A Werewolf, A Vampire, and A Fae Walk Into A Bar (Book 1 of The Last Witch Series) novel Chapter 5

I can’t describe this kind of pain. Blinding comes to mind, but that might just be because my eyes are slammed shut while I wait for either the pain to pass or my life to end. In any case, the feeling of a baby wedging its way out of my uterus makes it hard to focus on anything else, even the outrageously sexy man propped between my legs barking orders at the other two.

“Get water boiling,” he tells Sexy #1. “And you,” he says to Sexy #3, “get me clean rags and the sharpest knife you can find.”

“No,” I say, trying to sit up. “Take me upstaAAAIIIIRRS... I need to LLLLLIIIIIIEEEEEE down.”

Sexy #2 shakes his head. “No, you’ll stay down here. You’re in no condition to be moved right now.” He locks eyes with me, and the pain ripping through me ceases momentarily as I get lost in his forest green gaze.

“Who are you?” I ask, panting through another contraction.

“My name is Zev, Bernadette. I’ll make sure you deliver the child safely.”

The brutal contractions fade again as my head spins. Zev? A doctor I’ve never met who knows my name and waltzed into my bar moments before I went into labor?

“No one calls me Bernadette unless they’re trying to piiIIIIIIIIIIIIIIISSSSSSS… me off. And I don’t think you want to doOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO… that.”

“Anger won’t help, but a charge of adrenaline can’t hurt,” Zev says, as he directs Sexy #1. “Get behind her and support her back.”

I feel strong arms slip around my waist and I lean into his chest. I have no shits left to give. “What’s your name, then?” I ask when I can speak again.

“Darius,” he says, his lips brushing against my ear with his words.

“Zev and Darius,” I repeat, mostly to make sure I heard right the first time. “And how about yoooOOUUUUUUUU?!” I say to Sexy #3 right as another contraction hits. This labor is progressing much more quickly than what the lady in my birthing class described.

Before the third mystery man can answer, Darius chimes in again. “Rune, take her other arm, even out the support.” Okay, I guess Sexy #3 goes by Rune. It also seems as though these guys know each other, even if they like to sit at different tables when they go out.

The pain dulls enough for me to do some quick math. Outside, the storm’s getting worse. Inside, I’m going into labor a week early. Most importantly, three oddly-named, unconscionably sexy men are helping deliver my baby with a calm very few men show in the labor ward. So… WTF?

“I’m surprised we all arrived at the same time,” Rune says to the others. “I was sure I had a head start.”

“We work off the same prophecy, old friend,” Zev responds in his gruff baritone. “There’s only one star to guide us.”

“The only surprise,” Darius says, “is that we never had a discussion as to what we’d do when it came time to take the child.”

My head cranks toward Darius at these words. Is he talking about my child? I’d ask him directly but another contraction wracks my body and I scream, clutching Darius and Rune’s hands with all my strength. Neither even flinches.

Meanwhile, with my eyes clamped shut, I feel a firm tugging at my pants. “You cannot deliver this child while wearing these,” Zev says calmly.

Oh God, I hadn’t thought about this part. Shit.

“Someone get me a blanket at least,” I say through clenched teeth.

Darius and Zev look to Rune, who swiftly pops up and moves to the kitchen.