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I sensed that wasn’t the whole story based on his wavering voice and put the phone on the dashboard mount. Damn, I shouldn’t have left this morning.

“I’m on my way.”

“Great.” His voice was an octave higher than usual, and I pressed my foot on the gas, eager to be home. “The lock jammed, and I can’t get the door open.”

I tamped down a screeching, “What?” because my aim wasn’t to distress him more. Instead, I said in my calmest voice, “Don’t worry, I’ll be there soon.”

“Okay. I… I love you.”

My mate, the omega who wasn’t fazed by dragon shifters, mating, dragon shifter triplets, or marking was on the verge of tears. Tears pricked my eyes because labor should be in a peaceful space with a supportive alpha.

We can fly. My dragon was ready to take his wings, but we’d be home in fifteen minutes based on how fast we were going. Finding a safe place to shift would take longer.

I stared straight ahead and went back to counting. This time it was the miles until I reached our front gate. So many what-ifs popped into my head no matter how unlikely. The baby might arrive and I wouldn’t be there, River might hurt himself on the equipment, or what if something went wrong during the birth and he was alone.

Screeching into the driveway, I left the car running and the door open as I sprinted to the workshop. Yanking the door confirmed it was really jammed and not just human-strength stuck.

“Get as far away from the door as you can. I’m going to break it down.”

“Don’t hurt yourself.” My mate was about to bring a baby into the world and yet he was thinking about me.

I need your help, I told my beast.

But my dragon had anticipated what I was about to say, and he performed a partial shift, taking one of my arms and shifting it to his scaly front leg. He smashed the wooden door, and it slammed onto the floor with splinters and wood fragments flying into the air.

“River.” I took back my arm and raced to my laboring mate. “I’m here.” I held him close, and his thundering heart matched my own. How could I have left him? What if he’d had to deliver the baby on the stone floor by himself? I should have trusted my gut and stayed home this morning.

“Let’s get you back to the house.”

I scooped him up and noted my project protected by a cloth which was now covered in dust. I carried him into the house and up the stairs while I mumbled how much I loved him and how I was never letting go.

“It squeaked,” he mumbled as I stood on that step, and he rested his head against me, but before I asked where he wanted to be, he groaned and dug his nails into the back of my neck. His huge belly was pressed against me, and it tightened as the contraction took hold.

“That one hurt.”

I buried my face in his hair. I thought I knew what birth was having witnessed the girls being born. But this was my mate having to push a baby into the world and we’d been separated when labor began. River wasn’t an omega that lost his cool easily or got frustrated. But I was in danger of losing it, thinking of how he’d been locked in the workshop.

“I need warm water on my belly.”

“Okay.” I didn’t comment on how that was a huge change compared to the past months but carried him into the bathroom. When he got under the stream of water, he leaned back on me, and I massaged his bump.

“That feels good. I haven’t had a warm shower in ages.”

We breathed together using the technique we’d learned, and my mate put his arms over his head and around my neck. Minutes passed as I massaged his back, rubbed his belly, and whispered how well he was doing. I was so proud of how he was handling this.

The contractions were close together when River told me he wanted to push.

“Squatting is the most comfortable position.”

I grabbed pillows and blankets and covered them with a sheet. Supporting him with both arms, I lowered him so he hovered over the blankets with me behind him.

“I’m scared. What if I can’t do this.” He was clutching my hands so tightly I winced.

“Hey, you’ve got grit and determination and you don’t give up on anything that’s important.”

“Maybe,” he panted, “but this is different.” He grunted and bore down, and when the contraction passed, he asked for my help. “I need you, Sinclair.”

“I’ve got you.” I nuzzled the back of his neck, and with my hands wrapped around his belly, I felt the tightening. “Push, my darling.”