Page 35 of Convincing the Heartbroken Beta

A sharp jab pierced his middle and he cried out. The baby. The agony came to life again and he didn’t think he could suffer through it one more minute.

“Take the baby… Just let me go.”

It seemed as if he’d used all his energy just to utter a few words. A pungent smell filled his nostrils and he tried to jerk his head away.

“Come on, love. You need to drink this tea. The healer said it’ll dull the pain, make it easier for you. Don’t worry, she said it won’t cross over into the milk.”

Sascha frowned and tried to open his eyes again. He couldn’t imagine why Brandon was talking about milk, and he didn’t care about anything but the baby. He tried to push the cup away.

“The baby…”

“Come on, Sash. Please?”

The urgency in Cam’s voice cut through and he attempted to take a few sips. The tea was close to being too hot, but not quite. However, he had to wonder if they’d taken a handful of pine needles from outside, added a cup of dirt then brewed it into a drink.

“He needs to drink more before I make the cut. Not only for the pain, but to control the bleeding.”

The healer. Relief filled him and he tried to drink more. She needed to get the baby out of him, and he needed to do his part. After several more large sips, he became so groggy he could barely make his lips move, let alone swallow anything.

“Good job, love. You can rest now.”

Someone—Brandon—brushed his hair back and he allowed himself to float away. His body was tugged, jostled. He couldn’t tell what was happening, had no sense of time—of reality.

A loud, angry cry rent the air and Sascha tried once again to open his eyes. He didn’t think he’d screamed, but he was so out of touch he couldn’t be certain.

“Sash, it’s a boy! I mean, he’s a boy. Dimitri is finally here, and damn, he’s a big one.”

“He’s beautiful love, just like you.”

Sascha tried to make his eyes focus, to verify for himself that what his mates had said was true and that Dimitri was okay. He turned his head on the pillow and the source of the wailing came in view. As weak as Sascha was, his lips pulled into a smile at the sight of his chubby-cheeked boy.

He tried to lift his hand to touch his child, but it fell limp back on the blanket.

“Here.” Brandon cradled the baby but laid him in the crook of Sascha’s arm. “I’ll keep hold of him while you two bond.”

Sascha lifted his eyes and saw that Brandon was sitting in a chair pushed up to the bedside and Cam was peering over his shoulder. His gaze was fastened on Dimitri, and honestly, Sascha couldn’t blame him.

Sascha petted Dimitri’s head with two fingers. He wished he could cuddle him to his chest, but not only was he too weak, but Asha was still messing with him. His guess was that she’d had to do an emergency C-section. Regardless, all that mattered was Dimitri was healthy and strong. At least, his lungs seemed okay.

“I-I think he’s hungry. Can you help me?”

“Come on, boys,” Asha barked. “Help your mate out before your new pup brings the house down around our ears.” She chuckled. “He might’ve been underweight when I first checked him out, but he’s more than made up for it since. No wonder he about burst out of poor Sascha here.”

Sascha wasn’t sure how much of the gory details he wanted to know, but that could wait until later. His baby needed to be fed and that was all that mattered.