23. Oscar

Chapter 23

Oscar

The countdown was on. According to Doc, I could deliver any day now. But I just didn't feel ready. The nursery had all the stuff Jack insisted we needed, and Daxton and I both had car seats already installed in our cars…but I still felt like I needed to learn a million things before I was capable of having a baby of any kind, much less one that was every kind.

Our baby was so safe and comfortable inside me. What if I didn't know how to be a good dad after they were outside of me. I'd read all the books and watched a million videos, but I still wasn't sure I'd do it right. Doc said that the parents who were sure they were ready were the ones that sucked. I wasn't sure if he was saying that to be nice or if he meant it, but I held onto that like a lifeline.

The one thing I had no concerns about was watching my mate slide into his new role. Daxton would be a natural. He and his animals were born caretakers. I had no doubts about his ability to be awesome with our baby. As for me, I needed a bit more time to really be sure I could do it.

But since I'd been having mild contractions for two days, I wasn't sure how much more time I'd actually get. At first I assumed they were Braxton Hicks, but those generally subsided pretty quickly, and these weren't. If I were to guess, our baby was coming sooner rather than later.

I picked up one of the books I'd made the most annotations in and went to the couch to read. As I was walking, an intense pain shot down my spine and seemed to radiate down to my legs. My knees buckled, and I was on my hands and knees, trying to catch my breath. "Daxton!"

Apparently much sooner than even I realized.

"There you are." Daxton's deep voice flowed against my ear just before his lips pressed to my cheek. "There's someone here waiting to meet you, Daddy."

"What?" I pushed back the fog in my mind and fully woke up. "Who?" Even as I said it, my attention zoned in on the sleeping baby Daxton was holding in front of me. "How?"

Dax chuckled and pressed the baby against my chest so my arms instinctively curled around him. "Our son was born about twenty minutes ago. You passed out, and Doc came and…here we are."

"Passed out? I missed it?" Tears formed in my eyes. How did that even happen? How?

"You had a sudden loss of blood pressure." Doc explained it like that was no big deal. But I hadn't passed out for a second. It was… I wasn't even sure how long…but it was a long time.

"Why didn't I wake up?"

Doc pulled a chair over to the side of the bed. "I don't know. But I think it's connected to your baby's beasts. I think…they were protecting you from the pain in the only way they knew how."

"Beasts. My baby has beasts and they can think that deeply? Make it make sense, because right now, nothing is."

"They did it by instinct." He put a hand to my forehead like my nana used to do. "They love you very much." He stood up. "I'll give you a few minutes.

Dax set our baby on my chest. My eyes were blurry, and my throat hurt from the boulder that was suddenly growing there. "He's so tiny."

Dax sat beside me on the bed and slipped his arm behind my back. "Seven pounds even, so exactly perfect."

"He's perfect now, but what if I break him or something?" A tear slipped down my cheek. "I don't know what I'm doing."

"You'll learn." He kissed my cheek and placed his arm under the baby. "We'll both learn together. As a family. And you heard what Doc said, we aren't in this alone. If they are protecting you, you know they are protecting him too."

Hearing it said like that made so much sense. It eased my mind more than anything else could've. He was protected and loved.

I nodded as I pulled the baby up to my face and smelled his clean baby scent. "What should we call him?"

"I was thinking…AIDEN."

My eyes went wide as I turned to him in horror. "Seriously?"

"No. Definitely not. I've always liked Noah." He chuckled. "And since he has all those animals inside him, it's sorta fitting."

Now I laughed, clearing away some of the emotion in my throat. "I like Noah. Definitely suits him."

I helped Noah latch for the first time. It didn't take him but a couple of tries to master it. He was starving and drank his first meal like a boss and then burped like one, too. Doc came in and showed us his very favorite baby-burping method which was more like a back rub than a pat. To be fair, I'd be happier getting a massage than getting smacked on the back too.

Once he was fed and asleep, Doc said his goodbyes, telling us to call if we needed anything, anything at all. When he was out the door, my mate climbed into bed beside me, and it was the three of us there, a family.

"Thank you, alpha mine." I leaned into his side.

"For what?"

"For giving me my family, for loving me unconditionally, and for being my partner through life. I love you with all that I have and all that I am."

"It's me who should be thanking you. You came into my life and suddenly everything made sense. You accepted me for exactly who I am. I love you, more than words can describe. You are my everything, and Noah? He lights up my world. He lights up my world."