Finding Her Brother Wolf

Annie

I stumbled through the woods with my arm wrapped tightly around my stomach, supporting my stomach in the hopes that my labor wouldn’t progress any further until I could get to Jarrod. I paused by a tree, taking a small break before letting Jarrod’s howls guide my path again. I was grateful that it sounded closer, easing my worry about delivering alone. I stopped again, starting to panic a little when I realized that I hadn’t heard a howl in a few minutes. I glanced up at the sky as a tear rolled down my face. I scrubbed a hand down my face as I got more overwhelmed with emotions as the seconds ticked on.

“Goddess, please, I know I have no right to ask You for Your help, but I am begging You, please, help me find Jarrod,” I begged. “My daughter is innocent. Punish me if You want, but please, don’t punish her. She deserves to have a chance to live. She deserves to be loved. If You want to bring me home, that’s fine with me, but please, just give her a chance.”

Another howl echoed through the air, letting me know exactly where he was as his howl almost caressed my skin. I pushed off the tree to make my way to the right, letting out a similar call to Jarrod’s when I heard his paws moving over the ground. I sank to my knees as a particularly strong contraction made my body locked up. As it continued, I was forced forward on my hands, whimpering loudly, praying that my pained noises would guide him to me. He wasn’t Logan, nor was he who I wanted with me when I gave birth, but he was all I had at the moment. I didn’t want to do this alone. If I was honest with myself, I wasn’t just scared or anxious. I was terrified.

“Annie? Annie? Is that you?” Jarrod asked as he tumbled into my sight, tugging on some shorts.

“Jarrod!” I cried. “Help me! Please, help me!”

“Shit, Annie!” He said as he rushed over to me. “I need to check you, honey. I’m going to roll you over now. Don’t panic, okay? I’m going to help you as much as I can.” He put his hands on my shoulders. “Are you ready?”

“Yes,” I whimpered.

He helped me lay on my back before gently bending my legs at the knees. He swallowed nervously before nudging them open. “I have to check you to see if you’re dilated, and if you are, how much.”

“D-do you know what you’re doing?” I asked before groaning as another wave of pain rolled through me.

“Yes. I used to check Toya when she was in labor. Your mother taught me,” he reassured me.

“Okay. If you’re sure you can do this.”

“You’re going to feel a little pressure. Don’t hold your breath,” he told me as he started to ease fingers into my vagina. I closed my eyes as a feeling of disgust washed over me as he touched me so intimately. He almost immediately pulled his fingers out of me, making my eyes snap open to find him staring at me in awe.

“How in the hell were you even moving, Annie?” He asked.

“What? Why are you asking me that?” I threw back at him.

“Because I can feel your baby’s head.” He scrubbed his hand down his face. “We have two choices. One, we can deliver your baby here right now, or option two: we can start to head toward Osprey and the rest of the hunting party. If we take option two, I do not know how long it will take so we will probably have to stop soon so you can deliver.”

“Okay,” I whispered. “Let’s do option two. It’s the safer option.”

“Alright. I’ll link Osprey that we’re coming.” He leaned down to pick me up. “If we need to stop, just tell me, okay?”

“Okay, Jarrod,” I said as I wrapped an arm around his neck.

I leaned against his chest as he began to carefully head back the way he came while I breathed slow and deep, trying to hold off my daughter’s arrival for as long as I could. When I started panting hard and sweat started to roll down my face, he cursed quietly before slowing to a stop beside a tree. He set me down, leaning me back against the tree before kneeling in front of me to tuck my hair behind my ear.

“Stay put, Annie. I’ll be right back,” he instructed.

“O-okay. Please hurry,” I whimpered. “I don’t think I can wait too much longer. I need to push. I’ve needed to push.”

He nodded. “I know, Annie. I’ll be right back,” he promised.

He backed away from me to run into the trees, leaving me alone. I cursed as another contraction hit, making me lose my fight against the urge to push. I screamed loud as I pushed, reaching between my legs to catch her if she came out before he got back. I was still straining when he sprinted back up to me, clutching a few pieces of clothing in his hands.

W-what’s that for?” I stammered.

“It’s so we can wrap your baby up, Annie. We have to make sure that she is warm once she’s born. How are you doing?” He asked.

“She’s coming,” I gasped out. “Help!”

He quickly knelt in front of me again, repositioning me so that I was flatter. I closed my eyes as he inserted two fingers into my vagina again.

“Okay, Annie, this is what we’re going to do, you’re going to put this shirt into your mouth to bite down on while you push. And when you push, you need to do so hard and fast. The quicker we get this little girl out, the quicker we can keep moving. I know that I don’t have to tell you that the faster we get moving again, the faster we can get back to Osprey and Elena. And the safer we will be.”

I nodded. “Let’s get it done.”

He handed me the shirt and I instantly put it into my mouth to bite down on while he positioned his hands to catch my daughter.

“Okay, good girl, Annie. Now push.”

I bore down, digging my fingers into the ground under me as I put all my strength into pushing. After a few seconds, he patted my knee.

“Okay, now breathe for a few seconds,” he demanded.

Marsha forced me to stop pushing so I could take a few deep breaths before pushing again until he patted my knee again.

“Breathe, Annie. I know you want to push, but you still have to breathe. In and out. Good girl. Now push,” he told me.

I followed his directions, focused on her movements and her slowly shifting position inside of me. After a few more pushes, he smiled at me while his eyes softened.

“That’s it, Annie! I can see her head. One more good push and her head is out. After that, it’s going to be easy. Come on, honey. You’re doing great. And push.”

I pushed against the ground, lifting my hips a little at the strength I was using to push, not taking a break until after I felt her head slip out. He supported her head as I breathed heavily for a moment before pushing again. I screamed out loud, not able to handle my pain silently anymore when her shoulders exited my vagina. He patted my leg.

“Okay, now I can help. Just keep pushing,” he encouraged. “You’re almost done. You got this.”

I pushed again and he guided her out, making me let out a relieved sigh when he rocked back on his heels with my daughter in his arms. He used one of the shirts to clean as much blood off of her as he could before wrapping her up in another one as he cooed to her while I continued to push. I needed to get the afterbirth expelled as fast as possible so we could continue on our way to Osprey. It was our only chance for survival. I hadn’t heard him roaming around the forest yet, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t. I took a deep breath before pushing again, determined to get out with this final push. He nodded at me encouragingly.

“Come on, Annie. You got this. Come on. You’re almost done,” Jarrod urged, not that he had to. I already knew how important it was that I finished.

When I felt the organ-like sac finally slide out of me, I collapsed on the ground, panting hard while Jarrod watched me closely as he rocked my daughter.

“How do you feel, Annie?” He asked.

“Better. Not in as much pain, but now I can focus more on my fear,” I admitted. “And it’s killing me. Can we go, please?”

He nodded as he carefully stood up, cradling my daughter to his chest. He reached down to carefully pull me, still watching my face closely. “Yes, we should go, before he comes looking for you. We can’t take him by ourselves. Especially not with a newborn.”

I nodded as I took my daughter from him, lifting her up a little so I could put my cheek against her forehead. “I know, we can’t. I’m not even sure that we can take him with Osprey and others. And that’s the scariest part of all of this. Not being able to protect my daughter.”

“I know, Annie. I know. The only thing we can do is try our best.”