Jared was nervous, fidgeting as he and Eva pulled in to the tree lined driveway that led to Della's house. He hadn't told her he was coming, wanting it to be a surprise. He felt guilty for being so wrapped up in his own happiness that he had neglected his sister, and wanted to make up for it. Eva was excited to meet her.
"This place is amazing," Eva said, looking at the modern, one story house that looked like it had been recently painted a lovely shade of deep blue, with white trim.
"It's right by one of the busiest places in the world, but it feels so secluded. I can see why she chose this one. The trees keep it hidden, but I bet there are amazing ocean views inside." Jared parked his car and sighed, "I'm a terrible brother. She's out here pregnant and went through that awful rejection, and I haven't been to see her once in over three months."
"I'm sure she will be happy to see you, the way you talk about her tells me you two are close. A lot has happened. Life has been pretty crazy." Eva tried to reassure him.
They approached the front door, ringing the bell. They waited for a minute before Cori's voice came through the speaker system. "Can I help you?"
"It's Jared," he said, and the door flew open. Cori grinned at him, and then turned to Eva, and for a moment she seemed to forget how to talk. Jared didn't miss the way Cori looked at her, and he didn't blame her. Eva was beautiful. Everyone looked at her. He was getting used to it. "Hi, I'm Cori," she said, finally snapping out of her momentary stupor.
"I'm Eva," she replied, with a warm smile. "I'm Jared's fated mate."
"That's so awesome! I heard you found her, Jared, or should I say Alpha Jared?"
"Cori, you practically lived with us for long enough that we can skip the formality. You're family." That made Cori smile, and she ushered them in to the house.
"Will you be staying overnight?" She asked. "We have an extra guest room. I can show it to you."
"Yes, for one night. I was able to get away, but not for long. Dad has been ready for retirement for a while, and I know he and Mom are planning to visit very soon." Cori led them to the guest room, which, like the others, was beautifully furnished and had it's own large bathroom.
"The ocean view is on the other side of the house, but you can always head out to the patio if you want to watch the waves. The sunsets are amazing." They were. She spent many evenings on the beach with her sketch pad and colored pencils, and had one book entirely devoted to sunsets. "I made some friends here, there is a very supportive art community. I want to try painting next."
"Cori, who are you talking to?" Della shouted from her room. "I was sleeping."
"You have visitors," Cori yelled back. "You might want to get up and see them." She gave Jared and Eva an apologetic look. "She's been sleeping a lot. And eating ice cream. No weird cravings, other than her obsession with bacon."
"I heard that," Della yelled. "Speaking of which, do we have any?"
Cori went to the kitchen area and turned on the stove, pulling a slab of bacon out of the refrigerator. "I'm on it," she told Della. "Are you going to get up?"
"Do I have to? And don't judge me, I feel like a walrus. It's all I can do to get up and pee." Jared stifled a laugh. Della still sounded like herself. "Who's here?"
"The Alpha and Luna of Snow Moon, they made a special trip here to see you." Cori yelled, as the smell of sizzling bacon filled the house.
"Jared? IS THAT YOU? Get your ass in here and help me get off this damn bed!" Della would have leaped out of it if she could have. Her belly was huge, and while she wasn't due for another week or two, Jax could decide to come in to the world at any time. Sherry wanted her to stay off her feet as much as possible, the pregnancy was putting a strain on her body and there was an ever present danger of falling.
Jared and Eva rushed towards Della's room, and when Della saw them her face lit up like a thousand suns. She was trying to roll off the bed, and not having much luck. "I bet you weren't expecting to see a beached whale," she said, and Jared laughed.
"You do look a bit like a beached whale." He teased her, helping her sit up. He hugged her, noticing how tightly she clung to him. "I'm so sorry for not coming sooner."
"It's okay," Della said, tears in her eyes, "I am so happy for you. Just promise me you won't turn in to one of those stuffy royal werewolves with your nose in the air. I would hate to see you run in to a wall and make an ass of yourself!"
