Alpha Rising

Chapter Twenty-Seven

I could have said that everything fell back into place after the confrontation that Nikolai and I had. But that would have been the largest lie. Over the next few days, we were tense ad quiet, barely touching each other despite the magnetism and finding any excuse to not be in the same room as one another. He was clearly still frustrated that I’d hid my status from him, and for good reason. I should have told him.

But on top of that, Brianna had come home from the hospital. And the she-wolf had been monopolizing as much of Nikolai’s time as she could manage. It was even starting to get on the nerves of some of his other subordinates. I was currently surrounded by a few of them now. Gamma Phillip was to one side of me, draped haphazardly over the sofa and hanging with his head nearly touching the floor. He groaned and rolled over to look up at me with a pour. 

“Are you sure you don’t want me to-”

“I’m sure, Phillip,” I said cutting him off. “Trust me. If I force him to talk about it, it will only end poorly for us both.” I looked over at the man, who only let out a huff and lounged even more dramatically.

Sheena spoke up from my other side, groaning as she stretched her now swollen legs out on an ottoman in front of her. “I twisted Trevor’s arm enough to help some,” she said. “Told him he’d have to talk some sense into our Alpha if he wanted any more of all this-” the very pregnant woman dramatically gestured to her whole self- “ever again.”

The sassy head bob and pointed snap of her fingers had us both laughing along with her as the tension in the room started to slowly diffuse. “Much obliged,” I said to my friend, reaching over to gently rest my hand on her swollen stomach. “I hope this little one as your spunk.” As I said that, the pup kicked at my hand and I couldn’t help but smile even as Sheena hissed in slight discomfort.

“He’s being an i***t,” Phillip said. “I don’t know why Nikolai feels so responsible for that bitch.” Phillip’s short black hair was mussed and swept to one side as he spoke, chocolate brown eyes wide with defiant puppydog energy. He was younger than both Trevor and Nikolai, having only just turned twenty-one himself a few weeks before my arrival. According to the gossip among the pack, he was as loyal and as devoted a Gamma as one could find, but he was emotional where others would prefer him to be more calculated. 

Personally, I adored the candid commentary. Ever since his recent return early the week prior, he’d been a delight to get to know. Nikolai had assigned him to relieve Nadine as my escort around the grounds, ever since we talked about my status. It had only been a few days, but I already missed her. 

I looked over to Phillip and sighed, he still had that same look on his face that made me want to reach over and tousle his bangs. “He has his reasons,” I sighed, leaning forward to rest my chin on my hand. 

“To hell with reasons,” Phillip groaned. “He’s lucky enough to have a mate, and this is how he treats you?” The young man scoffed and rolled over on the sofa, swinging his legs away from me as he righted himself. Phillip hopped up to his feet and stretched his arms back, popping and cracking his back. “Nope, not having any more of that negativity,” he said with an excited ho to his step. “Your birthday’s tomorrow, and we’re going to f*****g celebrate.”

His enthusiasm and his excitement were infectious, and I soon found myself smiling ear to ear just sitting next to him. Even my wolf was perking up listening to him, pacing and whining in the back of my mind like she was getting ready to play with an old friend. It was the same way she reacted to Nell on our runs together. “Oh really?” I teased, rising to my feet.

Sheena hissed again, tensing and whining as she clutched her hand to the side of her stomach. The sound drew my attention almost immediately and I dropped back down to her side. “Sheena?” I asked, reaching for her free hand to give it a squeeze. “What is it?”

“Contraction,” she said through gritted teeth. Her breathing was shorter and she was gripping my hand fiercely as I reached with my free hand for her glass of water sitting on the nearby table. “Having them,” she paused, whining with another clench of her eyes. “All morning.” Sheena made to stand, and only got so far as putting her feet on the ground before she tightened her hand on mine. “Stronger this time.”

