An Heir for the Billionaire Werebears(14)

I ran out of pee when I got to my fifth one. The instructions said that I had to wait two to three minutes.

Those minutes felt like an absolute eternity. I looked at my phone, watching the seconds tick by more slowly than I had ever seen them go.

"Come on!" I urged my phone.

Xavier was in my doorway.

I was so embarrassed. I was sitting on my toilet with my pants down.

"Go away!"

"No," he told me. "This is my child, too."

The results started showing up on the pregnancy tests. I saw the pink lines and the indicators telling me one thing.

"I'm pregnant," I said, as I looked at test after test that said the same thing.

Xavier gave me a big hug. He kissed me quickly. "I'm so happy. Let's go tell Asher."

"Asher!" he yelled.

"Why are you yelling when we have an intercom system?"

He shrugged. "Because I can."

I heard Asher's heavy footsteps on the stairs. "What is it? What do the tests say?"

He looked at my happy face and Xavier's joy.

"We're having a baby!"

He picked me up, off my feet, and I was a foot off the ground as he kissed me.

"We won't tell anybody," he said. "We'll keep it a secret."

"How long am I going to be pregnant? The last time, I was instantly two or three months along with the baby."

“Were-cubs grow fast. That's why you needed so much food and so much energy. Bears in the wild take about 7 months, while humans take 9. Were-cubs take half that, about 3 months."

"Okay. What does this mean for my work?"

"You can't go out there," Xavier said. "It's too dangerous. What if you got in some kind of accident?"

I rolled my eyes. "I've been dealing with LA traffic my

entire life. I'm not afraid of accidents. And you can't imprison me on house arrest until the baby comes."

"How about this? Let's have a compromise. You telecommute for your job. We'll hire someone to be your on-the-ground coordinator. I have someone in mind."

"Already?" That was very fast.

"Yes." Asher nodded. "I know someone we can bring on. She's the wife of another member of the sleuth."

"Sounds good to me," I replied. "Let's do it."

The transition to bring on another managing director was absolutely seamless. That was great, because this time was just as hard on me as the first time. I had hyperemesis gravidarum. They didn't have to put me on house arrest. I was on hospital arrest. I couldn't keep anything down, not even water, which meant that they had to keep me hydrated with an IV drip. I hated it. I hated the smell of the hospital. The maternity suite that the boys paid for was baller and absolutely pretty, but I hated being bed bound, and I hated not being able to eat anything. I knew better than to resent the little one for what my body did, though. I was glad that I was telecommuting and able to take my mind off of being trapped in this hospital bed in Cedars-Sinai. Kara and I texted every day, and she and I Facetimed at night. She worked odd hours because of her job. Life was okay, though sort of quiet and slow. Inside of this hospital, my life was on pause.

Then, I felt my water break.





Delivery





It felt like someone had popped a water balloon between my legs. The wetness gushed between my legs, and I was soaked. I rang the call button to tell the nurse. She came running, which was good.

"My water just broke," I told her. "I'm having a baby!"


As a seasoned maternity nurse, she kept cool.

"Okay. Let me know when your contractions are coming less than a minute apart. I'll tell the doctor. Do you have anyone you want to contact?"

"I'll call Asher and Xavier myself." I couldn't feel anything, not a single contraction, nothing. "I'm sure they'll be here right away."

They must have basically teleported, because they were in Cedars-Sinai almost before I ended the call.

"How are you feeling?" Asher said. He took my hand and squeezed it.

"I feel okay." I shrugged. "This doesn't feel painful."

Xavier said, "You don't look like those women in the videos that we had to watch for preparation. You look almost normal, although you're ready to pop. I'm going to get the nurse."

Xavier went out to get the nurse. The nurse came into my hospital room, and she checked my vitals.

"You know what sometimes helps? Walking. I would never leave you to do it unsupervised, but the two of them should be able to keep you healthy and safe." She took our menage relationship in stride, just as the entire hospital staff had. Unconventional relationships didn't matter if you had enough money.

"Why don't you walk around the unit? There's a purple stripe that runs all the way around. It makes a square. Just tell me when you can feel the contractions coming less than a minute apart, ok?"

I nodded. She took the IV out of my arm. With the baby about to come out, it didn't matter that I wouldn't be hydrated by it. I hoped that the nausea and all-day sickness would recede once I delivered the baby.

I felt weak, since they only let me up out of my bed for an hour a day. It stunk to be on bedrest.