Chapter 18
Cara and Wamblee arrived at work and Wamblee headed toward his office as Cara headed up front.
“You my friend are looking miserable,” Peggy commented as she watched Cara sit down at her desk.
Cara looked up and heaved a heavy sigh. “You have no idea. I know we’re only having one, but I think he weighs a ton.”
Ramona, who was just walking in, laughed. “I remember my first baby well. He was ten pounds and three ounces when he got here. Biggest baby I had, and I had four. By the time I went into labor, I couldn’t get up and down without my husband’s help.”
Cara groaned and rubbed her belly. “I hope this one isn’t too big, but he seems to be getting there. It’s times like this when I miss my mom the most. She could tell me what it was like carrying me and stuff.”
Peggy walked over and hugged her from behind with her arms around Cara’s neck. “You could always talk to Lee’s mom. You know, since he was a boy, she might be helpful.”
Cara nodded. “I know, but I still feel a bit awkward around them even though they’ve been really nice to me.” Pushing the unhappy thoughts aside, she grinned. Then, almost in a whisper she told them, “You know, Wamblee’s eagle has been visiting a lot since Wamblee has been able to transform.”
It had been a long road to recovery for Wamblee’s eagle. It had taken almost two months before Wamblee had felt the push to set his eagle free.
Once freed though, it had been three days before Wamblee had reemerged human again.
The eagle had stayed close to Cara, rubbing his head on her belly and chirping. Cara had thought it so sweet, it was almost as if he was talking to the baby. So, she’d sat for hours and talked to the eagle as if he was Wamblee. Then at night when she went to bed, she would leave the window open and there he would perch watching over her until morning.
“Oh really? What does he do?” Peggy asked, sitting on the edge of Cara’s desk.
“He sits on my knee. Wamblee made a special leather cover so he doesn’t have to worry so much about his claws, so Handsome sits on that.”
“Handsome?” Peggy questioned with a giggle.
“That’s what I call him,” Cara said as her face turned pink. “I rub him, and he rubs my belly with his head,” she giggled then. “He brought me a rabbit.”
“A rabbit?” Peggy snickered.
“Don’t laugh at his gift. Eagle thought she was hungry because he heard her stomach growl,” Wamblee said from the doorway causing the three women to look his way.
“Well, I was hungry, but I’m not sure rabbit was what I was hungry for,” Cara said. “It was really sweet of him though. Anyway, he visits every day.”
“He is worried about you, you and his little eaglet,” Ramona said with a knowing nod. “My husband’s fox was the same way. They show their concern the only way they can as an animal. The closer I was to giving birth, the harder it was for my husband to control his animal who wanted to be near me every moment.”
Cara smiled at her own husband who was now standing behind her running his fingers over her shoulders. Showing her, that even in his human form, he wanted to be as close as possible to her.
“I don’t mind, I love my sweet Wamblee and his handsome eagle.” Turning to Peggy she asked, “So, what about your raven? When are we going to meet him?”
A sweet look came over Peggy’s face. “Soon. He’s going to move here in a couple of weeks. He says he’s tired of being apart from me, so he talked to the Ithanchan (chief) a few days ago and has been accepted into the tribe. He just has to finish out his notice at work, wrap up a few lose ends, and then he’ll be here.”
“Good,” Cara said with a nod. “because I really would like to know the man who will be helping my son’s godmother if something were to happen.”
Peggy stood, staring at Cara with a blank look, then a big grin crossed her face. “You…you want me to be the godmother?”
“We do. Although, Wamblee isn’t real sure about the godparent thing, he agreed to it,” Cara told her.
Peggy pulled Cara up out of her seat and into a hug. “Thank you, it will be an honor.”
Cara hugged her back. “You have become a very good friend to me Peggy and I know you’re one of Wamblee’s closest friends. So, it only seemed natural to make you godmother.”
“I’ll be the best godmother ever,” Peggy whispered.
“I know you will,” Cara whispered back.
#
Cara yawned as she made her way into the bedroom to get ready for bed. It didn’t take much to exhaust her any more with only about two weeks left before the baby was due.
Wamblee was sitting on the edge of the bed waiting for her when she walked in. “Tired?”
“I am,” she agreed.
“Come, let me rub some lotion on your back and belly. It will relax you, so you’ll be able to sleep better,” he encouraged as he held up a lotion bottle.
