Chapter 59

When Rowan came to join me in our room about two hours later, he looked annoyed.
“What is it?” I asked him right away. I knew I wouldn’t have peace until I knew what was going on.
“I don’t want you to panic,” he said tentatively. “There’s a deranged Alpha in the cell who claims to be your first mate and wants to kill you.”
I gasped. “Dominic?”
“Yes, that’s his name. Just so you know, I am going to kill him.”
“No!”
“Excuse me?”
I nearly cowered before him when I saw how he glowered at me. But then I remembered that this was my true mate, the love of my life and the only Alpha who has ever treated me with pure love and respect.
“Please, don’t misunderstand me, my love,” I said tenderly. “I don’t want to be held responsible for his death. Do you remember Hycinth?”
“Yeah, the Gypsy Alpha you lived with for a while,” he replied with distaste.
“His mother blamed me for his death. That was why I was kicked out of that pack.”
“But this is different. Nobody here is going to blame you for the death of someone who intends to kill you. It’s called self-defence.”
“Not if it’s done by you.”
“He threatened to kill you and that’s an automatic threat to my life. Don’t you get it, Jade? You and I are one. Anything that affects you, affects me.”
Gosh, how I loved this guy!
“I know,” I said. “But I don’t want us to start our lives together with such darkness.”
“As long as that bastard is alive, he’ll continue to be a threat to our lives.”
“Don’t worry. Dominic has made many enemies across territories already. One of them is bound to take him down soon. Everyone knows that he’s the only surviving triplet.”
“That’s not so reassuring but I’ll let him and his gang go.”
“Thank you.”
“I hope I’m not making a mistake. I’ll let him know that he owes you his life.”
“I’m sure he’ll appreciate that,” I giggled.
“He should because if it were up to me, he’d be dead,” said Rowan as he left the room again. “I want you tucked under those covers with nothing on when I get back.”
“As you wish, my love,” I said with a seductive smile.
He winked at me and left. Alone again, I thought about what had just happened. What was Dominic thinking? Why the hell would he come here? Was he that determined to kill me?
I wondered if I had made a terrible mistake by telling Rowan to let him go. What if he came back? Would the Highland Pack be on hand to protect me before he got to me?
Perhaps I was overthinking this. Rowan had promised to keep me safe and I believed him. As long as he was near, nothing and nobody could harm me. Not even his sly mother.
*******************
The next couple of months passed peacefully. Dominic never showed his face near the Highlands again. My pregnancy was now obvious for everyone to see. My bump was growing bigger every day and I was glowing.
Ria was still playing coy with me; acting nice whenever Rowan was around and then switching to a mean bitch when he wasn’t. I learned to ignore her and that usually pissed her off the more.
Cherise became my bestie and she was always with me when Rowan wasn’t. His siblings were always genuinely sweet to me. Life was good.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if it turns out that you’re carrying twins,” said Rowan.
I smiled at him and rubbed my belly absently. We were sitting on the balcony where we’d met for the first time last year. It was one of our favourite spots to relax in the evenings.
“Don’t you have enough twins in your family already?” I asked him.
“These would be our twins.”
“We’ll see about that.”
The cool evening breeze blew through my hair. It had grown longer in these past months and was nearly reaching the middle of my back. Cherise made sure to keep the colour popping every three months with some hair dye.
I closed my eyes, inhaling the flower-scented air blowing towards me. In my mind, I could see my parents clearly. I remember my last day with them but not the bad part.
After weeks of investigating my origins, Tarik found that my parents were farmers in the Highland Pack. My father was a Delta and my mother was a Gamma.
My uncle was a Beta but he believed he could be more. His ambition led him to kill his friend and take over the Alpha spot in the Woods Pack. Knowing the truth about my past brought me so much peace.
“Ow!” I yelped when I felt a sudden sharp pain in my belly.
“Are you all right?” Rowan asked. He was instantly on his feet and rushing to my side. “What is it?”
“Calm down, I’m ok. I think the baby just kicked me hard, that’s all.”
“Are you sure?”
“Seriously, Rowan. You need to st – ow!”
“Ok, that’s it. I’m calling the doctor.”
“Don’t. It’s not that serious,” I insisted. “Ooh!”
“Oh, shit. I think the baby is coming!”
I stared at him with wide eyes. Could this be it? Was I even ready?
“I’m not sure,” I said uncertainly. I wanted to meet my baby so badly but I was scared shitless.
Memories of my last experience came rushing back and fear crippled me. I couldn’t even get up from my chair.
“It’s ok, Jade,” Rowan said soothingly. “Everything is going to be all right. I’m going to be with you the whole time, I promise.”
I nodded at him and let him lift me to my feet.
“Do you want me to carry you?” He asked.
“No, I can walk. They say walking helps to move the process along.”
We went inside and as we headed in the direction of our suite, we ran into Ria. Her eyebrows lifted curiously when she saw us.
“What’s the matter now?” She asked.
A burst of hot liquid ran down my legs just then, splashing on the carpeted floor. That was all the answer Ria needed.
“The baby is coming!” She yelled at us.
“Yeah, we sort of knew that already,” said Rowan sarcastically.
His sarcasm flew over his head. “So, what are you waiting for? Take her to the birthing room!”
“No,” I shouted. “Please, don’t take me to the attic.”
“The attic?” They said in unison.
“I was locked up in the attic the last time I had a baby in this palace. I don’t want to go back there. Rowan, please don’t let her take me there.”
All I saw in his eyes were love and sympathy for me. “Nobody will take you to the attic,” he assured me. “We can go to the pack hospital if you want.”
“No, we won’t!” Said Ria angrily. “You are the Alpha of the pack and your heir will not be born in the hospital like a common pup!”
“That’s not your decision to make,” he snapped at her. “And it would help a lot if you stopped yelling at us.”
“Rowan, you and all of your father’s children were born in the birthing room. Are you going to let Jade convince you to break tradition and bring your first child into the world in a hospital? Think about it.”
I saw his hesitation and it pinched my heart. I knew he loved me enough to do whatever I wanted but was it fair to him?
“Let’s go to the birthing room,” I whispered shakily through my pain. The contractions were getting stronger and I could barely stand upright.
“Are you sure?” He asked me softly.
I nodded. I couldn’t speak anymore. My whole body was shaking.
“Let’s go then,” said Ria impatiently. “Or do you want her to have the baby right here?”
He carried me and raced through the corridors. We climbed a flight of stairs and turned up in another section of the palace that I wasn’t familiar with.
Ria called out orders for someone to fetch the midwife. Within minutes, the palace was in a frenzy. The Alpha’s heir was about to be born!
I was more afraid than excited. The pain was driving me insane and I wanted this to be over quickly. The midwife arrived in the spacious birthing room where I was and she checked me to see how close the baby was.
“Any minute now,” she said to me with a warm smile. “Your labour is progressing well.”
I felt reassured but I was still nervous. Rowan kept telling me how much he loved me and how proud he was of me. His presence put my mind at ease.
When it was time for me to push, I just knew. I didn’t wait for the midwife’s go-ahead, I just bore down with all of my strength and pushed my baby out.
She landed in the waiting arms of her father, screaming at the top of her lungs.
“It’s a girl,” he said to me happily. His eyes were shining with unshed tears.
“I know,” I replied with a smile. “I know.”