The Claiming by Cooper

The Claiming by Cooper Book 4

The Beta Trials by Cooper (Jace & Jordan)

Chapter 30 (Evangeline)

In an instant, Jaxon has me scooped up and is mind linking Elijah to take over. He races me to the pack hospital.

“Baby on the way! Baby on the way!” he shouts as he rushes me into the hospital.

“This way,” one of the pack nurses says, moving us to a hallway away from the pack members that have been

quarantined.

“Are you sure it’s safe?” Jaxon asks her.

“Yes, Alpha. Dr. Braxton was on the verge of releasing them, I believe, when he was called away to help the bears.”

She stops, opening a door and gesturing for Jaxon to enter ahead of her. “Are Alpha Jordan and Gamma Jace

okay?” she asks.

“Yes, from what I’ve heard, Jordan wasn’t injured. The bear leader, Balor, put himself in the rogue Alpha’s path,

keeping Jordan from getting marked,” he says as he lays me on the bed.

I grit my teeth as another spasm of pain ripples through my stomach. “Okay, Alpha Evangeline, how long have you

been having contractions?” the nurse asks as she begins moving my nightgown out of her way so she can attach

things all over my body.

While she’s working, another woman comes in, wheeling a machine that I know is a heart monitor. She rolls the

machine up to the nurse attaching things to my body and begins connecting them to the machine. A moment later,

I hear the sound of our baby boy’s heart beating and then mine along with it.

The nurse adds the blood pressure cuff and an IV and then the doctor comes in.

“Alphas, I hear we’re having a baby today,” Dr. Teresa says as she walks in, smiling at me, then looking at the

monitor. “Everything looks good so far. Did we determine when your contractions started?” she asks. “They woke

me up,” I say.

“How long ago was that?” she asks, making some notes on her tablet.

“A couple of hours ago,” I say.

“Eve! Why didn’t you come get me?” Jaxon asks.

“Because you were busy and I knew you’d be busy the rest of the day, love,” I say, lifting my hand, intending to put

it on his face to reassure him, but another contraction comes, and I move my hand to my stomach.

Dr. Teresa looks at the monitor and then at me. “Let’s check you. That was a strong contraction based on the

monitor. You may have been in labor for hours before it woke you.”

“Is that possible?” I ask.

“Depends on how uncomfortable you’ ve been and how many false labor contractions you’ve been having. If you

were tired enough, your mind may have decided that these were false labor pains, letting you sleep until you

couldn’t ignore them any longer,” she says, pulling out the stirrups for me to put my feet up and moving to check

me.

When she’s done, she looks up at me and Jaxon. “We’re moving right along. The first ones usually come more

slowly, but you’re already six centimeters dilated. We’re going to keep you in bed and start checking you regularly.

The contractions will start coming more frequently and will become stronger,” she says, turning to Jaxon.

“It’s not unheard of that Alpha females break the bones in their mate’s hands during labor.”

“I’ll take it. She’s the one doing all the work,” he says.

“Smart man,” Dr. Teresa says, smiling at me.

“I trained him well,” I say and start to smile but another contraction hits me. “You’re pretty close. I’m going to track

your contractions, but if you continue to dilate quickly, we could be delivering your baby in the next couple of

hours,” she says.

“Thank you doctor,” I say and everyone leaves, giving me and Jaxon some time.

“I hope you’re ready to be a father, Jaxon, because it’s too late now if you’ re not,” I say to him.

“I’m thrilled. I’m so excited to hold Jax, Jr.” he says.

“You know Jordan’s going to call him JJ and that it will probably stick, right?” I say.

“Doesn’t matter. As long as he’s happy and healthy,” he says.

Three hours, two broken hands, and a lot of screaming and cursing later, our little boy entered the world. As soon

as Dr. Teresa put him in my arms, my entire world shifted. I thought I had loved my child when he was in my womb,

but that love just intensified beyond anything I could have imagined when I looked at his sweet face and smelled his

sweet baby scent, a softer version of Jaxon’s sandalwood scent.

After holding him a few moments, Jaxon laying his head next to mine and stroking Jax Jr’s head, I let him hold his

son.

I watch and feel through our bond as Jaxon’s emotions overwhelm him. He looks at me, trying to hold himself

together.

“He’s perfect. You’re perfect. I have the perfect little family.”

(Balor POV)

I watch from my bed as this little juvenile wolf works beside me. I wouldn’t be in bed, but she insisted and for some

reason, I want to do anything and everything that this little wolf wants me to do. I want to do whatever it takes to

make her happy, to make her smile.

“You know I can feel you watching me, right?” she asks me, not looking up from her microscope.

“I want to be closer to you, but you ordered me to bed,” I tell her truthfully. Why did she have to be a juvenile? I

don’t even know how old she is.

