Page 51 of Bred By the Beast

“I think it’s time,” Poppy said. She let out a sob, and then he sensed her contraction, and she tried to hold in her screams.

“Baby, just let it out. Scream if you have to. I don’t care.”

“I don’t know if I can do this,” she said, after releasing a scream. Her face was bright red, and the sweat glistened on her.

The nightdress she wore was covered in her sweat to the point that it was nearly sheer. He saw the hard point of her nipples and the tension in her stomach.

“I’m going to have to check,” Wilder said.

“No, no, no, you can’t, you can’t do this, Wilder. You can’t watch.”

“I’m the only one here,” Wilder said, “And I am not going to let you do this all yourself.”

“I’m here,” Alder said.

Wilder turned toward Alder, who was in the doorway, and he looked pale. “What the fuck are you doing here?”

“You should hold your mate, Wilder. Hold her, and I can do this. I’ve seen births and I’ve been there.”

“Human births?” Wilder asked.

Poppy screamed.

“No, shifter births, but you’re going to want to hold her, and you’re going to need to help her. Humans are more delicate and their pregnancies come with a great deal of risks.”

Wilder looked to Poppy who was panting. “I can do this. You don’t want him looking.”

“I don’t want him looking either, but Wilder, we don’t have a choice. Get up here now!” She screamed out the last part.

Wilder stepped away and looked at Alder. “If anything happens to her, I will fucking end you, do you understand?”

“I happen to like Poppy. I’ll do everything I can, and if I see your child turning, do I have permission?” Alder asked.

Wilder looked toward Poppy. He couldn’t live without her. “As a last resort,” he said.

And then, he gripped his woman.

“What is a last resort?” Poppy asked.

“I will do whatever is needed to stop your son from turning,” Alder said.

“Do you mean to kill him?” Poppy asked.

“No,” Wilder said. “He will sedate him.”

It was a risk he was willing to take with Poppy.

“No, Alder. You do not sedate him. We trust in the medicine. Birthing is hard, and stop scaring me, both of you.”

There was no time for talking as Poppy screamed, the veins in her neck popping out. Wilder sat behind her and continued to look at Alder, as Poppy pushed. Before their son was even out, he heard his wail—the scream that said he had a healthy set of lungs on him.

Alder smiled, and it was the first smile he’d ever seen on the man. Another push, Poppy collapsed against him, and there he saw his little boy.

Alder took care of everything, and rather than swaddle their son in a blanket, he handed him to his mother.

His little son.

His boy.