Page 275 of The Broken Aztec Princesses

Thankfully, Cade was back to his usual self by the time the elevator doors opened to the alpha floor. He guided me to the bathroom and removed my clothes, coming back with a large maxi dress we bought for this very moment. Once I felt clean and comfortable, he grabbed the bag and ushered me out of our suite. We rode back down in the elevator, and Violet and Chris were waiting for us by the doors.

“I linked Cory, Lucien and Mom and Dad. I texted Areli, but she won’t make it out until tomorrow morning. Dr. Roswell will meet us at the hospital,” Violet informed me.

“Thank goddess for you, sister.”

They walked me to the hospital, small contractions hitting me on the way there and slowing us down a little. By the time I got there, though, I was only a few centimeters dilated and Valeria warned us to get comfortable.

People came and went throughout the day, and I made Chris and John drag Cade out so he could eat something. I was still barely five centimeters dilated by the time dinner time came, there was no sense in both of us being hungry. I was starving, but they wouldn’t let me have anything but damn ice chips. I should have sneaked lunch before I got here.

Mom decided to wait with me while they ate, laughing when I complained about how long this was taking. Then she told me it was payback for the twenty seven hours of labor Cory and I put her through. Cade came back from dinner less than twentyminutes after he left, sitting beside me as the contractions came and went. Over the next few hours, they began increasing in intensity, making it hard for me to breathe through them properly.

“Breathe, Bells,” Cade took a deep breath to show me how it was done as I tried to keep my cool through a particularly intense contraction.

I glared at him when the pain passed.

“I’m fucking trying. That one hurt,” I spat.

“Oh,” Violet’s quiet gasp made us turn toward where she and Chris had been sitting most of the evening. Water began dripping from her seat, causing Chris to stand up as if it were lava, his eyes glazing over immediately.

Valeria ran in less than a minute later, along with a staff member carrying a mop.

“But, I’m not due for another week,” Violet reminded her, looking concerned.

“That’s fine. Most due dates are estimates. A week ahead or behind the date isn’t cause for worry. Let’s go get you into another room.”

“Bu—” Violet’s eyes flickered to mine, and I understood her hesitation right away.

Valeria looked from me to Violet, catching on quickly.

“You want to stay in here with Bells?” she asked.

“Is that too much?”

“No. It’s fine. I’ll have another doctor on call in case we need him, but otherwise, I should be able to handle both of you,” she assured Violet.

“Thank you,” I called out as she went to grab another bed.

“Well, I guess we started the journey together, we finish it together,” I told Violet, gripping her hand in mine encouragingly.

Another bed was brought in with monitors, and moments later, Mom and Dad ran in with their bag, excitement on their faces.

How many people did Chris manage to link in the short time it took for us to realize Violet was going into labor?

“On the next contraction, one big push,” Valeria instructed.

‘It’s not fair. I was here first. Why does she get to go first,’I whined at Cade as I watched my sister push an hour after her water broke.

‘I don’t think that's how it works, My Queen.’Then, when I glared up at him as a contraction hit, he added,‘She’s cheating. She’s got a cheater code somewhere and jumped the line.’

‘Don’t talk about my sister like that!’

‘W—I—She—'Thankfully my poor mate didn’t have to figure out what to say, because Violet’s whimpers turned our attention to the couple next to us.

“That’s it, big push, Violet,” Valeria encouraged her.

“It hurts,” Violet cried, when her contraction passed.

“You’re strong. You can do this, Little Warrior,” Chris encouraged from behind her.

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