We both nodded and made our way past the outer guard, which basically looked like a bunch of Dominics, big meaty shifters strapped to the high heavens with guns and even grenades. How much did a grenade even cost? We were definitely going to need to sell those scales. As Logan and I stepped into the foyer, I saw that a few shifters were stationed at each window in the living room. They nodded as we passed, the new ones giving a deep head nod to their new alpha Keegan. That meant Dee was back at home base with her pack, protecting Casey and Geoff. Minus Nadine who was needed here for her medical skills. Isaac must be back at the land too, because I didn’t see my mentoreither.
A loud scream came from the bedroom—Lynn—a painful cry mixed with a deep guttural moan. Chills ran up my arms as my dragon slithered against my skin. I’d always thought women who had children without drugs were goddesses. To be able to give life without any sort of numbing agent … it was a superpower in my opinion. That, however, was not my birth plan. When that day came, I would make sure we had some shifter anesthesiologist ready to make all the pain go bye-bye.
“LOGAN!” Nadine shouted from the room, and all the color drained from my mate’s face. He dropped my hand and tore down the hall, following the noise. I ran after him, staff in hand, ready to fight whatever it was that was making Nadine sound soscared.
When we burst into the room, I expected to see a druid hovering over Lynn’s body, but instead I just saw Tony holding her hand and looking terrified at the orange scales that ran along her arms. There was a white drape over her lower half, keeping hermodesty.
“She’s shifting!” Nadine screeched. Eva was right there, cloth in hand, ready to take the baby from Nadine once she came out. I saw the blue baby pool just behind Eva, Danny tending to the spell. The water flickered between yellow and pink, smoke rising up aboveit.
“Should I put her in a dragon’s sleep?” Logan asked frantically, intuiting why Nadine had calledhim.
Tony looked amazed. “You can dothat?”
“Yes!” Lynn begged between grunts. Her forehead glistened with sweat and she looked to be in some massive amounts of pain. I was wincing just watchingher.
“No! Not yet. She’s needs to push the baby out first,” Nadinecountered.
Lynn growled. “It hurts too much. My dragon is going to take over.” Scales dotted the edges of her face and I knew it must be taking immense concentration to keep from fullyshifting.
Someone get this woman somedrugs!
“One more push. You can do this!” Nadine toldher.
Lynn looked at Logan. “If I start to full shift, put me in the sleep and cut the babyout.”
Logan blanched but nodded. I knew we weren’t prepared for a c-section; but that was a last resort. My mate stepped up and took her other hand. “If you shift, the druids will come for you and your baby. Tell your dragon that. Tell her you’re safer without her here rightnow.”
Logan had spoken to me like this before. Dragon whisperer. He was always trying to tuck my dragon away when she wanted to come out. I just hoped Lynn had more restraint than Idid.
Lynn nodded, taking a deep breath, and a few of the scalesretreated.
Tony stroked his wife’s arm. “You’ve done this before with Geoff. You can do itagain.”
Lynn just glared at her husband. “No more children,” she told him, and hechuckled.
“Here we go,” Nadine said as Lynn’s belly flinched, rock hard. “Push…”
With a roar akin to a warrior running into battle, Lynn screamed. The hair on my arms was standing up as I flattened myself against the wall, preparing to witness the miracle oflife.
“Yes! Here she is, don’t stop,” Nadine coaxedher.
My nerves were fried. I stood there rigidly, waiting to see what would happen. When an honest to God baby popped into Nadine’s outstretched arms, I was shocked a little. I don’t know why. I knew there was a baby in there, but to actually see it …whoa.Nadine quickly suctioned the little girl’s mouth and cut the cord as the room was accosted with a high-pitched baby’swail.
Lynn and Tony broke down crying, and dammit I was crying too. That sweet sound, it meant she was healthy and alive—and it also reminded me of Isaac’s goat. Nadine quickly handed the baby to Eva. This was going to work! The second Eva’s hands wrapped around the baby, orange and cream scales began to form on herskin.
“No!” Eva shouted, nearly tripping backward to get the baby into thebath.
By the time Eva had lowered the baby into the water fully, only leaving her head out to breathe, she was a full-blown, adorable, orange and creamdragon.
“Babies shift extremely fast. I’d forgotten that,” Logan said in a hollowvoice.
No one said a word. We just stared at this tiny winged creature and tried not to think of it as the harbinger ofdeath.
“It didn’t work in time,” Eva finallysaid.
“Plan B,” Keegan declared, and all of a sudden I was being dragged by the underarm out into the hall and then into the livingroom.
“Plan B!” Keegan shouted, and activity erupted around thehouse.
