch cleaned the baby up, Jack walked Tyrus through birthing the afterbirth and cleaning me up. Then they lay me in the bed and picked up, removing all the bloodstained towels and blankets.

This was what family was about. And I was damned proud to be on this team.

An omega of a warrior alpha.

"We'll leave you to it," Jack said as they all filed out, blessing us with well wishes on their way. "Call if you need anything. Anything at all. I'll bring back some food in a few. You've got to be starving, Papa."

Papa. He was talking to me.

"Thank you, Jack," Tyrus called out and then gently sat on the bed next to me holding our babe.

"Name him, alpha," I said since my eyes were closing, but I didn't want to fall asleep before our son had a name.

"Can I name him Joseph Tyrone?" he asked. "You like Joseph and…"

I nodded. "That's a good name for a strong boy," I answered, stroking the soft down on the top of our baby's head.

"Rest now, omega. You've made me the happiest alpha on the whole damned planet, and I'll love you forever."

I tried to tell him that I loved him just as much, but sleep dragged me down into darkness.

I had a family. A son. An alpha. A home. A safe place to live.

Finally, I could rest.