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“Situation comedy — there are people in a situation, and it’s funny. Friends in an apartment, people in an office, teachers in a classroom…”

Harden listened idly as he walked, smiling as Brayden tried to describe something that none of them could probably really completely understand. It didn’t matter. His Luca would know so many amazing things.

Assuming his alpha father survived his birth, of course.

Chapter

Twenty

Brayden supported Harden, holding his lower back with one hand and putting heat into the touch while holding Harden’s hand with his other.

That hand was going to fall off because Harden had been squeezing it for two hours, it seemed at least, and he had the hands of a farmer. He was very strong.

Harden had walked forever before he finally took back to his bed, the contractions strong enough that they kept doubling him over. If this didn’t end soon, Brayden was going to lose his mind. His mate in such terrible pain tore at him. It was agonizing and he knew it had to be fifty times worse for Harden.

Maybe a hundred or a thousand times worse.

Harden’s water had broken about an hour ago, and things were progressing faster now. The pains were coming constantly, with only a heartbeat between them, he thought.

Harden’s mother was beginning to look stressed and worried, and he was about to send Seb to the village for the midwife — snows or no snows — when Harden surged up from the bed, moving onto his knees and pushing down on his belly.

Harden was naked, so it didn’t take anything for Mom to look over and her eyes to go wide. “Well, I think you’re right, Harden. Now I see the head,” she said finally.

He bore down, shoving on his belly. “Luca, you come out of there right now!”

Winds began to blow wildly around the room, a little tiny mini tornado just whirling around.

“Don’t you sass me. You come on.”

“Love, I think that he’s⁠—”

Harden turned his head to stare at him, sort of like a velociraptor from Jurassic Park, so Brayden just continued rubbing his back even though he was in a different position now. “It’s okay, babe. Come on. You can do it. Luca, we need you to come out.”

Da? That was clear as a bell, ringing in his head.

Yes, love. This is your Da. I want to hold you, cuddle you so much. So does your papa.

A soft giggle filled the air, and then a happy little song called to him.

Goddess, that was beautiful, even interspersed with Harden’s groans, which were not beautiful and made him want to die. They sounded so pained. Come along, my dear son. We want you here so badly.

Mom reached down, easing Luca from his father’s body, hands cradling the little boy and cleaning out his mouth so he could scream out his first breath.

He did too, letting everybody know that he’d been tricked into coming out and it wasn’t nice here.

Brayden caught Harden as he slumped, easing him to lying down again. He knew he had to cut the umbilical and then seal the birthline, but he wanted to check with Mom first to make sure everything was ready to do that.

“Go ahead, honey, then we can clean him up and get him comfy.”

Brayden nodded, smiling down into Harden’s tired gaze. “I love you, baby. Hold still, okay? Just give me a minute to do this.”

“Holding still I can do. I think right now I’ll be good at that.” Harden was sobbing. “Is he beautiful?”

“Perfect. He’s everything.”

“Promise?”

“Have I ever lied to you, baby? Just give us a few minutes and we’ll show him to you, right Mom?”