Page 75 of Luna

I basked in the warmth of my pack. I didn’t need to ask them to bond me to know they cared. I could wait until after the baby was born. I would feel better, and there wasn’t a rush.

I closed my eyes, letting myself picture our future in this room. Late night feedings, the guys taking turns changing diapers, bottle feeding, helping me getting in and out of bed.

We could make this work. We could be a pack, if I was just a little bit more patient. I only had a couple of months to go and then I’d feel safer, that they really wanted to bond me for who I am, and not because of the miracle inside me.

I could wait.

Chapter28

Luna

Afew days after the baby shower, I found myself knee deep in dirt. The warm sun beat down on my back, and the flower beds seemed to dance with life. A gentle breeze carried the salty scent of the nearby ocean, a reminder of the beautiful California coastline just within reach. I loved plants.

"Ouch!" I winced, feeling a sharp pain in my belly. Poppy had been kicking for weeks, but this felt different. I took a deep breath and tried to dismiss the pain as nothing more than an overactive imagination.

I dug my hands into the dirt, and tried to focus.

But as the minutes ticked by, the pain refused to subside, becoming more insistent, accompanied by a growing sense of dizziness. Panic began to make my chest hurt.

It was too soon for the baby to come, wasn't it? I still had two months left.

"Okay, Peanut," I whispered to the baby, cradling my swollen belly. "You've gotta calm down."

I tried to focus on my flower beds, but the pains grew strong enough that I stopped thinking it was just Braxton Hicks contractions.

Swallowing hard, I pulled my phone out. I didn’t want to make a big deal out of what was probably nothing, but I was also getting dizzy. I hit the button for Colton.

Halos was at Half Moon Nursery, and Colton and Quinn were both at their beach rental, finalizing their loose ends, while Dante was at the new house.

It was probably nothing.

Please let it be nothing.

Colton answered on the second ring. “What’s up, baby doll?”

“My stomach hurts. My belly, I mean. For the last hour or so.” I sat back on my ankles, rubbing my belly. The skin stretched and itched.

“We’ll be right there.”

“It’s probably nothing,” I said.

“It won’t hurt to see Dr. Lim again. I’ll tell Dante to meet us there,” Colton said firmly. If I didn’t know him so well, I wouldn’t have heard the slight thread of panic in his voice.

I put my gardening supplies away slowly. The breeze that had once felt nice now sent a chill to my bones. I didn’t want to go to the doctor’s office. I wanted my nest and my pack pressed around me.

Colton pulled up in his rental truck, Halos and Quinn already inside. Halos got out to help me into the back seat even though I didn’t need it.

“Okay?” Halos rubbed small circles on my lower back.

“Probably just Braxton Hicks,” I said with a wince. Another sharp pain pierced my side.

“It’s common this trimester,” Quinn said, taking my hand. He sounded chipper, but I heard the worry in his voice. “Braxton Hicks contractions are your body’s way of strengthening the uterine walls and practicing labor.”

I leaned my head on Quinn’s shoulder, listening to him chatter. It was soothing, listening to my beta tell me all about the increased hormone levels. I shifted in the car, my lungs and chest hurting from sitting.

Poppy was growing, and in the process, taking over real estate previously used for my lungs.

At the doctor’s office, a nurse put us into a room right away. She took my blood pressure, took some more blood, and I laid on my side, trying to breathe through the cramps.

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