Page 32 of Whisker Me Away

“Fuck. The baby?”

A rumble comes from my throat and I do my best to nod my head without jostling Spencer too much. My chest lightens, knowing my mate understands what’s going on. I have full confidence in him. I know he’ll take care of me and our baby.

Spencer finds his phone and quickly sends a message before turning back to me. His fingers skim over my back and I relax into his touch. I want to tell him how thankful I am, how much Ilove and adore him. I want him to know how excited and happy I am to have another baby with him.

I nudge his face with my nose and lick his cheek, hoping that the gesture conveys all the emotions I’m feeling.

Spencer gives me a soft smile. “I love you too,” he whispers, “and I’m so proud of you. You’re doing so well, Cade. Our baby is almost here.”

The praise skims over my skin, just as much a physical sensation as Spencer’s fingers. As my middle tenses with pain, instead of fighting it, I lean into it. This is my body preparing a way for our baby. My body knows what it’s doing and I need to trust it.

I’m not sure how long we sit like that, my pain wracking stronger and stronger as Spencer murmurs soothing words and pets me. It could be a minute or it could be three days. I’m lost in it, the only thing keeping me grounded is Spencer.

When my body tells me it’s time to start pushing, I do exactly that. My bottom half feels like it’s on fire. Pain surges through my body like I’ve never experienced before. It’s too much. I can’t do this. I can’t fucking do this.

“You’re almost there,” Spencer says and I latch on to his voice like a lifeline. “You can do this, Cade. Just keep pushing.”

If I could whimper with this mouth, I would. Instead, a mournful wail leaves my lips. I grit my teeth andpushwith all my might. Everything hurts so fucking badly. I’m not sure I can take this. A moment passes. Pressure builds, things stretch, everything tenses. And then another moment. Just when I’m ready to stop and catch my breath, I feel our baby slide free.

My entire body sags with relief.

Spencer is there, picking up our baby with the biggest grin. His eyes are wet with tears and he lets out a wet chuckle.

“Cade,” he breathes out. “You’ve done it. You did so well. And look, you’ve birthed a kitten!”

The logistics of that are lost on me and I’m too fucking tired to actually think about it.

I close my eyes, letting out a long breath through my nose before allowing my body to shift. My bones and skin change until I’m no longer a manatee but instead a man once more. I wrinkle my nose and ignore pretty much everything happening below my belly button at the moment, focusing instead on the little bundle of joy in Spencer’s hands.

Once I shift, so does our baby, squirming as he becomes a human. He’s beautiful.

I hadn’t even noticed Shelby’s arrival but there she is, passing over towels to help clean the two of us up. I grab the towel from her but don’t do anything with it, too preoccupied by looking down at our son.

He’s come out without a speck of hair, bald just like me. He’s got big cheeks and a birthmark on his shoulder that looks like a heart and I love him so fucking much. I look up at Spencer with tears in my eyes.

“I’m so proud of you,” he says when he finds me looking at him. “I love you, Cade.”

“I love you,” I say back right away. “Thank you for this, all of this.”

“You have nothing to thank me for.”

“I do. Without you, I would not have this life. I wouldn’t have Chucky or Amery. I wouldn’t have this home. I love you so much and I’m so fucking thankful for that dumbass YouTuber mixing up our vacation.”

Spencer chuckles, running a hand over my face and wiping the tears from my cheeks. “You’ve gotta stop calling him a dumbass.”

I lean into his palm and smile. “He was a dumbass but the best kind because he led the two of us together.”

Eventually, we get out of the nest and make our way to the bed. Shelby gets us a bottle for Chucky before cleaning up my nest and taking it to the laundry room. Having her around has been the best decision, she’s made all of this so much easier for us and if there are any more kids in our future, I wouldn’t trust their births with anyone else.

I sit against the headboard with Chucky in my arms, feeding him a bottle. I’m overwhelmed with how much joy is springing up inside of me. These feelings only grow impossibly stronger when Spencer grabs Amery, bringing her into the room as well.

The four of us stay like that for a long time, holding each other and getting used to the new scents. Our little family is perfect and I can’t imagine having this with anyone other than Spencer.

Leaning over, I kiss his cheek. He smiles at me, a pretty blush dusting his cheeks. He brings his hand to my face and I softly kiss the mating bite I left there.

“I love you,” I tell him, whispering the words into his skin.

“I love you too, Cade.” Then he kisses Amery’s head. “And I loveyou.” He moves to Chucky, kissing his bald head. “And I love you.”

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