Chapter 157: And Baby Makes Family
[Rosalynd].
The chaotic hubbub that my announcement created would be comical if it weren’t happening to me.
Thankfully we didn’t have to worry about much, we already had a room set up for the birth. One of the advantages of being married into a family as magical as mine, I have no shortage of highly capable hands to help me in this new adventure.
This birth will be a bit more exceptional for a few reasons. Firstly, I am not entirely a wolf or even a simple hybrid. We have no idea how being part chimera is going to change things. Second, I am carrying two children fathered by two men. None of us know how the DNA was passed or what to expect. Will they be witches, leprechauns, wolves, or something else?
The only thing we know for certain is that they will NOT be human. Nor will their powers be weak. They are the children born of deities and avatars, crafted from the flesh of some of the most powerfully magical beings on Earth and in Faerie.
Thankfully, due to the complicated nature of werewolf births (and all the explanations that would need to come along with them), the Eel River pack already has several practicing midwives. Home births are the norm here, not the exception. There was no way these babies could be born in a hospital, at least not one on this planet.
Diandra hands Rafe off to his grandfather who directs the guests to the party outside. Using her powers as a retired guardian, she blinked us both from the living room to the bedroom we had set aside. A wave of her hand gets the birthing pool bubbling, and a turn of her head sets the lights to low.
“You’ll need to strip down immediately,” she advises. “Fae births are much quicker, much more dynamic than human births. You might only have minutes before…”
“Holy Hell!,” I curse, my voice dropping an octave as I immediately bend into a squat.
“Easy now,” she unbuttons my dress delicately while rubbing my back. “Hang in there, Rosie, we’ll get you into the tub and…
“I’m not going to make it to the tub, goddamn it,” I’m panting now as I wobble, unsteady on my feet.
Axel rushes in, his jacket stripped away, his sleeves rolled up to the elbow. He doesn’t wait to be asked, he takes his place in front of me, clasping my forearms.
“Cut my dress,” I demand just before I scream through the next contraction. “I need to get this damn thing off of me I need…
Evander takes his place behind me, pressing my lower back with his strong hands, easing the pressure. “Gideon,” he looks to his right. I can’t hear what else he says because the pain is rolling through my body in waves.
Dear gods! Everyone tries to warn you but you cannot really understand what it feels like to have a person trying to move their way out of your body until you experience it directly.
Between the three men they manage to get the dress off of me before it gets too damaged.
There is a break in the contractions and with gentle care, I am lifted and placed within the birthing pool. Gideon speaks a few words of blessing over the water as he kisses my forehead, his power and aura pouring into me, easing my struggle. I feel all of my muscles relax, and I close my eyes. Axel strips down and enters the pool, holding onto me so that I can fall asleep, listening to the sound of his heart.
I wake to the sound of Evander singing. His voice is deep but clear, his words in an old tongue of Tara, that speaks to my soul.
“How long was I asleep?” I call out into the soothing darkness of the room.
“Two hours,” Gideon murmurs by my side. “I hope you don’t mind, but I took some of your pain so that you could rest and I…”
“Shhh…”I find his cheek with my hand. “Thank you, Gideon.” I reach up to give him a gentle kiss. “I love you too.”
The tune of Evander’s song suddenly shifts, ending on a single, sweet note.
“They are ready now,” Evander places a hand on my shoulder. His eyes aglow with the white glare of eternity, the universe itself shining through before fading, leaving only him. “They are ready to meet us, Rosie,” he tells me with such certainty that I know it isn’t just him behind those words.
“Then let’s meet them,” I respond, allowing Evander, Gideon, and Axel to lift me from the water onto the fire-warmed rug in the center of the room.
Supported by my husbands, I crouch down into a squatting position with the next powerful contraction. Diandra checks me and gives me the okay to begin pushing and as I take another deep long breath, I bear down to hear the cries of my eldest daughter. “Welcome Evangeline Siohban,” I smile as I kiss her tawny head, already covered in blonde curls and dark tan skin. Diandra takes her to be washed and swaddled and I am given a moment of peace before the next wave of contractions shakes my body.
Our second child, a beautiful girl with bright green eyes, rosy cheeks, and a tuft of jet-black hair, is whisked away. Her little mewing cry sounds like a kitten looking for milk as she is cleaned, and as soon as she and her sister are returned for me, she latches onto my breast and nurses lustily, staring up at me, daring anyone who might try to move her. “Well, hello to you too, little Casandra Rose,” I laugh.
As soon as they have both drunk their fill, we are cozied away into a large family bed, Evander and Gideon by my side, looking at our two little ones in awe. Axel watches the five of us with a melancholy smile until I hold out my arms to him. The other two take a baby each, snuggling them to their chests, while Axel holds me in his arms.
“These are OUR babies,” I assure him. “You are their father as much as these two are.”
“But I…”
“And we were hoping,” I look at my other two men who nod at me, smiling. “That you’d claim them with your name.”
Axel stands there, stunned. “You want me to be their legal father?” He looks to Evander and then Gideon, who both nod and smile.
“Happy birthday, Evangeline and Cassandra Addams,” he places a hand on each baby’s back, “welcome to the family.”