Jaden shook her head. “No hospital. I have a midwife.” She turned her head toward the stairs and called for her mate. “Leif, I need you.”
Leif raced down the steps at a speed no mortal would be capable of. “What’s the matter?” He then seemed to take in the water at Jaden’s feet. “It’s time? The baby’s coming?”
“Yes. Call the midwife and tell her to meet us at the house.”
Miles came to stand at Kareena’s side and looked at Jaden as Leif took out his cell phone to make the call. “Is there anything you need me to do?” Miles asked.
“You can take my hand because here comes another one,” Jaden said on a moan and held out her right hand for Miles to take. He shifted around to his daughter’s other side and took it.
“Slow down your breathing a bit, Jaden. You don’t want to hyperventilate,” Kareena said. “I’m going to check your pulse.”
Kareena took Jaden’s left wrist and tried to shove up the wide leather cuff-like bracelet she wore so she could get to her pulse point, but it didn’t move enough. She unsnapped the dome that held it together and removed it.
A loud wolf-like growl rumbled out of Miles. Kareena’s gaze jerked to his face. His eyes were mutedly glowing as he stared at Jaden’s wrist. There was no mistaking his anger by the scowl that formed on his face.
“You lied,” he said through gritted teeth. “My own daughter lied to me.”
Kareena hadn’t a clue what had set Miles off. One minute he was very solicitous of Jaden, and the next, he was angry with her. She opened her mouth to say something that would diffuse the situation, knowing his anger wouldn’t be good for Jaden right now, but Leif took it to the next level.
With a low growl, he tore Miles away from Jaden and threw him against the closest wall. Miles sprang back on his feet, his eyes glowing and his upper lip curled in a snarl as he snapped his teeth in Leif’s direction.
“Don’t fucking do this now,” Leif said on a growl. “Jaden doesn’t need you slipping to the dark side while she’s in labor. Let’s get her home. After the baby is born, we’ll get this all out in the open. Until then, keep it together. For once, don’t be a selfish bastard. If you’ve forgotten, your new mate is watching this.”
Jaden moaned and held her hand out. “Leif.”
Her mate returned to her side and picked her up in his arms. “I have you. I’ll help you get into some dry pants then we’ll leave.” Leif walked at a fast clip as he carried Jaden away.
Alone with Miles, Kareena turned to him. His eyes still mutedly glowed, and he gazed in the direction the other couple had gone. She cleared her throat to draw his attention.
Once she had it, she said, “I don’t know what this is all about, but I don’t really care right now. Jaden is the one I have to look after until we can get her home and into the hands of her midwife. Whatever set you off, get it under wraps. Now. If you truly love your daughter, you will not put her through this when she’s in such a vulnerable state. So pull it together and get ready to leave. I’ll go get our bags.”
She walked out of the room and didn’t give Miles a second look. He’d either behave, or he’d see how tough of a nurse she could be when warranted.
Chapter 8
Miles stood against the wall in the now empty room as a number of emotions whirled inside him. He felt angry and shocked, as if someone had just ripped a carpet out from under him. But he mostly felt betrayed. How could Jaden have lied to him all this time?
She wasn’t the foretold one. She didn’t bear the mark around her left wrist that he thought she hid under her leather bracelet. The absence of it meant she wasn’t what she said she was.
The old Miles wouldn’t have cared who Jaden was to him, or that she was in labor.
He would have forced her to tell him who the true foretold one was, whom it was she protected with her lie. Miles hated to admit it, but very deep down inside, the old him wasn’t entirely gone.
Kareena came back into the room carrying their bags. Seeing him, she said, “Leif and Jaden are going to be down in a minute. Pull your head out of your ass and get the car unlocked. We have time, but if we delay any longer, there is still a slim chance I’ll be delivering your grandchild at the side of the road. So move it.”
His mate’s words dragged him out of the downward spiral Miles had been stuck in.
Kareena was right. He had to pull it together. Jaden had lied to him, but that didn’t mean he wanted to put her or the baby in any risk. He tamped down his anger and headed outside to his car. Kareena followed behind him.
He’d just put their bags in the trunk when Leif appeared, carrying Jaden in his arms.
She appeared to be having another contraction. Miles took the suitcase Leif carried as well and put it with his and Kareena’s.
No one said a word as they got into the car. Miles started it and drove out of the drive. The trip back to Marin County seemed to take longer than it should have. With each moan of pain Jaden made, it set Miles’s nerves on edge. He hated to see his daughter suffering, but there was nothing he could do for her. Kareena kept telling Jaden how well she was doing and to remember to breathe in through her nose and out through her mouth. Catching sight of Leif in the rearview mirror, Miles saw the other man suffered right along with Jaden when each contraction hit.
They arrived at the Protectors’ mansion to Saskia, Jager, and Roan waiting outside at the front door. Obviously, Leif must have called them before they’d left the cottage. Leif confirmed it when he simply said, “They know.”
Miles brought the car to a stop and shut off the engine. Leif carried Jaden out and into the house. Saskia, Jager, and Roan didn’t follow. Miles knew they were waiting for him. Kareena got out, and he did the same. He walked around to confront his sister.
“Saskia,” he said.
“Bring your mate inside, Miles. The midwife is already here.” She gave him a sharp look.
He nodded at the other two Protectors who stood on either side of her. “Are Jager and Roan here to make sure I cooperate?”
“Take it any way you want, but you are coming inside.”
Miles saw Kareena look at him and then at Saskia and back again. There was no mistaking the tension between him and his sister. And Kareena being his mate, he’d dropped her right in the middle of things.
He gave a nod, walked past Saskia, and into the house. Kareena silently followed. He should be reassuring her, but he couldn’t find the words to do it. His emotions were still in turmoil. For too many years he’d walked the dark side, as Leif had said, compared to the new path he’d chosen after finding Jaden. The pull was still there. The only thing stopping him from going over was Kareena. He never wanted her to see what he’d been like. He wanted her to see him as a good man. She deserved him to be one.
They filed into the living room. With his acute werewolf hearing, Miles could hear everything that happened upstairs. Kareena took a seat on the couch, but he couldn’t sit.
He paced the room, hoping Jaden’s labor would be quick.
Saskia’s, Jager’s, and Roan’s mates joined them. Everyone introduced themselves to Kareena, but they basically ignored him. Miles knew that didn’t mean the Protectors weren’t keeping a close eye on him though. As he paced, he felt Kareena’s gaze on him from time to time. She made no move to come to him, which in a way was good. He didn’t know if he’d end up snapping at her. Since they really hadn’t had time for her to accept everything, he probably would end up doing more damage than good.
Two hours later, Miles heard the wails of a newborn coming from the upper level.
He stopped pacing as the others in the room fell silent. They all turned their gazes to the entrance to the living room. After twenty minutes had gone by, Leif appeared in it, holding a blanket-wrapped baby.