Lucian walked to the edge of the porch and rested his hands on the railing. “How did they land in the dark?”
From a distance, a familiar voice made me sigh with relief.
“You act like she’s dropping a baby at any minute,” Milly snapped. “Take a wild guess what makes me more airsick than riding in a helicopter.” She hiked up the steps. “Riding in one at night.” The short Relic set eyes on me and threw her bag at Lucian. “You should be in bed at this hour. Any change in your contractions?”
“They’re closer. Oh, Milly. I’m so glad Atticus sent for you.” I clutched her hand, grateful that someone with experience could walk me through this.
“You can thank your Packmaster. He paid for a private plane. The driver was supposed to bring me over from the airport, buthe never showed. I could have called someone, but the next thing I know, I’m whisked away in one of those whirlybirds from hell.”
Tak picked up her bag. “It was the quickest way. Come inside. We have a room for you.”
Lucian approached Milly and cocked his head to the side. “How did the pilot find the house and land in the field without lights?”
She patted Catcher’s back. “The pilot’s a Vampire. You people will be the death of me.” Milly took my arm. “Come, come. I want you inside before you wind up with frostbite.”
Once we entered the main room, the lights were on and everyone was awake. Virgil lounged on the sofa, black circles under his eyes. Montana’s wolf sniffed the air before putting his head back down. Last I’d heard, Lakota was guarding the front yard.
I stopped and gripped the back of the sofa when another contraction hit.
Milly noticed. “How far apart? Is anyone timing them?”
I shook my head.
She gestured to Tak. “Put a clock in the birthing room. We need to time how long they last.”
Hope greeted the Relic and then led her into the makeshift labor room for an inspection. I remained by the sofa, listening to Milly give orders. It put me at ease to hear someone with a plan.
Melody wandered out in an oversized T-shirt and yawned. “What a night.” She watched Tak emerge from the hallway with a clock in his hand. “Did I tell you we ran into Hamish?”
Tak stopped in his tracks. “What did he say?”
“Joy’s practically giving birth in the bar, and he blocks us from exiting. They wouldn’t move for nothing! So Virgil’s standing there, arms shivering like weak timber, and Hamish is trying to steal Joy from us.”
Virgil scoffed. “That’snothow it happened. My arms weren’t shaking.”
“Oh?” Melody snorted. “Do tell us, my intrepid hero.”
“I just had a kink in my back is all.”
“That’s not the only kink you have,” Lucian quipped.
Tak looked like he wanted to crush the clock in his hands. “Hamish physically tried to take her?”
“No, nothing like that.” Melody plopped down next to Archer on the sectional. “He was soliciting for a spot in his pack. What a weirdo. Apparently he’s looking for somebitches.” She used her fingers to make air quotes around the wordbitches. “It’s enough to make my skin crawl. With that attitude, no wonder he’s trying to recruit anyone he can. I bet women are fleeing his pack in the middle of the night.”
Bitchwas a common term with older packs. It didn’t hold any negative connotation among wolves any more than it did in nature. But humans had tarnished the original use of the word, so many were phasing it out.
Tak held the thought in his head a moment later before responding. “If he does that again with any of you, let me know. There’s no rule that says Packmasters can’t make offers, but he has an agenda. Anyone here considering his offer should remember that. He doesn’t care about you. He only wants to take from me.”
Milly entered the room and took my hand. “Come to bed. Tomorrow is a long day, and you need to rest.”
Once I was in the room, Cici and Robyn helped me into the bed.
Milly checked my blood pressure, heart rate, and then put her stethoscope on my belly. “I don’t have my ultrasound equipment.”
“Can I help?” Salem asked from the doorway.
“You can run to my house and bring all that equipment over. I want to look at the baby’s position.” She palpated my belly. “We have an unusual birth, and I’d rather be prepared. There’s also a large bag in there withChildbirthwritten on it. It has my fetal Doppler and other equipment.” After she finished the exam, she reached into the pocket of her long sweater jacket and handed him a set of keys. “Hurry. And lock the door before you leave.”
