Page 44 of Mating Mia
I keep walking, one hand always on my belly, silently pleading with my baby to wait just a little longer, just until we find her. Just until I know.
The sound reaches us before we see it—a distant roaring that gradually grows louder as we climb. Water. A lot of it, moving fast.
“There must be a river up ahead,” Jace says, pushing his sweat-dampened hair back from his forehead.
The terrain becomes even more treacherous, the path narrowing as it hugs the side of what’s becoming a cliff face.
Kane moves in front of me, his large body between me and the drop-off, while Jace stays close behind. Finn leads the way, his keen eyes searching for the next piece of cloth.
“There,” he points to a scrap caught on a jutting rock at least ten feet above our heads. “She climbed up.”
I look at the near-vertical face dubiously. Even if I weren’t nine months pregnant, that would be a challenging climb.
“I’ll go,” Finn says, already testing hand and footholds in the rock face.
I’m sweating profusely as I climb onto Kane’s back for the climb. My scent is getting stronger from my panic of giving birth, but I plan to rush to the hospital next door if it gets worse.
“Whoa, a waterfall,” exclaims Jace, and I look up during a brief respite from my pain to see the roaring waterfall so beautiful and majestic before us.
The roaring grows louder, and suddenly the trees thin out, revealing a waterfall, at least fifty feet high, cascading down the rock face into a crystal-clear pool below.
It’s breathtaking—sunlight catches the spray, creating rainbows in the mist. The pool below is ringed with smooth stones, the water so clear I can see the bottom despite its depth. If I weren’t currently in active labor, I’d be tempted to strip down and dive in.
I slip down Kane’s back and onto my feet.
Another contraction hits me, stronger than any before. I grab onto a small tree growing from the cliff side, knuckles white as the pain radiates through my pelvis and back.
I can’t help the small whimper that escapes me.
“Mia?” Kane turns to me sharply, his eyes immediately zeroing in on my hunched posture. “Are you okay?”
“Nothing,” I gasp as the contraction peaks. “Just...tired.”
Kane’s eyes narrow suspiciously. “Are you in labor?”
Before I can answer, I feel a warm gush between my legs, soaking through my maternity pants and dripping onto the forest floor.
My water breaking right in front of him, and my face reddens.
“Shit,” I whisper, looking down at the growing puddle beneath me.
Kane follows my gaze, his face draining of color.
“Your water broke,” he says, his voice unnaturally calm, but I know that he’s panicking inside. “How long have you been having contractions?”
There’s no point lying now.
“A couple of hours,” I admit. “But first babies take forever to come. We have plenty of time to get back to the hospital. It’s only a few miles.”
A string of curses flies from Kane’s mouth, loud enough that Finn pauses in his climbing to look down at us.
“What’s going on?” he calls.
“Mia’s in labor,” Kane shouts back, his voice edged with barely contained panic. “Her water just broke.”
“Oh my god,” exclaims Jace.
“We need to get her back to the car,” he says immediately as he backs down the cliff face in seconds, moving with inhuman speed and grace.
