“I wonder if enough were.” Cara shook her head. “The problem with not allowing anything to be written, is that so much has been lost. Midwifery is a secretive sect of Cryptids. And small. There aren’t many at the best of times.”
“But can’t you do C-sections?” Jessie asked.
Cara gestured to Kitani with one graceful hand. “Anesthetic doesn’t work well on Weres. And as soon as you start the operation—”
“The babies would react,” Zach finished for her. He sounded a little sick.
Jessie remembered other tidbits. “Was Isa Kade’s—”
“His mate. And my friend. She died giving birth. It was awful.” Kitani spoke so softly that Jessie had to lean in.
The thought of it—Jessie’s stomach roiled. There were many ways to die. But that—that had to be one of the worst. And she’d seen more than her fair share.
Cara straightened. “That’s enough of that. We just got those kids to relax.”
Kitani ran her hands over her abdomen. Jessie attempted to smile at her.
“Do you really think I can help?” Zach asked.
“Yes, I do,” Cara answered.
Jessie was shocked to see the Were’s eyes liquid with tears as she looked at Zach. “If you can solve this,” she said, “you just might save us all.”
* * *
Jessie rubbed her arm as she opened the door to her room. Cara had given her another injection before sending her to bed. It tingled as the warmth spread from her shoulder through her entire body.
Kade’s blood. And his virus. In her body. It seriously messed with her head.
Downstairs, Kitani argued with Kade and Cody. Ryan’s voice interceded from time to time. He was the only one of them that remained calm.
The argument had no clear answer. Cody and Ryan were needed here, but they wouldn’t leave Kitani this close to her due date. All of which meant she had to stay put. If Zach had to use his power to defend the farm, he’d have to do double duty calming those babies back down again.
Jessie’s gut twisted. Braden had much to answer for.
Laura sat on her cot in the dark room. The woman had hidden through all the commotion. Jessie was having a hard time relating to her. She appreciated that this was an extreme thing to deal with, but Laura seemed determined to reject the help everyone offered.
“Laura? Are you okay?” She leaned over to switch on the light beside her bed.
The blonde woman glanced over; tears ran down her face.
“Hey. I guess our little power play was a bit unsettling.”
“What the hell was that?” Laura asked. “I was asleep. Then you ran out, and all that noise. Then...” she waved a hand, unable to describe what she’d felt.
“Yeah, sorry about that. The Dires tried to attack. Zach and I did that to scare them off.”
“Braden was here?” Laura sat up straight.
“Don’t know if he was,” Jessie admitted. “But he sent his goons, for sure.” She examined the other woman closely, but she couldn’t tell from her expression whether she was upset, or relieved. It was enough to make her wish for more of Zach’s ability. Was Kade right about Laura?
“Were you dreaming?” Jessie asked.
Laura’s eyes skittered away from her. “Yeah, I guess so.” Her fingers twisted in the sheets. “Can I ask you something?”
“Yeah. No problem.”
“You mentioned the dreams might be real. Cara said I’m having them because I was bitten. But is Braden really in them? Or is my mind making him up?”
