My Sexy Stepbrother is a Werebear Book 3

That is one…

Tight.

Hairy.

Ass.

God almighty!

Damn, that feels good!

SPLASH!

What the hell?

SMACK!

I blinked my eyes a few times, feeling my cheekbone throb. Just as my vision came into focus, I saw Luke hovering over me, his hand winding up in the air for another blow.

“Jesus! What the hell are you doing?” I caught his wrist.

“You fainted.” Luke inched backward, giving me some room to breathe. I sat up, rubbing my cheek begrudgingly.

I glanced around my new house. We were in the middle of the foyer. Off somewhere in the kitchen, I thought I heard raised voices.

“Emma and I found ya passed out when we got back from the Buckhorn. And Helen was—”

“HELEN!” My eyes practically popped from my head as reality hit me like a tractor.

Helen’s water had broken. She’d yelled at me to call the doctor. I was so scared, so overwhelmed…

I scrambled to my feet, feeling a little woozy from sitting up too fast. But I didn’t care.

I sprinted into the kitchen high on adrenaline as Luke stumbled along behind me.

“WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU MEAN HE’S GONE?” Emma was screaming into her phone, while my poor Helen was pacing by the table, holding her belly like it was gonna explode.

Her eyes were closed, and her face was practically purple as she took deep breaths.

“Emma!” Helen said. “You’re drunk. Give me the phone.”

“Helen! Babe!” I exclaimed, rushing to her side while Emma continued to yell.

“Oh, Sam,” Helen said in between sharp breaths. “Thank God.”

“Is everything alright? Have the contractions started? Do you—”

“THAT’S DOG SHIT!” Emma slurred. “Why would the mountain lion go out of town when he knows she’s due this week? NO, I WILL NOT HOLD!”

She doubled over, exhaling loudly.

Luke clambered over to us with a glass of water in his shaky hand. “Helen, do you need some more water?”

I noticed for the first time how bloodshot his eyes were.

Helen gave him a weak smile. “Thank you.”

Luke sat the glass on the table beside her, next to four other cups that were all full, too.

“Alright, they’re sending their other doctor,” Emma said suddenly, setting down her phone. “Dr. Thorne, whoever that is.”

“Halle-fucking-lujah,” Helen moaned. She squeezed her eyes shut. “Ow—SHIT! The contractions are starting again! How long is the doctor gonna be? I need a freakin’ epidural!”

“I’m sure Dr. Thorne will be here any minute, babe,” I said, trying to mask the panic in my voice. “Let’s get you somewhere comfortable in the meantime.”

“Yeah… I wouldn’t be so sure about that,” Luke said suddenly. He was standing in front of the sliding glass door, looking out into the backyard. “It’s really coming down out there—the roads were already a bitch when we drove back.”

Helen and I followed his gaze outside.

The night was masked in flurries of snow, so thick that I could barely see past the back porch.

The first snowstorm of the year.

I knew as well as anyone how bad the lake-effect snow rocked our tiny town every year. No one would be going anywhere in this weather.

Which meant…

Helen and I looked at each other. I suddenly felt faint again.

It was just me, my pregnant wife, and our two hammered best friends.

Someone had to deliver the cubs, and I knew exactly who that person was.

“Hee-hee-hoo-two-three-four!” Sam called. He was sitting beside me on the bed, gripping my hand so tightly it had lost all circulation. “You’ve got this babe! Keep going!”

“Hee-hee…”

The pain was like nothing I’d ever felt before.

By some act of God, Sam and Luke had managed to get me up the stairs and into the master bedroom.

“Alright babe, um…” Sam let go of my hand and reached for the baby book sitting on the nightstand.

I quickly took my hand back before he had the chance to squeeze the life out of it again.

Sam flipped furiously through the worn pages of the book, causing a few of them to fall out. “Breathe from your stomach.”

“Mhm,” I mumbled between exhales, gritting my teeth.

“Just, um, breathe through the pain.” Sam continued scratching his head. He looked absolutely terrified. “One-two…”

Sam just sat there, speechless, the baby book shaking in his hands. He looked worse than I felt.

We both jumped as something huge swooped in from the open window, glided across the room, and landed on the edge of the bed.

A horned owl stared back at me with its massive, yellow eyes. In its talons was a brown leather satchel with a tiny red cross on the handle.

A medical bag!

The owl twisted its head to the side, and then it started to sprout limbs.

Sam and I watched in total shock as the owl shifted into a woman, several years older than us, with feathered brown hair and round eyes.

The naked lady got to her feet immediately, swept her hair back into a tight bun, and reached inside the bag for a white coat.

She put it on, although it left little to the imagination.

“Um, about two minutes apart,” Sam replied. “They’re lasting about a minute.”

Dr. Thorne nodded. She pulled out some kind of measuring instrument and went to work examining my lady garden—but definitely not in a fun way. She inserted the instrument into my birth canal.

“Alright, Helen, it looks like you’re almost ready to push. Are you ready to meet your babies?”

I nodded through the searing pain, more determined than ever.

Dr. Thorne smiled. “Alright, here we go. Deep breath in…”

“Hee-hee-FUUUUUUUUUUU—”

I’d never seen anything so beautiful.

Half me, half Sam.

A boy and a girl.

Caleb and Ashlynn.

Mom had always told me about the moment you first see your baby. How you’re just instantly connected to them. How you love them more than you knew was possible.

I still hadn’t been prepared.

As I stared, fascinated, at Caleb’s tiny, bald head, and Ashlynn’s shockingly thick hair—dark, like her father’s—I couldn’t really fathom what I was feeling.

I’d move the world for my cubs.

Caleb stirred, opening his tiny blue eyes to look at me. His little finger curled around mine. He smiled.

“Sam, look…” I nudged my hubby, who was staring at sleeping Ashlynn like she was an alien species.

“He’s perfect, babe,” Sam murmured. He kissed me softly on the top of my head.

“Do you want to hold him?” I asked.

“Um… yeah, sure.”

I uncurled Caleb’s finger from mine and gently passed him off to Sam.

Sam held our baby boy at an arm’s length at first, uncertainly, then eventually eased up and cradled him against his chest. “He’s so small…”

There was a light knock on the door, and Dr. Thorne popped her head in. “I’m headed back out… do you two need anything from me before I go?”

“No, thank you, Doctor,” I replied. “You were a lifesaver.”

She smiled. “Always happy to help. I’ve left my phone number on the kitchen counter in case you need anything. Although Dr. Catamount should be in touch…”

“Thank you. Really,” Sam replied.

Dr. Thorne winked. “Oh, and tell your friend Brittany I said hello.”

She closed the door gently.

“I’m so proud of you, Helen,” Sam said suddenly, looking up from Caleb. “You were so brave.”

“You helped,” I beamed.

“Apart from the fainting, and the shitty baby book advice…,” he chuckled.

“I wouldn’t have changed a thing.” I kissed the tip of his nose.

And… it was true.

There was nothing in the world that could dampen the love and gratitude I felt. Or the excitement about getting to know our cubs.

And here, in Bear Creek, surrounded by my little family, I knew in my gut that this year would be one for the books… as long as no one else tried to kill us.