Chapter 8
Chapter
Eight
The next time I woke up, my vision cleared.
The room I was currently in felt like a room in a castle, large grey stone bricks made up the surrounding walls and even on the floor.
It wasn’t big, but most everything in this room didn’t fit in with the architecture.
Someone pushed chairs up against the wall, a couple of desks that looked like they had been in the room before, and then all the medical equipment around my bed.
They hooked me up to a heart monitor and inserted an IV into my arm.
There was a soft knock on the wooden door before it opened. Eva stepped in. Seeing my eyes open, she gave me the biggest smile. Coming over to the side of the bed, she pressed her lips against my forehead.
“You stupid, stubborn, impossible wolf. I swear to the old gods, I am going to force-feed you for the rest of your life.”
I let out a soft chortle. “It’s good to see you too.”
For the first time, I saw Eva break. Tears slipped down as she pulled me to her, wrapping me in a hug while suffocating me in her breasts. She let me go, tucking the pillow behind me before raising the bed so I could sit up. Her hand rubbed my stomach, and she smiled.
“You survived.”
“Not very well, apparently.”
She shook her head. “It doesn’t matter how well. You are alive, and so is she. That’s all that matters. Everything else we can work on.”
I let out a soft sigh. “How bad is it?”
“Her? Wonderful. She’s perfect. No issues and out-growing some of even the strongest Alphas.”
Smiling, I leaned back in the bed. “That’s all that matters then.”
“No, it doesn’t.” Eva took my hand. “You matter. You matter to everyone here, Colt, but you are falling apart. What were you thinking? You should have come here. Come to the Alford’s for help.”
“I couldn’t…Eva…if I had…”
She growled. “Oh, Laila filled us in. She also pointed about how stubborn your ass is when it comes to eating.” Her humor dropped. “PCDHS episodes, the stress from the shit your old Alpha asshole, wolfsbane, all on an already struggling body…you almost died.”
“I told Lai and Mike it might kill me, but not yet. I’m not giving up yet.” I smiled. “I’ll keep fighting until she is born. I don’t know if I can promise anything after that. Especially if we haven’t gotten Marcus back, but I can promise you that.”
Eva sat down in a chair next to the bed and held my hand. “Then I’ll make sure that you keep going on long after that little girl is born, no matter what happens.”
“I’m not sure if we can keep calling her little.” I looked down at the hump in the blankets. “I’m thinking she might just walk out herself.”
“You know, she just might.” Eva laughed. “She might be an Alpha-9 or Alpha-10. Candy said that the boys were huge, too. Marcus was actually smaller than Keith, but even now, Keith has a bit more bulk on him that Marcus does.”
I wanted to ask, but I probably didn’t want to know. “Do you know if Lai called Mike?”
“I believe so. I think I heard her yelling over the phone at someone.”
My lips pursed for a moment. “That could be Mike or Peter. It’s a toss-up at that point.”
Eva burst out laughing. “No kidding. Peter flew out the other day and I swear, the two of them were yelling within inches of each other.”
“They are facing each other. That’s a step, at least.” I smiled, glad that Laila was still holding up her end of our bargain.
“You shouldn’t be worrying about anyone but yourself.” She gave me a soft karate chop between my ears. “You need to focus on being healthy and getting stronger. Let those two work it out.”
Letting out a long sigh, I nodded. “Yes, Eva.”
She hummed, narrowing her eyes. “You are being far more compliant than normal.”
“I’m tired. That’s all. Don’t worry. Give me a few days and I will go back to being a brat.”
“Oh god. Please, no. Otherwise, I will lock you in a room from now until your due date.”
We laughed, and I let her go off on a tangent about what her plans were for me the next week.
She had been helping her husband monitoring me, but we still needed to do our eight-month check-up.
Just thinking about the fact that I only had a little over a month left had me not listening when I should have been.
Eva rubbed my arm, bringing me out of my spiraling panic.
“You’re just going to be getting bigger. Keep that in mind. You think you’re big now. You’re not. Not even close.”
“I hate you.”
Smiling, she crossed her arms over her chest. “There’s that snarky attitude.
You’ve got no control over this. It’s going to happen.
Not only that, but between Candy and I, we are going to have you stuffed like a turkey twenty-four-seven.
You are going to fill out so much that you won’t even see a single bone. Mark my words, Colton Alford.”
I groaned, turning away from her. “I should have stayed away.”
“You should have continued to eat and followed our meal plan, you silly little wolf!”
“How? I could barely sleep or eat! I still can’t! Marcus…he isn’t here. My mate isn’t here and my wolf is just…lost. He promised and now…”
Her posture dropped and her arms uncurled. “We will get him back, Colt. Especially now that you are safe. You’re here. Everyone can focus on Marcus. Everyone divided their attention between worrying about you and him. I hope you know that.”
I nodded. “Ty told me. I didn’t think…all I could do was follow her orders. I was scared if I didn’t...”
“We know why. Between Mike and Mason, we know. Still. You need to trust in your family a bit more.”
“I will. From now on, I will. Family never meant the same to me as it did for you guys. I just…defaulted. I’m sorry.”
Eva got up, and the door opened. Candice walked in with a bag that smelled amazing. “Well, you can make it up to us by eating everything we give.”
I groaned. “That’s a punishment.”
“Think of it however you like. You’re still going to eat it. Slowly, because you need to not throw it all up, but you’re going to eat and I will not hear a single complaint out of you.”
“Too late.”
She karate-chopped my head harder this time. “I mean it. If not for you, then for that big girl and your mate.”
“Underhanded blow.”