I shot a look over at Phillip and nodded. He was already at attention and bolted off towards the main hall without a second thought. So I helped Sheena to stand, bracing her arm with mine and easing her towards the door. “Alright.” I tried my best to remember what Mom was like when she was pregnant with Jacob, but I was only eleven when he was born. “Phillip is going to get Trevor, okay?” 

The woman nodded and whined as we made our way slowly to the door. Once we were nearly there, she paused and clenched in pain again. “Someth-hnnnn,” Sheena whined. “Wrong.” Her breath was rough and her voice cracked. When I looked into her eyes, they were glassy with tears. 

Phillip bolted back into the room, nearly bowling us over. “They’re going to meet us at the hospital,” he said in a rush. “Come on. I’ll drive.” Without missing a beat, Phillip clambered to Sheena’s other side and helped me escort her out to one of the waiting cars in the driveway. I slid into the back seat with Sheena to keep her steady and safe as the Gamma drove. 

We sped out down the winding mountain road, all the while I was reassuring my friend and comforting her as best we could. I could have sworn that I’d seen a wolf running alongside the car at one point, and it honestly wouldn’t have surprised me if I had. We could run nearly as fast on good days. And if it really was Trevor out there, no doubt he would be going as hard and as fast as he could to keep up with his pregnant mate. 

It felt like an eternity before we finally reached the hospital. By then, Sheena’s contractions were coming nearly every six minutes, and lasting for over a minute at a time. I felt a dampness pool on the seat as I helped Sheena move out, and she nearly howled in pain. 

“Her water broke,” I said almost breathlessly to the nurse that rushed towards me with a wheelchair. Behind me, a streak of fur blazed by as Trevor came skidding to a halt beside us, and he barely seemed to care that he was standing there fully nude now that he’d shifted back. 

“Sheena, baby,” Trevor said, crouching down to sit at eye level with her. “I’m here.”

Someone somewhere produced a pair of shorts, sandals, and a tee for him to wear into the hospital, and I stood watching the frantic changing before he was allowed in. 

Nearly four hours into the waiting, I was sitting with Phillip in the small sectioned-off waiting area that one of the nurses had shown us to. He was holding out a can of soda for me and was sipping on a hot coffee himself. With a huff, I looked down at my phone. Eleven o’clock at night. It was then that Nikolai finally showed, standing in the doorway with worried eyes and a jaw clenched so tight I thought he might break his teeth. 

Before he could even speak, I was answering the unspoken question on his lips. “Four hours,” I said, cracking open the can of cola. Phillip plopped into one of the chairs to my right, leaving my left open for Nikolai. My mate nodded, awkwardly clenching his hand and looking away from me. 

Nikolai grunted in acknowledgment, running a hand back through his hair before taking the empty seat directly to my left. I could smell the forest on him, pine and sap still lingering in his movements as one of his arms draped across my shoulders. It was that scent that wrapped itself around me as I leaned my head into the crook of his arm and felt my eyes start to close.

I was startled awake by Trevor bursting into the room with a joyous whoop of excitement. “It’s a girl!” he exclaimed, rushing forward to clap his hand to Nikolai’s in a firm shake. He looked at me and rushed forward to pull me into a tight embrace, kissing both of my cheeks. “Thank you, Vira,” he said. “Do you want to see her?”

When he pulled back, I could feel Nikolai’s hand touch my back gently. He was guiding me forward wordlessly. A flicker of the time caught in my periphery when we passed the nurse’s station. It was nearly four in the morning now. My bones ached for sleep in a real bed, but the second I was through that door all of my tiredness and my frustrations melted away. 

Sheena sat with her baby girl resting on her chest, with a sheet pulled up over them both for modesty. My hand moved to rest on my lips, covering my smile, and Sheena’s tired eyes met mine with a sense of pride and jubilation. “Rose,” she said. “We’ve decided to name her Rose.”

The whole scene was sobering, in a way. I felt Nikolai’s grip on my waist tighten as he leaned over to whisper into my ear. 

“Happy birthday, Alvira.”