“Focus,” Bindi ordered quietly, practically holding me up as we walked through the camp full of white tents, beelining toward mine. “Your tent’s only a bit further.” Luckily for her, she didn’t mention I had waited too long to leave headquarters, because I probably would have let my voice out and she would be dead right now. “And quit growling at me, others can hear you.”
Huh, guess my wolf was making an appearance.
By the time Bindi had pushed my tent flap aside, my teeth were clenched so hard I was surprised I hadn’t broken a few. The flap closed behind us, and inside the privacy spell Antonio had created, the golden magic sparkling on the walls, I gave up all semblance of trying to contain the pain and screamed, grabbing my stomach and hunching, finally able to stop squeezing my legs, and muscles, together. Instantly, I felt a gush of warm water rush down between my thighs. Bindi grabbed me and, completely surprising me, lifted me clean off my feet, carrying me like a child while cursing under her breath.
She walked onto the burgundy and black rug that lay over the grass. On the left, she passed the two tall, plush burgundy chairs and a black couch with a small coffee table. On the right, there was a minibar I had set up. Since the war had started there were always Elders and Commanders interrupting my few moments of solitude, coming to my tent to discuss issues, and it was easy to get them to leave with a drink in their hand and half drunk. I had also made Antonio alter my tent so it was sectioned for privacy, my bedroom off the main entertaining area spelled for only those I let pass, into which Bindi now entered, brushing past another white tent flap.
Everything was the same on this side of the tent as always. No matter what camp we went to, the room was spelled that way. To the right stood two large cherry wood dressers with a Mage mirror in between, and next to those was my king-sized bed with burgundy sheets, plush pillows, and a leopard print fur bedspread with two cherry wood end tables on either side that held black wrought-iron lamps. There was also a burgundy bassinet for the baby next to the bed. Other than the new addition of the birthing bed on the left, it was deceptively homey…until you looked closer and saw that the whole room was sterile and cold, as I was now, with no personal items to be found, except maybe a book or two I had purchased to try to take my mind off…not remembering, which was harder than you could imagine.
“Shower,” I stated when Bindi tried to lay me on the birthing bed. “My water broke all over my legs.”
Bindi narrowed her eyes and disobeyed me, laying me firmly on the birthing bed. “There are going to be many more fluids coming from your body, so I wouldn’t worry about your water breaking.” She leaned over my face, gazing down at me. “You’re on my turf now. You will do as I say if you want your child to be born without complications.” She grinned — it was a little evil — making me blink at her as I hunched and grabbed my rounded belly. “I can imagine you would like something for the pain?”
I huffed, breathing in and out in ragged pants. “You’re a doctor from hell.”
She patted my cheek, still wearing that malevolent smirk. “Why yes, I can be…or, if you behave and do as told, I can be your saving grace, a heaven-born doctor.” She stared me in the eyes as I breathed through the pain. “So what’s it going to be, Queen Ruckler? Good patient? Or bad patient?”
I shouted, seriously wanting to push out the agony. “I don’t think we’ve got time for good patient/bad patient.” I groaned low, sweat dripping off my forehead. “I need topush.” I started tearing my clothes off. Boots, socks, leather maternity pants, underwear, shirt, bra — everything went as I readied myself to do as my body was driving me to do…even as Bindi froze.
The hell-born doctor stood stunned, then a litany of curses flew from her mouth — damn near proving my point with herextensivevocabulary — as she banged open drawers on the side of the bed, grabbing a hospital gown and shoving my arms through it before yanking gloves over her now glowing hands. “Goddamn…” She mumbled something else unintelligibly, shoving me onto my back. “Queen bullshit…” More mumbling as she pushed my legs apart and performed an internal exam, then she shouted, “Fucking hell!”
Another scream echoed, but the sound was all mine, flying past my wide open mouth even as she yanked her cell phone out of her pocket, blood covering her latex gloves, and dialed numbers.
She glared between my legs as she held the phone to her ear. A pause while I panted, then she barked/yelled into the receiver, “I don’t care if you’re in the middle of killing someone. Your grandchild is fucking crowning already. Get your ass here.” She tossed her phone onto the floor, mumbling, “Thank God he put the protection spell on your tent.”
