Moonlight

now that we knew they existed, we’d keep watch.

If they showed up in Reno again, we’d be ready for them.

I was glad for the respite. Alpha senses I never had before kept flooding me when I least expected the interruption. I wish I knew how Malcolm made it all look so simple and seamless. When I suddenly knew one of my Pack needed me, I felt like I’d just seen the Bat-Signal. I wanted to jump in my Batsuit, fire up the Batmobile, and race off to the rescue, but I was still learning my new role. The Alpha wasn’t supposed to fight every battle. I needed to make my interference in Pack affairs as minimal as possible. But sometimes that was easier said than done.

My brother, for example, was never easy. I knew he was hiding something, but regardless of how often we talked, he never offered me a clue that anything was wrong. But I could feel it. I knew. Yet there was nothing I could do until he decided to share.

My best guess was that it was something to do with his concern over his ankle healing to full strength or something like that. It’d make sense for him to have those kinds of fears. While he was finally off the crutches, he still favored his good leg, and Jason still wasn’t sure if he’d ever get back his full mobility again. The Pack needed him for patrols anyway, but I couldn’t let him go out alone anymore. His bruised ego came across in a short temper and overall bad attitude, but I didn’t know what else I could do. Being the Alpha, he had to obey my order, but he didn’t have to like it.

I understood my father more and more every day.

And then there was Lana.

I stopped Bruce as we came around to the chair underneath the tree. Lana’s fingers slowed and finally rested on the laptop keyboard as she looked up at me. “I thought you were training the horses.”

I put my hand on the saddle horn and grinned down at my wife. She’d married me just over a month ago, making me the luckiest bastard in the world. “I am, but my wife keeps distracting me.”

She laughed and closed her laptop, exposing her enormous round belly. My heart swelled in my chest. Our babies were due any day, and I was eager and terrified all at once. Jason seemed confident he could deliver the babies without a problem, but Jason always seemed confident. I was pretty sure doctors had to pass a class in confidence.

“Your wife is the size of a house at the moment.” She rubbed her belly with both hands. “Ripe and ready to burst.”

I jumped off of Bruce and lifted the reins over his head. Leading him over to Lana, I took her hand and helped her up from the chair. As soon as she was vertical her face went white. Her grip on my hand squeezed until I felt my knuckles popping.

“Luke,” I screamed. “I need you. Now!”

He poked his head around the corner. “Yeah?”

“Come get Bruce. Lana’s in labor.” Luke snatched the reins from me quickly. “Call Jason.”

Luke nodded, and took the horse back to the barn while I scooped Lana up into my arms. She winced, her brow already beading with sweat.

“Jason’s on his way. It’ll be okay.”

She nodded, blowing out her breath the way we’d been practicing. It hurt me to see the pain etched in the lines of her face. Guilt weighed on me, and I wished I could take the burden from her. But all I could do was lay her out on the bed and hold her hand. For the next half hour I kept watching the clock, timing her contractions. Jason had said it could take hours, but the contractions were already under five minutes apart. These babies were ready. I did my best not to panic.

She met my eyes. “I’ll be all right.”

“I know you will. Those babies are lucky they have such an amazing mom.” The corner of my mouth curved up, and I wiped her brow with a cool washcloth. “I’m supposed to be reassuring you, remember?”

She shrugged. “I don’t like to see you worried.” Her hand reached out to caress my face. “I like to see you smile.”

I kissed her palm. “You have that effect on me.”

Another contraction hit, and her hand slapped the mattress. “Oh God, it’s getting worse.” She tried to breathe, but a sob escaped her throat instead.

Where the hell was Jason?

During the next half hour her contractions came more rapidly, and I called Jason’s cell again. Right to voicemail. Shit.

I knelt at her side again, holding her hand and wiping her brow. “You’re doing great,” I encouraged her. As the contraction faded, she took a deep breath and opened her eyes again.

“They’re coming. I can feel it.”

I could hear the panic in her voice. “Jason’s on his way.” Or he damned well better be.

She shook her head. “He won’t make it, Adam.” Her eyes locked with mine. “I need you to help me.”

My pulse skyrocketed, pounding in my ears as I shook my head. “He’ll be here…”

Her next contraction interrupted me with the force of a hurricane. Lana leaned forward from the pillows and pulled her knees up. The bed linens were turning crimson. I pushed the sheet up from her feet, just as the top of a tiny head crowned. All my panic vanished, and my adrenaline kicked into high gear.

“I can see the head, Lana. You’re almost there. Push.”

She closed her eyes, moaning as she strained. Her hands gripped the sheets, tugging until the contraction ended. A tiny wail interrupted Lana’s exhausted panting. Her eyes widened as I scooped up the baby in my hands. Tears ran down her face when I showed her our little howling son.

“He’s beautiful,” I whispered.

She nodded, reaching up to touch his cheek. “Let’s name him Malcolm.”

Tears obstructed my vision, but I nodded. “I’d like that.”

Suddenly her hand fell away. Oh God, I’d forgotten there was another baby coming! Panic was back in full force. While one tiny life cried in my hand, another was fighting to be born. I couldn’t put him down, but I couldn’t leave the other one. Lana needed me.

“Got your hands full?”

Never in my entire life had I been so happy to see Jason. He took over, helping Lana to deliver Malcolm’s twin while I stayed beside her, doing my best to encourage her. When we heard the second cry I rested my forehead to Lana’s, and we both laughed and cried. Two healthy babies. She did it.

But Jason was quiet.

I turned toward him, my brow furrowed. “Is everything all right?”

He nodded and looked up at us holding a tiny, wriggling, wailing baby, but Jason no longer resembled the calm and cool doctor. His jaw was slack and his gaze unsure. “It’s…a girl.”

Lana smiled, holding out her arms to embrace her new daughter, but Jason and I just stared at one another for a second.

“How can that be?” I asked.

“I’m not sure, but there’s more.” Jason tipped his head toward our new daughter. “She’s not a werewolf.”

I raised a brow. “But little Malcolm is… I caught his scent right away.” I leaned closer to Lana and our baby girl. I inhaled and realized what had confounded Jason. “She’s a jaguar.”

Jason nodded and started to smile. “No wonder they were moving around so much in there, Lana. They were already fighting.”

She looked up at me with an exhausted smile. “Dogs and cats chase each other, isn’t that what you told me the night we met?”

“Yes, but what did I know, huh?” I settled Malcolm into the crook of her other arm and nodded as I kissed her. “They’re beautiful.”

“What should we name her?” She smiled at our new daughter.

“How about Madeleine?”

“Madeleine.” She kissed her forehead and looked up at me. “I like it.”