Page 46 of Labor of Love

“Your baby is perfect and a true credit to you. The only thing wrong with Nora can be fixed by a bottle of formula. Hang on a minute.” Mama pulled a phone out of her skirt, and one-handed tapped on the screen. “There you go, problem one fixed. A bottle is on its way.”

“On its way from where? I thought all your children were grown?” Shiloh was confused. “Why would you have formula and bottles in the house?”

“Because Corbyn told me you and Nora were coming yesterday. Now, focus on you. When was the last time you were checked by a doctor?”

“Yesterday, when we were at the facility. I had to be checked by a doctor before they’d let Corbyn bring me here.”

“Yes, well, considering the ruckus Corbyn will have caused by buying the facility while you were still under their care, I’m not surprised no one bothered to check you out properly.” Mama started tapping on her screen again, juggling Nora, who was fidgeting now that she didn’t have a finger in her mouth.

“Right. Here’s what is going to happen. You are going to lie down, and have a rest. I will feed Nora, while we wait for our family doctor my husband is currently summoning. She will likely sleep better with a full belly. You will feel better with some medications for whatever infection you have…”

“I could just shift,” Shiloh protested even as he was being gently pushed over so his head rested on some corner pillows. “My wolf would heal me, wouldn’t he?”

“Oh sweet one, I bet you barely have the energy to fart right now, let alone shift.” She stroked down the side of Shiloh’s face and his eyes fluttered closed. “Rest and let your new family take care of you.”

8

Corbyn had just come back into his bedroom when he noticed Shiloh was stirring. Hurrying over to the side of the bed, he took Shiloh’s hand, holding it between his own as his mate woke up. When Shiloh opened his eyes, Corbyn made sure he was smiling. “Hey, how are you feeling? Any better?”

“I’m not sure yet. I can’t remember the last time I slept so deeply.”

Shiloh used his free hand to tug the hair away from his eyes. “It’s been…it’s been a day.” He looked around, spotting the lamps lit in the room. “Day? Night? Is your mom very upset I missed the celebration dinner?”

Corbyn shook his head. “The dinner’s been postponed. Mom happily told anyone who grumbled about it that her son met his omega under unique circumstances, and their need to learn more about each other before socializing is being respected. She sounded so pompous about it, but she was right.”

He chuckled. “Mom’s just worried about you and your health. I’ll send her a text shortly and let her know you’ve woken up.”

“What about Nora? Is she still with your parents? Can we go and get her?” Shiloh moved as if he was getting out of bed, but Corbyn eased him back against the pillows.

“Our little lady is fast asleep. She has a full belly, and a clean butt, and is likely dreaming of holding court in a household of besotted adults. She is just through that door there,” he pointed to the left. “I have left the door open so we can hear her when she stirs.”

“How long has she been asleep?”

“I’ve only just put her in her crib, so I imagine we’ll have a few hours before she wakes again. If you remember, that was an average sleep time for an infant with her genetics, at least according to what the doctor said.”

“I don’t want to think about half the things the doctor said. He was very thorough.” Shiloh was pushing himself up, clearly trying to sit up. As Corbyn helped him, he noticed again his mate was definitely too thin for a man his height, and he perched on the edge of the bed, keeping his arm around Shiloh’s shoulder. “Do we really need to be talking about heats and slick and ruts and knots just now?”

Corbyn could feel an instant tension in Shiloh’s back. “Hey, that’s not why you’re in my bed. If there’s one thing I want you to learn to trust, it is that I am unlike any other alpha you’ve ever met before, and I intend to prove it to you over time. You are here, because while you’re sleeping your wolf takes comfort from my scent. It helps you both feel safe, wouldn’t you agree?”

“I don’t think I’ve ever slept so well, thank you.”

“What I am hoping,” Corbyn said, “is that you and I, we will create our relationship together. Not based on anyone else’s expectations, not based on any rules except those we make ourselves. I told you when we were still in the facility that I want my mate to be my equal, and I stand by that.”

Nodding slowly, Shiloh asked, “What will that mean for you and me and being claimed? I know sex is usually involved…”

Corbyn was already shaking his head. “I’m not saying that’s never going to happen between us. We’re mates and that’s something we will both explore as we get used to each other and those urges grow over time. All I ask for now, especially while you’re still healing and recovering, is that when your initial infection is healed, we can exchange claiming bites. It will help settle both our wolves and deepen our bond. For now, the main focus is on you getting well.”

Shiloh pulled a face. “I can’t believe I got an infection in the first place. For shifters, that’s unheard of. I especially don’t want to think about…”

Guessing what Shiloh was going to say, Corbyn laid a finger over his mate’s mouth. “We don’t ever have to talk about that unless you want to.”

Corbyn had been privately disgusted when the doctor found out that the last person who had inseminated his mate had left more than spunk behind. He wasn’t upset with Shiloh, never with his mate, but so many people had let Shiloh down. His whole lower body was riddled with some form of an infection, and nobody had picked it up, including the doctors at the facility, even when he’d gone in to give birth.

It was a miracle that Nora was all right, although she had to have her blood checked, too. The doctor seemed assured that Nora wouldn’t suffer any ill-effects, and he did suggest that any doctors Shiloh saw after being rescued might not have even thought to check for infections, because shifters typically never got sick like that. However, because Shiloh’s body had been so run down and his wolf was so weak, Shiloh’s natural defenses crumbled.

The doctor had said privately to Corbyn that Shiloh’s decision not to have any more children was likely for the best.“I seriously don’t think his body could handle it,” he’d said as Corbyn showed him to the door. Corbyn had agreed.

“All I want for us to focus on now,” he said, taken in by the depths of blue in Shiloh’s eyes, “is getting to know each other. There is so much I want to know about you – the things you like, what you enjoy doing. I want to show you that you and Nora have so many options now we’re together, and that’s not just me being a big headed alpha.”

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