Chapter 349

Tessa’s POV

“Breathe, Tessa. Just breathe!” Ruby said as she held onto my hand tightly.

I’m glad she’s a vampire and strong because if she was a typical human, I would have broken her hand by now. Pain shot through my lower abdomen and into my spine, crippling me in agony. I screamed out in pain, my entire body quivering.

“You are doing great,” the doctor said, looking at my vitals. “That was a big contraction. It won’t be much longer until it’s time for you to push.”

“Where the hell is Joseph?” I asked through my teeth.

I knew he was working when I went into labor but that was several hours ago. I thought he would be here by now.

“He texted Carter a bit ago and said he was almost here,” Ruby assured me. She placed a cool cloth on my forehead, and I sighed in relief. The pain in my body started to simmer down for a moment, but I knew there was more to come.

“I refuse to have these babies until he gets here,” I said with finality. “I don’t remember it hurting this much when I had Amaya. Speaking of Amaya, is she okay?”

“She’s perfectly fine, she’s with her uncle Carter,” Ruby assured me.

It’s been a little over a month since my wedding and since then, Amaya has taken a liking to Ruby and Carter. She rather spend time at their house in a village of vampires than in the New York house. Not that I could blame her; they did have a really nice house and the village had become a family for us.

When Amaya was born, the doctors did a blood test and determined that she had 90% vampire blood, which means there was a huge chance that she would turn into a vampire once she was 18 years old. We are planning on doing the same with these babies as well.

“I need a distraction,” I said as another contraction took over my body and made me quiver in pain.

“Any distraction?” Ruby asked, and when I looked up at her, I saw that she was chewing on her bottom lip.

“Yes,” I told her just before screaming out in pain once again.

She continued to bite her lip as the wave of pain washed through me and then she took a shaky breath, but her face lit up.

“Okay…well, I wanted to wait to tell you. But I have some news,” she told me.

I raised my brows.

“What is it?” I asked her and then continued my breathing exercises as I waited for her to continue.

“I’m getting married!” She blurted, holding up her hand to show me a gorgeous diamond ring on her finger.

Just like that, the pain went away and all I could think of was how happy I was for my best friend. I shrieked and grabbed her hand.

“Holy shit, Ruby! When did this happen? I’m so happy for you!!”

“A couple of days before your wedding,” she admitted.

I slapped her arm.

“What?” I gasped. “You knew this whole time and you said nothing?”

“It never felt like the right moment,” she admitted. “I wasn’t going to tell you during your wedding. We’ve been trying to get back to our normal routines and move from California to here and readjust to life. It never felt right to just blurt it out. But I guess now is a better time than any seeming you need a distraction.”

“You could have told me at any point Ruby,” I told her, hugging her tightly. “I’m so happy for you.”

She smiled and hugged me back.

“That’s not all,” she confessed, I released her and stared up at her.

I somehow knew where this was going, and my heart swelled as more tears filled my eyes.

“Don’t tell me—”

“Yes,” she said, cutting me off, knowing that I knew where she was going with this.

“You’re pregnant??”

“I’m having a baby!” She squealed simultaneously.

“Ruby!!” I yelled at the same time another contraction came and my excited yell of her name turned into absolute horror as I whaled and cried in agony.

“Just breathe,” she tried to soothe me, but it was impossible when these babies were pushing on my stomach with all their strength.

Just then, the door swung open, and Joseph ran into the room. Relief flooded me upon seeing him.

“I’m so sorry. I’m here now,” he said, wrapping me in his arms. His scent surrounded me and relaxed my entire body. I practically melted into him as I rested my head on his arm.

“Where have you been?” I asked, sniffling as pain shot through me.

“I got tied up at work, but I got here as soon as I could.”

“I’m pregnant, you jerk. You’re never supposed to prioritize work over me,” I pouted, hating how whiny I sounded.

He kissed my temple and held me gently in his arms.

“It’ll never happen again,” he assured me.

“I’ll go check on Amaya and grab the doctor to take another look at you,” Ruby said as she walked out of the room.

“I just want this pain to be over,” I panted, unsure of how much more I could handle this.

“Soon, my love,” he told me, kissing the top of my sweat-soaked head. “It’s going to be okay.”

“Is my dad and Patty here?” I asked.

