Birth of Corbin

First Person POV.

The excruciating pain of labor tore through my body like a serrated blade. It ripped through my abdomen, radiating down my thighs and up into my chest, stealing the very oxygen from my lungs. The hospital bed beneath me felt soaked with cold sweat. Every single muscle in my core cramped and seized in a relentless, punishing rhythm.

"Come on, babe," Caspian urged. His voice sounded distant over the deafening rush of blood pounding in my ears. I squeezed his hand. The bones in his fingers ground together under my frantic grip. "I know you can do it. I believe in you. Take deep breaths, okay? In, out, in, out..."

A fresh contraction hit, sharper and deeper than the last. The rhythmic breathing exercises he kept suggesting only made my fraying temper snap. The searing pressure in my pelvis demanded immediate relief, not air.

"Would you shut the fuck up?!" I screamed at him, my voice cracking under the strain. I gripped his hand tighter, digging my nails into his skin, sure I was cutting off his circulation.

He looked taken aback for a fleeting second, but his eyes quickly softened. He took the verbal abuse in stride. "Colorful but understandable. I'm making things worse." He brought his free hand up, running his fingers through his already messy hair. "I'm so sorry."

Guilt washed over my exhausted mind. He was just trying to help. "I shouldn't have snapped at you," I gasped out, panting heavily. At least Caspian was here. He stood right by my side, grounding me, unlike my worthless mate who had spent the last few months trying to destroy me.

"It's okay," Caspian said, offering a faint, dimpled smile that didn't quite reach his worried eyes.

I opened my mouth to reply, but another monstrous contraction ripped through my torso. It felt as though someone had jammed a pry bar into my hips and shoved them apart.

"Holy shit!" I cursed, twisting my head back against the sweat-drenched pillows. "Get it out! Please, just get it out!" Hot tears flowed freely down my cheeks. I writhed on the bed, trapped in a nightmare of physical torment. It felt like trying to push a boulder through a keyhole.

"You're almost there, Gia," Doctor Hayes instructed from the foot of the bed. His hands were positioned, ready and waiting. "Do me a huge favor and push."

I braced my feet against the stirrups, tucked my chin to my chest, and pushed like my life depended on it. A guttural groan escaped my throat.

"Push harder," Hayes commanded.

"I'm trying!" I cried out, bearing down with every ounce of strength left in my shaking muscles.

"Try harder, Gia," the doctor pleaded, his tone gentle but firm. I knew everything rested on this single moment. I had overheard Caspian threatening Hayes earlier, making it brutally clear that both the baby and I needed to survive this delivery.

"I can see the head. The baby is crowning," Hayes called out, his voice elevating with urgency. "Gia, this is the moment of truth. I need you to put everything into this. Give me one long, sustained push."

I lifted my head, giving a frantic nod, before my skull collapsed back onto the pillows. I opened my mouth and let out an ear-splitting scream.

But then, the pain shifted.

The agonizing pressure of childbirth was suddenly eclipsed by a horrific, burning sensation firing directly from my chest. The broken tether of my mate bond flared to life, carrying a sickening, lustful transmission straight into my brain.

Kael.

My mate was sleeping with another woman. But it wasn't just a vague feeling. The bond weaponized the betrayal, forcing me to feel every explicit detail. I felt the wet, heavy plunge of his hard cock driving deep into another woman's pussy. The raw, sickening friction of his thick erection sliding in and out of her tight walls burned through my nervous system like acid. I felt the primal, animalistic urge of his hard thrusts, the exact moment his sweaty hips slapped against her thighs. He was fucking her. He was burying his dick inside a stranger, lost in a haze of lust, preparing to climax right at the exact second I was ripping my own flesh apart to bring his child into the world.

Black spots rapidly swarmed the edges of my vision. My body begged to surrender to the darkness. The sheer physiological shock of birthing a child while simultaneously feeling my mate fuck someone else was too much for my heart to handle.

"Cas... Caspian," I choked out, my lungs seizing. "It's happening again. He's doing it again."

"No! Gia! No, stay with me, babe. You need to get through this," Caspian shouted. He ripped his hand free from my grip and leaned over the bed, grabbing my shaking shoulders. He shook me, his eyes wide with frantic desperation. "Do not let him do this to you! He has taken enough from you. Do not let him get the better of you!"

His intense command pierced through the blinding pain. Something inside my mind snapped. The sorrow and the agony evaporated, replaced by pure, unadulterated rage. I was furious at Kael for his vile betrayal. I was furious at my miserable pack for casting me out. I was furious at the universe for leaving me in this bloody, wretched state.

I channeled every drop of that blistering anger, funneling it away from the mate bond and straight into my lower body. I gritted my teeth, dug my heels into the bed, and pushed with absolutely everything I had left in my soul.

The pressure shattered. A sudden, hollow release followed.

Then, the loud, piercing cry of a baby boy echoed off the sterile walls of the delivery room.

"Congratulations! It's a boy," Doctor Hayes announced.

