"More talking,” he gasped between contractions. "Tell me more."
Gods, I wasn’t sure I could do this but my wolf reminded me our mate was giving birth and I had to man up.
I brushed his sweat-dampened hair back. "You’re almost there."
Another contraction and my mate pushed hard while begging the universe to ease the agony.
"I can see the head." My voice cracked. "Zale, I can see our baby. You’re so close."
"But it hurts."
I placed my hand on his hip so more of the pain transferred to me. Me and my wolf would absorb it so Zale could bring our baby into the world.
"You can do this."
He pushed again and our baby slid into my waiting arms. A little girl. She was small and slippery and I wrapped her in my PJ top.
She let out a wail and I understood that I’d never look at the world in the same way again. I tucked our daughter under my arm while covering up my mate. Tears trickled over my cheeks as I managed to get out, "We have a daughter."
I placed her on Zale's chest so they were skin to skin. My mate wrapped his arms around her and made cooing sounds. I experienced an overwhelming love for him and my little girl, and my wolf was ecstatic and wouldn’t stop talking.
I sat on the bed because my legs wouldn’t hold me. We had a little girl and my mate was a champion. I didn’t think I could love Zale more when we mated but I was wrong.
"It’s so nice to meet you, my darling." Zale inspected her fingers and toes.
Our little girl stopped crying. She blinked up at him with dark eyes and gripped his finger.
I cleaned our daughter with warm towels and surrounded my mate with pillows, before climbing onto the bed beside them.
"She's beautiful," Zale said softly. "Look at her."
"She's perfect." I stroked her warm cheek. "You did it. You were amazing."
“You helped not only by sharing my pain but with the monotonous talk about bread. It kept me grounded.”
He traced a finger over our daughter’s cheek. "You know talking about bread has made me hungry.”
While I was reluctant to leave my family, I raced downstairs and grabbed bread and pastries. I brought the food on a tray along with butter, cheese, honey and hot tea. I held our little girl while my mate ate, though he kept one hand on her, unable to lose contact.
“Hello Abigale.” Zale kissed her cheek. “I hope you love your name because it was also your great-grandmother's.”
I was certain my grandmother was looking down on us and smiling.
SIXTEEN
ZALE
It was still dark and my eyes were closed but I smiled because our daughter was talking to her toys. This was her happy morning sound as she chatted to her toy family in the next room. I could listen to her all day.
Abi was in her room that had been the nursery but we’d made some ‘big girl’ changes now she was three. It still had the walls my mate had painted yellow, the curtains Mrs. Trent had made and the rocking chair Benjamin had refinished. My mate and I had spent many hours in that chair when Abi was tiny.
But now she had a big girl bed and a lot more books than when she was a baby.
We were in our apartment which was double the size of the original thanks to us buying the building next to the bakery and expanding the business and our living space. So much had changed in the years since I’d arrived in town, and it was hard to imagine the person I was when I stepped off that bus.
The first year of Abi’s life had been exhausting with sleepless nights and learning to parent together. The second year Abi started walking and we’d baby-proofed the entire apartment. Now at three and a half, she was a whirlwind of energy."
I slipped out of bed, careful not to wake Hawthorn. Abi must have forgotten it was Christmas because I’d expected her to wake us at three in the morning. But before I could slip on my robe, a pair of bare feet pattered over the floor and a tiny body flung herself into my arms.
