Page 165 of Power Shift

“I’ve got you,” I promise, stabilizing her with an arm around her shoulders.

“I’m going to check baby girl’s heart rate, and then we’re going to start pushing,” Clover announces.

She settles at Sadie’s other side and uses a handheld Doppler to catch the quick but steady beat of the baby’s heart. Sadie sobs when she hears it, and I rub her back, trying to soothe her enough to focus through the emotions.

It’s usually not hard for me to keep professional during these situations, but a beat later, I break too. A cramp tears through my belly, and I bury my teeth in my lip to stifle my cries.

My core clamps around nothing, and slick fills my panties, the pulse between my legs strong enough to rock me. Every breath I take burns my throat. I force my fingers to straighten before I can permanently dent Sadie’s shoulder with them.

“Alright. Baby is happy and excited to come out and see the world. When your next contraction hits, I need you to push,” Clover says, settling on the bed behind Sadie.

She’s used to this birthing position by now and falls into habit. With pink gloves on her hands that match the scrubs we’re both wearing, she pats Sadie’s lower back and guides her into a lower squat.

My tongue bleeds from how hard I bite down on it to keep quiet. There’s a shake in my hands while I gather Sadie’s hair into a ponytail and use the cold cloth already laid out for me to wipe her forehead.

“Fuck!” Sadie screams while holding on to the bed rail. “I’m pushing now!”

“Listen to your body and do what you need to. We’re here for you. You’re taken care of,” I soothe, speaking to both her and me.

For the next fifteen minutes, that’s exactly what she does. With sweat dripping down into her drowsy eyes and weak, shaking legs hardly keeping her upright, she gives birth to a six-pound baby girl with a rock star set of lungs.

The baby’s cries are loud enough that I’m sure the men outside can hear while Clover cleans her off and I help Sadie onto her back. The new mom catches her breath between soft, hiccupped sobs and eagerly takes the baby from Clover when she hands her over.

“She’s beautiful. You focus on her while I finish up,” Clo says before delivering an order to Trish for some more supplies.

Sadie’s only paying half attention to her. Most of it stays on her daughter.

I take a step back and watch her kiss the baby girl’s forehead and cheeks. She’s holding on to her tight, like she’s scared somebody is going to come in and try to take her from her arms.

It won’t happen. Not ever.

As things settle, so does the adrenaline that was pumping through me. The fall is torture. Second by second, I’m reintroduced to the pain in my stomach and the tightness in my lungs. It’s like swimming in battery acid, every inch of my skin burning. I can hardly swallow through the pain.

“Leave, Briar,” Clover snaps from between Sadie’s legs.

I’ve learned not to look at what she does after a delivery. Medical school wasn’t for me eight years ago, and it still isn’t now.

“I can’t.”

“What else do you need to do right now that I can’t? You’re in heat and being careless with your body. Go home with your pack.”

“This is my job. I’m going to be here until the end,” I argue.

Shit, I’m lightheaded now. The lack of full breaths is sending my lungs into an outrage.

“I’m calling Duke. Sadie, I need you to keep your focus on baby, alright? Briar’s in heat, and I need to get her out of here before she passes out on me.”

I shake my head furiously. “Dash. Send Dash in.”

A wall meets my back before I slump forward over my knees. The pain isn’t just a warning anymore. It’s punishment for not listening to its demands earlier.

I slide down the wall, hitting the floor hard and slipping in and out of consciousness as the pain throttles me. The moment is still so beautiful. So monumental to the people here in this room, and I can’t make myself regret being a part of it.

DASH

Duke would have knocked Landon out by now if he could get away with it. He knows just as well as we do that it wouldn’t be one of us currently out here or Clover that would have his ass. It would be Briar.

That doesn’t stop him from continuing to snap orders at him, though. Our pack leader is struggling right now, and he’s taking it out on Duke and the team, who were the ones hired to be here today.

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