Pregnant With Four Alphas' Babies: A Reverse Harem Romance Chapter 229: It's Not Easy Being a Mom

*Retta*

Wow, it sure is hard work being a mom. Astrid seems to be crying all the time, and I don’t know what she wants. I’ve been giving her formula and following the directions on the can, and then I change her diaper for what seems like a hundred times a day, and she still cries.

I’m doing it again—changing her diaper—when I hear someone pounding on my motel room door. I sigh. I haven’t been here long and at least five people have done the same thing. I’m guessing this is someone else who’s going to tell me to quiet down. How can I make a baby be quiet on demand?

“For the love of the fuckin’ Goddess, woman, shut that kid up!” It’s the manager again, with his half-bald head, jeans, and faded rock band T-shirt, and he’s standing here looking like steam is coming out of his ears.

“I’m a new mother, sir,” I say. It’s true; I’ve only been a mother for as long as I’ve had little Astrid.

That seems to stir something in him, because he doesn’t look as mad anymore. “Look,” he says with a sigh. “I’m all for motherhood. I’ve gotta mother of my own, ‘ya know. But I can’t have the screaming around here twenty-four seven. I’ve got guests who need sleep.”

“The only guests I’ve seen besides me are the ones who stay for an hour with a ‘guest’ of their own,” I say. “I’m trying as hard as I can. Motherhood is tough.”

“Ain’t there nobody who can help ya, girl?” he asks. “Looks to me like you’re a bit out of your league.”

“Are you offering?” I ask.

“Hell no,” he says. “Just quiet down. Do whatever it takes.”

He waves his hand around and walks away before I can say anything else, but I can’t think of anything to tell him anyway. I guess he’s right, to an extent. I’m out of my league with this mother stuff, and I need some help.

I look at little Astrid, lying there on the king-size bed hollering at the top of her lungs. Even when she’s screaming, she’s cute. Her little face turns red, and it looks adorable with those dark curls. I love those dark curls.

I go over to the bed and pick her up, and she starts to calm down at least. That’s great, but I can’t just carry her around constantly. It’s exhausting. I know the manager is right, that I need some help, but it’s not like I can call up a friend to come show me what to do. I sure can’t call Rose.

I had a lot of training as a midwife and how to generally care for newborns, but it’s a whole lot different when you’re all alone, and you’re the only one who can take care of the kid all day and all night. It's exhausting, and I’m running out of energy.

I wish I had my textbooks right now, because I can’t say that I paid much attention to the baby care part of my healer training. I just wanted a job for the pack, and they let me train as an assistant healer. I also did some midwife training—that seemed easy since you’re only needed when a pup is born, and I figured that wouldn’t be very often. So I hadn’t really listened when it came to baby care. I just knew the basics about diapers and things.

Well, if I don’t have my textbooks, then I’m going to have to go to a library and find some. I’m already dressed, so I grab a few gold coins, hide the rest where I think no one will look, wrap up Astrid, and head out the door, locking it behind me.

By now, the manager is long gone, and the sun is peeking through the city’s buildings. There aren’t many people on the street, so I walk up to an old lady to ask about a library. When I get closer, I see that she’s not really that old; she just looks like she’s been through a lot.

“In this part of town?” she asks with a laugh. “Hun, you need to go at least five city blocks north to get to anything like that.”

“Five blocks,” I repeat with a sigh.

“You can try to get a cab, but there’s not many of those around at this hour of the day,” she says.

“Thank you,” I say, and I start walking. No matter where I am, I’ll be walking around keeping Astrid quiet, so I might as well go somewhere to get something done.

It seems to take forever to walk to a better neighborhood, but it’s worth it because there’s a nice park with some benches and play equipment. “I guess you’re a little young for that,” I say to Astrid. “But maybe we can stop for a rest at least.”

I lay out her blanket on the grass, and she blinks at the bright sun overhead, so I move her over into the shade. She lays there a bit, looking tired, but then after a few minutes, she’s crying again. People are looking at me weirdly, so I pick her up and keep walking. I can’t afford this kind of attention.

I finally find someone who can show me where the library is, and it’s not far from the park. When I get inside, it’s quiet—it’s a library, after all—so I’m going to have to work fast if I’m going to find a book or two before Astrid starts crying again.

It doesn’t take long before I find the right section, and I’m instantly overwhelmed. There’s a book about what to expect with babies, and it’s huge. Why is there so much to know about babies? Since I’m going to be Astrid’s mom forever, I figure I’ll need all that information, so I’d better get the book.

I get to the check-out area, and there’s a redheaded lady there with glasses staring at her computer. She looks up when I plop the heavy book on the counter. “Sorry,” she says. “That’s a reference book, so we can’t check those out. You’re welcome to read it here.”

“Oh,” I say. “Sorry.”

“No problem,” she says, then she goes back to staring at her computer screen.

I haul the big book back to where I found it, which is behind a bunch of tall shelves where no one can see me. I’m not really thrilled about carrying the big book all the way back to my motel anyway, so I set Astrid down on the floor, flip through the pages to the newborn care section, and quietly rip out all the pages I need. No one will ever look at this book anyway, and I need the information.

Shoving the book back on the shelf and wrapping the torn pages into Astrid’s blanket, I walk out of the library and head back to the motel, which I guess I’ll call home for a while.

Nobody will find me there.

And with my new book, I’ll know everything I need to know about newborn babies, and I’ll be a great mom for my little Astrid forever.

* * *

*Kelly*

“Randolph,” I say. “Don’t you think those guys are being a bit cruel to you?”

It’s been a while, and my idea of warming up to the once-intimidating man is working. He’s really a baby in a man’s body who just wants to fit in. I think I can convince him to help me and the girls escape, and maybe I’ll get him some help, too.

“They is just jokin’ around,” he says. But I can see in his eyes that those ‘jokes’ hurt.

“No one should make fun of you,” I say. “If they do, they’re not a true friend. I think you should come with us and get out of here. I’m sure there are better places for you to be on the outside.”

He shakes his head. “Mister says there ain’t nothin’ out there but mean people who will hurt me and my mama.”

“Your mama?” I ask. “Is your mother here with you?”

“Not really,” he says. “She’s up top.”

“Up top?”

“Nah, I’ve said too much,” he says, shaking his head.

I almost had him. Just a little more of this and I think I can convince him to help us, or at least get him to tell me information. “Are they keeping your mother somewhere and not letting you see her?” I ask.

He nods with a sad, defeated look on his face. So they’re blackmailing him to guard me. But who? And why?

“Who is ‘Mister’?” I ask. “Is that who’s in charge?”

“Of course,” he says.

“What’s his name?” I ask.

“He ain’t never said his name to me,” says Randolph.

“I see,” I say.

“But I’ve heard the guys talk,” he adds, leaning over a bit to whisper into my ear. “They call him Beta.”