Make A Wish (Dandelion #1) (28 page)

I was laughing so hard, tears streamed down my face. “You introduced them, it’s your fault.”

Pretty soon we were all laughing. The guys excused themselves to deal with “pack business,” or so they said, leaving us girls to ourselves.

“Funny. We’re pack, Jules, but did they invite us? No. Of course not.” Eve rolled her eyes.

“Considering I’m practically about to pop anytime now, I think I’ll pass on whatever they’re doing. What I
really
wanna know is what’s going on between Griffin and Say. I mean, we’ve all seen the flirting.” I winked at Saylor, who for the first time in her life was actually blushing.

“Girl, that blush totally isn’t helping your case,” Eve chimed in.

“He’s hot. So sue me. Let me enjoy it while it lasts, since we all know that he needs a werewolf girl.”

“You know he only has eyes for you. That poor guy is whipped, and I truly thought I’d never see the day,” Eve said.

“You’re lying.”

“Uh, I kind of agree with Eve. I’m pretty much oblivious, but even I noticed, Say. Face it.”

“Fine. We have chemistry. Happy?”

“For now.”

***

“Which box do you want me to put these in?” Eve held up some girly lingerie that I’d never used but had bought for a just-in-case moment. I took one look at the stringy ensemble and could barely breathe from laughing so hard.

Beau, who was in the kitchen area packaging up dishes, peeked his head into the room and waggled his eyebrows at us, causing Eve to bust into a fit of giggles and my cheeks to turn a bright red.

We were finally finishing packing up my apartment that we’d been spending the previous couple days on.

I felt the whole thing was crazy and surreal. In close to nine months, I had met my soul mate, gotten pregnant, kidnapped, rescued, found out that I was a werewolf,
and
now was moving in with said soul mate slash baby daddy.

Life works in mysterious ways.

I sat down quickly, breathing in and out as I waited for the small shooting pain to subside.

“Love, what is it?”

“Nothing. Just a small pain in my side, nothing serious.”

“How long?”

“Please don’t tell me you’re about to pull that overprotective crap with me. I know my body, Beau.”

“Juliette, how damn long?” he asked, getting sterner with every syllable. I huffed and glared at him with my iciest expression.

“About a day or so. But like I said, it’s nothing serious.”

“Well, I’d still like to call Harlow.”

“What the hell does Harlow have to do with my pregnancy pains, B? Seriously. What aren’t you telling me?

“Uh...” He ran is hand through his hair. His avoidance of my gaze didn’t go unnoticed. “Harlow is kind of the pack mid-wife.”

“What? Please tell me I’m hearing you incorrectly because I
know
you wouldn’t have failed to tell me that I won’t be delivering in a hospital like I thought?”

“I meant to tell you, but with everything that’s happened…” His voice trailed off. “She can’t be born in a hospital. She’s werewolf. They’d test her blood and would instantly notice the same thing that Miles had
.
.”

“What about you? You mean to tell me that Laura didn’t have you in the hospital? Puh-lease.”

“She didn’t, actually. Believe it or not, my mother was, at the time of my birth, Amish.”

“No!” My eyes widened, definitely not expecting that. Not that it was a bad thing at all, just shocking.

“Yup. All my mother told me was she hid her pregnancy from everyone. After she had me, she was shunned because I was born out of wedlock from a man who wasn’t Amish. They tried to get her to leave me behind when she left and she wouldn’t.”

I honestly couldn’t even think of something to say after that bombshell had been dropped. Like seriously, what can you say to that?

“Fine. You win but just remember—You. Suck,” I whined, not caring in the moment if I came across sounding like a spoiled bratty child—a newly frequent occurrence. “I don’t know Harlow well enough to let her all up in my business
atle
. The hell of a first impression.”

“Juliette, deal with it,” he spoke in finality before picking up his phone and dialing.

The rest of the day continued with little event. Everyone finished packing up every belonging that I owned, while I spent the day resting thanks to an order from Beau, giving everyone permission to ignore me until I sat back down and stayed off my feet. It took no time at all for everything to be moved into Beau’s place.

***

“So Juliette is perfectly fine. She’s in early stages labor, could last anywhere from a few hours to even weeks. When the pain starts to get even stronger and more unbearable, call me. I’m currently on standby and am at your beck and call, Alpha.”

“Thank you, Harlow.”

“So she’ll really be here anytime?” I asked.

“Yes, Ma’am. She sure will.” Harlow nodded her head politely, the excitement shining in her eyes.

I stood and pulled Harlow into a hug. “Thank you.”