Cara smirked. “You just want me naked, since you’re almost there yourself.”
Wamblee winked before looking down at his boxers. “Maybe I do. You know you like to rub on me when you sleep.”
She laughed and kicked off her shoes. She then pulled her dress up over her head leaving her in nothing but her panties and bra. By that time, she was standing in front of Wamblee, and as he unfastened her bra she said, “You have an awesome body Wamblee, why wouldn’t I enjoy feeling of it?”
She watched as he poured lotion on his hands, rubbing them together to warm it before he began to gently rub it on her back and hips. She leaned forward, her hands on his shoulders while he massaged the kinks out of her lower back.
“True,” he murmured. “I love you so much my sweet winyan.”
“I love you too,” she almost moaned as his hands moved over her body. She loved when he did this. It had become their nightly ritual and usually ended in lovemaking because by the time he finished she was aroused.
He stood up then and moved behind her. He began kissing her neck and shoulder as his hands moved over her breasts. He gently rubbed them until they were aching in need. Then he moved down, sweeping his hands over and over her belly, rubbing lotion over every part of it. He then began to move lower. She felt his hands move over her woman’s mound and leaning back against him, she widened her stance. His hand slipped further, fingers moving through her now damp folds and causing her to whimper in her need.
“Wamblee, please,” she cried softly.
“Always,” he whispered. He then moved around her to position the pillows on the bed. Turning back to her, he helped her lay down, her hips slightly raised on the pillows.
Next, he moved between her legs, leaning over her to give her a kiss.
She whimpered her longing, bringing her hands up to tangle in his hair.
His hand once more moved to gently rub, arousing her even more until her hips jerked upward, showing him how ready she was.
“Now, mihigna ki (my husband), now,” she cried.
He thrust deep and she keened deep in her throat as they began to move in sync with each other.
“You always feel so good,” he muttered after he nipped her neck.
She opened her eyes to look up at him. His lips were swollen with their kisses, his eyes dark and dilated. Feeling the pull of her release coming fast, her eyes began to close only to open wide when she saw something.
Wamblee’s face began to fade in and out as she began to see the ghostly shadow of his eagle, just as she had when he’d marked her.
She heard the chirping sound he made as Wamblee moved faster, pushing her closer to the edge of her release. As her body began to tighten, preparing for her release, the ghostly eagle brought his claws down on her stomach.
She expected pain, yet felt none, only the pleasure of her release as her back bowed and she screamed out Wamblee’s name. Then she felt the baby jump in her womb, and Wamblee grunted his release at the same time.
He gave her as long kiss, moving away only to drag in another deep breath before kissing her again. Rolling off her, he pulled her off the pillows before placing them back at the head of the bed. He then lay down and pulled her close.
“Wamblee,” she said in a shaky voice.
He looked down at her to find her looking at him wide eyed. Frowning he asked, “Are you alright? I didn’t hurt you, did I?”
She shook her head. “No, but…did you feel anything strange about our lovemaking?”
“No, though I did feel the baby let out a powerful kick at the end,” he told her.
Wamblee though it had been a bit odd, for they made love almost every night and the baby had never kicked like that before.
“I wasn’t much for sports, but I believe our baby is going to be extremely athletic,” he said then.
“Wamblee, I know you told me that because I’m human our baby will be also,” she whispered.
“That’s right,” he agreed. He watched her shake her head.
“I disagree, especially after what just happened,” she told him.
Wamblee turned so they were facing each other and said, “Explain.”
“I saw your eagle Wamblee, just as I did when you marked me. He was almost ghostly and as I reached my peak, he clawed my stomach. I believe he…marked the baby or something. Somehow, I think he wanted us to know our baby will be an eagle,” she told him.
Wamblee brought his hand up to run it through her hair. “I will not argue this with you, for I honestly have never heard of something like this happening. I will say this, if it is meant for our baby to be an eagle, if he is blessed by the Wakan Tanka with an eagle spirit, then that is fine. I want you to know though that if it is not, I will still love this baby with my whole heart.”
“I know you will mihigna ki, I know you will,” she told him.
Then with one last kiss, they slept.
Cara was pacing the floor, rubbing her belly and muttering to herself. She was due to have her baby by the end of the week so Wamblee had been making her stay at home. Monica had been to see her that morning and had stayed well after lunch.
