I'm not sure how long we all stand in the living room. At some point, Liam sits on the floor against the wall with Daniel on his chest and Talya leaning against him. Kyle and Madison were here for a little while and then left again to run patrol. I guess Kyle is in charge under Max. Leo must have returned to the pack house at some point, because I don’t see him anywhere. Max and Raechel are sitting on the barstools near the kitchen. Ava, Sage and Paul are all still helping Emma, and Garrett hasn’t moved from her side, except for once when he knelt next to Liam and took Daniel into his arms. I didn’t watch, but I heard him talk in low tones. Then he kissed him and handed him back to Liam. Bryce stands against the wall, not too far from Ava. I’m currently sitting on the floor. I gave up about an hour or so ago and slid to the floor. Hunter’s standing next to me. He's like a statue; he hasn’t moved in hours. I blink again when my head bobs. I’m having a hard time keeping my eyes open, but I'm not going to sleep until I know Emma and her baby are okay. From what I’ve gathered over the hours, she started bleeding and having hard contractions. Paul is doing everything in his power to keep the baby from coming, as she’s not nearly far enough along. Sage and Ava are helping, but there’s only so much they can do.
I glance out the window and take in the approaching dawn. The sun’s going to rise soon. I glance around the room again. Everybody in this room has to be exhausted, but nobody has left. It makes me happy that Emma and Garrett have this much support. Paul finally stands back. “She’s stable now; she should sleep.” He glances at Garrett. “You need to sleep too; everybodydoes. She shouldn’t be moved far, but maybe you and she can sleep in one of the bedrooms here.
“You can use my room.” Hunter offers before I get a chance to. He walks to the back bedroom, and I follow him. I open the hall closet and find clean sheets and walk to his room.
“Knock, knock.” I push the door open. “Can I come in?”
“Yeah.”
“I just came to help.”
“Thanks.”
We pull down the comforter and move the decorative pillows out of the way and not a moment too soon because Garrett carries Emma in and walks over to the bed. He lays her down carefully, and Hunter and I slip out. I head back out to the living room, where everybody’s preparing to leave. Max and Bryce are talking, and Hunter joins them. Garrett comes back out for his son. Soon, everybody is gone. Bryce and Ava head to their room, and I’m left in the living room with Hunter. He walks over to the couch and drops his bag next to it. I’m suddenly exhausted. “What are you doing?” I ask warily.
“Getting ready to go to sleep. You should as well; you look like you’re going to fall asleep standing there.”
I blink and look down at the couch. “You can’t sleep on the couch, Hunter.”
“Why not?”
“Well, first off, it’s too small. Second, Emma bled all over it. I’m sure that’s not sanitary.”
“It’s fine.”
“It’s not fine. You—”
“If I’m not comfortable, I’ll just sleep in my wolf form on the floor.”
That stops me. “Oh.”
“Go to bed, Sherese. You’re dead on your feet.” Knowing that he can sleep in his wolf form on the ground, I turn around andhead back to my room. But his voice stops me before I get too far. “You did good out there tonight.”
I turn back to him, surprised by his words. “Thanks.” Something else comes to mind. “Thanks for coming after me.”
His dark eyes meet mine, and he nods. He looks like he wants to say more, but he doesn’t. “Get some sleep.”
“You too.”
I walk back to my room, but stop suddenly when the door to the room Garrett and Emma are in opens, and the alpha walks out. His gaze pins me in place, and I go still. I mentally make a plan of escape. “I just wanted to say thank you. Thank you for rescuing our son. We are forever indebted to you.” His normal mask of control slips just a little bit, and I see the pain behind it. “Without you, he would have been gone. I know that.” He doesn’t say anything else, and I’m still shocked that the alpha is thanking me. “Just know, you are welcome in our pack any time. If there’s anything I can do for you—”
“Let her fight in your fight night on Friday night,” Hunter says in a low voice from behind me. I don’t let my surprise show on my face, even though I’m berating myself for not hearing him before he spoke.
The alpha glances at him and then back at me. “I’ll talk to my pack leaders. If they agree, then you can. And,” he adds, holding my gaze. “I’ll strongly advocate for you.” He disappears into his room, and I’m left staring after him.
I turn to Hunter, ready to ask him why he did that, but he’s already gone. I walk into my room and shut the door, trying to process what just happened. When I'm in bed a little bit later, I stare up at the ceiling. I thought I’d go right to sleep because I’m so tired, but I can’t get the events of tonight and the alpha’s words out of my head. It takes a good while before I finally fall asleep. In the morning, I shower quickly and get dressed. I want to see how Emma’s doing this morning. There’s a knock on mydoor while I’m brushing my wet hair. I open it and am surprised to see Hunter. “Can I borrow your shower?”
“Oh, sure. Come on in.”
I walk ahead of him into the bathroom and set out a towel for him, and then leave him to it. I leave my room behind and make my way to the kitchen. Since no one is in there, I grab a blood bag, drain it and stuff the evidence deep in the trash. Just in time, too, because I hear the front door open. When I round the corner, I see the pack doctor and healer. “Hi, Sherese,” Sage says softly. “Is Emma still sleeping? We came to check on her.”
“I haven’t seen her yet this morning.”
Paul sets down his medical bag. “Garrett’s coming out,” he says to both of us. I feel a presence and know Hunter has joined us before I even turn around. “Hunter,” Paul says with a nod.
“Paul.”
That’s it between the two of them. Hunter takes his spot against the wall, and I figure I’ll head back to my room so that I’m out of the way. “Do you have access to your healing magic?” a soft voice asks before I can disappear.
