Chapter 59

Five weeks. The doctor confirmed that I was indeed pregnant.

“Congratulations, you are carrying the next Alpha.” She beamed at me and I managed a weak smile in return.

What if it wasn’t an alpha but an omega?

“Are they healthy?” Valens asked the doctor.

I wished he was physically present but he couldn’t get a flight even after he travelled to the next airport. I wanted to wait for him but he insisted I saw a doctor as soon as possible. He was paranoid something drastic would happen to the baby if I didn’t see the doctor. Or maybe he wanted to be sure the pregnancy tests hadn’t glitched.

“Yes, everything looks fine to me,” the doctor replied.

“She has lost a ton of weight. Is that normal?”

In truth, I hadn’t lost a lot of weight. I did lose weight as I wasn’t really eating and I had a lot on my plate this period. I lost weight but not a ‘ton’ as Valens put it.

“Some women lose their appetite during the first trimester so a little weight loss is not uncommon but a ton?” The doctor looked to me for clarification and I shook my head.

“I’m just not hungry and everything smells weird.” When food came, I was either extremely repulsed by the smell or enticed enough to devour the whole plate like a glutton.

After the snacks Celeste got me yesterday, nothing else seemed good enough to eat. The knowledge of being pregnant made me want to eat but there was only so much I could stomach. Nausea hit hard after dinner last night but I thankfully didn’t throw up.

“You should regain your appetite very soon. I’ll write you some vitamins before you leave. As for the smell, it’s something you will have to deal with. Most she-wolves complain of heightened senses during pregnancy. While they appreciate the clearer vision, the sounds and smells aren’t so welcomed.” She patted my shoulder with a knowing smile.

“When should we expect our child?” Valens’ voice sounded from the tablet propped against a desk at the side.

“You can come in for an ultrasound in two weeks. We should be able to tell when your little bean is due by then.”

Unsurprisingly, Valens had a long list of questions he wanted to ask. The more questions he asked, the less the doctor smiled but she answered them as politely as she could. Even I got tired of his questions soon enough so I grabbed the tablet off the stand.

“Wait, I’m not done!” He exclaimed.

“You can ask any other questions you have when you get here.”

“Or when you come for antenatal.” The doctor piped up from behind me.

“When will you get here?” Just as I asked that question, I heard them announce his flight. I smiled. I couldn’t help it. My heart warmed and my wolf perked up.

“I will see you both in a few hours.” His baritone dropped, sounding more intimate. I ended the call with a sigh.

Finally, things were getting back into place and I had hopes that they would actually be better this time.

Cold zapped through my spine when I walked out of the doctor’s office. I looked around me as my heart rate spiked but I didn’t see anything out of the ordinary. A few people were waiting to see a doctor but no one paid me any mind, everyone consumed by their own problems.

A nurse handed me my drugs before I left and I met Celeste outside the hospital. She’d gone back to work this morning after Jabari drove us to the hospital.

“How did it go?” She asked, taking the pack of drugs from me to examine them. “Oh, Doctor Clarke knows her stuff.” She handed me back the drugs.

Celeste developed a flair for medicine during her days of stalking Levi. Up until then, she had no career path but since she started volunteering at the hospital, I kept waiting for the day she’d break out the big news that she’d finally decided to be a nurse but she still hadn’t even hinted at going to college.

“Do you feel like something is out of place?” I asked when the odd feeling returned, chiller this time. My heart missed a beat and my palms grew sweaty. I looked around but nothing was out of the ordinary.

“What is it!” Celeste asked, looking around too but it wasn’t before I caught the guilty look on her face.

“What aren’t you telling me?” I probed.

“What? Nothing.” She looked away. I’d been friends with Celeste for long enough to know when she wasn’t telling the truth.

“Celeste,” I said in my best imitation of Valens’ authoritative tone.

“I’m not supposed to tell you this.” She sighed but I held her gaze and refused to look away until she caved. “I don’t want to alarm you but you know how we’ve been without an Alpha for a few days?” She asked and I nodded in response.

The Alpha seat had been vacant for five days now. Usually, that was enough time for a stronger pack to launch an attack to expand their territory but Valens would be here soon and Jabari had worked around the clock to secure Redville against any potential attack.

He may not be an Alpha but he was Beta Jabari. He had a legend as terrible as Valens’ so people surely would give Redville a wide berth for as long as he was here.

“Alpha Zavier has been circling the perimeter.” My attention snapped back to Celeste.

With all the things going on in my life, Zavier was the last person on my mind but I always assumed shame would make him travel far away from Redville.

“But he doesn’t have any backing if he plans on returning,” I reasoned.

A few people fled the pack when Valens took over, but it was mostly people who had relatives in other packs. No wolf would willingly leave his pack to wander.

“He has my father. And my mother.” She looked away. I saw her cheeks colour when she turned away. “And a bunch of people that hate Valens.”

There had to be an army of people that hated Valens but he wasn’t here so why would they care about Redville? Oh.

It hit me like a ton of bricks

Valens wasn’t here but I was.

“So I’m in danger and no one thought to tell me.”

“You’re also pregnant and there’s no need to worry you when they won’t get in.” I wanted to believe her but I felt it in my guts that something wasn’t right. “The Alpha will be here soon so there’s no need to fret.” She smiled at me.

The car that brought me pulled up in front of the hospital, ending our conversation. Celeste waved at me as I got in and the car peeled out of the hospital in a minute.

I let my head fall back with a sigh. My recent discovery bothered me. I couldn’t shake off the dread in my guts and the chill in my spine.

Valens really left my pack vulnerable because he didn’t trust me. I wished I could say I wasn’t mad about that but it was just something I chose not to dwell on. He hadn’t just abandoned me, he’d also put my life and the life of my entire pack in danger. He would be back soon so I tried to put myself at ease.

The chill returned, this time, like a ball of snow smacking me in the face. I jerked upright as my body froze. Even Artemis perked up and whined in distress.

“This isn’t the way to the pack house,” I said, looking out of the window.

“We are taking a shortcut,” the driver responded.

Jabari told me he wouldn’t be able to pick me up after my appointment and that someone from the Alpha Pack would come get me. There was nothing strange about this man but I’d lived in Redville all my life. Most of the pack’s facilities were around the same area. The maternal and child hospital wasn’t so far from the pack house that we’d need a shortcut.

“A shortcut?” My heart galloped. “Stop the car.” The man turned to me with a confused expression. He slowed down but he didn’t stop. “What’s your name?” I asked.

“I am Andrew,” he replied, then he sighed. “I am sorry if I’ve alarmed you. We aren’t really taking a shortcut but this is supposed to be a surprise.”

“Stop this car, Andrew!” I snapped, adrenaline fueling me and raising my voice.

Finally, the man stopped the car, parking on the side of the road. An empty road.

“Are you kidnapping me?” I fumbled to get off my seatbelt.

“What!?” The man exclaimed. “Of course not! I was told that there’s a surprise planned for the Alpha’s return. I am to take you to the airport to greet him. I am NOT kidnapping you.”

“Who sent you?” I demanded, opening the car door.

“The –“ The rest of his words were drowned out in a deafening collision.