Their End

Chapter 13 | Caysen's Coming

CULLEN

“Remi, Love, please sit,” I begged her.

She looked at me with complete malice and continued her pacing. Every few moments, she’d let out a long breath and rub her side before returning to kneading her lower back again. She woke up in pain, and nothing Calder or I had done this morning had eased her pain.

“How is she doing?” Calder linked.

“No change,” I informed him.

“Still pacing?”

“Yes, unfortunately.”

“It was not like this last time,” she growled softly to herself.

“Doctor Charles said every pregnancy will be different. And you are not carrying twins this time,” I reminded her as gently as I could. I was desperate to keep her from getting any further agitated. It wasn’t good for her or my pup. If her mood soured any further, she would surely banish me from my own office.

Remi stopped pacing and closed her eyes. It took all my control to remain seated at my desk. I watched the muscles along her neck and shoulders tense. She held this posture for two achingly long minutes before she blew out a breath. I looked down at my watch and did the quick math. 42 minutes in between now.

“Why don’t we just-”

“No,” she snapped. “This is just a little pain. It will pass. He isn’t due for another week. I have another week!”

“He will come when he’s ready. And we’ll be ready,” I tried. Maximus was starting to get restless with Remi being so anxious and ready to pop.

“The twins are settled with Mom and Dad,” Calder informed me.

“Pip and I were supposed to help the twins make their welcome home banner today,” Remi said, her voice ending with a groan. “I just need the cramping to die down so I can help them.”

“The pup won’t even know the difference,” I reasoned.

“No! Absolutely not!” she turned on me, somehow even more agitated. I might have shrunk back if I wasn’t the Alpha in the room. “This pup will not come into this packhouse as an afterthought! He will be just as important and loved and thought about and a part of this family as his future Alpha siblings!”

Remi was breathing hard as she repeatedly jabbed the top of my desk with her finger to emphasize her point.

“Cerys and Callum are excited for this pup. They want to have a little brother. He will feel wanted from the moment he arrives. And not just by me! He will be a priority to his fathers and siblings. We are not repeating your childhood! He will not grow up jaded and angry at his life like Carson!”

“I know what’s wrong,” I immediately linked my brother.

“Don’t even start linking Calder. He’s not coming in here to calm me down,” she said. Tears started to shine in her eyes. “He’s too fussy and getting on my nerves.” She returned to her pacing, intentionally not looking my way.

Slowly, I rose from my seat and took careful steps around my desk until I was in front of her. She tried to turn and keep moving, but I grabbed her by the shoulders and stopped her.

“Breathe,” I said calmly.

Remi’s lip quivered. “I am,” she huffed.

“No, take a deep breath,” I told her. She was definitely going into labor, but she was resisting this because of her insecurity.

“Cullen,” she warned.

“I am not my father. I’d like to think that Calder and I have learned from his mistakes,” I said softly. “Carson and Caysen will have very different childhoods. We will not focus only on the twins and leave Caysen to feel as if he is not important to us. And we will not allow his siblings to leave him out.”

“You both admitted you weren’t kind to Carson when you were kids,” she pointed out.

I nodded. “We weren’t. But we were being raised in an environment that prioritized us because we were the first sons.”

“There is already so much talk around Cerys and Callum.” Her voice warbled.

I slid my hands along her shoulders and up her neck until I was holding her face. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and opened them again. “Cerys and Callum are no more important to us than Caysen will be and any other pups you bless us with. We love them all the same. I know you don’t want to hear this, but he’s coming. Probably today. And just because he’s early and there isn’t a welcome home sign, doesn’t mean he won’t be so loved.”

My office door opened gently. I didn’t need to look to know it was my brother. Remi’s watery eyes stayed locked on mine as Calder joined us. He crowded her from behind, pressing her round middle into me. I could feel our pup moving.

“I just…”

“I know,” I nodded, acknowledging her fears. “And I promise it won’t happen. You need to accept that this pup is coming, and it’s out of our control.”

I could feel Calder’s eyes on me as I focused on our mate. Looking up at me, I could see her slowly accepting what was happening. She swallowed audibly before saying, “Okay.”

“Okay?”

“Okay,” she nodded.

Calder opened his mouth, but Remi inhaled sharply before he could speak. We locked eyes. “How long?” he asked. Remi grabbed the front of my shirt, squeezing her fists until her knuckles were white.

“That was only 22 minutes,” I worried.

“We need to go,” Calder said.

“Not yet,” Remi pushed out through clenched teeth.

“Yes, yet,” Calder argued with her. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes; he should have known better than to argue with her, especially in this state.

“No, not yet,” she growled. “I need to change!”

“It doesn’t matter what you’re wearing,” I groaned. It hardly mattered what she was wearing when she’d change in the delivery room.

“I’m not arriving with soiled pants a second time. Either take me up to our room to change, or I’m walking myself,” she said, breathing heavier now.

Confusion temporarily took over until I looked down to see the small puddle on the floor below us and her grey leggings a few shades darker than before.

“Oh,” I said stupidly.

“Yeah, oh. My water broke. We need to go,” Remi said.