I look over at my mate and mouth ‘I love you’ to him. He smiles, taking my hand and kissing it.
“Hey, Casper?”
I turn back to the screen. “Yeah?”
“Is that cum on your cheek?”
I don’t think I’ve ever hung up a call so quickly in my life.
Chapter Twelve
Zeke
There’s a knock at the door. I quickly shift my glamor back into place, my brows wrinkled with confusion. I don’t think either of us are expecting a visitor right now and if it was Page or Ray, they’d just use their key to crack open the door and yell at us about having clothes in place.
Stepping over to the door, I look through the peephole, still super confused. There’s a woman standing on my doorstep, looking impatient. She’s short with stark white hair that has a streak of bright green in the front.
Opening the door, I give this woman a polite smile. “Hello? Can I help you?”
“You cannot,” she says with a grin. “But I can certainly help you.”
“Uhh?”
“Sorry, I’m getting ahead of myself,” she says, holding out her hand for me to shake. “My name is Star. I’m here to help your mate with bringing your child into the world.”
Oh, right! Casper told me about how someone named Star would be coming to help when it was time. Apparently she’s helped his other cousins with their births along with all of the hunting crew. It’s so cool that she can make her way across the country to help birth all these babies. She must have the most amazing rewards card when it comes to flying so much!
“It’s really lovely to meet you!” I shake her hand firmly before opening the door further, letting her inside. “Though, you might be a bit early. Nothing’s been happening yet.”
Star gives me a knowing smile, her eyes shining with something I can’t quite name. “You sure about that?”
“Zeke!” Casper calls from the bathroom followed by a pained groan. “Zeke! Get in here! Ouch!”
I look at Star with wide eyes before darting towards the bathroom. I can hear her following behind me, chuckling to herself. How the fuck did she know?
“I’m here, baby. Are you okay?”
“I either pissed myself or my water just broke.”
“Handy that you were already in the shower.”
I pull the curtain back slightly so I can check on Casper. He’s leaning against the side of the shower wall, breathing heavily, his hands clutching his round belly. The hot water is running over him. He’s beautiful but I can’t fully appreciate it because he’s in pain.
Casper’s dark eyes snap over to me. “It’s time. I can’t believe it’s happening. Holy shit.”
“It’s okay,” I tell him as gently as I can. “It usually takes awhile for these things to progress. Deep breaths.”
“Oh yeah? You think it’s gonna take awhile?” Casper asks, his voice taking on a high-pitched whine. “It better not take a while because it already hurts really badly.”
Star touches my shoulder, her other hand holding a towel. Gods, she’s stealthy. How did she already get all those supplies? “You should probably get in there with him?”
My eyes widen. “What?”
“You wanna catch your baby, don’t you?”
“Catch? What? Already?”
She gives me a look. “Deep breath.” I suck in a sharp breath, trying to get my heart to stop racing. “We need you to be the calm one here. Can you do that?” I nod my head. “Good boy. Now get in there and help your mate birth your babe.”
I strip out of my shirt, pants, and socks, keeping my boxers on before tucking myself into the shower. Casper turns around, leaning his face against me, letting the water fall against his back. I run my hands up and down his spine, digging my fingers into his lower back, doing my best to help the pain.
“You’re okay,” I breathe out, my voice shaking despite my best efforts, “you’re doing so well. You’ve got this, Casper.”
“You’re freaking the fuck out right now, aren’t you?” Casper pulls away so he can look up at me with amusement. He’s amused. That’s got to be a good sign, right?
“A little bit. Yeah. Sorry.”
“It’s okay. It’s kind of adorable. The big bad banshee is freaking out about having a baby.”
I roll my eyes at my mate, keeping my fingers busy by massaging Casper’s back. “It’s not the baby part that freaks me out. It’s the seeing-you-in-pain part. You seem okay right now, so I’m okay.”
“Oh, I’m absolutely not okay,” he says with a laugh. “Contractions keep ripping through me and they hurt so badly, but now that you’re in here with me I feel okay. I can tough it out.”
“You’re so strong. I’m so proud of you.”
“Fuck,” Casper says in response, his face contorting with pain. He breathes out through his nose. “Okay. Fuck. It’s happening. It’s happening right now, Zeke.”
“Like now now? Right this second?”
