Pregnant And Rejected By My Alpha Mate By Caroline Above Chapter 106
Pregnant And Rejected
Chapter 106 Doctors and Damsels Bastienâs POV Dr Kane looks as if heâs been expecting us.
After a thoroughly frustrating visit to the security offices, where we discovered nothing more than twelve hours of blacked out camera footage the night the paternity test was run, my betas and I navigated up to the chief physicianâs office on the tenth floor.
We now stand in the doorway of his corner suite, carefully watching the doctorâs reaction to our sudden appearance and finding nothing but a blank slate.
Heâs seated behind his desk, his shiny loafers propped up on the sleek wooden surface and a takeout container splayed in his lap. Itâs been a long time since Iâve seen the man, and though heâs only a few years older than myself, I canât help but think heâs aged. His dark hair boasts a few streaks of gray, and the lines around his eyes and mouth are more pronounced than I remember.
âAlpha, to what do I owe the pleasure?â Dr Kane greets me, barely looking up from his lunch.
As far as Alphaâs go, Iâve also considered myself on the more relaxed end of the spectrum. I donât expect my people to stand on constant ceremony, but it does strike me that most shifters still show a degree of deference out of respect. Dr Kane clearly does not. I canât decide whether or not it bothers me.
âDr Kane.â I reply curtly, âI have a few questions for you.â
The doctor gestures to the chair opposite him, âPlease have a seat.â He encourages me with a warm smile, âItâs been a while, I owe you much congratulations.â
âOh?â I prompt, sitting stiffly across from the familiar man.
âItâs not every day a man becomes a father, or finds his long lost mate.â Kane elaborates, as if this should have been obvious to me.
âNo it isnât.â I agree, feeling a sudden spike of anger. âespecially when you told me with total confidence that my mate was dead.â
Dr. Kane purses his lips, lowering his feet from his desk and setting his lunch aside. âYou have my sincerest apologies Alpha, Iâve already launched an investigation into the matter.â
âWhat investigation?â | demand, âarenât you the one who examined the body?â
His expression clouds, âBastien, I delivered the report to you out of respect for your position and as a courtesy given our understanding relationship. I reviewed every last detail of the case, but the medical examiner conducted the autopsy and ran all the tests, not me.â
Anger simmers in my veins, this was absolutely not made clear at the time. âWhere is the medical examiner now?â
âHe left last year, took a job in a different territory.â Dr Kane explains, âbut I have always had the utmost respect for him. I canât imagine him making such a grave errorâ
âOh I donât think it was an error.â I growl.
The physicianâs eyes widen. âYou mean, you think he changed the results on purpose?â
âI think someone wanted me to believe my mate was dead.â I force the words out through clenched teeth, âJust as someone wanted me to believe her pup belonged to another wolf, and falsified yet another set of DNA results.â
Kane leans forward now, confusion and concern lacing his movements, âWhat are you talking about.â
Relating our discoveries from the pathology lab as quickly as Iâm able, I pin the doctor with my fiercest gaze, âThe way! see it, one of three things is happening here. Either you have some very incompetant staff here or more likely, weâre dealing with some form of corruption. Whether itâs coming from within the system, or someone has been paying your people off to falsify information, remains to be seen.â
Dr Kaneâs features harden, âWe take oaths in this hospital, Alpha â sacred oaths to do no harm. To suggest that anyone here would intentionally damage this packâs wellbeing is a very grave accusation.â
âIâm aware of that.â I rumble, âthough itâs curious that you should talk about the packâs wellbeing, rather than my own.â
âYou are an extension of the pack, are you not?â Dr Kane argues, âto harm you is to harm us all.â
âBe that as it may, someone has been working against me.â I assert coolly, âand theyâve used this hospitalâs resources to further those aims. Oaths can be broken, and it is your duty to discover who might have forsaken theirs.â
Dr Kane nods in acknowledgement. âThereâs something else, Bastien.â
âGo ahead.â I allow.
