Page 60 of Possessive Mate

That was the sign of a healthy baby was it not? The sound of crying?

Please, oh, please!

“Be calm, Elena, she is well,” Bonnie assured her, stroking her hair back from her face with the wet cloth.

Elena’s eyes started to flutter. She could barely keep them open. Her strength was fading fast.

“Come on, Elena,” Layla ordered as she returned to the end of the bed to see how things were progressing. “Just a couple more pushes and your second child will be here.”

Feeling whatever Layla had given her to drink starting to work, Elena mustered all of the scraps of strength still in her and pushed.

What happened, Elena didn’t know. One minute she had been pushing, and then the next, everything went black. How long she was out for, she did not know, but when she came to all she smelled was her own blood. Her own blood, and Hanson!

“Hanson! Hanson!” she screamed, her eyes fluttering open. They were blurred for a few seconds, but as the room came swimming back into view, Hanson was there, crouched at the side of the mattress, holding her hand so tightly in both of his it was as if he feared to let go.

“Oh, thank the great wolf gods, Elena!”

He rushed forward and pressed a kiss to her lips.

“Wha…what happened?” Elena asked, blinking her eyes to try and clear them. Her throat felt like sandpaper. Her entire body ached like never before. Her womb felt…empty. “The babies! Where are my babies?”

Panic rose in her like a tidal wave, and she tried to clamber up in search of them. It was only when she heard a soft cry from the other side of the room that she eased back down into the pillows that were propped between her and the wall.

“Be calm, Elena,” Layla said as she appeared behind Hanson carrying one of the babies.

“We thought we’d lost you,” Hanson said, and Elena’s gaze flitted to his. There were tears in his eyes. “I thought I’d lost you.”

The pain in his tone was unbearable. She reached out her hand and cupped his cheek. “I’m right here.”

“And so are these two gorgeous little bundles of joy,” Bonnie said, as she too appeared, carrying one of the twins. “Congratulations to you both, you have one beautiful baby girl and one very, very handsome baby boy.”

Elena’s mouth dropped open in shock. “One of each?” she gasped as the babies were placed on either side of her, Hanson never releasing her hand, but moving to avoid getting in the way.

“That’s right. A son and a daughter,” Bonnie said gently, as if she knew it would take a while for the fact to sink in.

“I…I don’t believe it,” Elena cried, tears streaming down her cheeks.

“Well, you had better believe it!” Hanson ordered, leaning forward to kiss her forehead. “You did so damn good!”

Remembering her fear and anger from before, Elena mustered enough strength to smack him on the upper arm. “How would you know?” she snarled, “You weren’t even here!”

“Believe me, I saw enough!” Hanson said, and his face paled.

“Typical wolf-man arrived just as your little boy was coming into the world,” Bonnie said, scowling at Hanson.

“Blame your mate, he’s the one who had me out on patrol,” Hanson shot back at her, though there was clear affection between the two of them.

“Yes well, I’m about to go and give him a piece of my mind on that,” Bonnie assured him with a low growl. She turned to Layla then and added, “We should give this beautiful little family a moment or two alone.”

Layla nodded, though she looked to Elena and asked, “How do you feel? Do you need anything?”

Elena gave herself a quick mental once-over. Other than the aches and pains she had felt after giving birth to her first child, she didn’t feel anything alarming. Shaking her head, she said, “I feel…tired but fine. I could use a glass of water, though.”

“I can do one better than that,” Layla smirked at her, and she disappeared from the room for only a second before returning with a glass of something Elena recognized the scent of all too well.

“Lavender lemonade!” she exclaimed. She had been obsessed with Layla’s lavender lemonade her entire pregnancy, and as the woman helped her to take a few gulps, she moaned with delight. “Thank you!”

“I’ll leave it right here,” Layla said, placing it on the floor close by. “Make sure you let Hanson get it if you want anymore.”

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