“You’re more than welcome.” She smiled when she pulled back. “Your daughter is a true blessing to the pack, and we are all very excited to meet her.”

“You and me both.” I giggled as we said goodbye. My fingers instinctively laced with Beau’s and he pulled me in the direction of my new home—our home. “You have got to be kidding me,” I hissed as we made it only halfway down the street.

“What?”

“My water just broke. This is helluva timing. Couldn’t this have happened back at Harlows?” I grumbled. “I feel like I peed myself. So freaking gross.”

Beau suppressed the urge to laugh, and I was torn between rolling my eyes or smacking him as I walked past him—in a hurry to get back and take a shower.

***

“Close your eyes.”

“Why?”

“Must you really question everything, love?” Beau asked.

“Fine.” My eyes shut, all I could feel was Beau’s massive arms scooping me up as if I weighed nothing. Though I couldn’t see what was happening or where he was taking me, I did know that he was climbing the many flights of stairs in our house. After all the time I’d spent there, I had yet to explore every room on every floor.

He finally came to a stop as he placed me gently down.

“Now open.”

The first thing my eyes saw was a white door with a gorgeous over-sized pink satin bow. My heart felt as if it’d skipped a beat. I was instantly more nervous that I realized.

“Go in.” Beau smiled his handsome goofy smile and his bright green eyes sparkled.

I swung the door open and stepped inside. Tears instantly sprang to my eyes as I took in the beautiful room I stood in. Beau’s mom, Laura, stood off to the side with a huge teary-eyed smile on her face. I pulled her into a hug.

“Did you do this?”

“Well, it was more of a joint effort. Beau and I wanted this perfect for his first little girl,” Laura said.

The nursery was adorned in pink, white, and gray accent, every inch of the room put together in absolute perfection.

The beautiful white crib that Saylor had bought me sat in the middle of the far wall, a small little wolf mobile hanging above. Gray and white chevron baby blankets with small satin bows sat inside, along with a plethora of stuffed animals. Our daughter’s name danced along the wall beside a giant teddy bear that reached from the floor all the way up to the ceiling. Inside the closet was a ridiculous amount of baby clothing and I was completely sure that a year could go by and my daughter would never repeat an outfit. Anything she could possibly need for the first four years of her life was in this room.

Beau and his mom had pulled out all the stops, and I was completely overjoyed. I hadn’t expected anything like this.

I took a deep breath, hoping that it would help the sharp pain that’d begun in my side, but it didn’t. I walked to the rocking chair beside the large window, overlooking the reservation.

“Beau... It hurts.” My breathing was shallow and I was scared. It was too soon.

“I’ll wait with her. Go get Harlow,” Laura jumped in, ordering Beau off. “Breathe, Juliette. In and out. It’s only a contraction—it won’t last long.”

“I’m not ready. I don’t know if I can do this. What if I’m a bad mom?”

“Shush.” She ushered the words away as if they were nonsense. “Your baby is coming whether you’re ready or not. I know it’s painful, but you can do this, Juliette.”

I looked into Laura’s big brown eyes and continued to follow her breathing advice. The pain finally began to subside as Harlow and Beau walked through the door.

“So kind of you to finally arrive.”

“Juliette,” Laura scolded as a mumbled apology left my lips.

“Freaking mother of God…” I doubled over, the pain once again returning, the timing comedic as ever.

“She’s about four and a half minutes apart.” Laura relayed the information to Harlow, who rushed around gathering everything that would be needed to deliver the baby.

I sat with my head down between my knees, breathing like I’d been told. It felt almost like a miracle when once again the pain was gone.

“Beau, I hate you.” He smirked, which only caused me to get even more upset. “I suggest you wipe that smirk off your face before I do it for you.”

“Honey.” Laura bent in front of me, her eyes filled with sympathy. “I know it hurts, but you need to stay calm. If it makes you feel any better, Beau was about nine and a half pounds when he was born. Be happy your little girl is measuring much smaller.”

“Ouch. I can’t imagine.” I cringed while trying not to laugh at the horrified expression that Beau was wearing.

“Tell me about it.”

BEAU

Fear crippled Juliette with each passing second that the shooting pains continued. Every curse word imaginable escaped her lips, but for the most part, everything was calm. Harlow gathered the supplies needed for the delivery, while everyone else catered to her every whim. If it wasn’t for the stabbing pains, I knew she could almost enjoy it.

“I want her out. I can’t do this much longer.” A single tear slid down her face as she tried her best to suppress the overabundance of moisture that collected in her eyes the moment a contraction ended.