“Yeah, they are in the waiting room with the rest of your coven, some members of the vampire tribe, and Amelia.”

Amelia had been trying to establish a relationship with her daughter, so she also moved from her California home and into her new home in the area.

I was glad to hear that they were all here to support me, especially the vampire tribe. They had long accepted me and had become my family.

“No more kids after this,” I said, peeking up at him through my lashes.

He chuckled and kissed me deeply on the lips.

“We will see.”

I rolled my eyes.

“I’m so serious, Joseph.”

Just then, the doctor returned to the room.

“Let’s see how we are doing now,” she said as she took a peek between my legs. After a moment she smiled. “Okay, we are ready to start pushing. I’m going to need Joseph to hold your hand tightly and give me your biggest push, Tessa.”

Joseph did as instructed, I squeezed his hand which was much firmer than Rubys. I wasn’t afraid of breaking it. I gave the biggest push I could, feeling my insides being torn apart from the pressure. It was the worst pain I had ever felt in my life, and this wasn’t even my first child.

I screamed in agony as I continued to push until I was lightheaded and seeing spots in my vision.

I fought to catch my breath until she instructed me to push again.

I gave an even bigger push screaming out as I did. Joseph kept whispering soothing words to me, but I could hardly hear him. I felt incredibly weak, and I just wanted to sleep, but I had to keep pushing.

I lost all trace of time; I’m not sure how long I had been pushing for but eventually, I felt the baby leaving my core. The doctor passed the baby to a nurse and within seconds, I heard the lovely sounds of my baby crying.

“Congratulations. You have a baby boy!”

I laughed and cried at the same time Joseph captured my lips with his.

I had a baby boy.

The celebration was short-lived because then another sharp pain coursed through my body, and I screamed out again.

“Push again,” the doctor instructed, and I did as she ordered.

Sweat poured down my face and tears poured out of my eyes as my entire body trembled from the agony of childbirth.

Thankfully, I didn’t have to push hard for this one. I felt the baby slipping out of me and then the doctor handed the baby to another nurse. This one took a moment longer, but soon, I heard the gorgeous sounds of crying, and I breathed out in relief.

“Another boy!” The doctor announced.

We had two boys! This was an amazing day. I felt exhausted and weak and at this moment, I just wanted to sleep. I leaned against Joseph for support who kept kissing me and telling me how wonderful I did.

We were lost in our own worlds while our babies were being cleaned up, I didn’t even notice the doctor stitching me up. By the time she finished, the babies were ready.

Two nurses, each carrying a baby came to us. Joseph sat in the bed with me as a nurse put a baby, wrapped in a green blanket, into his arms and gave me the other wrapped in a blue blanket. We both cried as we held out little boys. They were so adorable with their little hands and little feet. I could already tell they were going to look just like their father even though their eyes were closed.

I bent down and kissed the top of one of the baby's heads before kissing Joseph.

“We created little miracles,” he whispered against my lips.

“We really did.”

I’m not sure how long we stayed like that, but the hospital room was cleaned entirely, and I successfully breastfed both babies before the doctor allowed any visitors. I requested Ruby, Carter, my dad, and Patty first and they were in the room immediately. I was glad Ruby held Amaya in her arms when she walked in.

“Babies!” Amaya cooed happily when she saw that I was holding both twins in each arm.

“Hey, sweet girl,” I said, smiling at her. “Meet your baby brothers.”

“Baby brovers?” She asked, trying and failing at saying “brothers”. I chuckled.

“You had boys?!” Ruby asked excitedly.

“They are going to be little farmers just like their grandpa,” my father said as he took one of the babies out of my arms. Ruby took the other.

“Or a baker,” Patty suggested, cooing over the twin my father has in his arms.

Amaya and Carter cooed over the one Ruby had.

“Maybe a warrior,” Carter suggested.

“They can be anything they want to be,” I told them, smiling at my family.

“What are their names?” Ruby asked.

“The one you are holding is Griffin,” I told her, smiling up at Joseph.

“And the one Rick is holding is Walker,” Joseph finished.

“Such perfect little babies,” Patty breathed as she took Walker from my father’s arms and cradled him.

“Should we call in the others?” Joseph asked me, his voice low and just for my ears alone.

I smiled as I watched my babies being cared for and cradled by those closest to me and then I nodded.

“Yeah, let’s bring in the rest of our family.”