“Right.” Tears welled in my eyes. “We will work it out. Together.”
“Anything else?”
“They are gonna fire me as the coach.”
“Pfft.” He smiled. “No, they won’t because you’re the best damned track and field coach in the country for these kids. You’ve been in their shoes in more ways than one. They love you and would never blame your coaching.”
Finally, the panic attack began to subside. I hadn’t had one in a while but that one was a doozy.
Maybe hormones?
Maybe everything?
Thank the goddess I had my mate with me.
“Thank you, Wulf.” I said, my chest feeling normal again, little by little.
“Of course, omega. Anything for you. How about a long, lukewarm bath?”
I laughed. “Lukewarm, huh? I’ll be glad when I can climb into a boiling-hot tub again.”
“Same here. I bet you miss them.”
“I miss a lot of things but not as much as I love this pup. I can’t wait for her to come along.”
Chapter Twenty-One
Wulf
We’d planned a home birth, but the healer we chose preferred that their clients use a center, so we’d agreed to do that. Unfortunately for the “safety factor and sanitary conditions” our little Amy disagreed with that idea and my omega went into full-blown labor in the middle of the night. No warning, no interval to time the pains, nothing.
For an omega suffering pains only a minute or two apart, Striker looked way too happy. An athlete, he was used to pushing himself beyond what normal shifters could or would even want to. And he’d been in so much pain for so long, I wondered how this compared.
I hated him to have any discomfort at all, but a the healer pointed out when I commented, the healer said he could get an epidural if he wanted. Striker was loudly opposed, but I had thought perhaps I could convince him when the time came.
Not now.
He smiled because everything was going his way. No birthing center. No epidural. Just home with me and if I had to guess I’d have said no chance of the healer arriving before the baby did.
I called anyway.
The healer was out on a call, the one who usually filled was out of town, and when I told Striker his smile grew so wide, it scared me. “You know I’m not the best choice to deliver a baby, right?”
“You’re a medical professional.”
“And I do work with omegas who have problems after birth, but I have never actually brought a baby into the world. Maybe we should try for the center.”
“And see who? A tech? A nurse?”
“Yes because a nurse at a birthing center has experience.’
“Sorry, no. My pains are rolling over each other at this point and if I knew how to check, I’d say I’m just about ready to push. We’re having this baby, ouch, at home, and you are either going to have to help me or stand back and watch me do it on my own.”
“You know I can’t do that!”
“Right, so go get the big pile of towels I washed and left in the hall closet along with the special sheets, and well, there’s a whole box of stuff.”
I gaped at him. “You never did plan to go to the center, did you?”
