The Vampire's Bat (8 page)

“Unfortunately, no.
I’m still a bit queasy in the mornings and like to
stay close to a bathroom.”

“Oh, you’re the one pregnant with triplets?”

Katie looked like she glowed when she spread a smile
across her face and rubbed her belly. “That would be me.
Due
sometime in January.”

Maysa
lost her smile as she became unsettled. Katie lost her smile, too. “What’s
wrong,
Maysa
?”

Seamus walked out with his socks and shoes in his
hands. He placed them on the floor near her and drew her into his arms. “What
has you so unsettled, sweetheart?”

Maysa
felt horribly rude and embarrassed to have to admit her issue. She kept her
voice low, just above a whisper. “I can’t smell her pregnant scent.” A more
painful kind of tickle spread through her stomach.

“
Shh
, it’s
okay
.” Seamus comforted her by rubbing his hands in
circles over her back.

“What’s going on, Sea?” Katie asked.

After looking down at her for what she believed was
permission, she nodded her head and he looked over at Katie. “Since she was
captured, she’s unable to make out certain scents.”

“Oh.
Maysa
, don’t worry,
Seamus is excellent at his job, and even if you never return to the same, it
won’t change how we all feel about you.
For as long as you
want to be, you’re family here.”

“What if Seamus isn’t my mate?”

“That isn’t why we are willing to take you into our
pack and family,
Maysa
,” Katie explained. “It’s
because you have been through something horrible. It is what you need, and
we’re happy to give that to you.”

Maysa
was struck speechless momentarily. “Thank you,” she said in a rough whisper. It
was a battle not to let the tears that pooled in her eyes, fall. She was
powerfully touched by Katie’s proclamation.

Another pair of feet ascended up from the garage. Gale
appeared at the door holding some flip-flops. “Hi,
Maysa
,
I had these and thought they would do until we can buy you your own.”

“Oh, thank you, that would be great.”
Maysa
took the offered pair and placed them in front of
her. Sliding her toes between the stems, she said, “So where are we going? I
can’t afford anything too fancy, like those little shops in malls. Oh!” A
sudden thought struck her. She looked at Seamus, worry stretched across her
face. “What if I can’t get access to my bank account?” Then another thought
came to her. “I guess I could call my aunt first. I haven’t thought about her.
She doesn’t know where I am. I bet she’s worried about us. Her and my
mom are
super close.”

“Calm down, sweetheart.
One thing at
a time.”
Seamus’s voice soothed her. “I’ll let you borrow my cell, and
you can call her before we leave for New York, if that is what you want.”

“Yeah, and don’t worry about the cost,” Gale added.
“The pack is paying for it, and our pack can certainly afford it, so don’t feel
guilty about it. Trust
me,
this little shopping spree
is going to be
our
pleasure.”

“Who is all going?” Seamus asked.

“Me, Havana, and Lois.
We thought we can pick up some more things for the
baby while we’re out. Would that be all right with you
,
Maysa
?” Gale asked.

“I love babies! That would be a lot of fun.”
Excitement tickled her insides. She hadn’t been this happy in a long time, and
she found herself looking forward to the shopping trip. “How far along is she?”

“She’s due pretty soon, but she should have another
couple of weeks left,” Seamus answered.

After saying good-bye to Katie, the three made their
way down the stairs.
Maysa
saw two girls and one very
large man with tattoos on his neck and arms standing by a van. She guessed
these were Lois and Havana because one of them was very much pregnant. Gale
made the introductions. “That tall brunette is
Alphy’s
sister, Havana. That tall guy there is her mate,
Dultyn
.
He’s going to be our protector while we’re out. Apparently, we girls can’t
avoid trouble every time we go to town.”

Havana guffawed. “Twice, it only happened twice, and
the first time we girls kicked butt. But hey, who am I to argue with an extra
pair of hands to carry our bags, huh?”
Havanna
looked
up at her mate and wiggled her eyebrows.
Maysa
joined
in when everyone laughed.

“And the glowing, radiant one is Lois,” Gale finished.

Lois giggled.
“Hi,
Maysa
.”

Maysa
sat quietly, listening as Gale and Havana dominated most of the discussions as
they drove into town. She didn’t mind, as they were both funny. They stopped at
several shops, grabbing bags full of clothes and shoes for her. She would have
told them it was too much, but just as she suspected, she couldn’t turn down
their eagerness and excitement. Fortunately, they chose things she actually
really liked.

In the fourth shop, Lois grabbed her stomach and
nearly fell face first onto the floor as she doubled over. “Oh!” Her face was
distorted in pain.

Seamus was by her side instantly. “Lois, don’t hold
your breath. You need to breathe. Hum on your exhales. That’s it.” He looked up
at
Dultyn
. “We need to get her home now.
Dultyn
, unlock the van. Gale, give that stuff to the
clerks. We don’t have time to purchase it. Havana, call the house and have
Katie, Reese, and
Rushod
ready in the infirmary.”
Seamus lifted Lois effortlessly and began carrying her out of the store.

Maysa
hurried along beside her mate.
Wait—mate?
Is he?
Her thoughts were interrupted by another yelp from Lois. Everyone
rushed to get in the van, and they took off, back towards home.
Home?
Is it? Yes, it feels like home to me. How
is that?
Brushing her thoughts aside, she helped Lois try to focus on her
breathing. Lois was having
a difficult
time breathing,
between the pain and her worry.

“But it’s too early,” she cried. “Two weeks is like
four for
humans
.
”

Seamus was beside her, also trying to keep her calm.
“Calm down, Lois. If your baby comes today, you’re far enough along that
there’s a good chance that your baby will be born healthy. You just need to
relax as much as you can and breathe.”