I screamed, agreeing wholeheartedly as I involuntarily pushed. Antonio had informed me that the Executioner, the one Mystical whose job it was to slaughter any hybrid, was linked with a spell to any hybrid being born, the spell physically pushing the Mystical to go where the child was and exterminate the baby. The protection spell Antonio had put on my tent safeguarded that from happening, but Antonio still needed to put a cloaking spell on the baby, which he had finally perfected two weeks ago, since he or she wouldn’t be able to hide their sleeping powers, and everyone would sense his or her hybrid nature. I hadn’t told Bindi or Antonio I knew the father was a Vampire, since they never told me shit, but because of my own hybrid nature of Vampire and Shifter, I knew the baby would automatically have my genes.
“Okay, okay,” Bindi breathed deeply, and she instantly transformed, rolling her neck on her shoulders, and when she looked back up at me, it was the physician staring at me. “You’re going to push when I tell you to, not when you want to.” Her hands glowed golden, and she pushed my knees up around my large belly. “Grab your knees, and keep them up.” One hand went to my stomach, and she stared between my legs as I relaxed while the contraction was gone…fuck…never mind. “Okay, take a deep breath and push.” Both hands went between my legs, and I screamed, grunting, bearing down as I gripped my legs, pushing with all I had.
That was when Antonio suddenly appeared in his battle attire, splatters of blood covering his face and clothes. Again, ice filled my veins, but not as much as usual, my body feeling too much torture. Pain was overriding any other emotion right now. The blood drained from Antonio’s face as he stared wide-eyed, teetering. He looked like he was going to drop in a dead faint.
Bindi growled at him, “You kill how many Coms daily? And you can’t take the sight of birth?”
I sucked in a breath, groaning deeply as I pushed again when Bindi ordered me to.
Again, her eyes flew to Antonio. “Go wash your hands and get rid of that shirt before you come over here.” She growled. “And you will be coming over here, so get your fucking act together.”
Antonio blinked, swallowing hard, but he stopped swaying where he stood. Nodded. Then raced to the small flap at the back of my tent where the magically enchanted bathroom was.
“Good, Queen Ruckler,” Bindi murmured, her focus back on the task at hand. “You’re doing really well.” Her lips tilted when I stopped pushing to haul in huge lungfuls of air. “A couple more pushes like that and the baby will be out.”
“Thank God,” I muttered breathlessly, shaking my head back and forth, trying to clear my pain-filled blurry vision. “I’d rather be shot…and maybe burned…than do this much longer.”
She nodded. “Natural childbirth, which you’re having since you wouldn’t leave headquarters—” I growled, my wolf shining out through my eyes, and she cleared her throat, “Natural childbirth isn’t easy for any mother. Some might say it is, but they’re lying out their ass because this part is not easy, or pain free, for any woman. But you’re young and healthy, and those few pushes were excellent.” She paused, her hands glowing brighter. “And I want you to push again now.”
I felt my stomach constrict, and I shouted, pushing with all I had, not even realizing until I was done that Antonio had come back into the room to hold my back in support. And at this moment, I didn’t care he was touching me, only that he was helping.
“Ahh,” I shouted, grinding my teeth, shaking with the effort of the next push, watching Bindi keep one hand between my legs while she threw open a drawer on the side of the bed, pulling something blue out before that hand went back between my legs.
My head fell back as the contraction stopped, and I panted in great gulps. Antonio softly brushed my sweat-drenched hair off my face, gently kissing my forehead and murmuring soothingly, while I took a mini-nap. Until Bindi shook my leg, and I bared down, pushing again, screaming at the pain.
Bindi nodded quickly. “One more. One more good push.”
“I am pushing good,” I growled, but took a deep breath and heaved, squeezing my stomach muscles, shoving down with everything I had. And suddenly I could breathe, the agony not as horrendous, not at all. My head flopped against Antonio’s shoulder as I breathed heavily, about ready to faint but unable to take my eyes off what I saw in front of me.
My baby.
In Bindi’s arms, who was cleaning out its nose and mouth and cutting the umbilical cord in record time as the shaking squall of a baby filled the air around us, sounding loud and pissed off.
