Authors: Lynnette Bernard
Jackson stepped forward and reached down to place his hand gently over her belly. “Do you have any idea how much we’re looking forward to feeling our baby moving inside of you? Do you understand that we will love and protect our little one with everything that we are? Please, Laurie, don’t be afraid. This is a very good thing that’s happening to us.”
Laurie looked at both men with hesitation. She wanted to believe them. She wanted to experience the beauty of her pregnancy and the birth of her child with men who wanted the baby. She hesitated. She was afraid, but she had to admit that she wanted their baby, and she wanted them to be a part of the ups and downs of raising a child.
Stepping back out of their embrace, she looked from one man to the other, then reached down and gently covered her belly with her hands. They could see the fear in her eyes, but they also saw the spark of hope that was there, too.
“How can you be sure I’m pregnant?” she asked finally.
“Your scent is different,” Jace answered immediately.
Laurie’s eyebrows rose in surprise. “Really?”
Jace nodded. “You smell so wonderful, Laurie,” he told her honestly. “I thought your scent was amazing before, but now it’s filled with our daughter as well.”
“How do you know it’s a girl?”
Jackson stepped toward her and smiled down at her as he watched her hands gently caressing her stomach. “Our daughter sent us a vision when we were holding you as you slept the other night.”
“She did?” Laurie’s voice was filled with awe. “Is that normal? For a baby to be able to do that?”
Jace shook his head and stepped toward her, wrapping his arms around her and kissing the top of her head. “No, it’s not,” he admitted. “It just shows us how special our bond is and how amazing our daughter is.”
Jackson nuzzled into the crook of her neck, kissing her lightly. Opening his memory to Laurie and Jace, he sent them the beautiful scene of their daughter giggling in his and Jace’s arms. Laurie’s gasp at the realness of the vision made his heart happy. Jackson could sense Jace’s complete joy at the memory and knew Laurie could feel their honest emotions about what they had been gifted.
“She’s beautiful,” Laurie whispered, looking up at both men in awe at what she had seen.
“Just like her mama,” Jackson told her happily.
Laurie gasped and covered her hands over her mouth as emotions rushed up and spilled out of her. Both men surrounded her with their love, and she could feel the rightness of the three of them making their baby. She experienced the honest love and happiness her men had felt as they held their daughter and cuddled her against their chests. Having a child with them would be a wonderful thing. She just knew it.
She must have let her feelings transmit through their bond, because both men growled possessively before holding her tightly against their bodies. She couldn’t prevent the feeling of pure joy that bubbled up within her from escaping in a giggle of pure delight.
“I think I need to take you both back to bed and make love to you for the rest of the day,” she told them happily.
Both men groaned at the thought of an afternoon of loving. But it wasn’t meant to be. There were more than one hundred people waiting on the back lawn to surprise their mate for her birthday.
“As much as we would love to keep you in bed for the next few days, we have to bring you outside so the pack can be officially informed about our baby,” Jace told her honestly, unable to prevent the instant flash of the surprise birthday party from reaching her through her bond.
“There’s a birthday party for me?” Laurie asked, astonished.
“Way to go, Jace,” Jackson groused.
“I couldn’t help it,” Jace protested. “I was distracted by the thought of having Laurie naked beneath us for the next few days.”
Laurie smiled at both men, sending them a vision of several sexual positions that she wanted to experience with them as soon as they could find time to be alone again. Both men’s cocks went rock hard instantly. Laurie felt immediate satisfaction at their arousal.
“Oh hell,” Jackson moaned.
It was going to be a long afternoon.
Epilogue
Laurie moved awkwardly in the lounge chair as she sat on the back deck. The darkness of the night surrounded her with a sense of peace as she waited patiently for her men to emerge from their run. She shifted carefully, trying to find just the right position to ease her discomfort. Rubbing her hands over her tightening belly, she smiled as the baby pushed against her touch.
“Hello to you, too, sweetheart,” Laurie whispered, emotions overwhelming her as she thought about the baby she was carrying and the love Jace and Jackson showed her daily. “How did I ever get so lucky?” Her voice broke at her question.
Just thinking about her life now made tears come to her eyes. Mia and Dean had gone off to the same university in September. Mitchell was attending his first year at the local community college and would be transferring to Mia and Dean’s university at the beginning of their sophomore year. For now, the three of them were sharing an off campus apartment. Jace had explained to Laurie that Mitchell and Dean needed to be close in order to strengthen their triad partnership. Both Jace and Jackson were happy that Mia would be under the young men’s protection, although Mia had proven herself to be an alpha female in her own right. They couldn’t be prouder of all of them.
Laurie still counted her blessings that they were safe and doing what they wanted to in order to follow their dreams. The pack’s acceptance of them was instant and total. All three had kept their promise to Jace and texted him every day to check in with him. She loved to see the smile on Jace’s face as he viewed their texts and quickly typed his name to send them back his confirmation that he knew they were safe. She knew his happiness at receiving their texts wasn’t because Mia, Dean, and Mitchell were following their alpha’s order. It was because his children were sending him the messages. Seeing Jace and Jackson so happy that the children belonged to them made tears fill Laurie’s eyes.
