Sam laughed. Harris snorted. Valen’s knot began to recede, though, and Sam crawled off Valen so he could look at Harris, too. Both his alphas grinned. Harris and Valen leaned forward, flopping onto the bed on either side of Sam, their hips still joined.
Harris pressed a kiss to Sam’s belly. “We’re all looking forward to you, Landon,” he murmured. “Nursery’s ready—I hope you like ponies.”
Sam chuckled. They’d painted the entire room with ponies, and bought a rocking horse for when Landon got older. He was kicking more frequently now, but he had run out of space to do somersaults in Sam’s belly.
“We’ll have Sam’s mom over, and you’ll be spoiled rotten,” Valen said, grinning. “And then I’ll steal your Dad away for a bit.”
Harris grinned, shaking his head. “Last chance to have Sam all to yourself, V.”
“Our Sam,” Valen said, nuzzling Sam’s belly.
“Our Sam,” Harris murmured, kissing Sam’s knuckles. Sam blushed.
Valen pressed his face against the side of Sam’s belly, his breath warm on Sam’s skin. “When do you think Landon will be here?” he asked. “Tomorrow? Next week?”
Sam shrugged. Then his belly squeezed, hard and painful, and he gasped. Waited through the pain. Both alphas looked up at him, alarmed.
“That was... I think that was a contraction,” Sam panted. Valen paled, and Harris tensed. “Landon might be born today.”
38
Valen
Valen wasn’t prepared for this. Judging by the look on Harris’ face, neither was he.
In the weeks leading up to this month, Valen had watched videos on caring for an infant, then toddlers. He’d learned that newborns learned to roll onto their fronts at roughly six months. He knew Landon had been listening to their voices from inside Sam’s belly.
But holding his son, changing his diapers, teaching him how to be a good person? Valen could still screw up there.
Harris’ grip tightened on Valen’s arm. When his knot receded and he slipped free, Harris rolled off the bed. “Gotta use the bathroom,” he muttered, his face paling. “Be back in a bit.”
Sam and Valen watched as Harris shut the door behind himself, and the shower came on.
“I think he might be scared,” Sam murmured, watching the bathroom door.
Valen cradled Sam against himself, kissing Sam’s belly. “Yeah. That’s part of why we pulled that gift box thing today. Big H was worried. He wanted... Well, in case anything happened, he wanted memories.”
Sam stared at Valen, horror flashing through his eyes. Valen shrugged, uncomfortable. He wasn’t going to hide the truth just because it was nasty. Valen had asked if Harris really wanted to do the gift box, and Harris had been adamant about it.
“I think this might go okay,” Sam said, biting his lip. He looked down at his swollen belly, running his palm over it. “I thought I’d miscarry a long time ago, but Landon’s still with us.”
“I think so, too,” Valen said. But he remembered Harris talking about his previous omega, remembered Harris hating unexpected complications. It wasn’t something they could prevent, was it?
Then Sam cried out again, clutching his belly, and Valen’s heart pounded. Sam’s face crumpled with pain. What if Harris was right? Valen rubbed Sam’s back, holding him, caressing his hair.
“You’ll be fine,” Valen whispered. He could set aside his own fears right now. Better they had a healthy baby and omega, than none at all.
Sam panted through the contraction. When his breathing slowed down, he slumped into Valen, sweat on his forehead.
“C’mon, let’s get you showered and clean,” Valen said. “We’ve got the overnight bag packed. That SUV should be here any day, too.”
Sam chuckled. “You had to buy a seven-seater, huh?”
Valen grinned sheepishly. Some weeks back, he, Harris and Sam had sat down, going through all their finances. It was enough to set Valen’s worries at ease, and they’d agreed on buying another car. “Yeah. I’m sure we’ll have more babies after Landon. We’ve got all the rooms here, too. Enough space for, say, three nurseries.”
Sam’s eyes lit up. The bathroom door opened, and Harris stepped out, a bath towel wrapped around his waist, water dripping off his hair.
“Sorry.” Harris winced. “I couldn’t deal for a bit.”
“It’s okay.” Sam smiled, squirming off the bed with Valen’s help. “We’re still here, Harris.”
Harris strode over, sliding his arm around Sam’s back. Together, they made their way to the bathtub, Harris and Valen on either side of Sam.
Sam shivered, suddenly. Paused in the middle of the bathroom. Valen and Harris stopped, too, peering worriedly at him.
“I think my water broke,” Sam said, looking down at his belly. “If... if you touch, it’s a little wet.”
Valen exchanged a look with Harris, saw fear flickering through Harris’ eyes. So Valen reached down between Sam’s cheeks. “You sure it isn’t our come?”
Sam chuckled. “Maybe some of both.”
Valen reached shallowly into Sam, then pulled his fingers out. Found a smear of white, and some colorless fluid. “Or your slick. Gods, maybe that was the wrong time to be fucking. I don’t know what this is.”
Harris rolled his eyes, and Sam cracked a smile.
“Let’s get Sam ready for the hospital,” Harris said, turning them toward the tub. “We’ll do a quick shower, then head out.”
They shed the lace panties, and Valen helped Sam into the tub, Harris on Sam’s other side. For a brief moment, Valen admired the rings on their hands. Then he looked at the bump of Sam’s belly, with its stretch marks and taut skin. His heart squeezed. Sam had been through a lot with this pregnancy, and he was so very brave.
“We’re a family, aren’t we?” Valen said when they were all in the tub, Sam kneeling, Harris supporting him from behind.
“I guess we are.” Sam smiled, squeezing both their hands.
They showered quickly, focusing on getting Sam clean. Valen rinsed the sweat off himself, and tossed clean towels toward Harris. Harris wrapped Sam in a fluffy towel, holding him through another panting contraction.
Valen watched them both—the flicker of trepidation in Harris’ eyes, the pain in Sam’s wince. Wished
