Chapter One Hundred Fifty-One

Luna Ryley

Twenty weeks later

I was walking around the lake behind the house. Well, more like waddling. Baby was due any day now and I was hoping this would convince them to come out. I felt huge and everything ached. And I've been bored out of my mind since Blake won't let me work. I've been off for the last four weeks, and the nursery is done and waiting for our pup to arrive.

We decided to have both packs move to the city. It's still a work in progress but I was able to get all the finances in order. We are just waiting for more housing. But everything seems to be coming to-gether.

I stopped to take a few deep breaths as my stom-ach tightened. I've been having contractions off and on but they never get worse. And they would go away.

"Luna, is everything alright?" Connor asked me.Blake assigned his gamma to be my personal guard when I wasn't with him.

“Yeah, just taking a breather.”I sighed.

"Do you need to sit and rest? We could walk backnow. Here, drink some water.” He passed me the water bottle he was carrying. I took a long sip.

"Maybe we should head back." We both turnedaround and headed towards my home. About half-way there, a contraction hit so strong I doubled over, taking labored breaths.

"Fuck, Luna, what's wrong?" Connor kneeled infront of me. The poor guy looked terrified.

"I think I'm finally in real labor," I chuckled as thepain had subsided.

"Okay, what do I do?" He exclaimed in a panic as Istarted to walk again. I needed to get home and to the hospital. It wasn't far but I wasn't giving birth on a path in the woods by a lake.

“Just walk with me. Labor can take hours. Justbreathe," I told him. I chuckled at the irony.

“Lily, how is everything?”I asked my wolf.

"We are in labor, but it's still early. I'll take as muchas I can," she hissed as another contraction hit. I

stopped to take deep breaths until it subsided again.

“Blake,” I called to him through the link.

"Baby, what's wrong?" His panicked voice filled myhead.

“I'm out for a walk by the lake, and I'm in labor.”Ifelt him close the link.

“I linked, Blake,”I said to Connor as we walkedslowly towards home.

"Luna, are you sure you are okay?"

“I'll be better once this baby is out of me,”I joked,before letting out a hiss. Fuck, this hurts.

"Ryley," Blake exclaimed as he ran upon us.

“Blake, what are you doing?” I gasped as hescooped me up into his arms.

“I'm getting you to the hospital. What the hell wereyou thinking walking so far from home?" He scold-ed as he rushed down the path toward home and the hospital.

"Blake, labor can take hours, even days. I would

have made it, and walking would have kept my mind off the pain," I explained, before I groaned in pain again.

“Just breathe, baby. You got this,” Blake assuredme, as he kissed my cheek.

"Lily, why aren't you helping?" I scolded my wolfonce the pain calmed down.

“I am helping. Baby just wants to come out.” Shewhined. I knew she was in pain because I was.

"Damn it, this hurts," I gritted out as Blake rushedinto the hospital. By the time I was in a room and changed, I was unable to speak. The pain was too much and all I could do was try to breathe through the contractions that didn't seem to stop.

“Luna, it's time for you to push,” the doctor saidfrom between my legs.

“I think I'm done,” I groaned and Blake chuckled be-fore kissing my forehead.

"Our pup is almost here, baby. You are doing sowell. Don't you want to meet them?" Blake encour-aged me. He has been great this entire labor but he

can't take the pain. And it was overwhelming.

“Just take deep breaths and with the next contrac-tion, I want you to push as hard as you can, Luna," I nodded to the doctor.

"You got this, baby, you are the strongest person lknow," Blake told me before I pushed with every-thing I had left in me.

I was exhausted and drenched in sweat by the time our pup came into the world.

"It's a girl," The doctor announced as she held upour baby. I cried as I looked at our daughter. She started to scream unhappy with the world around her.

Blake cut the cord and the doctor laid our baby girl on my bare chest. She sniffled as she calmed down. She had dark hair like her daddy. Blake was looking at her with tears in his eyes as I rubbed her back. I couldn't see her face but I was enjoying her tiny body against mine.

“She is beautiful, baby. You did so good.” Blakekissed my forehead as he rubbed his daughter' s cheek.

"And what should we name her?" I asked him. Wedidn’t find out what we were having, and we couldn’t decide on names. We wanted to wait until the baby was born.

"I think we should call her Evelyn, after her mom-my," Blake said and I smiled up at him.

"Evelyn Mia Orion. It sounds perfect." Tears rolleddown my mate's cheeks as he closed his eyes. I knew this was going to be an emotional day for him.

"It's perfect, just like my girls." Blake smiled downat me before he leaned down and kissed me.

"Words aren't enough to say how much I love you,"He whispered.

“My heart feels the same way about you.”