Green - a werewolf story

44. Deliver Us

Vanessa was paralyzed with fear. This wasn't happening. This couldn't be happening.

"Are you sure?" she asked, stupidly.

"Unless I've suddenly started pissing myself using my va..."

"Fine, you're sure," Vanessa said. "It's still ages until you have to give birth, right? I mean there's cramps and..." she quietened when Abby's hand suddenly squeezed hers hard enough to break bones. Werewolf was a decidedly bad feature when it belonged to someone holding your hand.

"I think," Abby said, panting, "the backache and upset stomach might have been something else."

"You're not going into labor here!" Vanessa ordered her.

Abby smiled through the considerable pain she was obviously in. "I don't think that's my decision to make."

"Can't you make it stop? Cross your legs or something?"

"A bit late for that, I'm afraid," Abby said and squeezed her hand again. "You should have told me to do that nine months ago, not five minutes before... oh, my God."

"Okay," Vanessa said, changing tacks. "We need to get you to a hospital. You and Thrall must have a private clinic that won't take any blood samples lined up."

"There's a clinic on pack grounds," Abby said.

"Great! I'll get you there and they'll make sure..."

"I think it's too late for that too," Abby said.

"Nonsense! It takes hours to give birth!" Vanessa insisted. She might not know a lot about having a baby, but she knew that. "Especially if it's the first child."

"Not... necessarily," Abby said.

"Be serious, Abby. You can't deliver a baby in the backroom of a club while everyone's fighting in the other room. The jokes..."

"Get Ted," Abby ordered.

"Yes," Vanessa said, relaxing a little now that they had a plan that didn't involve her staying alone with someone giving birth. "Awesome idea. If you could just let go of my hand..."

"Tell him to get a knife and some hot water."

"Why?"

"To cut the umbilical cord and..."

"Forget I asked," Vanessa muttered and pulled her hand from Abby's to rush over to the door and dislodge the vacuum handle. "I'll be right back."

She pulled the door open to rush out, but was stopped by two fighting wolves rolling past. Why were the wolves fighting each other?

Vanessa looked around. What had been a brawl when she and Abby went to hide in the back room had turned into what looked like an outright war. Blood was splattered on the previously grey walls and pooled on the floor.

"What on earth is going on?" she asked herself.

She tried to find a familiar figure in the throng of fighters, but it was all a jumble.

"Come back here, you dirty dogs!" someone yelled to her right and she saw Letitia standing on a table. "This is for what you did to Vanessa!" she yelled and aimed her new parasol at the backs of two grey wolves.

Two lightning strikes shot out of the parasol and straight into the wolves who shook and fell over.

A third wolf leaped on her, but was struck down by the sword wielding vampire Vanessa had seen before.

"Thanks, Xi," Letitia called to the vampire and turned to send off more lightning strikes.

Letitia fighting on the side of vampires? What was going on?