He fussed about it. “I bought something to wear while I labor.”
“You’re past that point,” the nurse told him.
A bigger contraction slammed into him, making him grip my arm so hard, I thought it might break if I wasn’t a shifter, and any further arguments dissipated on his lips.
The contractions came closer together. He cried out in pain and I cursed that there was nothing I could do to take it from him. My bear didn’t approve of all of this, not one bit. Except the end part. He would be fine once our babe and mate were through this safely.
“You’re ready to go, Altan,” the healer said, standing at the foot of the bed. “Whenever you feel the urge to push. Your body knows what to do. Get out of the way, so to speak.”
A few minutes later, Altan looked at me. “I’m ready. Don’t leave me.”
I smoothed some hair from his sweaty forehead. “Wouldn’t dream of it.”
Altan bore down, his feet in the air, and pushed until I thought he might pass out but, with each one, he looked more determined. My bear poured strength into our bond. How omegas did this was beyond me. I stubbed my toe the other day and acted like a complete baby, and now, my mate was pushing a tiny person out of his body.
“One more. One more big push and we’re there.”
Altan took both my hands in his and squeezed. His hips dug into the bed as he pushed harder and harder, crying out to the goddess for help.
And then, with a great whoosh of breath and strength, our baby was born. She came into the world carrying the cry that my mate had started while pushing her out.
The whole damned thing was nothing short of a miracle.
“She’s here,” I whispered to my mate. The healer placed our daughter on his chest, and he leaned back, utterly spent.
“She’s here. What do you want to name her?” he asked, touching her cheek with one gentle finger.
“You grew her and then birthed her, and you’re asking me for a name?”
“Well, it’s the least you can do.” My mate laughed softly. “I’m kidding. But please, whatever you decide, I will love.”
We’d talked about so many names but one of them stuck. When I looked at our baby with her dark hair and my mate’s eyes and cute nose, I knew which one belonged to her. “Laney.”
“Laney Sothea,” he said. “After her papa.”
I leaned down and kissed both of their foreheads before Laney was taken to be weighed and measured. All the newborn things. The nurses got Altan cleaned up and, before long, we were in recovery. Just the three of us. Our family.
Epilogue
Altan
“That will never cease to be amusing.” Greta pointed to the tiny “baby” crib in my mate’s workstation, the one currently hosting Bunny Foo-Foo for her nap.
“Gotta be honest with you, Altan.” Brent grabbed my shoulder. “I thought you guys were wasting money when you bought those two cat cribs, but my baby loves them.”
“Your what?”
“You have your own baby?” He looked down at Laney, who was fast asleep in my arms. “Let me pretend I have mine.”
Brent was having to compete for the number one slot in Bunny Foo-Foo’s book now that my mate showed up. But, to be fair, my mate was king of the spoiling, and not only Laney and me but also Bunny Foo-Foo.
“Do you know where my mate is?” I asked Greta.
She nodded.
“Would you mind sharing with me?”
She thought she was so funny. “He went to go get coffee for everyone. I think he thought you and Brent were gonna be out longer than you were.”
