The road is rough, making every contraction worse. We have been driving for hours now, the sun long past rising. The snow makes the trip even longer, often times we have to detour around a fallen tree or patches of ice that are too dangerous to cross.
So despite Ranoe saying that we should make it to the safe haven by early afternoon, we are barely half way there. It has been rough since all of us are just anxious to arrive, especially the little ones who are not taking kindly to being locked in a car for an entire day.
In fact, they are just starting to fuss again, waking me from the light doze I had been in. I have been trying to catch as much sleep as I can between contractions, but it is becoming harder as they start to get closer together. Another one is just starting to come, and it feels different this time. The need to walk around is strong.
Peeking at the clock on the front of the dash, I do some silent calculations, determining that my contractions are only fifteen minutes apart. This time when Ranoe stops the car, I quickly unbuckle myself, stepping out into the cold winter air.
The snow crunches beneath my feet as I walk away from the car, finding a grove of trees to hide behind. The contraction is strong, making me hunch over as I try to breathe through the pain. Just as the contraction is starting to pass, something inside me pinches, before it feels like I have to pee. I don't even have a chance to hold it in, though, before my pants are being soaked with wetness.
Embarrassment floods over me, and it only grows when I hear someone approaching. Before I have a chance of even thinking about doing something to hide what is going on, Braeden comes into view.
Seeing me hunched over, he rushes to my side, hands roaming over me as if checking to make sure that I am not hurt. "Henley? What's wrong?"
"I- I think my water just broke," I whisper.
Braeden tenses up next to me, before moving to try and pick me up. "Hey! Stop that! What are you doing?"
Scrambling away, I escape his strong arms. The worry is clear on his face as he watches me with his deep blue eyes. "We need to get you back to the car. It isn't safe out here."
This time, when he approached, he just wraps his arms around me, hands massaging the bottom of my back. "No, I need some air. Being trapped in that car is just making me feel sick."
"Do you want me to grab you some new pants?" Braeden murmurs, pressing a kiss against my temple.
Letting out a long sigh, I give a shaky nod of my head, cuddling a bit closer to his heat. "Yes, please."
Braeden seems a little reluctant to leave me, and the fact that I am clinging to him probably isn't making this easier. After a few minutes, though, he extricates himself, heading back over to the car.
He is just coming back with my pants when I hear something in the distance. It sounds far away, but it is near enough to make my heart rate spike. Braeden must hear it too because he quickly closes the distance between us. I know that he just wants to usher me over to the safety of the car, but I refuse to get back in the vehicle with soaking wet pants.
With my mate's help, I am able to quickly change from my jeans into baggy sweats. As quickly as I can, I reach down between my legs, and I feel a slit where my scrotum used to be.
"Shit," I mumble, causing Braeden to look away from the trees and over to me.
"What is it?"
"My birth canal has opened."
"I thought you had to cut where it was supposed to be?" he asks, his eyes widening in worry.
"Usually," I whisper, allowing him to herd me back to the car. "But if you wait too long, your body will just rip it open on its own."
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.
"Almost there," he calls from the front, switching on his headlights. "We should be reaching the front gate in about ten minutes."
"Good, because I am not going to last much longer," I say through gritted teeth. Braeden brushes my sweaty hair out of my face, trying to offer me as much comfort as possible. But it is not working. Baby wants out and wants out now.
The contractions are barely stopping before another one is upon me, and I know that I am completely dilated. The pressure to push is getting strong, and I don't know how much longer I can restrain myself from giving into the pressure.
"I-I have to push," I moan, looking up at Braeden with wide eyes. "I can't hold it back any longer."
"Almost there!" Ranoe yells from the front seat.
"Just a little bit longer," Braeden soothes, pressing a kiss against my sweaty forehead.
Shaking my head, I try to push my sweats off my hips, but Braeden blocks my every attempt. The combination of the pain of the contractions, holding back against the need to push, and Braeden keeping me from slipping out of my sweats is too much. The tears start to spill over, and I don't even attempt to stop them.
