Page 52 of Corbin
Kesa’s head rolled from side to side. She uttered heartbreaking sounds.
Eirene said, “I’m here, Kesa. We’re going to take care of you.” Would that sound like a lie to a shifter?
“My baby ... is dying.”
Blood drained from Eirene’s head. She felt dizzy. She had no idea how to fix this.
A deep voice said, “She’s got to get the baby turned or ... this won’t work.”
Hearing Corbin reminded her she’d brought a stranger into the room.
Sully had been so shaken that even she hadn’t noticed a man standing at Eirene’s back, but she did now. “Who is he?”
Eirene tried for an answer that would give her comfort. “He’s on my security team.”
“The longer you wait to help your friend, the worse this will get.”
His critique snapped the last thread of Eirene’s patience. She stood up and turned to him. How could he look so calm?
Easy. He was not faced with losing a baby and possibly the mother.
Stepping close, she warned, “I don’t need a running commentary. If that’s all you can offer, get out.”
“No.” He shook his head as if surprised at her words. “I’ve got this.”
“You’ve got what?” she demanded.
Angling his head like a confused wolf would, he calmly replied, “I can handle this if you’ll gain her permission.”
Pissed at his arrogance, she snapped back, “I realize male shifters all think they are gods with unlimited knowledge, but unless you’ve done this before—”
“I have.”
His quiet reply silenced her next words. He hadn’t bragged. He sounded as if he meant those words. In fact, he’d told the truth.
She still didn’t believe him, but Kesa’s painful noises forced Eirene to open her mind to the possibility of real help. “When?”
He snorted a chuckle. “Twice in the past few years while I was ... working for someone who had females in his group, and we were in remote locations. I’d be happy to tell you more once the baby is here, but—”
Another scream iced Eirene’s blood.
He pointed out, “That baby is coming soon. The mother is in dire straits. She hasn’t even noticed a male shifter in the room. You can either do this yourself or ask her if she’ll let me take over since she trusts you.”
Sully had been watching them both, especially the male. She asked, “Can you handle the birth, Eirene?”
Everyone would hear a lie. “No, I don’t have training for this situation.”
Without doubt, Sully had heard the truth in his claim as well. “In that case, I agree with him. Kesa is out of her mind, but she knowsyourscent, Eirene. If you trust him to deliver the baby, then I will trust him too. Kesa will do better with you holding her from behind and me gripping her hand.”
Eirene could not in good faith risk the mother and child by refusing his help. She asked Pixie,Do you think we can trust Corbin with delivering a baby?
Pixie said,He is your only option. He does not feel dangerous at this moment, and he tells the truth, but I do not trust his wolf.
Eirene took him in from head to toe, only now realizing he had no sunglasses on. She could see his beautiful, deep-browneyes, so familiar, but something was different. These eyes were much older. They had soul and integrity.
Time to make a decision. She couldn’t believe she was going to do this on the fly, but hehadspoken the truth. She stepped over to the man she was entrusting two lives with and gripped his arm firmly.
He didn’t bark at her. He waited patiently without pressuring her.
