A special treat awaits you at the bottom of the chapter: a teaser from the interview with Kennedy that will be up on February 16th!
After an hour pacing around the waiting room, Everett finally took the empty seat between our parents. Dad gripped his shoulder and mom took my older brother's left hand in her own, smiling weakly, but reassuringly.
"It earlier than expected, but the pregnancy was going well," she told him. "I'm sure both Lisa and the baby will be fine."
"They've been in there forever!" Everett ran his fingers through his already disheveled hair and exhaled heavily.
"It's Lisa's first baby; it can take hours," my sister-in-law's mom - Diane, affirmed, but the fine lines in her forehead had gone deeper and she'd been clinging to her husband's elbow since they'd arrived at Woodville General about thirty minutes ago.
Our party took up most of the space in the waiting room. I'd phoned Riley immediately after Everett's call and with Mr. Philips agreeing to let my mate off early from work, I'd gone straight to the Milk & Cream and then we drove to the hospital; Everett was here, of course, scared out of his mind, sweat coating his forehead; mom and dad had already arrived with Carter, Melanie and Kennedy and were unsuccessfully trying to ease his panic; Keri, Anthony and his Lisa had arrived a little later; and then it had been Diane and Robert's turn to burst into the hallway, looking for us and information on their daughter and grandchild. One of Melanie's aunts - Daisy, was on shift at the ER tonight and she'd managed to pop by a couple of times in between patients.
Riley's stomach growled and he stopped drumming the tips of his fingers on the armrest of his seat.
"Sorry," he muttered as if his physiological needs were somehow an insult to the rest of us during this stressful situation.
"I'll bring you something from the cafeteria," I offered as I stood up and kissed his forehead.
"I don't think they'll allow food here," Lisa Greer said and Anthony nodded in agreement to his wife's words.
"Rhys, why don't you take Riley and the kids to eat?" Dad suggested. "We'll stay with your brother."
"No, you should go too," Everett said through another long exhale.
"Let the young ones eat and we'll go when they return," Diane insisted.
"We wouldn't want to meet our grandson with our stomachs rumbling," Robert added and just like mom, he tried to smile.
Everett nodded and I extended a hand to Riley who took it and got up. Kennedy also hopped from his seat, and Carter and Mel - both unusually quiet and remarkably cell-phone-free - followed us as we headed downstairs to the cafeteria.
The place was clean, the costumers a mix of patients' relatives and friends, and hospital staff. We each bought a sandwich - vegetarian for Mel and BLT for the rest of us - and sat on two faux leather, positioned around a white plastic table, speckled with shades of grey, to imitate marble perhaps.
"A lot of babies are born during the seventh month of pregnancy, right?" Riley asked from my right, staring at his sandwich.
From across the table, Melanie leaned on Carter's shoulder.
"The baby will be fine," Kennedy piped up from my left, fake carelessness gracing his tone. "It's one of us; that already gives it a better chance than..." He quickly looked around; no one but our group was in earshot, but he lowered his voice anyway. "Than a human baby. I'm sure it will be fine. And Lisa too," he added before biting into his sandwich with way more enthusiasm than he'd usually give to hospital food.
I reached towards my baby brother and patted his head.
I knew he was attempting to sound confident so that the rest of us would be more hopeful, but he wasn't fooling anyone. He had a point though: a shifter's child had better chances than a human's at not only surviving a premature birth, but coming out healthy. And as mom had said, the pregnancy had been going well until now; surely that increased my sister-in-law's and her baby's odds.
And yet, we can't help but worry, I thought as I pulled back my arm and chewed on my BLT.
My parents' generation still remembered the time when for seven years not a single baby was born in our pack. To this day, no one knew the reason for that unfortunate phenomena. Both females and males had undergone regular testing and the results hadn't shown a biological reason as to why not a single couple had been able to conceive. Many prayers had been sent to God and to the Great Spirits, but they'd seemed to fall on death ears until finally, a baby boom, and then things had gone back to normal. This period of infertility and confusion was the reason why Everett was whole eleven years my senior and why pregnancies and babies were such a hot topic in our pack.
