Page 63 of Destined for Eternity
Chapter 23
Cori
The labor pains were getting unbearable and only a minute apart. Cori lay on the bed in Melena’s guest bedroom, soaked in sweat. She didn’t know how much more agony she could take. This time, she wouldn’t get an epidural like she had with her daughter. Paula had warned her months ago that painkillers wouldn’t work well for her since her body had been altered by Melena’s blood.
“I’m sorry,” the sensor said, rushing back into the room. “The doctor won’t wake up from her day sleep. It’s still too early for her, but we called Heidi. She’s with a werewolf who is giving birth right now, but she promised she’d be here as soon as possible.”
Kerbasi grunted. “That fool should come here instead. Want me to go steal her away?”
“No. Don’t do that.” Cori had just gotten past her latest contraction. “I’ll be okay.”
The guardian had been holding Cori’s hand for the last hour, never complaining even when she broke one of his fingers after squeezing too tightly. She hadn’t asked him to do it and had even told him to go away, but he’d refused. He’d been a surprisingly good labor coach.
Another contraction started. Intense pain wrenched through her abdomen and across her lower back. She screamed, unable to help herself. This was going well past what she’d experienced with her last baby. It took a moment to catch her breath and ask the question that had been uppermost in her mind. “Have you heard anything from our guys at the compound yet?”
“No.” Melena shook her head. “But I’m sure we’ll hear something soon.”
They’d had to leave while their friends, family, and the nerou fought for their lives at the training center. Cori had never seen anything worse than the hordes of demons that had attacked. And that was saying something as someone from Fairbanks who’d witnessed a takeover of the town by a powerful nephilim, Zoe, and later a version of the black plague strike the supernatural population. The town had seen its fair share of danger over the years.
Water gushed from between Cori’s legs, soaking the sheets. “Oh, God. My water just broke.”
“Um, okay.” Melena’s eyes widened, and she turned pale. “What should we do now?”
“Get some towels because it’s going to keep leaking until the baby is born.” Thank God she’d been through this before because no one else in the room had a clue what to do.
Melena waited until Cori finished breathing through another contraction before stacking several towels underneath her. “Is there something else I can help with?”
“Put some more fresh ones on the dresser and clean water,” she instructed the sensor.
Kerbasi cleared his throat. The guardian was somewhat pallid himself, but his voice and bearing still emitted confidence. “What do you need from me?”
“You want to keep helping?”
“I won’t leave until your mate arrives.” He lifted his chin. “I promised him I would keep you and the baby safe.”
“You didn’t promise to hold my hand or watch me give birth, though,” Cori pointed out.
His silver eyes swirled, and his expression turned determined. “I cannot make up for the terrible things I’ve done to your mate and others. I am well aware of that, but if staying by your side as you give birth to your child will redeem me even a little, it will be worth it.”
Cori didn’t know what to say to that. She wanted to keep hating the guardian, but sometimes he threw curveballs at her like this where he showed he might have a little goodness in him after all. Maybe he really was trying to become a better person as Melena claimed. At the moment, Cori had no one else except the sensor, so she had to take what she could get.
“Have you attended a childbirth before?” she asked.
“No.” He gave her an apologetic look. “But I once healed a boy from leukemia. If you need healing, I can do that much.”
She suddenly got the strong urge to bear down and push. The pressure was too great to resist. “The baby is coming!”
“Shit,” Melena said, glancing between Cori and Kerbasi. “I have no idea what to do.”
The guardian let out a growl of frustration. “Don’t you watch any television? Some things are at least somewhat obvious. There’s only one way for the baby to come out naturally, and it’s not through her mouth!”
Cori had already stripped down to only a tank top and pulled a sheet over her lower half. Kerbasi grabbed the edge of it. “Do you mind?”
Under any other circumstances, she would have kicked him in the face. Right then, she was too busy with another contraction and pushing. “Do whatever you gotta do,” she said through clenched teeth. “Just help me get this baby out!”
“Very well, but don’t tell your mate about this.” Kerbasi took a deep breath and lifted the sheet, tucking it over her knees. “I can see a head, and there’s dark hair.”
Melena settled next to Cori on the bed, taking her hand. “Squeeze as hard as you want.”