âI think in your concern for your mateâs misidentified body, youâve overlooked a rather key detail.â He announces confidently Arching my brow, I state, âI presume youâre referring to the question that, if the body in the fire wasnât Seleneâs, who did it belong to?â
Dr Kane nods, looking almost impressed that I caught the detail.
âStrange thing that,â I acknowledge, unfurling to my full height. âNo one else was reported missing before or after the fire.â Moving towards the door, I gesture for my betas to follow, stopping just before we exit, âbut I know one place someone could have easily found a corpse to use.â
âAnd whereâs that?â Dr Kane asks, the very picture of curiosity.
I watch the man very closely when I reply, searching for any signs of emotion in his blank expression, and finding none. âThe hospital morgue.â
Seleneâs POV âSelene, I donât know about this.â Odette frets, wringing her hands.
âLook, youâre a strong swimmer, right?â I ask, stripping out of my clothes to reveal the simple black swimsuit I donned for my âhairbrained schemeâ as my mother-in-law so fondly put it.
âYes but âShe begins, only to be cut off by my determined tongue.
âAnd you agree that I need to find a way to tap into my survival instincts, without endangering some poor guardâs life assuming I could even convince one to attack me?â I press. Neither of us is worried my powers might be strong enough to harm an experienced fighter, the problem is Bastien. Fake or not, thereâs a good chance heâd rip out the throat of any wolf daring enough to pretend attack me.
âYes butâ Odette tries again.
âAnd you agree it canât wait and Bastien will only overreact to the idea?â I continue. We discussed it for more than an hour, going round and round in circles before finally landing here. While I donât think Bastien would oppose the idea completely, I doubt he would agree to let me try this unless he was with me â and then Iâd feel too safe.
âSelene, all of this is true.â She sighs in exhaustion.
âThen whatâs the problem?â I inquire impatiently, throwing up my hands.
The older wolf cuts her eyes to me, âI swear, youâre every bit as stubborn as my son is sometimes.â.
Offering her a smile, I tease. âDid you like me better when I was a timid little wallflower?â
Odette laughs, âoh just go drown yourself you impossible girl!â
âYes maâam!â I salute her, turning towards the water. Of course, no sooner have I set the pool in my sights, that I freeze in place.
Now that itâs staring me in the face, fear skitters down my spine. The crystalline surface looks so cool and welcoming so serene but I remember what it was like to be submerged in those depths, my lungs burning like fire. I can still feel the pressure bearing down on me, the way my limbs failed desperately through the eerie blue abyss in slow motion. Itâs as if the darkness is already closing in again, and Iâm trapped in those moments I was certain would be my last.
âYou donât have to do this, sweetheart.â Odette assures me, our earlier jokes a distant memory now..
Frowning, I return my gaze to the elegant she-wolf. âDo you know how many âlast momentsâ Iâve had?â
I ask solemnly, âHow many times Iâve been so certain I was about to die; that Iâve seen my life flash before my eyes and said my final prayers?â
âI know my darling.â Odetteâs eyes are full of sympathy, but no pity. âEven one time would be too many.â
âAnd every time, Iâve only been proven wrong through someone elseâs benevolence.â I recall, âBastien, Drake, Goddess knows who pulled me from the fire.â Shaking my head I proclaim, âIâve spent my entire life being a victim. Every problem Iâve ever had has been solved for me by a man and I canât do it anymore.â
I implore my mother-in-law to understand, staring into her vibrant irises with a pleading gaze. After a moment Odette nods in solidarity, her lovely countenance so forlorn that I wonder if she hasnât been in these same shoes at some point in her life.
âIâm done waiting for other people to rescue me.â I conclude, sighing heavily. âItâs time I learned to save myself.â
Before I can think about it for another moment, I leap, cucing my body up into a little ball as I plummet towards the rippling water. Gulping in one final breath of precious air, I crash into the water with a tremendous splash, disappearing into the watery world that tried to kill me once before, and praying I will have the strength to survive again.