The pregnancy was going well, I repeated in my head again, in hopes to sooth myself. But I couldn't hold back the memory of just how long it had taken for Lisa to get pregnant in the first place.
Rhys and the teens had returned to the waiting room so my brother, sister-in-law and I were taking our turn at the cafeteria.
The two of them had each bought some sort of sandwich, but I wasn't sure I could consume anything but my favorite drug - caffeine, so I'd armed myself with two plastic cups of that. I lifted one and brought it to my lips, the brown liquid sliding from side to side as I couldn't make my hand halt its shaking.
Why was this affecting me so?
Yes, Lisa Flemings was a part of my pack and a friend, but I acted as if it was my own sister in there, under the care of doctors and nurses. Granted, I had no sister, but still; I couldn't remember being so anxious about any other mom and baby from my pack.
Could it be because the child was coming to this world earlier than planned?
Or could it be...
I placed a hand on my stomach and felt the sturdy muscles.
Empty, I thought as my eyes watered.
My biological clock was ticking. I kept touching this same spot, kept imagining - against my better judgment - that there was someone inside, a tiny child that I could call mine; one that would hold onto my finger while it lay in its crib, one that I'd rock back and forth when it cried as its first teeth started to come out, one that I'd teach how to get a hold of its wolf before the wolf could take over and it shifted without meaning to... One that I'd run with through the woods, the wind blowing in our fur and eyes, those eyes the same brown shade as Callum's...
I gulped all of the coffee at once and reached for the second cup. A strong hand captured my wrist, before I'd managed to lift the plastic container.
"Are you alright?" My brother asked, blue eyes filled with concern.
"I'm worried about Lisa and the baby." It wasn't the whole truth, but it was a truth nevertheless.
"God, we are too!" My sister-in-law exclaimed, lowering the barely eaten sandwich away from her mouth, a piece of tomato sliding from between the two bread slices and falling on the table top.
Anthony laced the fingers of right hand with mine and those of his left with his Lisa's, linking the three of us in a neat little chain.
"Worrying won't help them and it's not good for you either. We should try to be positive," he said.
"Think happy thoughts?" I snorted.
"Exactly." He was serious with his reply. "Lisa Flemings is strong, she and the baby are shifters and the pregnancy went without a hitch so far; let's concentrate on that."
I squeezed his hand.
"I appreciate the advice, but... Easier said than done, bro." I sighed. "Look, I..."
Hurried steps sounded from the staircase and a moment later Melanie ran into the cafeteria.
"The baby is here," she shouted on her way to us, slamming her hands on the table when she reached us with her breath hitched. "He's here and he's fine. So is Lisa."
Hope this chapter wasn't too heavy or slow for you. I have some plans for this baby and yes, they do involve its big bro Alec ;)
Did you expect him to show up at the hospital?
What did you think of the chapter?
Had you ever wondered before why there was such an age gap between Rhys and Everett?
To those of you who are into werewolf stories (and yes, I should probably read some too): have you ever come upon a story where a whole pack was unable to have heirs, even if it was temporary?
And now... *drumroll*
Me: What do you think will happen if you are dating someone, reach sixteen and discover they are not your mate?
Kennedy: Things will become awkward.
Me: More details, please.
Kennedy: I don't know... I'll probably feel guilty. If I were to date someone, it will be someone I care about. I'd feel horrible if I ended up breaking their heart, but you can't fight the mate bond. It's one of the most powerful, most overwhelming things you'd ever experience so even though we often say that we are blessed as being the only creatures who can feel this, it can also be a curse. Losing your mate can break you down; never finding them can do that too.
What do you think of the interview excerpt?
Are you excited for the interview?
VOTE if you enjoyed the chapter and/or the ASK KENNEDY SAMPLE and have a great time wattpadding! ❤