— • —
Lina
“The baby is coming,” I gasped, grabbing my belly as another wave of pain crashed through me.
Knox’s face went white. Completely, utterly white, like someone had drained all the blood from his body in one quick motion. He stared at me with his mouth hanging open, frozen in a way I’d never seen before. My alpha, my strong, unshakeable mate, looked like he’d forgotten how to function.
Hunt’s reaction was more vocal.
“WHAT?!” he screeched from the driver’s seat, his head whipping around so fast I was surprised he didn’t give himself whiplash. The car swerved slightly before he corrected it, his knuckles going white on the steering wheel. “We’re in the middle of nowhere!”
“No fucking shit!” I grunted through gritted teeth as another contraction tore through my abdomen. The pain was unreal, like someone had reached inside me and was trying to rearrange my organs with their bare hands. “Go faster!”
“I’m already going ninety!”
“Then go a hundred and ninety!”
“That’s not how cars work, Lina!”
“I don’t care how cars work! I care about not having this baby on the side of the highway!”
Knox finally shook himself out of his shock and snapped into action. His hands found mine, letting me squeeze them with all the strength I had. I probably should have felt bad about how hard I was crushing his fingers, but I was too busy trying not to scream to care about his comfort. His other hand went to my back, rubbing soothing circles while he pushed calm through the bond.
“Breathe, baby,” he said, his voice steady even though I could feel his panic underneath. “In through your nose, out through your mouth. That’s it. You’re doing great.”
“I’m not doing great,” I hissed. “I’m having a baby in the backseat of a car on a highway in the middle of the night. This is the opposite of great. This is a disaster. This is my worst nightmare come to life.”
“Okay, fair point. But you’re handling it incredibly well.”
“I’m going to kill you.”
“That’s also fair.”
“This is your fault.”
“How is this my fault?”
“You got me pregnant!”
“You were a willing participant!”
“Don’t you dare use logic right now, Knox Raven. I am in labor and I will say whatever I want and you will agree with me.”
“Yes, dear.”
The contraction finally eased and I slumped back against the seat, panting. Knox checked his watch, timing how long until the next wave hit.
“How far apart are they?” Hunt called from the front, his foot pressed so hard on the accelerator I could hear the engine straining in protest.
“About fifteen minutes,” Knox said, relief coloring his voice slightly.
“Is that bad? That sounds bad. Is fifteen minutes bad?”
“It means we have some time before the baby is ready to come out.”
“How much time? Give me a number. I need a number to work with here.”
“I don’t know, Hunt, I’m not a doctor!”
