Page 44 of Mate For Hire (For Hire 3)

“I’m your mate now.”

“You always were.”

“Those warm fuzzy feelings. I cried like a baby. Snot was everywhere.”

One side of his mouth rose. “Yes.”

“Hey!” She smacked his arm again and then laughed. All of the council was convinced as well as the rest of the dragon shifters. She and Janessa were officially the Hughes men’s mates.

Some said the bonding was a sign that relations with humans would improve. Lachelle didn’t know how true that was, but she hoped for it. Fake Kelly never intended to act as a liaison between humans and shifters, but Lachelle had begun to think she herself could.

“So are we moving back to the city?” She and Gerard discussed the decision after their bonding ceremony, but neither had come to a conclusion. Gerard only wanted to protect his family, he’d told her, and he was willing to wait at the homestead for the baby to be born.

“I want to.”

“So it’s decided?”

He started to answer but then froze. She wondered if it was an enemy, but as far as she knew none of the enemy shifters were still around. The humans didn’t know where the homestead was. More magic, she had heard.

A thought occurred to her. “You know what, Gerard, that woman couldn’t fly or do much of anything you guys could do. Now it makes sense why.”

“Lachelle?” He was still acting weird.

“What is it, baby? What’s wrong?”

“Baby.”

“I’ve been calling you baby a while now. You don’t like it?”

“No, I mean…” He touched her belly. “The baby is ready.”

And just like that, she went into labor. Her water broke. The contractions started. She didn’t know how he knew, but he was right. Terror took hold of her. Thoughts of the pain and a tiny human shifter hybrid ripping out of her filled her mind. She cried.

“Easy,” he whispered gently. “Everything will be fine.”

“Gerard.”

“Shh. My son won’t hurt you.”

She had never heard Gerard so gentle and sweet or so calm. When he touched her belly, light illuminated his hands. Was this healing? Maybe. The light grew, extending up his arms. She thought he was trying to make everything go smoothly before they headed to the shifter doctor’s clinic, but as the light expanded, it seemed to take Gerard by surprise as well.

The light engulfed both her belly and Gerard’s chest. It flashed brighter then disappeared inside him. His eyes widened, and he nipped her into his arms to carry her into the night.

Before long, they arrived at the doctor’s clinic. The place lay in total darkness, but the second they reached the entrance, the doctor opened the door. “Come in.”

“How?” A contraction hit, not exactly terrible pain, but strong enough to let her know what was going on with her body. “My sister, someone get my sister.”

She was rushed into the delivery room and settled on the most comfy bed she’d ever been on, cocooned with plush blankets and pillows. The temperature in the room seemed to be a bit high as well. That’s when she noticed the heaters.

“It’s summer,” she murmured.

“He will be cold,” the doctor informed her. “He’s used to gathering as much as he needs from your body, and it will take some getting used to for him to adjust to life out here.”

The door opened, and Janessa rushed in, wearing a robe with a silk head tie around her head. Her bed slippers shooshed over the floor as she hurried to Lachelle’s side. “Don’t be scared, Lachelle. His natural healing will keep it all comfortable for you until he leaves your body.”

“It’s the after I’m worried about. I remember what you told me.”

“You’ll be fine, girl. Let’s welcome your cute little son. I can’t wait to meet him.”

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