"Nothing," she said, shaking her head quickly and realizing her mistake. "I'm so sorry, Ella—I didn't mean to scare you—he's just" She turned again to the monitor, shaking her head at what she saw.

"Cora!" I shouted, sitting up quickly and grabbing her shoulder. "Tell me! Now!"

Sinclair was at my side instantly, a warm hand on my back as he peered down at the monitor. Hank likewise turned his head to the screen, curious.

"The baby is just huge," Cora breathed, awestruck. "If these measurements are right" She shook her head, looking up at Hank. "I mean, are you seeing what I'm seeing?"

Hank leaned forward, considering, then his eyes widened. He stood up, leaned back, and crossed his arms. "She's right. That is a big baby."

My breath hitched as I looked frantically between the screen, my doctors, and my mate before finally settling on my stomach. Oh my god. Was he really that huge? Was my idea that he was as big as a watermelon actually true? Was he so big he wouldn't be able to be delivered vaginally, and would have to stay in there until I exploded?

"Don't freak out, Ella," Hank said, drawing my eyes to his calm face. "It's nothing drastic yet. Just a big baby."

"That's a bit of an understatement, Hank," Cora said, glancing up at him. "Only a man would say that a twelve-pound baby, not even at full term, is nothing drastic."

"I'm just saying," Hank interrupted smoothly and professionally, keeping his eyes on me, "that the baby's size is, at this point, no risk to himself or to you—which is really the important thing. Many women, even petite women like yourself, have delivered twelve-pound babies before."

"Yeah," I muttered, glaring down at my stomach. "But I'm sure they didn't enjoy the experience."

"She's not even at full term yet, though," Sinclair said, and I looked up to see a worried frown on his face as he looked between Cora and Hank. "If the baby is twelve pounds now, in a month he'll be"

"Godzilla," Cora murmured unhelpfully, still staring at the screen and moving the wand around on my belly, assessing Rafe's condition. I gave her a little kick, and she tossed a smirk in my direction.

I ignored her and bit my lip, worried. "Seriously, if he continues to grow at this rate," I fretted, looking between my doctors, "what does that mean a month from now?"

"Well," Hank said, considering me seriously, "if the baby gets too large for a natural delivery, we'll consider a cesarean. But I think everyone in this room agrees that a natural birth would be preferable. Cora?" He passed her the proverbial baton. "What do you think?"

"I think" she said, giving the screen one last glance and then looking at me and Sinclair. "Honestly, guys, I think this muffin is baked. Looking at that screen, everything suggests a full-term baby ready to go. I'm not as familiar with wolf deliveries as I'd like to be, but if you were a human woman, I'd say you were nine months pregnant and ready to pop at any moment."

Hank nodded. "I agree. I've been reading up on wolf pregnancies and found that six months is more of a deadline than an expectation. I think your child could be born any day now and, from what we see in the exam, we have every reason to expect a healthy delivery." He gave us a wide smile, and Cora joined him. "Congratulations, Alpha and Luna. You're about to be parents."

I sat up straight, a thrill running through me—both at the anticipation of meeting my baby soon and that this pregnancy could be over. "Really?" I breathed, looking at them with shining eyes. "Any day now?"

Hank nodded happily. "You've done beautifully, Ella—your bed rest these past months has really allowed your body to heal and Rafe to grow. I'd say you're just about as strong as any mom ready to give birth to her first baby. I think you can look to the next steps with confidence."

I looked up at Sinclair, my face alive with happiness. He put a broad hand on my cheek, brought his face down to mine, and placed a swift kiss on my lips. "You're a miracle, Ella," he whispered, sweeping his hand back to tuck my hair behind my ear. "I'm so proud of you, baby."

My eyes filled with tears at my sudden happiness, my love for my mate, my child, our soon-to-be family. The entire pregnancy had been so full of anxiety—to be able to come into the final days of it happy, healthy, and confident it was such a blessing. And I didn't know what I'd done to earn it.

"Congratulations, sis," Cora said, taking my hand and beaming at me. I squeezed her hand and used my other hand to wipe the tears from my eyes as Sinclair straightened up beside me, his hand still confidently on my back.

"Thanks," I said, laughing with relief. "Thank you both so much for your care. We couldn't have done it without you."

"Well, we're not finished yet," Hank replied practically, studying me. "Ella, considering that your baby is fully grown and ready to go, you might consider"

"What?" I asked when he paused, cocking my head curiously.

"Well, for your own comfort," he continued, "you might consider some traditional methods of moving the pregnancy along. A twelve-pound baby is a large baby, and if he gets any bigger" Hank looked to Cora for support.

"He's right," Cora said, looking from Hank to me. "We don't want to do a cesarean if we can avoid it, and we can always induce early if it comes to that, but it's always best for both mother and child if the mother's body goes into labor naturally. But there are some folk remedies which can encourage that" She began to smirk.

"Like what?" I asked, frowning, trying to remember.

"You can take castor oil," she suggested slowly, her smile growing. "Or eat some spicy foods. Go for a long walk."

My eyes lit up at the idea of a walk—god, I'd been on bed rest for so long, the idea of a walk now sounded amazing.

"Or," she continued, her smile now a grin, "you could have sex."

"What?" I breathed, my eyes widening. I felt Sinclair tense beside me, his body going perfectly still.

Cora nodded slowly, starting to laugh a little as she glanced between us. "Yup. It's perhaps the most tried-and-true method to start labor. And considering that Ella's body is healthy, and the baby is ready to go," she shrugged, looking up at Hank for confirmation. "I don't see any reason not to."

Hank nodded, clearing his throat and looking out the window, apparently eager to avoid eye contact with us. "Yup," he said briskly, suddenly very interested in a squirrel outside running up the trunk of a tree. "I see no reason to abstain any further, if you're—"

But there was no reason for him to finish his sentence, because Sinclair and I were already gone.