Page 84 of Coming Home

“Please,” she said, grabbing my arm and staring into my eyes. With her last breath, she took my hand and placed it on her stomach.

When I felt the baby inside her move, I knew I couldn’t leave without at least trying to save it.

“Leave it, Ben. She’s gone,” Painter said.

“Maybe, but we might be able to save the baby.”

With a newfound determination, I quickly rounded up the necessary supplies. Several of the prisoners jumped in to help when they realized what I was about to attempt. I was no medic, but from previous experience in the field, this wasn’t going to be my first C-section.

“Alcohol,” someone said, thrusting it into my hand.

“Scalpel,” another person said.

“Here’s a stack of clean towels.”

Painter shook his head. “If you’re going to do this, you have to move fast, and we need to get the hell out of here.”

I nodded.

Taking a deep breath, I began making the incision. It was gruesome and blood was everywhere, but I managed to make the necessary cut to expose the baby. I reached in and pulled out a baby girl. There were tears in my eyes when she cried and took her first breath.

“It’s a girl!” Tucker yelled as I handed the baby off to a woman with a clean towel, waiting with open arms.

I cut the umbilical cord, and everyone was moving quickly towards the door. I wasn’t sure what possessed me to turn back to the woman, but I did, and snapped a quick picture on my phone. It was then that I noticed movement within her womb.

“Hold up,” I said.

I reached back in and pulled out another baby. It was a boy, and he was holding the hand of yet another.

“Shit! There’s two more. Someone grab some more clean towels.”

There was no way I was leaving these babies behind.

I delivered a second baby boy and triple checked to make certain there weren’t any more.

“Triplets?” Tucker said. “Bloody hell, this is the craziest assignment I’ve ever been on.”

He took the first boy, while I held on to the last. With their umbilical cords cut, and safely wrapped in clean towels, we made our way back out of the building.

Silas had given the all clear during the births and Delta and Gamma teams were moving in to search for any information or further survivors.

Once outside, the woman handed the baby girl to me. “I don’t know much,” she said. “The mother was a wolf shifter from New York Pack. They were experimenting on her the last three days. That is all I know.”

“Thank you,” I said.

“Thank you for saving us.” She smiled down at the two babies in my arms. “All of us.”

I quickly found Silas in the chaos. “These newborns need immediate treatment.”

He looked me over and sighed. “Grant. Take the second car and get the temp and these kids to safety. We’re close to the New York Pack. The Alpha there may let you have access to his pack physician.”

Tucker passed the second baby off to Grant and we ran to the car I’d arrived in. I lined the babies on the floorboard and sat in the backseat with them.

Grant got on the phone to get clearance for us to enter New York territory. The Alpha met us at the designation he gave us, with his pack physician in tow.

“Do we even know what kind of shifters they are?” he asked me while the doctor checked the babies over.

“Wolves. One of yours if the prisoner there was correct.” I pulled out my phone and pulled up the picture I’d taken of the woman.

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