“I’m not gonna bite—argh!”
A sound between a growl and whine came out of me. I breathed heavily as the pain worsened. My body felt weird and tight—I knew Star was trying to come out right this second.
“Len, Morgan!” Xander called.
They hurried over immediately, but without any panic. I appreciated both their calm demeanors since I was freaking the hell out.
“Keep breathing,” Morgan said. “It helps.”
I tried to take his advice but my deep, steady breaths were interspersed with zaps of pain. I whimpered. I wanted to hold Xander’s hand, but if it was this hard in my wolf form, it would’ve been way worse if I shifted.
As if reading my mind, Xander said, “I’m here, Sage. Just tell me what you want and I’ll do it.”I shut my eyes. “Keep petting me? Please?”
“I will.”
Xander’s large, warm hand moved in calming motions down my back. The sensation of his touch was a healing salve. I let out a shuddering sigh and felt my body relax as Xander touched me. The sharp pangs of pain were still there but dulled, as if Xander put a glass wall between them and me.
I strained with the effort of pushing something out of me, and—
A release in the pressure. Then the presence of a wet, slipperysomething.
I raised my head slowly, the way you would when you wake up and know there’s something different about the world now.
All around me were curious, excited, worried faces. I glanced down and saw that my tail was covering up where Star would’ve come out. None of them had seen the baby yet.
I vaguely noticed that it wasn’t just my mate and the omegas anymore. The rest of the pack was here. My brothers, Red and Remington, and the kids. Everyone was here. All of them were waiting to welcome the newest member of the pack. Emotion swelled up inside me.
“Sage?” Xander asked quietly. “Is Star here?”
I craned my neck towards my lower half and found the little wriggling worm there, gently nosing her towards my belly. I licked her clean, ruffling up that newborn fur until she was warm and dry.
“Yeah,” I said, sounding tired but proud. “She’s here.”
A quiet collective inhale of breath went up around the pack.
There, healthy and brand new and beautiful, was a spotted-furred mountain lion kitten.
My tail wagged softly as I faced Xander. His eyes were wide with wonder and rimmed with tears. He didn’t even try to hold them back anymore. They fell and soaked into my fur as he hugged me.
“Sage, she’s beautiful,” he murmured. “You did such an amazing job.”
“You helped, y’know. Come and see her.”
With great care, Xander picked up Star. She was tiny, smaller than his hands, and barely looked like anything more than a puffball. She was a warm brown color with big black spots running all along her body. As Xander nestled her close to his chest, she let out an angry little mewl.
“Oh, gods, I’m gonna start bawling,” Red said with a hitch in his voice.
“Hi, baby,” Xander murmured to her. “You wanna go back to your daddy? Here you go, then.”
Xander put her back beside me, where she nestled back into my side with a high-pitched grumble.
“How do you feel?” Len asked me kindly.
“Tired, but I’m glad it’s over,” I admitted. “Your advice worked, I think. Man, I wouldnotwanna do that on two legs. A big-headed kitten is still easier to give birth to than a pumpkin-headed baby. By the way, do we have any more fish? I’m starving.”
Dax chuckled. “Never change, Sage.”
* * *