Della was pleasantly surprised when Eva laughed harder than the rest of them. "I know exactly what you mean, Della. I hate going to those "galas" and usually I find some reason not to be there. It's just so silly. A room full of snooty werewolves standing in groups talking shit about each other. I don't know why they don't try to make it more fun, lose the formality. I was only at the last one because I wanted to keep an eye on my brother, he can be a bit of an asshole when he drinks." That was an understatement. She had heard through the grapevine that her brother basically used those parties to bed as many she-wolves as he could, and she was tired of his disgusting behavior.
"I hate to say this, babe, but I don't think it's because he drinks. I think he's just naturally an asshole." Jared said, and Eva rolled her eyes. He had a point. "The crappy thing is that each and every she-wolf he lures in to bed probably thinks his interest is genuine, only to find out he brags to his friends about it, and she gets called a slut. It's such a double standard, especially among elites."
"I think he even brought one of them to my room, I found a ripped dress shoved in the back of my closet, and the sheets had been fully stripped away and new ones put on. I noticed because I just got those nice new sheets, and was looking forward to sleeping on them. They were really soft. The weird thing is none of the maids did it, I asked."
"What a jerk," Cori said, "Della are you okay?" Della had a faraway look on her face, and seemed to be lost in thought.
"Oh, I'm fine," Della said, "I just had a weird feeling. It's happened a few times. I think they call it Deja vu? Probably a hormonal thing." She shrugged, then extended her arm. "Can someone help me get up? I have to pee."
Eva took her arm and helped her to her feet, not letting go until she had waddled her way to the bathroom.
"Are you sure you want pups?" She asked Jared. "That truly looks miserable." She smiled to let him know she was joking. Of course he wanted pups. He was an Alpha. He needed an heir. She wanted them too, because pups were adorable. They had time for that, plenty of time.
"Oh, shit." Della yelled from inside the bathroom. "Really, Jax? Now? Cori, get Sherry. My water just broke."
Jared and Eva looked at each other as Cori dashed out of the room to get Sherry, who was at the beach down the hill. "Isn't it too soon?" Eva whispered.
"She's due in a week and a half, so this is not all that unusual," Jared whispered back. "What should we do? I doubt she wants me in the room while she has a pup."
"I'm a werewolf. I can hear you. And I will be fine. No, I don't need an audience, but I have a feeling he's going to come out fast." A contraction hit her and she grabbed the countertop, trying not to scream. "Eva, if you could just help me get to the bed, and Jared, there is a big plastic sheet folded on the floor next to it. If you could get that put on the bed that would be great."
Eva rushed in to help her, and Jared did what he was told. Eva helped her back to the bed, where she lay down, waiting for the next contraction to hit. When it did, she screamed bloody murder. Jared took that as his cue to exit. Eva stayed with Della, holding her hand and rubbing her back to comfort her.
"Thank you," Della said, gratefully. "Sherry will be here any minute. She's a healer." Della screamed again, letting out a string of curse words. "Sorry," she said to Eva.
Sherry and Cori rushed in, and Sherry quickly determined the pup was coming NOW. "Don't you have some kind of drug you can give me? Damn it, give me drugs! Ask my brother if he has any werewolf moonshine," she begged. Eva ran out of the room, and Della screamed again.
"Della, it's almost over. Believe it or not, two pushes and you will be done." Sherry said, her voice calm. She had never seen anything like this, it was happening so fast!
"Fuck this, why did I think this was a good idea? I'm going to find that motherfucker and shove a watermelon up his ass!" Della screamed, and she pushed, feeling something give.
She pushed again, and Jax made his entrance into the world. As she listened to his first cries, she forgot all about the pain she had felt only minutes ago. A beautiful smile spread across her face. Sherry handed her a tiny, wiggly pup wrapped in a blanket, and he stopped screaming and rested his tiny head against Della's chest, as though the sound of her heartbeat comforted him.
"He's so adorable!" Eva exclaimed, "he's perfect!"
A powerful feeling of love and protectiveness possessed Della's heart, and she knew that she would do anything, absolutely anything, to keep him safe and make him happy. Little Jax stole her heart, but she was glad, she wouldn't take it back if he ever tried to return it anyway.