Page 18 of Riley Goes Home

I snarled at Nikki, feeling a flash of guilt as her daughter startled, then cried, but I couldn’t help it. I couldn’t care about someone else’s child, not when mine were threatening to make an appearance.

“Riley, we’ll get you home,” I promised, all the while wondering how the hell I would achieve that. We were a five-hour drive from home and I was beginning to think we wouldn’t have that long. Sure enough, fluid splattered the floor, much toRiley’s shame, and that seemed to trigger a response from the whole hall. I was only one man, so I couldn’t shield my mate from their eyes, but I tried, I really tried, right as my brothers stormed over.

“Now?”

Fen was too pale, his eyes gleaming bright silver.

“I think so.” I looked down and stared at the splatter on the floor. “I mean?—”

“Ry…!”

Riley clawed at my shirt, mutely begging me for something, but I didn’t know what, and I couldn’t ask. Her mouth worked as she breathed through the pain and that summoned my mother.

“Now?”

How could Mum look so damn happy? This was the worst possible timing. We had a whole team on standby back at Crowe Corp and this was too soon surely. Riley might be my omega, but she started life as a beta, and we weren’t sure if this would cause complications.

“Let’s get her to the birthing pools,” Mum said, pushing forward to take Riley’s arm.

“No.” I’d seen Colt pissed more times than I could count, but never more than now. He shoved himself between our mother and our mate, claws snicking out as he prepared himself to take her out if that’s what it took. The dads frowned, then surged forward, ready to protect their mate, when all I wanted to do was help mine.

“What do you want, baby?” I asked her that in a soft soothing voice, but the slight waver gave me away. “You tell me and I’ll make sure it happens. You just say?—”

“Home,” Riley croaked out before starting to pant again.

“She is home,” Mum insisted. “Riley was born here. This is her hometown.”

“But it's not her home anymore.” Blake shouldered forward, his bulk pushing everyone back as he brought out his phone. “Gideon?” He had a direct line to Gideon Crowe? “Yep, we need that helicopter now. Half an hour? We’ll be out in the town square waiting.”

He swept in as we all stared, collecting her up in his arms as he carried her out of the hall. No one said a damn thing, just staring the whole while.

“Well, this has been fun.” Haze grabbed a tray of blue cupcakes and then followed our brother towards the door. “Thanks for the cake. They’re amazing.”

No, Riley was amazing and so was my damn brother.

“Ready to be a daddy?” Fen asked, daring to smile, and that had the rest of us grinning like idiots.

“Ready as we’ll ever be,” I replied as we ran towards the door.

Chapter 12

Riley

This wasn’t right.

The helicopter ride happened in a blur of pain and fear, but landing on top of the building didn’t help either.

“Pool…” I grunted as soon as my feet touched the roof landing pad.

“You wanna go for a swim?” Candy and the rest of the team appeared, coming rushing out of the sliding doors. “Not sure if now's the time to get your laps in.”

“No… pool!”

I couldn’t make them understand because I didn’t have the damn words. My mind stuttered, trying to work past and accept the waves of pain, even as I knew in my heart I couldn’t.Just count to sixty,I told myself, closing my eyes, trying to focus. The pain only lasts for sixty seconds. What they didn’t tell you in the calm birthing classes was sixty seconds could feel like years passing by as the pain tore through me. My hand clamped down around someone’s hand, claws digging into their skin.

“Don’t shift.” Haze swum into view, uncharacteristically solemn now. “Don’t, baby. Just hang on. We’ll get you to a pool if that’s what you need.”

“She wants a water birth?”

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