Leaving her teaching job had been a difficult decision to make, but she was sure that she had a more important job to do within the pack. Her role in the pack made her feel needed, but more importantly, it made her feel like she belonged somewhere for the first time in her life, and she looked forward to every day. Her pregnancy had also been a major factor in her decision. Nothing was more important than the well-being of their baby.
Jace and Jackson were there every step of the way, supporting her decisions and showing her daily that they truly wanted to be a part of every aspect of her pregnancy. There wasn’t a day that went by without them telling her and showing her how much they appreciated every moment of their life together.
The way they enjoyed her being pregnant was almost unreal. Every movement of the baby, every change in her body, every emotion she felt, they shared along with her. And she finally allowed herself accept that they truly were in it for the long haul.
Looking up, she saw the two wolves appearing from the surrounding trees and trotting up to the deck. As they leaped up the stairs and made their way over to her, she couldn’t stop the feelings of warmth that swept through her body. She reached out her arms and waited for them to carefully climb onto the chair with her and gently lower their heads to her distended belly. She laughed as they nuzzled against their baby and reached up to gently stroke through their soft fur, starting at their heads and running her hands soothingly down their silky pelts.
“Did you have a nice run?” she asked them, smiling down at their gentle eyes as they looked up at her.
Yes, baby. How are you feeling?
Jackson’s gentle voice spoke through their bond.
“I’m a little uncomfortable,” she answered honestly. “I’ve been having contractions for a while.”
What?
Jace’s panicked voice shouted through her head, making her jump in surprise.
There was a shimmer of blue around the wolves, and she found herself surrounded by two naked and very worried mates.
“Why didn’t you call to us, Laurie?” Jace admonished, reaching out to touch her belly gently, gasping when he felt the tightening of her muscles as another contraction took hold. “How far apart are the contractions?”
“Baby, you really need to stop trying to shield us from your pains,” Jackson scolded her, counting in his head until he felt her stomach soften under his hands after a minute.
“I’m sorry,” Laurie apologized sincerely. “I just wanted to make sure that it wasn’t false labor before I said something.”
“How far apart?” Jace asked her again, his voice firm, rubbing her belly soothingly as he tried to offer her whatever comfort he could.
“The last one was five minutes ago,” she answered quietly. “I think I need to go upstairs.”
She made the effort to stand when both men reached forward to carefully pull her up until she stood beside them. As soon as she found her footing, she felt a gush of liquid escape her, coating them all in the warmth of amniotic fluid. She reached for their arms as she looked up at them with tears in her eyes, a horrified expression on her face.
“I’m so sorry,” she whispered, barely able to get out the words.
“For what, baby?” Jackson asked her as he held her to his body.
“For gushing all over you,” she told them, the tears spilling over as embarrassment overwhelmed her.
Jace reached up to place his finger under her chin to make her look up at him. “Laurie, please listen to me.” He waited until her eyes met his before continuing. “Every change that your body has gone through with this pregnancy has been a source of joy to us. We love every moment of this miracle. What’s happening now is just as precious to us. The fluid that just escaped your body has protected our baby for the past forty weeks. There is nothing embarrassing or upsetting to us that we felt its warmth.”
“Open your bond to us, honey,” Jackson told her gently as he leaned down to kiss her temple. “You’ll feel exactly what we’re feeling.”
Laurie closed her eyes and released the box she had been keeping closed around her emotions so the men wouldn’t know she was in labor. What greeted her when her emotions touched theirs was a feeling so filled with love and happiness that her worries were immediately calmed. Another pain gripped her, and she gasped as she doubled over with the power of the contraction.
“Talk. Later. Bedroom. Now.” Her words were clipped as the pain of the contraction overwhelmed her.
Jackson’s panic almost made her laugh. Almost. Jace leaned down and scooped her up into his arms, rushing toward the sliding glass doors that led inside the ranch. Jackson slid it open quickly, following them both through the kitchen, the main room, and up the steps to their bedroom.
“Martha, get Doc Barrett and Nikki,” Jackson shouted as they passed her in the kitchen.
Martha nodded and ran to the phone. It was time. The baby would soon be born. Martha’s eyes filled with tears of happiness that her two adopted sons were about to become fathers.
Pushing open their bedroom door, Jackson rushed to their bed and pulled back the bedding. Jace stepped forward to lay their precious mate down, but she stopped him with a gentle hand on his chest.
“What, sweetheart?” he whispered, unsure what to do.
“Please take me into the shower. I need to stand to get through the contractions, and the warm water will help me relax.”
Jace nodded and turned quickly toward the bathroom, glad to have Jackson there to start the shower and help him undress Laurie then help her into the enclosure. Both men went with her, Jace suddenly glad that he had made the decision to have such a big shower built when he had designed their suite. They immediately surrounded her with their arms as she hung onto them and bent over slightly as each contraction took her. They rocked her and gently rubbed her back and belly as her labor intensified.