Chapter eleven.
I was more than glad when I returned to the clinic last night to find my mom still busy around, unable to notice my return. She probably didn't even realize I left at all. My father was still at the big pack house, having a talk with a few other men. Imagine the relief.
Today the sun seemed to shine way too brightly, too scorching and somehow, I woke up with a terrible feeling. I felt suddenly light headed and I blamed it on my ventures with Sabrina into the woods yesterday.
I made my way towards the clinic and found my mom standing around a man laying back on her patient's table. Her right hand help stood next to her, all concentrating fully on him. I hurried over to them to find so much blood on the side of his stomach, his eyes barely open as he winced in pain. Mom held a cloth up against his head and dabbed tenderly.
" What happened? " I asked my mom.
" He got in a fight baby, " my mom replied " in his wolf form and he got bitten. His wolf isn't strong yet and now he's heating up and refusing to heal "
For a split second I was actually scared of what she might say. That the night stalkers beat him at the border? When it was just a mere child's play with his friends. He should be more careful.
"Can I help?" I offered.
"Don't worry, just clean up the place for me"
I nodded and started walking towards the shelf allocated at the other room where mom stored herbs. Suddenly, I heard a piercing scream from the exit door and I stopped on track, turned back to find Asla slowly trying to walk in with the support of two other women, her baby bump bigger than the last time I'd seen her. She looks like she was in severe pain, her face moulded into the most pitiful form. She moans loudly, calling my mom's attention now as they finally got inside the room. Oh my God, my mom did mention that she was having a baby soon!
"Asla, you're gonna be fine," my mom said as she walked over the other birth table "bring her over here. Rose, get the towels!"
That's me! Okay..... I proceeded into the sanitary room, sharperly looking back to see Asla getting out of her clothes and slowly trying to sit back on the long table with the help of mom and the other two women, whist moaning painfully.
I stopped before the shelf which housed the white towels and the other necessary birthing equipments. I grabbed a trey and dumped in a number of towels, grabbed another bowl to fetch water with when I get out and grabbed some placental pegs before running back out.
Asla is screaming now and I quickly handed over the trey to my mom. Asla's now wearing a white robe, her legs spread apart, sweat streaking her forehead, smearing her black hair all over her forehead.
"How far apart are the contractions?" I asked mom as I stood beside Asla to take her hand.
"She's doing great, Rose," mom replied, reaching to brush Asla's smeared hair from her forehead "you're doing great, honey." Before walking to her spread legs and putting one hand in between her legs. After a moment, she said "your dilation has started and your baby will be out soon"
Asla screams again, grabbing my hand as she did. I reached my other hand to cradle her face. I do this all the time, helping mom help women have their babies and I'm pretty much used to all these. One day I'm gonna help someone have her baby too, alone, without mom's help.
Asla screamed for a couple of minutes before it was time for her to push and bring her baby to the world. It took her a while but she did it anyway. Asla was having her first baby after recently getting married to her mate a couple of months ago. She'd been blessed instantly by the moon goddess after her union with her mate and hadn't anything to worry about. When she pushed out her baby and my mom held him in her hands, I wondered how it'd feel to find my own mate and have his baby like this.
The baby was a tiny little male who seemed to possess all the energies there was, crying endlessly. After cutting the connecting umbilical cord, mom placed him over Asla's breasts so he could have the skin to skin touch. It was such an adorable moment. Mom went over to clean her afterbirth and I assisted her with washing her up. One of the women collects the baby after a long while to get him washed up before returning him back to Asla's arms. To think I woke up with an ill feeling this morning! I mean, look how beautiful this baby is, it's like nothing else really counts anymore but him.
After getting Asla dressed, my mom helped her feed her baby for the first time. Even though Asla looked completely weak from giving birth to her little baby, you could see the happiness plain on her eyes as she watched him suckle on her breast.
Her mate, Audrey soon walked in and we gave them space. I returned to the other room to get the trey and bloodied towels washed and kept clean, all the while thinking about how Audrey looked at Asla when he saw the baby in her arms, how he planted a firm, lingering kiss on her forehead, how she shut her eyes to savor the kiss. I felt it all. I saw the care in his eyes, saw every single emotions he had after seeing his love and their baby. I wondered how it'd feel to be in her place. Would my mate love me more? I've heard that some males tend to dislike their mates after she has a baby. Most of the time those male wolves ends up as rouges and their mates are usually devasted. I hoped my mate looked at me the way Audrey did Asla, I hope he loved me so much that it hurts, I wished he loved me for who I am, accepted me the way I am and love me regardless of my flaws: regardless of the fact that I couldn't shape shift yet.
I lowered my head sadly as the thought replayed in my head, my hand unconsciously running through the bowl of bloody water that I'm supposed to be throwing away.