Betrayed by My Pack – Wolfless Hybrids Escape
Chapter 152 –

Robert's

POV

Echo was running faster than ever before, worried about the babies. Saoirse sounded calm, but I could tell that she was in pain. She has gone through this before, but this is all new to me. I want to be there when my babies arrive. I ran all the way to the hospital before stopping to slide my shorts back on before entering. I stopped at the front desk to ask which room she was in.

I was pretty sure they would have her in the Luna suite. Jaxon told me how much he and Brenna appreciated what she did to protect everyone from Clay and his men. As expected, that was the room they had her in. Dr. Gurin was already there when I entered. I was breathless and worried until I saw her lying in the bed. She was utterly calm. I knew that she had been so excited to meet our pups. I am, too. This has to be the second-best day of my life, right behind replaceing my mate.

"I am here, Love. Are you OK? Do you need anything?" I asked her. I am trying to stay calm but already worried about her and our pups. I am glad that Dr. Gurin has as much experience as he does. I know that she is strong, but in reading up on all the pregnancy books, I know that labor can be hazardous as well. I have heard horror stories of things going badly. My heart dipped in fear of losing her and my pups. I can't let that happen.

"I am fine, babe. Calm down. We will have our babies in our arms soon. I am so excited to meet them," Saoirse happily told me.

I was trying to calm down, but it was hard. The incident with Clay has kept me stressed out for months. I knew I would never recover if something happened to her. He knew that Saoirse was close to delivering. He had told us both that he knew the babies would be here soon. After Saoirse went home, I started my work day. I returned to speak with him on my lunch break about my fears and concerns. Seeing him again reminded me of our talk last week, and I thought back to it.

"Dr. Gurin, I would like you and Dr. Hill to be present for the birth of the twins. I want the hospital to be fully prepared for anything that might arise. I can't lose her or our pups. I need you to ensure that no matter what, you have a team set up that can handle any emergency. According to my research, several things can go wrong. I want you to be as prepared as you can be. I don't doubt your abilities at all, Dr. Gurin. I know that you are an excellent doctor. I want to ensure things go smoothly for Saoirse," I told him.

"Robert, I understand that you are worried about Saoirse, but trust me, she will be fine. Don't forget that she is very strong. She has already given birth and had no issues with that birth. It is rare for an issue to come up with the second labor, although not impossible. We have thoroughly checked on the babies since she informed us she was pregnant. The latest ultrasounds showed that the twins were fully developed and ready to be welcomed into the world. Twins usually come early, and we have been expecting them any minute. I am sure that they will be arriving in the next two weeks. It is natural to have some concerns; things do happen, but I think everything will go fine with their birth," Dr. Gurin replied with a smile.

"I can't help it. I always worry about her when I can't be with her. I can't wait to meet our pups. I still have nightmares over what Clay and his asshole friends did to my mate. They almost killed her. The worst part was that I couldn't protect her. I can't seem to get past that. I feel like I couldn't keep her safe when her life was on the line. I feel like I failed her. I don't know how to get past this," I told him as I ran my hand through my hair.

"Robert, I have a friend I want you to speak to. I will go with you for the introduction, but I think it would be good for you to talk to someone about what happened with the Adra and Clay issues. It is causing you to carry much more anxiety than you ever have before. Guilt is a strong emotion, and I think that it would be good for you to deal with it in a healthy way. For you to be able to speak to Saoirse in a healthy way. Instead of walking on eggshells, like you have been these last few months," Dr. Gurin stated in a matter-of-fact tone.

"Is it that obvious? I mean, before I mentioned my fears, was it obvious?" I asked hesitantly. I already suspected what the answer was going to be. I feel like I could lose Saoirse at any time. I felt like she was disappointed in me for not being there for her. I can't even bring it up because I fear what she might say. I have not slept well for the last three months. I know that comes into play in this as well, which causes my anxiety to spike even more.

