Chapter 17
Raphael
Levi lined up his pool cue and struck the ball, sending not one but two of the striped balls into a pocket. He grinned at me, holding out his hand. I coughed up the few dollars that we had bet on this game. It was all in fun, and in a few more rounds, I’d probably win my money back. The loss still stung. Competitiveness was strong with this group, and I wasn’t any different.
Apparently, the crew used to bet chores, but then they spent so much time playing pool to get rid of the chore responsibilities that the chores never got done. Now we bet with money.
“I’ll tell you one nice thing about a fireman’s hours and the random wake-up calls—it really prepares you for kids. There’s no rhyme or reason to a kid’s schedule. You’re not going to get a lot of sleep for a while, then suddenly they’ll start sleeping through the night, and you’ll find yourself waking up, missing being able to snuggle them,” Levi said.
I grinned. I couldn’t wait for those days. Sleepless nights or not, I was ready. And he was right—our random hours at the fire station would do well to prepare both Luca and me for it. We frequently had to be awake at the drop of a hat, ready to do battle. That wasn’t too far from what it would be like wrangling newborns in the middle of the night. Especially when there were two of them.
The alarm sounded, and our walkie-talkies started going off. It wasn’t a fire—something else. Tyler sprinted up the stairwell, his face white, his eyes wide as he looked at me. That’s when I knew something was wrong.
“We’re being called out to an accident on the highway. It’s a large pile-up, and they already have crews from surrounding towns out there.”
I had seen and heard over the radio that my mate was out on a call. He had left not thirty minutes ago.
“They need additional paramedic crews? Luca just left for there.”
We were already making our way down to the bays to get our gear and head out.
Levi grabbed his gear fist. I followed right behind him.
“We’re taking the pickup truck,” Tyler said.
“What?” That wasn’t protocol. If we were responding as an assisting crew, we would take one of the smaller tankers.
“Just get in. I’ll explain on the way. AJ, you stay here with the rest of the crew. Raphael, Levi, you’re with me.”
“What’s going on?” I asked.
“Get in. I’ll explain on the way.”
My heart pounded, going a mile a minute. I searched through our bond, hoping to get something back from my mate. It was there. It was strong. But it wasn’t as if we could communicate with one another through it.
My dragon rumbled beneath my skin as if he sensed something. All I could do was follow Tyler’s lead.
I piled into the back while Levi drove and Tyler took the passenger seat.
Finally, once we pulled out onto the street, Tyler started talking. “There was an accident on the highway. We have multiple crews responding. Luca and Charlie made it there, but their ambulance was sideswiped by a—”
I sucked in a breath. “Sideswiped?” My mate had been hurt? It took everything in me not to shift immediately and fly out to where he was.
Tyler turned to look at me. His face held concern, but he was speaking to me as Alpha of the pack. “I don’t know the details yet. Raphael, I’m going to need you to remain calm. When you get there, you have to keep hold of your dragon. Do you understand me? You cannot shift on a highway.”
I nodded, my throat working. “I understand,” I said. Obeying orders like I was one of his wolves wasn’t typical for me, but desperate times and all that. I couldn’t risk exposing us all as shifters in the middle of a crisis. Luca needed me to be strong.
Levi hit the gas, the engine roaring. Despite his speed, it felt like it took an agonizingly long time to get there. There were crews everywhere—a fire truck from a nearby town, two ambulances, multiple vehicles in various states of fender-bender. One was twisted on its side.
That’s when I spotted it—Luca’s ambulance. The side had been smashed in, the gurney lay on its side on the ground.
I was out of the truck before it even stopped.
An ambulance crew from somewhere was already there. Luca lay on the ground, already on a baseboard, his neck braced, but there was blood coming out of his ear and a cut on his head.
“Luca!” My voice broke at seeing my mate in such a state. My dragon roared in my ears, and a sob ripped from my throat.
“Sir, we’re going to need you to step back!” One of the EMT’s that was attending Luca gripped my arm and tugged me away from him.
“That’s my mate,” I said. “My husband!” The human in front of me had no doubt dealt with distraught spouses before, but he had no idea at the level of desperation that was coursing through my veins. I was seconds away from losing complete control and letting my dragon take over.
Tyler was there, commanding the scene. I didn’t know what he said or did, but then it was just Levi, Tyler, and me attending Luca.
“Get a hold of Quinn—he’s in labor.” Tyler rattled off commands to Levi.
“What?” No. Sure, we were close to time—he was at five weeks—but it was still early.
“The eggs…” Luca moaned. Luca’s eyes opened, glassy. Then he stared at me. “Raphael,” he said. “The eggs. Are they—?” He couldn’t move his head, but his eyes followed.
“Everything’s going to be fine,” I said, squeezing his hand. “Everything’s going to be just fine.”
“Where’s Charlie?”
“They’re fine,” I said. I didn’t know for sure, but at this point, I could only focus on my mate and getting him to safety. He needed medical attention that no one here was capable of giving him.
“We have to get him out of here and somewhere he can deliver these eggs—away from the prying eyes of humans,” Tyler said.
Levi nodded. “He’s already healing his injuries from the crash. The stress has likely caused the labor. It’s progressing quickly.”
“I’m in labor? The eggs are coming?” Luca asked, his voice panicked.
“Yes. Just focus on me.” I kept my gaze locked on my mate’s, letting everyone else around us take care of the logistics of getting us out of here. My priority was keeping him calm.
“Let’s get him into the truck,” Tyler said.
I held Luca’s hand while Levi and Tyler worked on getting him onto the board and into the back of the truck. If we didn’t at least make it look like we were taking care of an injured patient, people would question it. Of course, they would have even more questions if an omega laid eggs on the side of the highway.
As soon as we were in the truck, we removed the straps.
Luca did as he was told and kept a tight hold on my fingers. He squeezed when a contraction hit him.
“Raphael, dragon, I’m not going to make it. I’m going to have these eggs here.”
“You’ll make it. We’re so close, love.”
“Umm...” Levi’s voice came from the front seat. “Unless I’m breaking a lot of laws, I’m not so sure we’re going to get very far.”
“Get us out of here,” Tyler said. “We do not want these eggs born on the highway.”
“Fuck!” Luca’s heart rate increased, and he let out a long wail. “They’re coming.”
“On it.” Levi hit the gas.