Page 64 of Unmistakable Mate

“And I’d like to remind you that this…” she kept her voice sweet as sugar as she motioned to her grotesquely swollen and distended belly and then screamed, “Is all your fucking fault Zander August Leery!”

“August?” Luna tilted her head curiously and Maya smiled when Zander groaned.

“She knows I hate my middle name.” He turned back to her, green eyes encased in worry despite his flippant tone, “Sweetheart, I’ve told you I don’t appreciate it when you use my full name just to make a point.”

“And I don’t appreciate that you knocked me up the very first time I let you inside me but hey, it is what it is.” she snapped.

“It wasn’t the very first time.” Zander smirked and Maya growled.

“I swear to God if he makes a joke about his tongue, I’m not going to be able to control myself. I’m going to kill him. I’m going to kill him and this kid will just have to grow up knowing that their father died because he couldn’t stop bragging about his magical tongue even when Mommy threatened to never let him near her with it or any other bodily appendage ever again.”

Nova snorted from her place against the wall, “She has a point there. She did warn you more than once. We’ve all heard her.”

“Traitor.” Zander teased, “I just saved you from a face full of glass.”

“Oh please, like I didn’t see that coming.” Nova scoffed. “I told you… this is what I saw. The vision I had that told me you two were going to be a good match. It’s happening, right now, as we speak.”

Maya screamed as pain tore through her belly and only once the contraction had passed and she was able to breathe again did she glare at her younger sister, “If this is what convinced you we were a good match, I am terrified for your future mate since he’ll be going in blind.”

“Hey now.” Luna broke in, steady and patient as always. “We can all threaten and yell because our bark is worse than our bite, but no taking swipes at Nova just because she can’t see her own future mate with her visions.”

Maya worked hard to steady her breathing, her jaw clenched and sweat dripping in her eyes “Sorry Nova.”

“It’s fine. I’m terrified of what I’ll be walking into blindly too.” She only shrugged. “Oh, but I’m not blind right now and I can tell you that baby is coming like… any second.”

“Really?” Zander looked over at her, smiling.

“Yep, and I don’t want to be here to see that in live and living color so, good luck sis. You don’t need it. Everything works out. Just don’t name the baby August and you’re all set.” Nova winked at Zander, blew Maya a kiss and then flew out of the room so fast nobody had a chance to say anything in response.

“She’s such a brat.” Maya spit through gritted teeth. “Her mate’s going to have his hands full and I…”

A scream ripped out of her throat, cutting off her words and making the world go blurry. Maya had dealt with pain all her life. Despite popular opinion, born shifters still felt pain when their bodies transitioned. But this was something else entirely. This wasn’t her wolf trying to claw her way to the surface. This was an actual baby clawing its way out of her damn vagina, which would never be the same again.

“Okay, it’s go time.” Luna moved around in front of Maya and shot Zander a look, “If you want to leave before things get messy, now’s your chance.”

“No way. I’m here for Maya and our child. I’m not going anywhere.” He took Maya’s hand in his and squeezed. “I love you.”

“I fucking hate that this baby is going to tear me open and I hope someday you have to experience something even half this painful.” she screamed in response as another contraction came hot on the heels of the first. As she tried to catch her breath she softened, tears glistening in her eyes as she squeezed Zander’s hand in return, “I love you too.”

He only smiled at her and Maya’s heart felt so full of love she thought she would burst. Then again, maybe that was just the feeling in her belly because she was stretched to popping. She loved him so much but she was never, ever, having sex with him again. Not after this shitshow.

“Okay, Maya. On the next contraction I need you to push.” Luna was between her legs now, a sheet draped over her so she couldn’t see what was going on down there. For that much she was thankful. Just like she was thankful her sister was trained to deliver this baby because she couldn’t even imagine some stranger being all up in her lady parts, healer or not. Pain like nothing she’d ever felt hit her and Luna chanted, “Push, push, push, push, push.”

Maya screamed and cried and pushed until she was exhausted. She was fairly certain she broke Zander’s hand but he was too supportive of a mate to complain. He gave her his other while the first one healed and he never stopped whispering to her that he loved her and that she was the strongest woman he’d ever met and that she could do this. Maya sobbed, certain he was wrong.

There was something wrong with her. This was taking too long. The baby wasn’t out and it should have been out by now. She’d been, not in the room, but in the lodge when Luna gave birth and it hadn’t taken all damn day, not like this. Plus, Luna had birthed twins. As far as she knew, Maya was only having one baby and apparently it was as stubborn as she was because it was not following directions and getting the hell out of her body fast enough.

“I can’t do it.” Maya cried but Zander was there, catching her face in his hands and kissing the tears from her cheek.

“Yes, you can. Yes. You. Can. You can do anything. You’re strong and fierce and you took down a bear shifter to save my life. You escaped a psycho that tortured you and would have killed you. You fought every step of the way to become the incredible woman I love and that woman doesn’t give up. Don’t you give up now, Maya. Not on yourself. Not on us. Not on our baby.”

“Just one more push.” Luna cajoled. “One more good push. The baby is crowning. Give me one more good push. Okay?”

“Okay.” Maya whimpered, never taking her eyes off the lush, beautiful green eyes of the man she loved. “Okay.”

“Ready? Go. Push, push, push.” Luna chanted as Maya grit her teeth, squeezed Zander’s hand and used every ounce of energy she and her wolf had left in them.

Just when she was certain she couldn’t go on for a moment longer, a scream erupted in the birthing room and Maya shivered at the sound. Her wolf, who had slunk off into a corner hours ago, stood at attention, recognizing the sound as completely as Maya did. It was their baby. Part hers and partly her wolf’s just as much as it was partly Zander’s and his wolf’s child as well. Together, they had created this life, this incredible born shifter.

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