Now it was almost four and Cara was feeling anxious. She wasn’t sure why exactly, but she was. She was contemplating calling Wamblee, but she knew he had a full day because he wanted to be able to take a couple of days off when the baby was born.
She wasn’t having any pains, so she didn’t think she was in labor, but her belly felt so heavy and seemed to be growing heavier by the minute.
By four-thirty the pain had started, so Cara squatted down in front of the sofa to relieve the ache in her back and began to do her breathing exercise. It helped slightly, and she kept an eye on the time to make sure the pain wasn’t getting too close together.
She needed to know if she was going to have to call Wamblee because it would take him at least twenty minutes to get there as the eagle flies.
Cara giggled at her thoughts. “As the eagle flies, so funny since he is an eagle.”
Her laughter stopped as another pain hit her causing her to cry out.
“The pain is increasing,” she whimpered. “I wish Wamblee was here with me.”
She breathed through the next pain and looked up when she heard a chirping bark at the window.
“Handsome?” She whispered. “It can’t be, you’re…you are a part of Wamblee. You can’t be separated, so how are you here?”
Carefully standing, she made her way to the window and looked out, cocking her head. The eagle stared back at her, unblinking.
She gave a soft sigh. “It doesn’t matter to me how you are here, just that I’m no longer alone.”
She then opened the window before moving back to her place in front of the couch. She watched him fly in and land on the back of the couch as another contraction hit.
She quickly breathed through it counting until it was over. “Getting stronger, but no closer together. The clock says it’s now five, so Wamblee should be here soon,” she said to the eagle.
He chirped back at her.
She gave him a nod. “It won’t be long before your little eaglet is here. I’m excited, so is Wamblee. I kinda wonder if you are too, well probably not, not until time for you to teach him to hunt and to fly, huh?” She sighed and lay her head sideways. “I’m glad you’re here.”
Cara closed her eyes. Rubbing her belly, she began to hum, calm with her handsome eagle to keep her company until Wamblee arrived.
When the next contraction hit, it was almost unexpected, and she let out a shriek as her eyes flew open. “OW! That hurt!”
The eagle let out a loud chirp, and Cara laughed. “Sorry, I guess I relaxed and forgot I’m in labor.”
“You’re in labor? Why didn’t you call me?”
Cara turned toward the doorway and smiled at Wamblee as he hurried into the room. “I would have if I was further along, but my contractions are still almost twenty minutes apart and…” she turned to find the eagle no longer on the back of the couch.
“And what?” he asked as he helped her to stand.
She sighed as she gazed into his eyes. “You aren’t going to believe me.”
Wamblee chuckled. “Winyan, I’m a Lakhóta Indian and a shifter, there isn’t to much I won’t believe.”
He began to help her into the bedroom and to lay down as she told him, “Your eagle, he came and kept me company while I waited for you.”
Wamblee raised an eyebrow, even as he began to remove her underwear, so he could check how far along she was. “My eagle? You realize it is impossible for him to be separate from me. Are you sure it wasn’t just a random eagle?”
“I might have thought that if he had just been outside. I opened the window though, spoke to him, and he flew in and landed on the back of the couch.”
“Hm…well, I know I wasn’t here…”
“I didn’t say it made any sense Wamblee. I do know that Ramona told me the animal has a hard time being away the closer to the birth of their offspring,” she told him, then sighed. “Maybe it was just wishful thinking on my part because I wanted you here so much.”
Wamblee moved forward and kissed her. “I wish you had called me.”
“Better to want you now and you not be here so that you can stay with me for a few days after the baby is born.”
Wamblee huffed. “Fine, I’m here now though and you are very close to being ready. So, I’m going to call everyone. Who all do you want to be here?”
“Well, Peggy of course since she’d going to help you deliver,” Cara said. “Dad said not to call him until the baby is here because he doesn’t want to hear my screaming. Um…I don’t know if your parents want to be here or not.”
Wamblee shook his head. “Father said almost the same as your dad. So, I’ll just call and let everyone know you’re in labor and ask Peggy to come.”
Wamblee left but was back with in just a few minutes. “My eagle is extremely restless and is pounding at my mental walls.” He muttered rubbing at his head. “So, I’ll make those calls from in here now that I have my phone.”
Cara giggled. “He wants to see his little eaglet as badly as we do.”
“You’re right, he does,” Wamblee agreed.