"Final count," Adrian announced. "Seven thousand, three hundred and forty-two dollars!"
The group of volunteers still there erupted in cheers. Over seven thousand dollars for kids who needed it thanks to our bakery and the community.
I burst into pregnant-person tears.
"Hey." Hawthorn pulled me close. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing." I hiccuped. "Everything's right and I’m so happy. We did something good."
Hawthorn rubbed my back saying how proud he was of me for coming up with the concept.
The volunteers helped us clean up and filtered out, but not before each one hugged us goodbye. Mrs. Trent was the last to leave, pressing a container of soup into Hawthorn's hands. "You two need to eat and rest. You've earned it."
When we finally locked the door and climbed the stairs to our apartment, I was dead on my feet, but my heart was full.
"Come here." Hawthorn guided me to the couch and sat down, pulling me against him. His hand found my belly where the baby was still active. "Hey, little one. Your parents did something pretty cool today."
The baby kicked against his palm and Hawthorn's face lit up.
"Thank you for supporting my idea." I pressed my hand over his where it rested on my stomach. "Our baby is so lucky to have you as their dad."
"You gave me your love and a family, two things I never expected to have."
FIFTEEN
HAWTHORN
I woke to Zale shaking my shoulder.
"Hawthorn." His voice wavered. "My water just broke."
I was instantly awake and sat up in the darkness. "Are you sure?"
"Pretty sure, considering I'm sitting in a puddle." He tried to laugh but it came out strained. There was an edge to his voice which wasn’t surprising considering he was about to give birth.
"Okay." I scrambled out of bed and turned on the lamp. I helped him into the bathroom and under the warm shower. He put on an oversized T-shirt and I changed the bedding. "We should time the contractions and see how far apart they are."
"They're close." He gripped the edge of the mattress. "Really close. I think…oh gods.”
He doubled over as a contraction hit. Though our link through the bond didn’t allow us to read our mate’s mind or understand exactly what they were feeling, it often gave us an indication. But now the pain that my mate was experiencing slammed into me too and I had to lock my knees to stay upright. My wolf whined, distressed at our mate's suffering.
I moved to his side and rubbed his back. "Breathe through it like we practiced.”
Zale panted through the contraction. When it eased, he straightened. "That was maybe three minutes since the last one."
Three minutes. We'd attended the childbirth classes where many of the other participants were human and planning on having their baby in the hospital. It was usual for shifters to have their babies at home but I’d left the decision up to my mate as he was the one carrying and pushing out the baby.
But three minutes seemed awfully fast for a first baby. We’d been led to believe labor would be hours.
"If you want to change your mind and go to the hospital we can do that." If my mate preferred medical professionals attending him rather than just me, we’d do that. "Or we can stay here?"
"Here." Zale gripped my hand. "I want it to be just us."
Just us. Our pup would be born in our home, above the bakery, where we'd built our life together.
"Okay." I kissed his forehead. "Let me call the midwife."
We’d arranged to have the local midwife, Eileen, on call in case Zale needed her. After giving her the details, she told me what I suspected, that my mate’s labor was progressing quickly. She reminded me of what to expect and how to be supportive.
