Page 70 of Thrown into the Mob

I yawned and winced as a small cramp tightened around my belly. “You can take your eyes off me. I’m not going anywhere.” I rearranged my pillows and gave one a punch.

“I’m your mate, and we’re in this together. I just wish I could share your pain.”

“Don’t worry. That’ll happen after the birth.”

He covered me with the quilt and turned off the lamp, but he didn’t join me in bed but sat in the armchair opposite.

I must have slept, maybe for five minutes or fifty, but a contraction was wrapped around my bump and squeezing so hard, I yelped. I was lying on my side, and Madd was with me, rubbing my back.

“Help me up.” The cramping had passed, but I felt like a rung-out rag, and there were a lot more contractions in my immediate future. I grunted. “That hurt.”

My dragon asked how he could help, but this was all on me. I hate seeing you in so much pain. But he was no longer curled around my spine as he had been.

“This is the real thing.” Madd was scrolling through the notes he’d been making for months. He leaped up. “Ice chips.”

I didn’t need them right away, and I suspected they might melt before I did, but Madd was desperate to be useful. He rushed back in with a photo of the island resort we’d promised each other we’d visit when our lives reverted to normal, not that either of us had any idea what that was.

And he put my phone on the dresser with the playlist he’d made after asking me for suggestions.

Twelve minutes after the first, the second contraction took hold. I pressed my head on Madd’s chest and scrunched my eyes closed. After it passed, I wondered if dragon shifters could survive the pain associated with a live birth. We were supposed to lay eggs and sit for weeks waiting for them to hatch.

“Is it time to call my brother?” Madd had his finger on the phone screen ready to dial.

I gulped in a mouthful of air. The plan had been for us to be alone until I wanted to push. And Madd was my mate, birth coach, partner, and cheerleader, but as well as a midwife supporting me, my mate needed a professional to assure him that the birth was progressing as it should.

“Call him.”

He had the phone to his ear and yelled, “Conrad’s in labor,” before Treyton could say, “Hello.” He said a few more words before telling me his brother was on his way.

My mate had spent the last few months preparing for this moment. He'd read the books Treyton recommended and memorized the stages. He even had a bag packed in case I had to go to Treyton’s clinic or the hospital.

I beckoned him closer. “I’m not going to break.”

Madd tilted his head. “I know. My brother told me.” Uppermost in his mind was a dragon shifter delivering a live baby which was rare. “But I’m trying not to lose my mind.”

“Oh, here’s another one.” I breathed in through the nose, out through the mouth, the way Treyton had taught me. This was how my dragon could help me, and he breathed with me, kindling a gentle heat inside my body.

“Where do you want to be?” Madd asked. We’d prepped the second bedroom and covered the mattress with old sheets and towels.

“I don’t know.” I shuffled over the floor toward the door but nothing felt right. I was so uncomfortable and grumpy that I couldn’t speed up the process. I wanted to meet our baby. Lying down, squatting with Madd supporting me, or on the bed, nothing was right.

“When Treyton was born, my father delivered him because the midwife got stuck in traffic. Dad told me he was so calm, and when the midwife arrived, my parents were tucking into Thai food.”

Was that supposed to make me feel better that Madd could deliver the baby? Most shifters gave birth without a midwife present.

“Are you calm?” I wasn’t convinced by his composed exterior.

“Nah. But I’m hiding my hysteria well.”

That was how his undercover training became useful.

My brother-in-law arrived, and Madd caught my eye. We were both relieved to have a trained professional here.

“How far apart are the contractions?” Treyton was already washing his hands.

“Eight minutes.”

“Great. You might have your baby in your arms before dawn.”