“
Hee
,
hoo
,
hee
,
hoo
…” She breathed as
instructed.

They sped home slowing down only at the corners and
only slightly as they drove over the newly graveled road to the house.

No doubt feeling helpless, Gale and Havana tried to
make the situation lighter.

“I am so glad they filled in this road in prep for the
pack run,” Gale said.

“I actually miss the challenge of not vaulting through
the roof or bottoming out on all those dips. Where’s the fun in this?” Havana
teased.

“True.” Gale smirked. “My favorite part was Katie’s
threats. I think Enzo was traumatized. He always tries to cover his crotch in
some way or other whenever she’s around.”

A man who looked frantic was waiting for them just
outside the garage. He flung the van door open before they could get to a
complete stop, and reached in, grabbing Lois.

Seamus grabbed
Maysa’s
hand
and dragged her up the stairs. He quickly planted a peck on her cheek and left
her standing by the kitchen
island
as he
disappeared into the hospital room. Gale, Havana, and
Dultyn
joined her. “Well damn
.
” Havana
plopped down on one of the stools at the breakfast bar
.
“N
ow
Alphy’s
never going to let us girls go shopping ever again
.
”

Gale gave her a pointed look. “That won’t happen if he
ever wants to get laid again.”

“Like you could deny him.”
Havana snickered.

“Just threaten him with calling him ‘
poopsy
’ openly and often,”
Kace
drawled as he stepped through the door, followed by a growling
Alphy
, who shot a sharp look his way before grabbing his
mate.

“Yes, that would just about do it,”
Alphy’s
voice grumbled. “How are you doing, Honey-bear?”

“I’m fine
.
It’s Lois I’m worried
about. I thought you said shifters can scent when a woman’s body starts the
hormonal change for labor.”

“We can. I don’t know what happened, but Sea’s the
best,” he responded.

Several other people gathered and waited with them.
Lois’s screams dominated all the other commotion they heard coming from the
hospital room.
Maysa
started getting sicker to the
stomach, the more time that passed. After about an hour and a half, she had
gotten to the point she was shaking uncontrollably. Unable to hold it down any
longer, she ran to the sink and threw up.

“Oh
Maysa
.
Are you all right?” Gale ran to her and tried rubbing
her back. “Havana, will you get a glass for her out of that cupboard?”

After rinsing the foul contents down the drain,
Maysa
used the glass Gale handed her and rinsed out her
mouth before taking a drink. Her eyes and nose were running, and her hand shook
so hard it made it difficult to hold the glass.

Alphy
gave
Maysa
a sympathetic look. “Are the screams
bothering you?” he asked.
Maysa’s
throat was sore, so
she just nodded her answer.

 
“Oh!” Gale
inhaled. “I feel so embarrassed
.
I should have realized…”
Gale seemed to have become speechless for a moment, then recovered. “Would you
feel better if we waited in the house? We can unload all those bags of clothes
and pack them in your new luggage. That would be fun, you think?” Gale smiled
at her encouragingly.

Before
Maysa
could answer, a
baby’s cry came from the other room. Everyone turned to look at the closed
door. It opened, and a very pale young teen appeared. He crinkled his nose as
he approached. “
Eww
, who puked?”

“Reese!”
Alphy
actually
growled at him.

Reese looked around before spotting her. His eyes took
on recognition and rounded. “Oh, I’m sorry. That was really stupid of me. Hey,
don’t feel bad. Sea sent me out here to get some color back into my face. That
was, uh, interesting to watch, uh, yeah. It was a lot … uh…” His cheeks began
to pink.

“Hey look, you got your color back.” Havana shot him a
smug look.

Maysa
smiled. “Thank you, Reese, is it?”

Reese seemed to snap out of his shock and
embarrassment and perked up. “I can tell you it’s a boy. Cute little thing, if
it wasn’t for all the slime all over him. Blood I can handle, slime … that’s
going to take a little more time to get used to.”

Everyone laughed at Reese.
Alphy
asked him, “How is she?”

Reese shrugged, and his face took on a serious look.
“Sea has a look about him, like he’s worried about something but trying not to
let anyone else know.”

Maysa
could feel the weight of worry in the room. She didn’t need eyes or a nose to
sense it, it was that heavy. After knowing Lois only for a few hours, she
understood why. Lois was a sweet and easygoing woman. She was someone who made
you feel comfortable to be around.

“Well, uh, I guess I should get back in there. I
didn’t know having a baby required more than a doc to catch it. He’s been
keeping all of us, including
Rushod
, busy.”

“Would he like help?”
Maysa
asked. She’d been around births before and knew there were things she was qualified
to do.

“I don’t know
.
Let’s ask.” Reese walked
over to the door and stepped through.
Maysa
followed
behind him and shut the door. Seamus looked
up briefly. She recognized the placenta he was trying to remove.

“
Maysa
wanted to know if she
could help,” Reese said
, pointedly looking away
.
Maysa
thought he was
starting to lose his color again.

“
Maysa
, sweetheart, that
would be great if you can take the baby’s vitals and clean him up a bit. Reese,
you can help her. Katie, grab me that other pack.”

Currently, the man she assumed was the father of the
baby,
was holding him.
Maysa
made
her way over to him. “May I?” she asked. She could see the pride and joy in his
eyes for his child.
Maysa
indicated he put the baby
down in the
radiant warmer
, noticing the heat
was on. “I’ll clean him up and bring him back to you. Do you have a name for
him yet?”