Page 38

Mori

Waiting for the postcard men to kidnap me left me paranoid most of the time. It felt as if the invaders were already inside my body, hiding out in my cells and planting a million little ticking timebombs. I’d asked around to some of my magical friends that I figured had the least chance of telling my carrier and no one had heard of them. Of course, the fact that Dern admitted he didn’t know what they called themselves made them harder to track down. So, I waited to be whisked away to some unknown place by unknown forces.

While I was overcome with crying spells of joy whenever I imagined how happy Dern must’ve been having finally escaped his lonely life on Earthside, I longed for more time with him. If I had heard a few more of his stories perhaps I’d have been able to track these mysterious people down and demand they give me answers.

“Dern was a hitman,”

my wolf chimed into my thoughts. “But he said they didn’t want us to be a hitman.”

“I don’t think hitman is the right word,”

I sighed back to him. “It wasn’t like he was doing it for anyone’s personal gain. Dern wouldn’t have done that. Just because he enjoyed offing the man who ordered him to be carved up and killed his parents doesn’t make him a sadist. If someone sneezed on our parents, I’d probably punch them in the nose.”

“Do you think they’ll be able to take us?”

my wolf asked. “Maybe they’re not beating around the bush or dragging their feet. Perhaps they can’t take us. Our carrier probably has protective charms on us that we don’t even know about.”

I hoped that wasn’t the case. As unfound of the idea of getting kidnapped as I was, I was less fond of spending the rest of my life watching over my astral shoulder for kidnappers. I was bored of waiting. It had lost its edge as soon as my best friend was pregnant enough to waddle. If not for Othoni’s pregnancy, I might’ve done something irrational to get their attention and tell them to hurry up. I’d never admit it aloud but part of me was excited about what opportunities these postcard men might open up for me.

So, I waited and watched my best friend’s belly grow fuller and fuller with child. I loved my friends and enjoyed spending time with them, but the more pregnant Ni grew, the more often I tried to make myself scarce. It was no secret that whatever else pregnancy hormones did to him, they made him extra horny. They tried to be quiet about it, but most cats aren’t quiet during mating.

I never went far from home, fearing that I’d be found face down on the concrete in the middle of the street by a giant truck when it ran over me, thinking I was just another newly installed speed bump. I might’ve given the lovebirds alone time right up until Othoni popped and his water broke but in the middle of a hot ‘alone time’ shower a vision slapped me upside the head and I found myself on my ass.

He’d have the baby exactly on his due date and his water would break early that morning while he tried to make a grilled cheese sandwich without waking up Teddy. I didn’t see much else, but it was enough to keep me extra close to him that week because visions weren’t always exact. Though, the bruise on my butt from unexpectantly hitting the tub made it feel more real than some others I’d had over the years.

The sheer size of Othoni’s belly encouraged him to take Jacob’s suggestion of bedrest seriously. He lounged around mostly in his jaguar form, rambling to both me and Teddy over group links. Teddy was now on the Nightshade Bear group link in addition to all the other groups he was part of.

I made a habit of taking photos of them together while Ni lay around getting his big pregnant belly rubbed by Teddy. I sent them to my carrier who I knew would show them to my sire. He was wrong about Teddy being a bad mate. He was doting and adorable at times. Still not my type. Definitely not my type. I’d rather have bamboo shoved under my claws than walk down any street naked and if a man offered to spank me, I think I’d get a wooden spoon and go tell him I’d give him one first. Still, I shipped them and couldn’t wait to meet my goddaughter.

My knowing the time changed the course of things as these things had a way of doing. We were all up eating grilled cheese that Teddy cooked on the blacktop on the deck when Othoni’s water broke. His fear and excitement shot through the air and I had to shove my wolf back down before he nipped someone in trying to defend our friend. Seconds before his water broke, the baby fine hairs on the back of Teddy’s neck stood up as if he knew too. He turned to look at his mate and everything exploded at once. The deck was covered in the evidence that Baby Zinnia was ready to enter the world.

I opened my mouth and then shut it again. What the heck was I thinking? I almost asked if they wanted some privacy! I was the one delivering the baby!

“You’re alright,”

Teddy said over his shoulder as he scooped up his mate and carried him into the house. “We’re all okay. This is the moment we’ve been waiting for.”

“I peed myself!”

Othoni hissed.

