Free Claimed by the Alphas: Part Six by Viola Rivard

judged him.
     
    Since she had come into their lives though, Caim had been guarded with his feelings. The things he felt, particularly when they pertained to his mate, had become private to him. They shared her body and her love. His feelings towards her were the one part of her that was just his and no one else’s.
     
    In deep thought, he did not realize Asch had stopped pacing until he was sitting down beside Caim. Asch’s eyes were bloodshot, and his hair was in disarray from constantly worrying it with his fingers.
     
    “You look like shit,” said Asch.
     
    Caim grinned, about to respond when he heard footsteps approaching. He turned his attention to the mouth of the tunnel, standing when he caught Fern’s scent, mingled with the smell of his mate’s blood.
     
    She emerged from the dark tunnel, carrying a large bundle of what appeared to be furs. Both males approached her uneasily.
     
    “All over,” she said cheerfully. “Mama’s fine, pup is fine, and that’s all that matters right now, understood?” They gave her obligatory nods. “Good, now I want you to take this,” she said, handing the bundle to Asch.
     
    They both stared down at the furs, Caim fully expecting there to be a pup somewhere within the bloodied pelts, but there was none. He glanced up at Fern impatiently.
     
    Carefully, she said to Asch, “You are going to go down to the lake and clean these up. Hang them up to dry and go for a run. When you’re ready, you can come back and see your mate.” She looked to Caim. “And you are going to go meet your daughter.”
     

CHAPTER FIFTEEN
     
     
    “Do you want to hold her?” Mila asked uncertainly.
     
    She wasn’t sure what to make of Caim’s reaction to his daughter. He had entered the room a few moments ago, approaching her as if she were holding a bomb up to her chest, rather than newborn. Now he was crouched beside them, staring down at the baby as if he didn’t know what he was looking at.
     
    His brows furrowed as he considered the question, then he said, “No.”
     
    She tried to get a read on him, but his expression was just too ambiguous for her to discern. Not allowing herself to get discouraged, she decided to try a different angle.
     
    “Well, I’m really tired,” she said. “Can you just hold her for a second while I get comfortable?”
     
    Mila didn’t wait for him to respond. She plucked Dawn from her chest and, very gently, shoved her at her father. Probably reacting more on instinct than willingness, Caim accepted the small bundle.
     
    At first, he held her awkwardly in his hands. She was so tiny and his hands were so big, that she fit in them perfectly. Then, to Mila’s surprise, Caim leaned back onto the floor and laid the baby on his chest. Forgetting that she was supposed to be making herself comfortable, she scooted herself over to lie down beside him. He opened his arm, letting Mila rest her head on his chest.
     
    “Are you disappointed that she’s not a boy?”
     
    “No,” was his only reply.
     
    Mila waited for him to say more, but when he didn’t she craned her neck up to look at him and frowned. His head turned towards her, he had already fallen into a deep, easy sleep.
     
    Sleep did not come as easily to Mila. Despite her exhaustion, she couldn’t stop thinking about Asch, who had yet to make an appearance. She assumed Fern had told him, which was somewhat of a relief to her. She wasn’t sure that she could bear to be the one to tell him.
     
    She felt bad for Asch, and also for her daughter, who through no fault of her own, had broken a heart the day she’d come into the world.
     
    While sleep eluded her, she watched Dawn, who had fallen asleep as well. With her head to the side and her mouth hanging open, she may as well have been mimicking her father’s pose. Her tiny hand curled and uncurled in her sleep, almost as if she was kneading his chest. She had no clue what type of relationship Caim would have with his daughter, but