“I know, beautiful.” My lips brushed over hers, pouring all my strength and love into it. “I’m not leaving you. None of us are.”

“Okay,” Juliette resigned. “And for the record Beau, in case you get any ideas, I will
not
be doing this again. The baby making factory is closed.”

I leaned close to her ear, whispering so that the others couldn’t overhear.

“For now, love. For now.”

Her eyes widened and she could only glare at me. I winked at her, causing a small blush to grace her cheeks—just the way I loved. But as soon as it appeared, it was gone, replaced with another pain.

This contraction was much stronger than the last, making it near impossible for her to talk through, so it resulted in her sobbing and clutching her side. I took over massaging the pained area while she collapsed into my chest, staining it with fallen tears.

As another contraction ended, Juliette pulled away from me and began to rise to her feet.

“I can use the bathroom on my own, thanks!” she snapped at me when I tried to help her up.

“Gotcha,” I said, holding my hands up in surrender as my mom laughed at the irritable blonde putting me in my place.

“She’s barely hanging in there, Mom,” I admitted after Juliette had left.

“I know, honey. Childbirth is one of the most hard and trying things that a woman goes through. Her body is aching everywhere and doing things that it normally wouldn’t be able to. Essentially, it’s putting her through hell and back,” my mom explained.

“I hate seeing her like this. She’s normally pretty positive and sweet, but being in all that pain is getting to her. I mean, you just saw her. One minute she’s clinging on to me, the other she’s ready to rip my head off.”

“I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but it only gets worse from here. Every step of the way, she’s going to blame you. She couldn’t have gotten into this situation without you. Son, you’re fair game.”

Juliette walked into the room and paused. Taking in the last bit of what my mom had spoken.

“She’s right, Beau. This is your fault. Go suck some monkey balls.” Her blue eyes suddenly turned to ice.

“Thanks, Mom.”

She gave me an apologetic smile as she reached out and helped Juliette to the bed.

“No. Not again.” Juliette cringed, her voice almost to a whine. “I basically just finished my last one.”

Harlow heard the commotion and entered the room. “Juliette, I need you to lean back.” She had set up a pile of pillows that would help in propping up her back. “I need to check your cervix and see how far you’re dilated.”

“Oh-kay.” Juliette strained against the pain but did as she was instructed. I stayed on one side of her—despite all of her eye rolling and glares—my mom on the other.

“You’re close to ten centimeters dilated, Ma’am. It should be any time now.”

“No.” Juliette shook her head vigorously, panic lacing its way into her voice.

“Juliette, honey. What’s wrong?” my mom asked.

“I’m scared.”

“Oh sweetie! It’s only scary right now, but it’ll feel like the most natural thing when you’re holding your sweet baby girl. She wants to meet you, so lets bring her into this world.”

“Okay,” Jule’s small, frightened voice responded.

“Alright, Juliette, on the next contraction, when you feel the urge to push… Push. I’m down here ready to help her take her first breath, when the time comes. No need to worry.”

She nodded, bringing her eyes to mine—hers filled with fear, mine filled only with nervousness and excitement.

“We can do this, right B?” she asked me in desperation and worry.

“Most definitely, my love.”

And as if on cue, the next contraction started. My hand tightened around hers as she gave up the idea of breathing and replaced it with pushing. Tears streamed down her face and she screamed in pain. She pushed again as she was instructed to and then again a couple times more.

“Good job, Juliette. She’s crowning. Keep going,” Harlow praised, excitedly.

A few more pushes later, Juliette and I heard our daughter cry for the first time, tears of joy filling both of our eyes.

“Alpha, would you like to cut the umbilical cord?”

“Of course,” I exclaimed excitedly, Harlow handing me the scissors.

With a quick snip, she took the baby away for a moment to clean her off, but returned quickly with her wrapped up in a soft pink minky blanket.

I looked down upon my mate and our daughter— Juliette holding her tightly and looking completely in love with the little baby in her arms.

We were both beyond exhausted but seeing our child had made everything we’d endured over the past months so worth it. Our daughter looked like me in so many ways, but I could see parts of Juliette in her too. Little wisps of blond hair sat atop the baby’s head.

“We made her, B. She’s so perfect!” Juliette whispered as she looked into the tiny dark blue orbs, orbs that I knew we would fall in love with over and over again.

“Beau, she has your dimples,” my mom chimed in as she brushed her pointer finger over my baby’s cheek. Tears fell from her face as she looked at her granddaughter, taking in the image of the tiny miracle.

“Would you like to hold her?” I asked, seeing my mom getting antsy with desperation.