“Wasn’t pee,”

I said, following on Teddy’s heels, unsure of what to do now that he’d taken over the situation.

He’d been holding his back all day the day before. I knew it was coming. I hadn’t told him because sometimes babies decided to come later after a vision is received and didn’t want my friends to worry if Baby Zinnia ‘ran late.’

“What if I can’t do this?”

Othoni asked, breathing through his mouth like he was trying to get a good whiff of something.

“You can,”

Teddy said. “I’ll be right here, and Mori will be here. Your carrier will be here later today.”

“WHAT?”

Othoni hissed.

“It was a surprise. Both of them wanted to come but someone had to stay home and watch everyone else. I don’t know how they decided who got to come and who had to stay home but he’s arriving today. I know he annoys you sometimes and I know you’re worried we won’t get along but I can hold my own. I’ve dealt with my grandparents trying to say Duke wasn’t family for as long as I can remember. He’s going to have to shut up and bite on his tail when the baby comes out looking like me and he can’t deny I’m in his pard now.”

I opened my mouth to tell Teddy now wasn’t the time to discuss this, but Othoni grinned and some of the anxiety fled from his scent. Teddy knew what he was doing and I was glad he knew Othoni in a way I never would. Delivering any baby is a mix of a head rush and dread. A million things can go wrong and no matter what you have to keep going. Babies wait for no one and as the one in charge you have to keep a cool head. Having Teddy there to keep Othoni calm and entertained made all our lives easier.

His early labor lasted for hours. The minutes dragged by. The pauses were normal, but it meant more contractions and more minutes for something to go wrong inside of. Teddy talked himself hoarse because he didn’t shut up the whole time and had to switch to the group link to keep going. He smoothed down Othoni’s hair and fed him ice chips and these little candies that had a lot of sugar in them. His eyes lit up whenever he glanced at Teddy and I wanted that. I wanted to look at someone with that much trust and mean it. I wanted someone I could give myself over to the moment around and trust that he’d protect me because that’s what labor was. You had to give yourself over to the demands your body made because it was the one who knew how to deliver the baby safely into the world most of the time, barring any complications. You had to surrender to your body whether things went right or wrong. You didn’t have a choice and in an ideal world and a happy true-mateship you could do that because your other half had your back.

I blinked hard, refusing to cry about the gaping hole in my life while my best friend arched his back mid-contraction. I wasn’t raised to be a selfish asshole like that and I was envious of him. I didn’t want Teddy. I wanted my Teddy. Whoever he was. Wherever he was.

All of my thoughts fell away when it was time for Othoni to push. Baby Zinnia was on her way into the world and nothing was standing in the little jaguar’s way. She came out screaming as soon as she was free. I cleaned out her mouth and nose of anything left from her trip and waited a few minutes before clamping the cord. Time stood still as she lay there on her blanket crying with all of our attention on her. The evidence was mounting that delaying the amount of time between delivery and cord clamping was beneficial for the baby. It took three minutes before the cord pulsated for the last time. Then and only then did I clamp her cord and wave Teddy over.

I wasn’t sure if he could see through his tears as he snipped the cord, barely taking his eyes off the newborn as he did so. So much of his dream had been prophetic. There was Baby Zinnia as blonde as Lotus or at least she would be once we washed her up. I cleaned her as quickly as I could before handing her off to Othoni. We spent hours discussing what would be best for him and Baby Zinnia while he was pregnant. He decided he wanted to spend as much of golden hour – the first hour of her life outside his body – with her on his chest. Being born was such a traumatic experience. You take a baby out of the only place they’ve ever known and squash them around until they’re in this big open space full of strangers. They only person they really know is their carrier.

With Baby Zinnia born safely and healthy, I excused myself into the bathroom to cry. Relief flooded over me. Delivering babies always did this to me. Sometimes it felt like I stood up to death and told him to shove his door up his ass that no one was leaving here today. Sometimes I wondered if my family’s history of complicated births played into this but that day it was so much more. My best friend had a baby. There was a little baby in there who belonged to my best friend. A baby that might have never been born if things worked out differently. If our brothers never became penpals that baby might’ve never been born. I might’ve never known Dern at all. I might’ve never – So many things. I cried because despite the whole in my chest where my true-mate link should be, I was fucking happy. I wasn’t home. I was in purgatory waiting on the post card men, but I was happy.