Chapter 10
As he watched Lilia begin to breathe normally, Colton’s heart fluttered.I did it! I saved my daughter!Placing the head of his stethoscope on her tiny chest, he grinned as he listened to the strong, steady beat of her heart.
“That was fucking amazing!” exclaimed Mac, staring at the healthy baby. “Is it always like that?”
“Like what?” asked Colton, absentmindedly, while completing Lilia’s exam. Then, putting her into a sleeper, he wrapped her in a pink blanket before setting her into the third incubator.
“Does it always work that fast?” Mac asked, still astounded at how fast Lilia recovered.
Entering his daughter’s stats on her chart, Colton looked over his shoulder at his cousin. “In the past, no. But then they were men not newborns. And they had extensive injuries.” Turning back to his pups, Colton resumed checking his other daughter and son. Though they were on the small side, he was pleased to see them healthy.
“That makes sense…but, still, it was simply amazing.” Wrapping his arms around Colton, Mac gave him a hug, overjoyed at the outcome. “I couldn’t have done it without you,” he murmured in his cousin’s ear.
As they waited for Ian to come out of anesthesia so he could greet his triplets—a prince and two princesses, Mac’s eyes drifted over to him now and then, checking on his condition. His patient was still under, but would wake up soon. Glancing at the clock on the wall, Mac checked the time.
Frowning, he mentally counted the minutes that had passed since he and Colton had begun.Holy fuck!Two hours, and Colton’s wolf was still bound. “Your wolf! Colton, you need to go now!” Stepping back, he grabbed his cousin’s forearm, tugging at him. “Colton, you have to go to Jackson! Colton!”
Admiring his pups, it took several moments before Mac’s words broke through Colton’s haze of new fatherhood. Turning toward his cousin, Colton’s eyes widened in fear as he realized the danger his wolf was in.
“GO!” Mac yelled.
Spinning around, Colton ran from the operating room, hell bent on getting to Jackson as fast as he could, panic spurring him on as he took the steps two at a time. But even in his rush, Colton feared it was too late; he was well past the hour before his wolf would go insane. Once that happened, it was only a matter of time before his wolf died—and Colton with him. Nothing could save them now. He prayed to the gods to live long enough to make sure Ian and their pups were fine.
Stopping at Jackson’s study door, Colton’s eyes quickly scanned the room, finding it empty. Hurrying on to his and Ian’s room, he faltered for a moment—struck by the enormity of what he’d done—before resuming his frenetic pace. The door to their room was open; Colton dashed inside, skidding to a stop as he took in the scene.
Glancing at Colton, Jackson asked, “Ian…the pups…are they okay?”
“Yeah.” Colton pointed to the glowing strap between Cody and Dylon. “What are they doing?”
“In a minute,” Jackson said, turning to Cody. “Tell Dylon that Colton is here.”
After seeing his brother nod, Jackson glanced at Colton. “Ready for me to unbind your wolf?”
“No! Jackson, it’s been over two hours…you can’t do it; otherwise I’ll go insane, too…I won’t have any time to say good-bye to Ian or our pups!”
“Your wolf is fine. Trust me.”
“But how?”
“I’ll let Dylon explain. I’m releasing your wolf, now.” Closing his eyes, Jackson released his brother’s bound wolf.
Colton felt nothing until…there was his wolf, standing proudly, calling for his mate, cocking his head as he waited for an answering howl, grinning when it came.Ian must be awake.Assuring his wolf he’d soon be reunited with his mate, Colton smiled as he watched his wolf lie down—a toothy grin on his face.
“How’s your wolf?” Cody asked as Dylon removed the strap.
“Good…but I don’t understand why,” Colton replied.
Rolling up the golden strap, Dylon said, “One day, my shaman came into my bedroom and handed me this. When I asked what it was for, he explained how I should use it if I ever needed to save a bound wolf. Afterward, I tossed it in the trunk he gave me and promptly forgot about it. It wasn’t until you told Mac that Jackson had bound your wolf, that I remembered about it.”
“Holy fuck! I owe you one,” Colton said.
“No you don’t…this is payback for you saving my life,” Dylon grinned.
“Colton,” Jackson said, getting his attention. “I’m guessing there was a problem since it took more than an hour. What happened?”
“Ahh…yes…the third pup was trapped. Her umbilical cord was wrapped around her neck and her foot was wedged in the birth canal. It was touch and go for a while, but she’s okay now,” Colton replied.
Hugging his brother, Cody murmured in his ear, “Congratulations, Daddy!”
