The German Midwife Novels & Stories

Facing them, he let out an exasperated sigh. "Where is Camilla, and where is the baby?" The midwives started looking at each other, their elbows moving as they nudged themselves to speak. But with the confusion plastered on each of their faces, there was nothing to tell. Rafael’s smile vanished. “You,” he said, pointing. The woman in the middle stepped forward. She was brunette, her skin darker than the rest, sharp cheekbones giving her away as Mexican. Her eyes were wide, glassy with fear, lips trembling as she swallowed hard.

The pain was excruciating, and she dangled between life and death. “Push, Eve. You're doing a good job,” the midwife, Serena encouraged, her voice gentle, and soothing. She was a middle-aged woman, who had taken care of Eve throughout her entire pregnancy. As an orphan, Serena was the closest thing Eve had to a motherly figure in her life. “You can do it,” Serena said, egging her on.

I found the retired midwife who’d once served the royal family—she lived quietly now, tucked away and forgotten. She didn’t ask questions when I told her who needed her. Just gathered warm cloth, small flasks, herbs, and followed. Back in the chamber, Seraphina was hunched forward. Her breathing ragged. The midwife rushed to her side and motioned for me. “Hot water. Towels. Prop her up. Now.” I didn’t ask questions. I ran to fetch the water, returned with a pot steaming from the fire. I layered pillows under Seraphina’s back as gently as I could. She gripped my arm, digging her nails in, crying out.

The woman's hair was braided and bobbed to keep it out of her eyes, her hands an Smock covered in pink, gelatinous material. Josephus in that Santesa's belly was glistening from reddish oin and that the bloody foot of a crane was on the bed. wil craft. This, he could not condone. 1he midwife turned to acknowledge the presence ol minister and simply said, "It is breeched. Josephus edged up behind her, and the midwife suddenlv lifted the shift to let him see a tiny purple foot dangling

"I should have known the little rebel would produce two of them for you! She's not a woman to do things by half, she's not, and I knew that the first time I laid my eyes on her. Now, where are they?" The midwife came over with the cleaned infants in her arms, beaming, her broad face certain of garnering the appropriate appreciation of the children she had helped deliver. This time she received it, and Adeline laughed and cried at the same time, tears slipping down her unpowdered face and spotting her gown.

Yosef chimed in, "Let's go. Hemmy, your grandma's waiting back at the house, you know." Yosef's ride of choice? The same old RV. Once they were all aboard, Mira took a seat by Helma, her gaze heavy with worry as she eyed Helma's growing bump. "Feels like I just got back from Greenville, and Hemmy's belly's already popped more." Jade bit her lip, a storm of happiness and anxiety brewing inside her. "Everything set with the doc back home?" "All good to go. The lead midwife's a buddy of Yosef's, a big-shot gynecologist with a global reputation. Chill, not a whisper's getting out!"

I say. The nurse smiles and nods. “I’m a midwife, I’m used to it, but usually the she-wolves I attend understand what I’m doing…and don’t threaten me.” “She’s a queen,” Kane says. Apparently, that’s enough of an explanation for the midwife. She pushes the bassinet over to the bed and lifts the baby into her arms. “Look at him,” I say, trying my best to ignore my snarling wolf. “He’s so beautiful.”

"I'm here, my love. I'm here." Her fingers locked down over my fingers, surprisingly strong in a clasp. "It…hurts," she confessed, shaking voice. "I know," I whispered, brushing the wet hair out of her face. "But you're strong, Naomi. Stronger even than anyone I've ever met." The midwife, a wise, sharp-eyed older woman, moved with a quiet efficiency, issuing quiet orders to her attendants clustering about her. "Breathe, my lady," she instructed, "you're getting on beautifully."

I exhale in a breathless whoosh, clinging to him and close my eyes once more to try and find the way through what I know is only going to get worse. “I’m here, everyone except Mom and Daddy, out. You don’t need to be in here unless I call you. We have babies to deliver.” Marda the most experienced midwife of the Santo back sweeps in with authority and reassurance and despite not being able to respond to her, my heart calms a little knowing she is here. She has delivered hundreds of pups over the years, she ever delivered me. I can relax into her care and know that I’m in safe hands and she will help me through this whatever way it needs to be done.

she asked, her voice still shaky from the ordeal. "Now," I said, placing a soft kiss on her cheek, "we rest. The midwife will take care of everything. We just need to be here for our babies." The midwife, Samantha, had moved efficiently around the room, tidying up the mess that childbirth often brings. She had wrapped Isabella and Michael in soft, clean blankets, and now she handed them to Selena, who cradled them in her arms, her eyes never leaving their tiny faces. I watched her, feeling an overwhelming surge of love and admiration for her strength.