Beverly's Rebirth (A novella) (Six Saviors Series Book 4) by Carly Fall

Chapter 1
    Hudson flipped on the radio to the oldies station. Hot Chocolate ’s “I Believe in Miracles” came on, which made him smile, and he did a little dance around the kitchen. A few seconds later, the elevator doors opened and there stood his very pregnant mate, Beverly.
    “I believe in miracles, where you from, you sexy thing . . .”
    Oh, hell yeah, that was so true.
    His miracle , Beverly, waddled toward him. She gave him a brief smile that didn’t quite light up her soft green eyes, her cheeks a little chubbier than they were nine months ago. Her blonde hair hung in soft waves around her shoulders. Dressed in a long, blue, button-down shirt and black sweatpants, her face glowed without makeup. She was the sexiest thing he had ever seen.
    The past couple of months had been hard on her. Their baby kicked and moved endlessly within her belly, giving her very few good nights’ sleep. She had felt ill during the first few months of the pregnancy, but once the first trimester ended, she had felt great. Now they were into the last trimester, and she was back to feeling pretty crappy.
    She had terrible heartburn , her body was achy, and she was exhausted. With each passing day, she seemed to be getting a little worse. Hudson hoped that this was not a forewarning of a hard birth.
    They had visited three different obstetricians under false names, as they didn’t want a record of Beverly out there. She had pretty much fallen off the face of the Earth as far as everyone else was concerned, and now she called the Six Saviors’ world her home. All the doctors said that the baby was doing wonderfully. There hadn’t been any significant changes in Beverly’s blood work, except the anemia, and they had put her on iron pills for that.
    None of the doctors had given thought, nor should they, that she was pregnant with a mixed-species baby. No one within the Six Saviors compound had any idea on what to do in these circumstances, because none of them had ever been around for a birth of a mixed-species baby.
    Although his daughter, Abby, who was mated to his best friend and fellow SR44ian Noah, was a mixed-species baby, Hudson hadn’t been present for her gestation or birth, thanks to her mother, Iris. Yes, Iris had ceremoniously dumped his ass the second she had found out she was with his child.
    For this pregnancy, Hudson had been around for every second of it, through the good and the bad. He held Beverly’s hair back as she vomited, then cooled her forehead with a damp cloth. He rubbed her feet and back when she asked, and volunteered to do it when she looked like she needed it. He had shed a tear or two the first time he felt the baby move, and he talked to the burgeoning belly a few times a day. Now they were playing the waiting game. Her due date was in two weeks and everyone was ready to meet the baby.
    Hudson couldn’t wait meet his son. Or daughter.
    He never thought he would have another child. During his whoring days, he had always been very careful to make sure that didn’t happen. But now, having a child with Beverly was the greatest gift he could ever have received. He truly felt blessed beyond what he deserved.
    “Come here, beautiful,” Hudson said, spreading his arms wide. “How are you feeling?” He wrapped her in a bear hug. Her belly prevented her from giving him a proper embrace, but she snaked her arms around his waist the best she could.
    “Okay. Sleepy.”
    “Why don’t you go lay down ?”
    “Because I just got up!” She lifted her gaze and gave him a tired smile, her green eyes the color of ferns.
    He started to sway to the music, and after a moment he spun her gently around the kitchen. Turning her slowly, he pulled her to him, so that her back was against his chest, and he laid his hands on her belly.
    “Where you from, you sex y thing,” he growled into her ear, singing to the music.
    She laughed, grabbed his hands, and leaned her head back against his chest. “I’m not feeling too