Page 85 of His Treasured Mate

“When you do think he'll be stable enough to go home?” Thomas asked Sam.

“With the proper equipment we could probably get away with moving him home. Lily's already capable of handling his needs on her own. She's practically doing it all at this point anyway because she there's only two nurses here she trusts to even get near the boy.”

“Then do it. I don't care what it costs.”

Twenty-four hours later Sam had everything in place and James made arrangements for a special human transport by ambulance that was equipped to handle Tommy's special needs.

He was so tiny, especially next to Terra who was already easily twice his size.

I'd discovered early on that his heartrate and oxygen both sustained better with his sister by his side. There were mixed feelings about co-sleeping them in the hospital, but as far as I was concerned, I was their mother and that decision was mine alone to make, and I made sure everyone in that hospital knew it.

Yes, I was grateful for their help and their equipment, but besides that, I needed to handle things myself. It wasn't just a control issue. But Sam had sat Thomas and I down and let us know that Tommy was still in critical condition. He had a long way to go and a tough battle ahead of him. His lungs hadn't developed fully. He was severely underweight and we'd had to put a tube into his stomach to pump milk into, so I was having to nurse Terra and then pump above that to feed Tommy. It was a round the clock job and I was exhausted. Yet, I knew this was the best possible start I could give both of my kids.

There had been talk that because of his prematurity, he may never walk. Maybe he wouldn't talk. And possibly he would be blind or partially blind.

I didn't believe a word of any of it. In truth, I hadn't allowed them to run any of the tests necessary to confirm those things. They were just spouting off worst-case scenarios trying to scare me into letting them run more tests.

My poor baby already looked like a pin cushion. I'd agreed to let them intubate him. He needed that oxygen to help his lungs mature. And I agreed to the feeding tube. But beyond that we were going to just wait and see.

Thomas and I would love him unconditionally regardless of what the future would hold, but it wasn't easy.

I'd prayed for a son for so long, wanting to give the Pack a proper heir. And then we had girl after girl, and I love them each so much that I couldn't imagine myself ever being anything but a girl mom. Now here we were. I couldn’t help but feel a little guilty like somehow this was all my fault.

By the time they picked us up to go home, I was emotionally numb. I'd been walking through the motions for so long now that I felt like a robot. I just wanted to snuggle my son and hold him without all the tubes. I wanted to nurse him. The bond between mother and child was so important in these first few weeks that it felt like we were missing out on valuable time. But despite my complaints, the humans refused to let me really hold him for more than a few minutes twice a day. It wasn't enough.

I needed more and I knew he did too.

Worrying about Tommy made me feel bad, like I was somehow ignoring Terra. I didn't know how to juggle two babies at once.

So how the hell had Kate managed four?

When the ambulance arrived that took him in his little plastic box and put him on a battery backup to get him home, I followed and climbed into the back with him while carrying Terra in my arms. Not one person bothered to argue with me.

I was pretty sure that there wasn't a person in that hospital sorry to see me leave. I also suspected there were more than a few that felt like I was taking my son home to die but they didn't know me or my family line.

Tommy was a wolf shifter and even though he was little at the moment, he would grow into a strong young man and live a very long life. To even consider anything else would have destroyed me. So, I held onto that one future for him, one where he would be healthy and strong. He'd run with his friends and talk so much that I’d sometimes wish he couldn't.

As we pulled up to the house, our Pack was waiting.

“Wow! It looks like the whole town came out to welcome you home,” the very human driver said.

I looked out and sure enough everyone was lined up and waiting to welcome the new Alpha heir.

James was already there and had his deputies plus the Six Pack keeping control of the situation. And Luke was waiting to move Tommy.

The girls were lined up on our front porch, ready to meet their new siblings for the first time. I started crying at the sight of them. I'd missed them so much.

“Welcome home Terra and Tommy,” I whispered.

“Welcome home, Lily,” Thomas said.

As soon as the vehicle stopped, Luke opened the backdoors and had us out and on the move before the driver could even get out of the ambulance. Thomas thanked him but assured him we had it from here. Without even realizing what was happening to him, my mate had commanded him to leave and that’s just what he did. As he pulled away, cheers went up all around us, but a silence fell over the crowd at the sight of the little enclosed bassinet covered in tubes and cords that housed their future Alpha.

I held Terra in my arms and followed Luke and the team he'd put together into the house, stopping only to give a slight wave at the last second. My sole focus was on my babies. The girls followed us inside and I took a minute to hug each of them and fuss over them while Luke secured my son.

“Girls, this is your new little sister, Terra.”

“Can I hold her?” Cammie asked.