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OLSEN’S EYES SNAPPED open, focusing at the clock to see the time. Anger coursed through his body when he realized two hours had passed a while ago. He couldn’t believe he had turned off the alarm without fully waking up. His phone buzzed with multiple text messages. He clicked the button on the top of his phone to see his sister was in labor. Fuck! He jumped out of bed and the urge to find his mate returned. Olsen cursed the bad timing while he shoved his feet into a pair of sandals. He stormed out of the house, then hopped in his truck. If he missed the delivery, his sister would kill him. Olsen weaved through traffic like a hellion.
His mind raced at the thought of missing his sister’s delivery. With his brother-in-law dead, he was all Paden had left. Narrowly missing a little car, he turned toward the hospital. His phone buzzed with a text from Maven. ‘Hurry! Baby almost here.’ Olsen pressed the gas pedal to the floor, racing down the last street.
Quickly parking his truck at the hospital, he jumped out. The moment his feet hit the pavement, he caught the sweet citrus scent of his mate. He stood there debating on following the scent, or going to see his sister. Damn! This is all bad fucking timing. Pushing down the idea of hunting down his mate, he ran into the building. His mate’s scent lingered in the hallway, but he put it in the back of his mind. His sister was priority number one. Following the signs, he calmed down when he reached two double doors with the word ‘Maternity’ posted above them.
Olsen reached the nurse’s station, and a woman pointed him to Paden’s room. He kept a quick pace, and heard his sister cry out, making the hairs on the back of his neck rise.
“I’m here, sis.” He opened the door to find three women turning to face him. His sister continued to scream in pain, Maven’s hand turned white from Paden squeezing so hard. Then he noticed the woman on the other side of Paden. Her blonde hair was pulled back into a tight braid. The look of horror covered her almost perfect features. The color drained from her beautiful face. The sweet citrus smell hit his nose. Mate!
“Thank God! Where have you been?” Paden yelled, bringing his attention back to her. She was in a white hospital gown while wiggling on a large bed that was bent at a forty-five-degree angle to keep his sister up right.
“Sleeping. Sorry. I’ll explain later.” Olsen stopped staring at the woman and looked at his sister. His wolf paced inside wanting to pull the woman outside and complete the bond in a break room, while his human side wanted to demand answers for what the hell happened last night. The room was a pastel yellow which he guessed was supposed to make the birthing mothers happy but not to bright to hurt his eyes.
“Baby Mason is coming now. Get the doctor, Alia,” Paden said through her gritted teeth. Her name is Alia. He liked the sound of it even if his sister was the one who spoke her name.
“I’ll be right back.” Alia moved past Olsen, keeping her eyes down. Her hand brushed against him. Ideas of pinning her to the wall and fucking her filled his mind. Damn it, this is not the time to be hard! Every fiber of his being wanted to follow her but his sister had to take priority. He had some time to get Alia but the baby coming wouldn’t wait on him.
“What the hell happened last night?” Paden asked between contractions. He moved to her side, his whole body waiting for Alia to come back in the room.
“A hunter shot me and the rest is a damn blank. All I know for sure, is I imprinted with a woman and...” he paused, looking into his sister’s eyes, “I’m pretty sure your nurse is the one who saved my life last night.” He shoved his hand through his hair while her lingering scent drove him slightly crazy. Such bad fucking timing, why universe would you pull this shit? He gripped the bed as a need to grab Alia coursed through him. Keeping them out of reach from Paden was key, as she was strong as hell. His sister may be small, but her strength was well-known. Even her mate had never challenged her before he died.
Alia walked back in with a male doctor, and a sudden rage came over him. Olsen gripped the bed railing tighter to keep himself grounded while the doctor checked Paden out. The plastic under his grip groaned and Paden tapped at his knuckled to get him to stop but it didn’t work. The doctor announced she could begin to push. Olsen’s eyes moved from Paden to Alia and back to Paden. Alia kept her gaze low, never once meeting his eye.
“You can do this, Paden. You’re so strong.” A small part of him worried the pup would shift halfway through, but so far, Paden had been lucky. Normally, werewolves would want to shift into their wolf-form when delivering their pups, but Paden had been determined to deliver in her human-form. Her mate had been a human before she had changed him, and this had been a topic they’d debated for days before he’d died. Olsen looked up to find Alia watching him, and her eyes sparked as their gazes connected. A pull from deep down filled him to grab her and take her out of the room. Another scream from his sister made Alia break the connection.
Her attention remained on his sister the rest of the time. There was something mysterious about his mate, and he was determined to find out every damn thing about her.