"I have known you for over a decade, Robert. You have grown into a strong man. You are still young, and I will give you some advice here. Saoirse doesn't need you to protect her. She is a very strong witch. Even with her powers decreased by her pregnancy, she still held on for quite some time, as far as I was told. She took on most of the attack to protect Cara, the Luna, and several others. She knew what she was doing. I heard from Alexei that you saw what was happening, and I imagine that it did tear you apart. You need to speak to someone and let this go. She did it not to put herself or your pups at risk. She did it because she wanted to protect her daughter. She just gravely underestimated Clay," Dr. Gurin told me. "Underestimated Clay?" I asked in surprise.

"Robert, did you not speak to Saoirse about what happened once she woke up? Did you not ask her about what you saw happening? Why she decided to draw the fire upon herself?" Dr. Gurin asked.

"No, I was just thankful she woke up. I didn't press her for information about the attack. I just wanted to move past it. I told her I loved her and our babies. I never wanted her to be in another situation like that again. I didn't want to discuss it, to tell you the truth. Just speaking about it made it all come back to me. I just wanted to put it all past me, past us," I responded.

"You need to sit down and speak to Saoirse about it. I believe that you will be surprised by what she says. Tell her how you feel. I didn't realize that you hadn't done that up till now. You need to do that first. If that doesn't work, then I think you need to speak to my friend. I hadn't realized that you had been carrying this the whole time. You will feel better once you talk to her. Please, excuse me," Dr. Gurin told me before speaking to a nurse. She had been just down the hallway, waiting to talk to him.

I went home to talk to Saoirse that night after work. She cleared up a lot of misconceptions I had. I thought that she was still so upset about the Adra incident that she intended to end her life. She told me that neither she nor Cara had noticed that ammo bag. They had been caught by surprise when he and his friends showed up. She admitted that if they had noticed the bag, they would have gotten rid of it much sooner.

By doing that, they would have minimized the length of the attack. If that had happened, it wouldn't have drained her, or Cara, as much as it did. They were both focused on keeping up their barriers to keep everyone safe. Saoirse initially thought Clay would not be as effective as he was in the attack. Obviously, she didn't think much of Clay, and I didn't either. I considered him to be a moron, so I was equally surprised his group was as prepared as it was. Finding that out gave me a lot of relief.

If Cara or Saoirse had realized that one of them was always reloading for the group, things would have been over quickly. I was happy to know she had not deliberately put herself and our pups in harm's way. I also told her about the guilt I felt for not being able to get to her. She knew how angry I was over the Alpha command that Jaxon put on me. She hadn't brought it up as she knew how upset I had been at seeing her under fire. She was trying to keep me from reliving it; she didn't know what my nightmares had been about. She was waiting patiently for me to bring it up.

"With Clay and his friends shooting up the place, Jaxon was right. If you would have come down the stairs trying to rescue me, he would have killed you, Robert. I don't want to live without you either. It was best for you to stay safe; I was worn down but still effective. We just didn't know that they could hold out for the length of time they did. Once Cara could look around, while they were focused on me, she noticed it. Do not worry about me, love. I could have made it a few more minutes, but I was so proud of Cara for listening to her gut. She made me so proud that day. Please don't beat yourself up about it anymore, Robert. I know that if you had been able to, you would have protected me, Robert. I know that for a fact. Cara just happened to beat you to it," Saoirse told me.

After we spoke, my nightmares went from every night to just having one this week. Saoirse woke me up when she heard me having the nightmare and reminded me she was safe. My anxiety is much better now, as I don't have to worry like I did. I didn't realize I was lost in thought until I felt Saoirse squeezing my hand. I placed one hand on her stomach like I was trying to give her some of my strength through touch.

"Robert, do not worry, my love. Everything is going to be fine. I can feel it. Our babies will be fine," Saoirse told me confidently.

I leaned down and kissed her. I love her so much. She was in labor and already in pain, but she still took the time to comfort me. The door opened, and Cara entered with Alexei right behind her. She carried a backpack with her and smiled, saying, "Robert, we knew you would run here and need some clothes and shoes. So we brought you some-two sets, as you should be here a day or two. Mom, I brought you a set of clothes and a pair of pajamas. I also brought along some of the outfits you set aside for the twins. I can't wait to meet my siblings."