That beautiful, miraculous sound was the last thing I heard before absolute darkness claimed me.

***

My body felt like solid concrete.

I awoke to an agonizing stiffness, trapped inside a numb, unresponsive shell. I tried to twitch my fingers, to flutter my eyelids, but nothing worked. I was a prisoner in my own flesh. Even through the heavy numbness, a deep, radiating soreness throbbed in my pelvis and lower back.

Then, I felt a familiar, calloused hand gently wrap around my cold fingers.

"Hey, Gia," Caspian's voice murmured into the quiet room. He sounded exhausted. A heavy, depressed sigh left his lips, brushing against my skin. "I don't think you can hear me, and it's probably stupid to even say this to you... but I miss you, Gia. We miss you. Both me and this little guy over here."

Little guy.

My lungs expanded, sucking in a sudden, sharp breath of sterile hospital air. The memories crashed into my brain like a freight train. The delivery room. The tearing pain. The sickening sensation of Kael’s cock thrusting into another woman. The betrayal that had almost killed me. I remembered the baby's cry. A boy. My son.

A fierce, stubborn willpower ignited in my chest. I refused to let Kael's actions dictate my fate. I focused all my energy on my right hand. I pushed past the mental blockade, forcing the muscles to contract.

I squeezed Caspian's fingers.

"Gia! Are you there?" Caspian gasped, his voice cracking with sudden shock. I heard his chair scrape violently against the floor. Quick footsteps shuffled across the room, followed by the frantic tapping of a phone screen. "Doctor Hayes! It's Gia. I think she just woke up."

Caspian rushed back to my bedside. "Gia, babe, I'm not sure. I might be crazy, but if you are coming around, please move something. Please."

His hand engulfed mine again. The warm contact gave me the strength to squeeze his fingers a second time.

"Goddess," Caspian whispered, his voice thick with emotion. He placed my hand gently back onto the plush mattress.

The door swung open. "I came as fast as I could," Doctor Hayes panted, his shoes squeaking on the linoleum. "You said she was awake? What were the signs?"

"At first, she took a long breath," Caspian explained, hovering close to me. I could sense the doctor hesitating. Caspian let out a frustrated growl. "She squeezed my hand! Right after I asked her to. Would you just do your damn job, Hayes? Do not question me any further."

The raw anger in Caspian's tone sent a shiver down my spine. I had rarely seen him lose his temper, and I was immensely grateful his wrath was directed at the doctor and not me.

"Right on it, Alpha," Hayes stammered, his voice trembling. He pulled the sheet away from my chest. The freezing metal of his stethoscope pressed against my skin. After a long moment of listening to my heartbeat, he hovered his hand over my face. "Gia, if you can hear me, wiggle your fingers."

I forced my digits to twitch against the bedsheets.

"Very good. Now, can you try to move your arm?" Hayes asked.

I begged my arm to lift. I visualized the movement, sending frantic signals from my brain to my bicep, but my stubborn body blatantly refused to cooperate. My arm lay there, dead and heavy.

"I know she is trying, Doc, but do you think I could help her by any chance?" Caspian asked, his tone softening with worry.

Hayes paused, the silence stretching uncomfortably in the room. "It is wonderful that you should suggest that, Alpha, but I am not sure there is anything you can do. Say, if you were her true mate, you could have used the bond to help her heal much faster."

My heart fractured at the reminder. The bond I shared with my true mate only brought me pain, betrayal, and the visceral phantom sensations of him fucking someone else.

"If I were her mate, she wouldn't be in this position to begin with," Caspian snapped fiercely, his protective instincts flaring. He leaned in, his warm hand gently caressing my cheek. His thumb brushed over my cheekbone. "I know that I'm not your mate, babe. But I will try as much as I can to make sure you wake up today. Your baby needs his mommy."

That desperate plea was the final push I needed. My baby needed me.

I forced my heavy eyelids upward. A sharp hiss escaped my throat as the harsh, burning fluorescent lights assaulted my retinas. I clamped my eyes shut, then slowly fluttered them open again, letting my vision adjust to the bright room.

Caspian's face hovered right above mine. A beautiful, relieved smile broke across his handsome features, bringing out his dimples.

"Hey, Gia," he whispered.

I parted my lips to answer him, but my throat felt like it was lined with crushed glass. I let out a dry, raspy croak.

"She is dehydrated. I suggest you give her water," Hayes instructed from the foot of the bed. "But first, you need to raise her up. She is still stiff and can't do it on her own."

Caspian nodded. He slid his strong arms beneath my shoulders and gently hoisted me up until my back rested against the elevated headboard. He brought a plastic cup to my lips. I drank greedily, swallowing hard, painful gulps of the cool liquid. The water coated my raw throat, soothing the burning scratchiness.

I pulled my head back, gasping for air. "My baby," my raspy voice pleaded. "I want to see my baby."

Caspian nodded, his smile widening. He turned and quietly slipped out of the room to fetch the nursery bassinet.