"It's alright," Braeden soothes, trying to calm me down. "It's going to be alright."
"No, no, I need-"
"We're here!" Ranoe yells, stopping at a large black metal gate. Two people approach the car and seem happy to see the human. Once Ranoe tells them what is going on, they quickly open the gates, calling in the situation in the radio.
"We're going straight to the clinic," he says. "Don't worry about a thing, they will take great care of you."
The houses outside are dark, only a few windows lit up as we pass them by. It only takes us a minute to reach the destination, Ranoe slamming on the brakes and jumping out of the car. Braeden helps me to unbuckle, practically carrying me as we get out of the car.
Ranoe is chatting with someone, who immediately steps into action when she sees us. She walks down from the porch, taking my other side as she starts to walk us back to her small cabin.
"Come now, everything will be alright," she says, her voice deeper than I was expecting. She leads us inside, where it is warm from the fire in the woodstove. Ranoe leaves to go back to the car, where his children are. The others are following behind.
The woman quickly introduces her self as Althea as she leads me to a room in the back of the cabin. Inside is a soft looking bed, and a bookshelf, the bottom half filled with books while the top half holds supplies.
Althea is fast about getting everything set up, seeming to know and not be concerned about what is going on. Pretty soon, a waterproof pad is laid on the bed, along with towels.
"Help him out of his clothes," she tells Braeden, before turning back to the others. "And the rest of you, go wait out in the living room. He doesn't need an audience."
"Quinn," I cry out, wanting both my mate and best friend with me. He doesn't even hesitate, just starts helping Braeden strip me and set me on the bed while the others close the door behind them.
"Let's get this show on the road," Althea says, snapping on a pair of rubber gloves. It's uncomfortable when she feels around my birth canal, measuring my dilation, but I know it is necessary. "Alright, on the next contraction, I want you to push. Baby is just where we want her."
Nodding my head, I feel the aforementioned contraction come over me, this time allowing myself to give into the pressure to push. Braeden is behind me, allowing me to lean against his chest while Quinn holds my hand tightly with his own. He doesn't complain at all when I squeeze it tightly, even though I am sure that it is painful.
"Almost there," Althea says after a few more pushes. "Just one more good push and her head will be out."
The next push has me grunting in pain, trying to hold back the scream wanting to rip out of me. As soon as it passes, Althea is soothing me, telling me to push as hard as I can on my next contraction, and I do.
Then, all the pain is gone. A tiny cry fills the room, and Althea is quick to set my tiny baby on my chest. All my attention is turned to her, ignoring Althea as she helps my placenta to pass.
"Oh," I breathe, bringing my baby against my chest. She is so tiny, smaller than I was expecting, probably due to the fact that she came early, but she looks healthy. She squirms on my chest, clearly searching for something. "What's wrong, love?"
"She's probably hungry," Althea says from between my legs. "She has had a long day, after all."
She ends up being right, because little girl quickly latches on when I rub her lips against my nipple, little eyes peeking open as she eats. My fingers find their way to her dark hair, where her little ears are hidden. They are still pressed against her head, from her being so new, but I can still tell that they are wolf ears.
Quinn gives me quick congratulations, bending down to press a kiss against my cheek before quietly leaving the room.
"She's perfect," Braeden says, voice soft. "Looks exactly like you."
His words bring a smile to my face, and we are both silent as we watch her, mesmerized as she falls asleep, little hand pressed against my chest. Althea finishes quietly, cleaning up all the mess- including the towels and pad underneath me- before settling a heavy blanket over my legs. She gives me a smaller, softer one to settle over the baby.
"All of you should get some rest. I'll come check on you in the morning."
And with that, we are left alone, our new family.
"Willow Grace Brooks," Braeden says, his finger running over her dark locks. "What a beautiful girl."
With a smile on my face, I lean against my mate, reveling in our happiness. What a beautiful girl, indeed.