Juliette handed the bundled little baby to her.

“Welcome to the world, little Gracelynn.” My mom bent her head down and gave the baby a sweet kiss.

All our friends rushed into the room, oohing and ahhing over the little pink bundle of cuteness. Juliette finally had a family, and because of her, I couldn’t have been more blessed. Life couldn’t get any better.

***

I had finally managed to herd everyone from my house, giving the three of us some time to ourselves. I climbed the stairs two at a time and entered my bedroom.

Juliette lay on the bed propped up on her side, in pajama pants and a tank top, our tiny newborn daughter beside her. She was playing with her tiny little hand.

I’d never been more proud than I was at that moment. I was actually a father and my child was healthy.

I climbed gently on the bed opposite our daughter, each one of us on one side of her.

“I can’t believe we made her, Beau. It’s almost unreal.” Her eyes met mine and I couldn’t have agreed more.

Juliette shifted on the bed, lifting little Gracie into her arms. She leaned into my chest, my arms wrapping around them both as if in a bubble.

“Remember how you said werewolves were protectors?” she asked me, though she never took her eyes from the sleepy baby.

“Yes.”

“I now understand what you mean. I look at her innocent and perfect little self and all I want to do is make it so no one ever hurts her.” She turned and brought one hand to my cheek, rubbing the stubble that had recently sprung up. “I’m sorry I gave you such a hard time about it. You can protect us all you want. I’m yours.”

I pulled her tighter against me while making sure our child wasn’t being squished. My lips met hers and a fire exploded, her heart beating in perfect unison with mine. I deepened the kiss and she gave in to me, meeting me in perfect sync. I relished in the taste of the woman I’d desperately come to need and crave.

I pulled back, which elicited the cutest whine from my soul mate.

“Gosh… Stop teasing me, B.”

I chuckled at her response, taking my daughter from her arms and laying her in a snow white bassinet at the foot of our bed.

I reached into the nightstand, grabbing the small white box, and stuffed it into my pocket before flinging myself onto the bed. Her pleasant giggle only made my heart soar in love.

She climbed onto my lap and resumed the kissing, lacing her hands through my hair and biting my bottom lip.

“We need to talk, love.” My breath ran over her lips, which only succeeded in making her shiver.

She groaned in frustration, giving up on the desire she felt to have my lips atop hers. Curling into me, she rested her head on my chest. “Shoot,” she said, urging me to continue.

“Are you happy with me?” I leaned back into a pile of pillows, pulling her with me, angling her body so that I could see into her eyes.

“I’m the happiest I’ve ever been in my life, Beau.”

“Then do one thing for me?”

“What?” she asked skeptically.

“Marry me, Juliette.”

“Wait, what?” she asked again, as if she had heard me incorrectly, but I continued, making like I hadn’t heard her question.

“You and Gracelynn are my life. I love you two more than anything in this world, and I want to stand in front of all our friends and family, declaring that love. You, my Juliette, carry the other half of my soul, and my wolf yearns to complete the bond, bringing our souls together where they belong. I want to spend the rest of our undoubtedly long lives loving and caring for my two beautiful girls. I want to make us even more of a family than we already are.” I finished and brushed the wetness from her cheeks.

JULIETTE

I looked at him. This was the man who entered the diner that first day, the very one that spent all that time searching for me. A man who had shown me every single moment since he rescued me how much our daughter and I meant to him. How much I’m worthy of all the love and affection despite my troublesome past and all my continuous mistakes. There was no question, this man was my future—my life.

“Damn, Beau… Quit making me cry.” I grabbed the back of his neck and pulled my lips to his, whispering and shaking my head. “Yes. I’ll marry you.”

We kissed for a few more moments before Beau pulled back once again.

“Seriously?” I asked him, though I knew he could sense my playfulness.

“I have something for you.” He pulled a little white velvet box from his pocket and opened it, revealing the gorgeous engagement ring he’d purchased for me.

“Holy. Hell. It’s huge, Beau but it’s so pretty!” I was in complete awe, bouncing up and down on the bed in excitement while he slid the diamond onto my ring finger.

He pulled me into a kiss, only this time, I was the one to pull back. “Sorry, handsome, but I have to call Saylor and Eve.” I climbed from the bed, stooped over the bassinet with our sleeping daughter, and gave her a gentle kiss—being sure to not wake her—then rushed out the room with my phone in hand.

“Women,” I heard Beau mutter as I walked out.

***

“What if nothing happens? I mean, what if I can’t just sprout a tail and fangs?”