Page 30 of Arthur

“Dad,” Patrick said without hesitation. I chuckled because I should have anticipated that he would want to tell my alpha father first. He loved children as much as Patrick, and I knew he would be incredibly excited about our news. I joined my One on the couch again and pulled out my phone so we could call Dad and share the news.

Chapter 12

Patrick

Ididn’t expect my pregnancy to be so effortless, but this time around, it seemed as if fate was making up for the fact that I’d had some small issues with my first three pregnancies. I’d had morning sickness, which certainly was ill-named, only a time or two. They were my own fault for not listening to my body and letting myself be pulled away from what I should have been doing—getting a snack.

And that was why I was listening to my body now. It was telling me that I was in labor; it was still early yet though. My contractions weren’t overly intense, but they were steady. Our coven was truly having a baby boom of sorts at the moment. Miles and Costas had welcomed their triplets just twelve days ago, and they were the absolute sweetest. Every chance I got to hold them, I fell in love with the little babies. I couldn’t imagine having three at once, but Costas and Miles were already pros at it. They were a perfect team. Poor Grant was still waiting for his second to be born. He was now five days overdue, and although he adored his and Balthazar’s firstborn and was excited about their second baby, he was over being pregnant. Not that I could blame him. I had obviously forgotten what it was like to be pregnant since I’d had Louis.

Another contraction hit, this one slightly stronger but still not nearly intense enough to warrant calling for Costas. Arthur knew something was up, though, because he was checking in with me every fifteen minutes or so. I didn’t mind. We’d been together for so long, and although we were completely taken by surprise with this pregnancy, we were equally excited.

I rubbed my stomach, waiting for the contraction to ease up. When it finally did, I sighed. That one was stronger than the previous, and I knew my moments were numbered. Before long, Arthur would be here, and he would be fussing over me. I smiled despite the discomfort I was feeling. After all of this time, he still fussed over me, and I wouldn’t change a thing about it. I couldn’t have been gifted a more amazing One than Arthur.

“My love? I’m feeling discomfort in my stomach. Are you well? Is it the baby? Should I get Costas?”

Right on time, I thought to myself. I was alone in our quarters, resting. Well, I was supposed to have been resting. I had actually been enjoying a peaceful afternoon and taking it easy, but our little warlock had other ideas, obviously.

“I’m good. Yes, I’m having some contractions, but they’re not strong yet. There’s no need to worry.”I knew my reassurances were useless, and it wouldn’t be long before Arthur wrapped up his work and was here and hovering over me. He was like that though, and it was probably a good thing I found it charming more than annoying.

“I’ll let Costas know.”

I rolled my eyes.“You will do no such thing. He is spending time with Miles and the triplets. Let him have his time with his new family. You can alert him when my waters break. Not until then.”There truly was no reason for Costas to have to wait around for my labor to progress. I was in the very early stages, and the doctor wasn’t required as of yet.

“Are you certain?”

I grinned.“Yes. It might have been quite a while since I had Louis, but I know I’m not ready to give birth yet. We have time. Focus on what you need to do there because tomorrow you won’t be leaving our quarters,”I told him. Tomorrow, we would have our own little bundle, that much I knew. And if Arthur truly was needed for something, I understood and wouldn’t ever dream of stopping him from doing his duty as coven master. We were incredibly fortunate that we had an amazing coven family here though, and they all were more than willing to pitch in when needed.

I got up from the couch where I’d been watching a cooking show and went to the little kitchen area.A nice cup of tea would do me well, I thought. Sure, I could use magic, but I found the motions of making the tea soothing. Right now, I could probably use that. I knew the act of having a child wouldn’t ever be overly taxing on me as I was a carrier and not an omega. I had that going for me, at least. I couldn’t have the baby without the assistance of another warlock. I had no omega line, and therefore, all of my children had to be magically delivered.

Once I had my tea brewed, I took it to the back room and sat back down in front of the windows. It was almost the third week of August, and although it wasn’t yet autumn, it wasn’t far away. The temperatures had already dropped considerably, and I wondered if that meant we would have an early autumn and an extra-cold winter. I wouldn’t mind. I loved the snow and cold temperatures we experienced in the winter.

I smiled, thinking about my brother-in-law, George. He most certainly wasn’t a cold-weather warlock. He could deal with it for short periods of time, but he absolutely loved the warm temperatures of his and Marco’s home in Italy.

Another contraction hit, this one a bit stronger than the last, and when it didn’t let up as quickly as I expected, I set my tea on the side table and grabbed my phone. The contraction finally letgo, and I got my timer app on my phone ready to time the next one. If they were increasing in intensity already, perhaps our little one would be here sooner than later.

“Patrick?”

I chuckled.

“I’m fine. It was just a stronger contraction. The first of what will be many to come. I’m still very much waiting and not concerned.”I loved that man so much.

“I have one more thing to discuss with Fenwick, and then I will be with you.”

“Take your time. I’m just sitting here and relaxing. There is truly no rush. I will, of course, let you know when it’s time, but for now, the contractions just started in earnest a short time ago.”It would be some time still. My contractions weren’t yet indicating the baby was ready to be born, so there was no need for Arthur to rush to me.

I timed my next contraction and found it to be shorter than I realized and quite a bit apart from the next one, so truly no rush. I picked up my tea and enjoyed part of it before Arthur was suddenly in our quarters.

“Patrick?”

I smiled at the urgency in his voice. “I’m in the back room,” I called out. Seconds later, Arthur came rushing into the room I was in and knelt down in front of me. His hands moved to my stomach, and I covered his with mine as another contraction hit.

“I can feel it through our bond, but the tightening of your stomach feels more intense.”

I chuckled, but it turned into a groan of pain. “Yes, well, it is more intense. I’m the one experiencing them while you’re simply feeling a bit of it through our bond. Have you forgotten the last three labors I experienced?”

Arthur looked up at me. “They were quite some time ago. I do remember them, but the ability to recall every single detail is escaping me.”

The contraction passed, and I smiled at my One. “That’s all right. I can hardly recall them now, as well. I remember them not being overly difficult, which is good. Some were more painful than others, but I know I have never had to face anything nearly as painful as omegas do.”

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