Chapter 213 HURRY
Caden’s POV
Everything happened at once.
One second we were standing in the yard celebrating Cassian and Atlas birthday. The next minute was completely chaos. Trixie gasped and grabbed my arm. Her nails dug straight into my forearm. “Caden” Her voice broke.
Then Coban moved at the same time I did. “Get her upstairs!” he barked.
I didn’t even think. I scooped Trixie into my arms while Coban cleared a path through the chaos that had erupted across the yard. Warriors jumped aside immediately. The laughter from seconds ago vanished, replaced by shouting, running, and the pounding of boots across stone.
Trixie clung to my shirt as another contraction ripped through her. Her face twisted in pain.
“Easy, love,” I murmured, though my heart was hammering so hard I could feel it in my throat.
We burst through the palace doors. “Doctors!” Coban roared down the hall.
Servants scattered out of the way. Footsteps thundered behind us as pack members rushed after the women. Tina and Sabrina were being helped along by Mark and Kevan, both men looking pale as ghosts.
The king’s quarters had already been prepared. Three guest rooms. Side by side. We’d planned it like this months ago just in case.
If something happened, the doctors would all be close enough to help one another without running across the palace. But none of us expected it to happen like this.
We reached the rooms and the royal doctors came running from the far corridor.
Eugene. Barry. Harry. Elizabeth.
All four of them moved like a trained unit. “Lay her here,” Eugene ordered.
I placed Trixie carefully onto the bed. She cried out immediately as another contraction slammed through her body.
Coban grabbed her hand instantly. “I’m here,” he said firmly.
Her breathing was already uneven. Too fast. Too sharp.
Barry began setting instruments on the nearby table while Eugene quickly wrapped the blood pressure cuff around her arm.
“Relax, My Queen.” Eugene said gently.
The machine tightened. Trixie winced. Eugene watched the numbers. Then his entire expression changed. His brows pulled together sharply.
“What is it?” I demanded.
He didn’t answer immediately. Barry leaned over to check. Then he swore quietly.
My stomach dropped.
“What?” Coban snapped.
Eugene looked at us grimly. “Her blood pressure is extremely high.”
“How high?” I asked.
“Dangerously.” He answered as his attention never left Trixie.
Trixie groaned as another contraction hit. Her fingers crushed mine. “Caden, it hurts.”
Panic began clawing its way up my chest. “She’s only a little over four months,” Coban said sharply. “This isn’t supposed to happen yet.”
“Actually, she’s only a couple weeks off.”Eugene replied.
Across the hall, another cry echoed out. Tina.
Harry’s voice cut through the noise. “Push, Tina!”
Mark’s voice followed, shaking with nerves. “You’re doing great!”
Sabrina’s room erupted at the same time. Elizabeth called calmly. “Push again.”
The timing was unreal. Two births happening at once. But I couldn’t think about them. Not when Trixie suddenly cried out again, louder this time.
Her whole body tensed. Her hand flew to her stomach. And then she gasped. Her eyes widened. “Oh no”
“What?” Coban asked immediately.
Trixie’s breathing became ragged. “Leigha” Her wolf.
She was speaking to her wolf. Her eyes flicked toward us. Fear filled them. “The baby.” she whispered.
My chest tightened. “What about the baby?”
“She’s she’s distressed.”
The room went silent. Eugene and Barry exchanged a quick glance.
Across the hall, we heard it from in here. A baby cried. Loud. Strong.
Harry’s voice rang out triumphantly. “It’s a boy!”
Mark burst into tears immediately. We could hear it clear as day through the wall. A grown warrior sobbing openly. “My son,” he choked out.
Kevan laughed loudly from Sabrina’s room. Another cry followed instantly.
Elizabeth’s voice came through. “Another boy!”
Both babies. Born at the same moment. The two newborn cries echoed down the hall together. Exactly the same. Exactly synchronized. Their birth times perfectly matched.
But none of us celebrated. Because Trixie screamed. The sound tore straight through my chest. Her body curled forward as pain ripped through her.
“She’s in too much pain,” Barry said quickly.
Eugene checked the monitor again. The numbers were climbing. Higher. “Her pressure is still rising.”
“How do we stop it?” Coban demanded.
Eugene shook his head grimly. “We may not be able to.”
My heart slammed violently against my ribs.
Trixie grabbed my shirt and pulled me closer. Her forehead pressed against mine. “Caden” Her voice trembled. “The baby needs to come out now.”
Eugene looked at her sharply. “What?”
“My wolf knows,” she said breathlessly. “Leigha says she’s in distress.”
Barry’s face hardened immediately. He turned to Eugene. “We can’t risk it.” Eugene nodded once. Decision made. “We’re doing a C-section.”
The words hit like a hammer. My stomach dropped to the floor.
Coban froze beside me. “A C-section?” he repeated.
“She’s really not too early,” Eugene said. “So if the baby is in distress we don’t have a choice.”
Trixie’s breathing was becoming frantic now. Sweat soaked her hair. Her hands trembled as she clutched at the sheets. “Please…” she gasped. “Just save her.”
Those words nearly broke me.
Coban pressed his forehead against hers. “We will,” he promised fiercely.
Eugene turned toward the door. “Prepare the surgical room. Now.”
Servants rushed away immediately. Barry began moving quickly around the bed.
Instruments. Gloves. Sterile cloths. Everything happened in a blur.
Trixie cried out again as another contraction hit her. I gripped her hand tightly. “You’re okay,” I murmured, though I wasn’t sure who I was trying to convince.
Her eyes found mine. Filled with pain. And fear. “I’m scared,” she whispered.
That shattered me. I kissed her forehead softly. “I know,” I said quietly. “But you’re the strongest woman I’ve ever known.”
Coban squeezed her other hand. “Our princess is going to be fine,” he said firmly.
Eugene stepped forward again. “We have to move her.”
Barry nodded. They began preparing the bed to wheel her toward the surgical suite down the hall.
Trixie’s breathing shook. Her eyes closed for a moment. Then she whispered again. “Leigha says we have to hurry.”
Eugene didn’t hesitate. “Move.”
The bed began rolling toward the door. Coban and I followed instantly. My heart pounding harder than it ever had in my life.
And as the doors to the surgical room opened.