Damon rubbed my belly, and one of the babies kicked, clearly recognizing their daddy. “Time for you to sit down and relax, kitten. Trust the people you hired to do their job.” His tone was firm, and I knew he wouldn’t budge on forcing me to rest since we’d made a deal. When I found out I was pregnant, I’d already outlined a plan for opening my restaurant within six months. At first, Damon wanted me to put off the project until after the baby—we hadn’t known there were two yet—was born. In order to get him to relent, I’d promised to take it easy during the last couple of months. He’d come to know me well enough to know that I wasn’t the sit back and watch type of woman. But it hadn’t been a hard promise to make because I would never do anything to put our sweet babies in jeopardy. So I let him guide me over to the smaller of our two party rooms, which had glass walls separating them from the main dining area, where I could still oversee the action.
My parents, Tabara, my nieces and nephew, Damon’s parents, Allegra, and Larissa—with their mates and kids—were already gathered in the space. Cason had been feeling out of sorts and had taken off to spend a month or so with some friends, but he’d promised to be home by opening night. It looked as though he was running late, but I had no doubt he’d be here.
Damon helped me lower down into a chair facing the glass, and I chewed my lip as patrons were seated. My stomach squeezed with nerves, and the babies shifted restlessly. I placed a palm over their resting place and rubbed soothing circles. When I felt the same sensation three times more, at fairly even intervals, I gasped. These were different than anything I’d experienced, even the Braxton Hicks contractions.
“What is it, kitten?” Damon swiftly vacated the chair at my side and fell to his knees in front of me. “Are you alright?” He watched me with concern as he placed his hand on top of mine.
“Ummm…” I really didn’t want to admit that I was pretty certain I was in labor. It would be hours before I was ready to give birth, and I wanted to spend the time at Timber Treasures rather than in a hospital room.
But my body betrayed me. When my stomach tightened again, Damon’s eyes narrowed. “Kitten,” he growled.
I threw my hands up in the air and huffed, “Fine! I’m in labor. But I want to stay here and —”
It wasn’t worth continuing the protest when he scooped me into his arms and stalked to the door. The look on his face suggested he wasn’t open to changing his course.
Though I would never admit it out loud—despite the fact Damon’s and my connection was clear enough that he knew I was thinking it anyway—he’d been right to rush us to the hospital. I gave birth to Greenlee and Nyx less than an hour after we arrived.
Our parents and siblings, including Cason, who’d finally made it back, came in to see our precious little ones before leaving me to rest and promising to be back in the morning.
We had a parade of visitors the next day, including Peppa, who informed me that opening night had been a smash. She was holding Nyx in her arms when the door banged open, and Cason stalked into the room, looking around wildly until his eyes landed on Peppa.
* * *
Cason
I’d been feeling at odds with my wolf for a couple of months, and the only explanation I could come up with was that I needed to get away from all the mated pairs who reminded me that I was alone and cursed. I was happy for my friends, and especially my brother and his adorable mate, but the desolation was suffocating me.
I had taken off to visit some single friends who lived a more primitive lifestyle out in the wilderness. It had been a relief to get away from my troubles, and I would have stayed longer if I hadn’t promised my sister-in-law that I would be back for the opening of her restaurant. It turned out to be doubly good that I’d returned because Trinity had gone into labor about ten minutes before I arrived at the restaurant. I’d immediately turned the car around and drove straight to the hospital, where I was shocked to only wait an hour and a half before being allowed back to meet my new niece and nephew.
After a restless night, I was grouchy from lack of sleep, but I drank a few cups of coffee as I got ready and met my parents in the waiting room of the maternity ward. The minute I stepped off the elevator, I felt my entire body freeze and go up in flames at the same moment. I inhaled deeply, pulling in the most delicious and desirable scent I’d ever smelled. My wolf went on high alert before ramming into me, demanding to be let out.