Page 288 of Labor of Love

Milo bent over, his body bowing as another contraction ripped through him. I wiped his sweaty hair out of his face.

“I need to shift, Noah.”

Archie had told us that feline shifters especially liked to give birth in their shifted forms, and he had mentioned that Milo would know what would work best for him when the time was right. “Do whatever you need to do, my love. I’m right here no matter what.”

Milo climbed up onto the bed and crawled on all fours into the center of his nest. The air from the fans ruffled his hair as his body trembled and he took his snow leopard form. He was so beautiful, he took my breath away. His white fur dotted with black and gray rosettes was so soft and thick, and I settled next to him, running my hands over his back.

In this form, I could see every contraction and feel it, and Milo stood and started pacing around the circle he’d made, stopping to push every few minutes. Eventually, he settled again before starting all over again. The sun was starting to set, and I was starting to get worried. Milo had been laboring all day, and it didn’t seem like he’d made much progress. I was minutes away from calling Archie for help, when Milo let out a mewling cry, his stomach contracting. He crouched on his hind legs, and with another mewling cry, our cub dropped onto the bed under him, and I gasped.

Our baby was a snow leopard cub, but instead of Milo’s white and dark gray fur, our baby was dark gray-brown with small white spots. Our baby’s fur looked like I did in my stingray form. Tears slipped from my eyes, and a sob of pure joy tore from my throat. Milo blinked his tired eyes and looked down at ourbaby, a feline smile spreading across his lips as I felt his love and happiness through our bond. My mate collapsed onto the bed, and our sweet little cub stumbled over to him. Milo licked our baby’s unique fur, used a sharp claw to cut through the umbilical cord, and tucked the little one against his body.

Milo and our little one, I wasn’t sure if they were a boy or girl yet, dozed for a while, and I went to the kitchen to make a bottle of the special formula Archie had given us. I had a feeling when dad and baby woke up, both would be hungry, so I also made a simple sandwich for Milo, then I went back to our nest and stared at my perfect mate and our precious cub.

Eventually, Milo stirred and shifted back into his human form, shivering a little as cool air from the fans buffeted his skin. I hopped off the bed and turned the fans off, bringing my mate his favorite robe so he could wrap up.

I handed him the sandwich, and he bit into it, clearly starving, and our sweet little cub climbed up onto his legs.

He watched her with awe and tears swimming in his eyes.

“You did such an amazing job, Milo. Our baby is perfect.”

“She really is, and she looks just like you.” He set the plate with the sandwich aside and picked up our daughter, holding her out to me. I took the sweet little bundle in my arms, and held her against my chest.

“Are you hungry, sweet girl?”

She made a plaintive mewling sound and I reached for the bottle, bringing it to her lips. She drank greedily, and Milo leaned into my side, resting his head on my shoulder.

I pressed my lips to his forehead and his hair, and he looked up at me. “I love you, Noah.”

“I love you too, baby.” We kissed, keeping one eye on our little lady, until she finished the last of the formula.

“She needs a name.” Milo yawned and burrowed in closer to me.

“How do you feel about Mira?”

“Mira. Mira.” Every time Milo said the name, I fell a little more in love with it. “Noah, Milo, and Mira. It’s perfect.”

“You’re perfect.” I kissed my mate again, our sweet baby in my arms, and love flowing through our bond.

Life was perfect.

And this was just the beginning.

Want more shifter MPREG from Vinni George? Check out the Land & Sea series, starting with Jonah and the Narwhal, and be on the lookout for more from the Land & Sea spinoff series, Hot & Cold, coming soon!

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Vinni George has been a lover of romance novels (of all shapes, sizes, and colors) since she first got her hands on one of her grandmother’s Harlequins and has never looked back. She lives in Ohio with her two favorite guys (her husband and son) and, hopefully—one day—a dog. When she’s not writing, Vinni can be found working for her family’s business, which provides plenty of plot bunnies. In her spare time, Vinni is a soccer mom who dabbles in performance art, quilting, and various culinary pursuits and enjoys traveling.

Vinni’s debut novel, Hold the Door, was a finalist and runner-up in Contemporary Gay Romance in the 2020-2021 Rainbow Awards.

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BLURB

Theo has always known who his mate is—Alpha Tyler, the powerful wolf shifter who commands every room he walks into. But Theo? He’s not alpha-mate material.

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