Page 38 of Labor of Love

CW/TW: Off-page, historical SA is implied but not mentioned in detail

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“You’re not taking my baby.” Shiloh glared at the woman who was rattling her papers at him. He wiped the sweat off his brow, his entire body aching from his years in captivity, doing his best to drudge up the energy for the labor he was currently going through. Technically, he was a free man, but the nurse with the papers seemed to have other ideas. “I said it when I came in. I have been saying it absolutely every hour on the hour since. You are not having my baby.”

“Omega, it’s protocol.” The woman had a nameplate with Janice on it. “No baby is allowed to leave this facility unless it is under the care of an alpha.”

Shiloh bit his lip as another wave of pain rippled through his extended belly. “I don’t care,” he managed to say through gritted teeth. “If you won’t let me leave with my baby, I’ll stay here. I am not signing your papers, and I am not giving up my baby.”

Another wave of pain rippled through him. Shiloh knew from experience he needed to be a lot more relaxed for the wonder that was birth to occur. Although, thinking back he hadn’t been relaxed when the conception had happened either. It wasn’t like he could relax when Janice refused to do anything to help him.She was too busy trying to tick her boxes and get her papers in order. Papers that Shiloh refused to sign.

Another woman bustled in. She had a bright cheery smile. “Oh, has your alpha popped out for a coffee?” she asked, coming over to the bed, pulling a cooling wipe out of her pocket, and mopping Shiloh’s brow. “I’m sure he won’t be long,” she added in what she thought was a reassuring manner. “Birth is always so much easier when your alpha is here.”

“This one hasn’t got an alpha, Mary,” Janice said with a sneer. “Did you miss the number tattooed on his wrist? He’s one ofthose.”

Mary barely shook her head, but Shiloh could see the pity in her eyes. “That’s fine,” she said kindly. “We don’t discriminate here. It’s going to be a lot more difficult for you to give birth without an alpha. We have a few on staff who are trained to assist in these rare cases. I can call one of them in if you think it would help.”

Shiloh was shaking his head before she’d even finished the sentence. “I don’t need an alpha here. I’ve given birth by myself before. I just need a bit of space and peace to be able to do it.” He bit back another cry, the pains were getting far more intense. His tension and upset over Janice weren’t helping, but it wasn’t like he had any standing or could tell her to leave.

If he had his own alpha, that alpha could have Janice removed from the room. But then, if he had his own alpha, Janice wouldn’t be trying to shove her papers down his throat. The papers where an omega signed away all rights to the newborn without even being given a chance to hold them. Papers that would have the child adopted by a traditional alpha and omega pairing, who wouldn’t even care who’s body the child had come from.

Shiloh was born omega. What was worse, he’d spent years after being abducted off the streets, shut away in an omega campwhere his heats were forced by drugs, and he was pumping out a baby twice a year. Wolf shifters were prized for that little anomaly. Hell, he’d barely been rescued a week when his pains started, and the relocation services dropped him off at the birthing hospital, assuring him he’d be well taken care of.

Shiloh was still waiting for that side of things, but babies didn’t wait for anyone or anything.

“You can get pain relief, a temporary alpha or anything else you need, when you sign these damn papers.” Janice had given up trying to be polite. “That is the policy of this establishment. No newborn is allowed to be removed from this facility without an alpha present. We have the fate of the child to consider.”

My baby’s not even gonna come if you don’t stop getting at me. But Shiloh kept that thought to himself. The pains seemed worse than before and were getting closer together, lasting a lot longer than before. “I am not giving up my baby,” he said, as soon as the next contraction passed. “This baby will come without your help. You will not touch it. It is my child, and you just won’t, won’t…”

Shiloh couldn’t even finish his sentence. The pain was crippling, invading every part of his body. His precious baby wanted out with a capital O. Ignoring the women who were standing by him, he hooked his knees up as close to his chest as he could, the pressure to push getting more intense.

“I’m not signing the papers, I’m not signing the papers, I’m not signing the papers,” he chanted through the pain.

“You absolutely have to.” Janice raised her voice. “You’ve got no choice.”

“I won’t. I won’t!” Shiloh looked up at Mary. Mary was wearing a look of disgust, but clearly she couldn’t do anything to help either.

“Breathe through the pain,” she said softly as she noticed Shiloh looking at her. “Just breathe through the pain. It will be over soon.”

“Sign these damn papers now and you can have pain relief.” Janice snarled.

“You think this is my first rodeo? I’ve done it on my own before,” Shiloh panted. “What do you think they do at those camps? At least they don’t… no.” Shiloh couldn’t even say it. His arms and heart still ached from the three other children he’d never gotten to hold. “Just leave me alone. I can do this.”

Baby was coming. Shiloh could feel that along with the tension in his sweet wolf. Usually so quiet and tending to cower in the face of any confrontation, his wolf was desperate to get that hovering woman away from the bed. It was as if she was poised, ready to snatch up the newborn the moment they were born, whisking them off before Shiloh had the chance to get off the bed.

Shiloh refused to let that happen. He wasn’t signing any papers, and he was not giving up his baby. Once the baby was taken from him he would never see that child again. The child currently wrecking his body in their attempt to get free would be his last one. He was never getting pregnant again and it was with that vow that he was determined his last child would stay in his arms.

“You’re just being stubborn,” Janice hissed. Shiloh could hear the hatred in her voice. “You won’t be able to…”

“Maybe you should just give it a while, Janice,” Mary suggested. “This boy is in pain. He needs help, not pressure.”

Thank you,Shiloh thought.

“The paperwork has to be filed. We shouldn’t even be treating this one...”

“The Omega Rescue brought him in,” Mary said. “He has as much right to be here as anyone else. You know that. Can’t you see he’s in pain?”

“I told him I’d provide him painkillers if he signed these papers,” Janice said. “For goodness sake, use your eyes, Mary. He’s so damn skinny you can count his ribs. How the hell is he going to provide for a precious baby when he can’t even look after himself? All he has to do is…”

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