She walks over to the bed, putting her hand on my forehead, her t*ouch instantly soothing me. “You’re still running

a fever, but it’s better. How do you feel?” she asks me, taking a light and flashing it in my eyes.

“I’d feel better if I was closer to you,” I tell her.

I watch as she smiles at my statement. I’ve never been the kind of man who enjoyed a possessive woman, but

when she growled earlier at the attention I was giving to Alpha Jordan, I loved it. I want this little wolf and I want her

to want me.

“How old are you, anyway?” I ask her.

The smile drops from her face, and she looks at me. Her chin juts out and she purses her l*ips as if her age is a

problem to others. Perhaps it is, considering the work that she’s doing. “I’m nearly 15,” she says.

I take her hand, bringing it to my l*ips. “So, three years until I can make you mine,” I say and watch as the look on

her face softens.

“You want to make me yours?” she asks softly.

“You are mine, but I won’t make it official until you’re an adult,” I tell her. “Does our age difference bother you?” I

ask, needing to know now if she doesn’ t want me.

“No, I want you, no matter your age. Does my age bother you?” she asks.

“Only in the sense that I have to be a patient man. But I can be very patient, as long as I can be close to you during

these next three years,” I tell her truthfully.

“Let’s get you healthy first, then we’ll figure out how we’re going to see each other,” she says to me.

“If I stay sick, do I get to see more of you?” I ask her teasingly.

“No, it means that being around me isn’ t helping you and we’ll find someone else to sit with you,” she says,

mischief sparkling in her eyes.

Oh, little wolf, I’m a master at teasing. “Hmm, so you’d be okay if, say, Alpha Jordan came to sit with me?” I ask.

Her instant growl is all the response I need. I pull her into the bed with me, hugging her the way that only a bear

can, absolutely and completely. “Easy, my little wolf. I only want you,” I tell her, loving that she snuggles up against

me, feeling safe with me.

I hear a t*hroat clearing from the doorway. I want to growl, but I smelled Alpha Jordan coming.

“Come in Alpha, I was just hugging this sweet little wolf,” I say, unapologetic for displaying affection toward the

woman that I’ve chosen as mine.

Jordan looks at Kyra. “I wanted to see if you had any results from the tests on the blood of the infected clan

members,” she says.

“Yes, actually,” Kyra says, getting off the bed. I move to get up too.

Kyra turns to look at me, putting her hand on my forehead again before stepping back and letting me stand. “Don’t

overdo it, Balor.”

I pull her to me and k*iss the top of her head. I thought Alpha Jordan was tiny, but this little wolf is even smaller. I’m

not sure if that’s her young age or that she’s not an Alpha. Doesn’t matter, either way I kind of like it.

She pulls away from me and moves back to where she had been looking into a microscope and making notes.

“Alpha Jordan, have you ever seen the strains of feral fever and the claiming haze?” Kyra asks.

“No, well, only in books that your father published,” Jordan says.

“Here, take a look,” Kyra says, stepping back from the microscope.

Jordan looks for a moment, not saying anything, then stands and looks at Kyra.

“I have no idea what I’m looking at,” she says.

“That is Balor’s blood. In it, he has the strains of feral fever and the claiming haze.”

“So, Balor has been infected by both viruses?” Jordan asks.

I’m trying to follow along, but this is all news to me.

“That’s correct, Alpha,” Kyra says.

“But how is that possible? I didn’t think most viruses transferred to different species,” Jordan says, and Kyra taps

the seat that she was sitting on before, looking at me. I take it and look into the microscope. Just like Alpha Jordan, I

have no idea what I’m looking at.

I smile. My smart little wolf does. “While that is usually the case, Alpha, feral fever and the claiming haze are

mutated versions of rabies and distemper. Both of those viruses have been known to not only transfer to humans,

but also to bears. So, in either form, the bears would have been susceptible if they had been bitten or scratched.”

“So, how are you going to heal me and my clan, little wolf?” I ask Kyra.

She turns to me. “For your clan, Alpha Jordan’s blood and that of Alpha Jaxon, her twin’s blood that we brought with

us, will be used to create the vaccine needed to fight the virus. For you, it will be my blood,” she says.

I growl at that. “No, you’re too young and I don’t want you hurting yourself,” I tell her.

“It’ll be okay, Balor. My blood will be the best to treat you,” she says, coming to lean against me. I lift her up,

putting her in my lap and rubbing my face against her. It’s a bear’s way of showing affection, and I want her to

know that I care about her and don’t want her to risk herself for me.

“It’s how the mate bond in wolves works, Balor,” Jordan says as she walks out of my cave.

“Mate bond?” I ask.

Kyra nods. “You’re my mate, Balor.”