A Fox Among Wolves

Chapter Thirty-Three

My mate cringes at my wording and I just raise an eyebrow. "Exactly. That's why we usually place the cut, takes a shorter amount of time to heal, too."

The sounds in the distance are becoming louder, and now I can make out the tell tale sign of the infected hybrid roars. There are a lot of them too.

Ranoe is already running back to the driver's side of the car by the time we make it to the vehicle.

"Hurry, those beasts are going to close us in if we don't leave soon."

Braeden helps me to get in first before following behind me. Ranoe already has the car started by the time Braeden is closing and locking the door.

Peeking out the window, I watch as black figures appear in the distance. They don't get any closer, though, since Ranoe quickly starts to drive away. Soon enough, the beasts are out of view, and their roars become lost in the wind.

Quinn is the first one to break the silence, looking me over with confusion. "Why in the hell did you change your pants?"

Braeden and I exchange nervous looks. I have been putting off telling anyone that I am in labor, knowing that it would just put added stress on an already stressful situation. Add in the fact that I am not as far along as I want to be with the baby coming, and it is enough to make my best friend have a fit.

But he has the stubborn look in his eyes, the one he gets when he knows something is going on. He won't drop the subject, not until he has an answer for his question.

"My water broke," I say, deciding that I might as well get this over with.

Sure enough, Quinn's eyes are widening, and Link has to put an arm around his waist to keep my best friend from climbing over the seats.

"Jesus, Henley. How long have you been in labor?"

Shrugging my shoulders, I try to get into a more comfortable position. A new contraction is starting, and I don't feel like having Quinn yell at me while I am already in pain. "A few hours."

"How many is a few?" he deadpans.

"Twelve..."

He is silent for all of one minute before completely going off. "Twelve hours? Twelve? Henley, are you completely insane? You are supposed to tell us these things. You're a freaking doctor, you know better! I can't believe you right now. You better hope we make it to the safe haven before baby comes or else I am kicking your ass."

It's nice to hear my friend being himself again, but I do not appreciate being reprimanded. But instead of making the situation worse, I just close my eyes, trying to breathe through the pain. I know that he is just worried and he is taking his irritation out on me. Eventually, I silence his rant by reaching up my hand, waiting until he places his in my own.

Giving his hand a soft squeeze, I try to silently convey to him that everything will be alright. It has to be. We have been through too much for something to go wrong.

Ranoe clears his throat, catching our attention. "The snow is seeming to clear up, so we should be there in a few hours. Do you think you can make it until then?"

"Yeah, contractions are thirteen minutes apart. As long as we get there before I reach five-minute breaks, then we should be fine."

The human nods his head, and I feel the car speed up a bit. A smile spreads across my lips when I realize that I am not the only one worried about giving birth in a car.

The hours pass slowly, the day eventually turning into night, and my contractions are getting stronger. It is only when Ranoe turns down a dirt path, though, that I blink open my eyes. Because those potholes do not feel amazing.