The moment the heavy door clicked shut, the atmosphere in the room shifted. Doctor Hayes stepped closer to the side of my bed, his medical chart clutched tightly to his chest. His expression was grim.

"Gia, it is wonderful to have you back," Hayes began, keeping his voice hushed. "And I will have you know that your son is perfectly healthy. A little too healthy, if you ask me."

I frowned, my protective instincts flaring. "What do you mean?"

Hayes glanced at the closed door before leaning in. "He is growing entirely too rapidly. Such biological development is an unmistakable, undeniable trait only seen in the child of an Alpha bloodline."

Shock punched the breath from my lungs. My eyes widened in terror. The sudden movement sent a spike of pain through my stiff neck, but I ignored it.

"I haven't said anything to Alpha Cross yet," Hayes continued, his tone heavy with warning. "But I also won't be able to lie to him if he asks me directly. Plus, it is only a matter of time until he catches on. Very soon, the child will sport the specific scent of an Alpha. Caspian will be the first to notice, considering he is an Alpha himself."

Panic seized my chest. My mind raced, calculating the immediate danger. If Caspian found out the baby belonged to an Alpha—if he found out Kael was the father—everything would change. This safe haven, this sanctuary Caspian had built for me, could crumble.

"How long do I have?" I murmured, my cheeks flushing hot with the terrifying prospect of exposure. I stared down at my pale, trembling fingers resting on the white blanket.

"About five to ten years," Hayes replied.

Five to ten years. The timeline hung in the air, a ticking time bomb counting down to my ruin.

"I will ensure to tell him before then," I promised, the words tasting like ash on my tongue. I lifted my chin and locked eyes with the doctor. I shoved aside my physical weakness and let the fierce, lethal mother-bear instinct take over. "But you have to swear to me that you will keep this an absolute secret. You will never bring it up. You will never talk about it, with or without Caspian being in the room. That means you never discuss his Alpha bloodline. Ever."

I glared at him, a desperate, lethal threat burning in my gaze. I would do whatever it took to protect my son and my current life.

"But—" Hayes started to protest.

The heavy hospital door swung open, cutting off the doctor's words. I kept my lethal glare fixed on Hayes for one more silent, threatening second before smoothing my expression.

Caspian walked into the room. He carried a tiny, perfect bundle wrapped snugly in soft blue blankets. My breath hitched in my throat. Tears blurred my vision as he approached the side of the bed and gently lowered my baby into my waiting arms.

"He's sleeping," Caspian whispered, his voice thick with reverence.

I nodded, unable to speak. I stared down at the tiny face resting against my chest. He was the most beautiful, perfect thing I had ever seen. I marveled at his small button nose and his long eyelashes. It shocked me to my core that something this pure and innocent was the product of Kael and me.

I let out a shaky, emotional sigh, gently tracing the outline of the baby's soft cheek with my index finger.

"How long was I out?" I asked, keeping my gaze locked on my son.

"Nearly a month," Caspian replied casually.

My head snapped up. The shock hit me like a physical blow. I stared at him, my jaw dropping. "Are you serious?" I whisper-yelled, mindful not to wake the sleeping pup in my arms.

"Unfortunately, yes," Caspian huffed softly. He dragged a hand down his tired face, the dark circles under his eyes suddenly making sense. He sat on the edge of the mattress, his expression turning incredibly vulnerable. "I missed you more than you would ever know, Gia. I thought I had lost you."

I reached out with my free hand and grabbed his wrist. "You didn't lose me," I whispered, holding his gaze. "None of you did. I couldn't do that to either of you."

I looked back down at the heavy bundle in my arms. The baby stirred, letting out a soft, sweet sound. Slowly, his eyelids fluttered open.

My breath hitched again. Beautiful, familiar green eyes stared back up at me. They were the exact same shade as Kael's, a haunting reminder of his father, but the sight didn't bring me pain. Instead, a wave of profound relief washed over me. I noticed the tufts of soft brown hair poking out from beneath his tiny knitted hat. He had inherited my hair.

The baby looked up at my face and let out a series of adorable, bubbling giggles. The innocent sound wrapped around my heart, entirely warming my tired, battered soul. In that singular moment, every ounce of suffering I had endured felt worth it.

Doctor Hayes cleared his throat, breaking the intimate moment. I looked up to see him holding a fresh medical folder and a silver pen.

"Gia," Hayes said gently, stepping closer to the bed. "You haven't given him a name yet."

I looked down at the tiny boy resting safely against my chest. The secret of his Alpha bloodline pulsed in the back of my mind, a burden I would carry alone to protect him. But looking into those bright green eyes, a sense of absolute, unwavering certainty settled deep in my bones. I knew exactly who he was, and I knew exactly what life I was claiming for him.

I looked back up at Doctor Hayes and Caspian, holding my son closer to my heart.

"Corbin," I announced, my voice steady and clear. "Corbin Talon V. Vance."