“Always. I will use everything in my arsenal to force you.” Her eyes narrowed before she shoved some chicken on a plate into my lap. “And look at that, you are big enough to have her be a shelf to eat off of. Perfect.”
My mouth turned into a sad, over-exaggerated frown.
Candice winked, pulling out a loaf of her garlic bread, and suddenly, it didn’t feel nearly as bad.
I reached out for it, but Eva slapped my fingers.
She pointed to the chicken, and I shrunk back, slowly chewing into the unseasoned chicken.
Giving me flashbacks of the first months of my pregnancy.
“Reward is the bread. Finish all of that and you can have some.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Eva raised her eyebrow. “What was that?”
“Yes, Mother.”
The two of them fussed over me while I ate and I let them.
I didn’t make it easy, but I let them fuss.
It took a little while, but I ate all the chicken, earning myself a thick slice of bread.
My stomach was full, and I felt over-stuffed, but they were trying to shove more food into me.
Finally I snapped, telling them I would explode.
They let up and Eva helped me get up, taking the IV with me to the bathroom. It was small, functional, and nothing elaborate, but it was nice. The whole place was warm and when I made it back to the bed, Laila was sitting on the back of a chair, frowning.
“You okay?”
She shook her head. “I should have helped you.”
I rolled my eyes. “I’m fine. Shouldn’t you go home for a bit?”
“No, I’m not. Not while you’re still hooked up to machines and stuff. I can wait.”
“Lai…”
Her mouth turned into a deep frown. “No, Colt.”
Laila’s tone was hard, and I let it go. I knew I scared her. Far more than with my PCDHS episode. Her eyes fixed on the bed while I slipped in. Pulling the pillow up, I sat up instead of laying down. Eva clicked her tongue at me.
“Not for too long. You need to rest still.”
“I’ve been laying down for two weeks, right? I feel like I need to be moving.”
Eva’s frown told me all I needed to know. “You are weak. I need you to build up your strength again. Slowly, Colt. I’m also worried about your episodes. Laila said you had two episodes in the week that you were over there. That is a lot, and I’m worried it’s going to get worse.”
I nodded. “I have a feeling they will as well. I’ll deal with them. Not having Marcus here, it was bound to get worse. They were getting better, the episodes weren’t nearly as bad, but now…” My voice trailed off. “Is there any news?”
Candice and Eva look at one another. I swallowed hard. Eva sighed before turning back to me.
“You need to rest.”
“Tell me what happened.” I looked between the two of them.
Candice was the one who spoke this time. “I think your friend Mike should tell you. I don’t know all the details. We told him you woke up yesterday, and he’s flying in with Beau.”
My throat closed for a moment. Mike was coming here? Was it that bad? Or just too much information? They would have said something if Marcus had been injured. Their faces reflected worry, but it wasn’t panic. I sunk my teeth into my bottom lip.
“Thank you for contacting him.”
Candice patted my leg. “Of course, dear. He was on the phone with us, giving us the information as soon as he could see that Laila had lifted off. Everything went out the window about being secretive. Luckily, Laila brought you here. I don’t know what we would have done if she had taken you anywhere else. ”
I nodded, looking down at my hands clenching the blanket.
“We will take care of you, Colt.” Candice came over first, kissing my forehead before smiling.
As she left, I looked over at Eva. She came over and rubbed my head. I could feel ears and I frowned. The entire week I was gone, I didn’t have an issue with them. It was a couple of times they came out, but it was always mid-episode.
“Your hormones are back where they need to be.”
“Great. That’s what I wanted to hear.”
She laughed. “It’s a good thing. The fact that they weren’t, when they had been before, just shows how messed up your system was, dear. It will be alright. It’s not bad to have them out.”
“It’s embarrassing.” I mumbled as I reached up and pressed down on my ears.
“Let’s do that check now and see where you are at with your body and everything. We have the monitor hooked up for her heart rate, just in case we saw a drop or anything, but she’s been strong.”
After she kicked Laila out, Eva tapped my bump, and I pulled up my shirt. She pressed along the top and around. Moving up, she pressed on my chest, and I sucked in a breath.
“Tender?”
I nodded. “Pretty tender, actually.”
She nodded. “You’re building your supply, which is good. That’s what we want to see at this stage. I’m assuming you haven’t been leaking?”
My eyes widened. “Leaking? Like…milk…from…”
“Your nipples, yes Colt. That’s what I mean. By the gods, you are so squeamish about the silliest things.”
“No. I have not leaked. Am I looking out for that?”
She nodded. “It might be a bit later for you, simply because you don’t really have the fat in your chest. Still, it is something to look out for. If you do, and it gets to be uncomfortable, we will need to do something about it.”
“Alright.”
She continued down my body, checking every inch and having me move and breathe, since she couldn’t check it while I was unconscious. Moving to the monitor, I could see the not-so-little hatchling. Eva moved the wand around, giving me the best view.
“Well, she’s not heads-down yet.”
“That’s good?”
Eva moved the wand around and began taking some measurements.
“Yes and no. We want her to be heads-down for the birth. Technically, right now, she’s in the safe zone to be born early.
We don’t really want that, so it’s good we aren’t quite seeing those signs yet, but we want to see her get into position. ”
My heart picked up, and Eva looked from the monitor up at me. “It’s okay, Colt.”
“Eva…realistically, with her size and everything…how much…time…?”
Her mouth thinned for a moment. “I’m honestly thinking thirty-six weeks.”
I looked up, tears spilling over. Eva put the wand away and came over, taking my hand. She didn’t say anything, just held me as I tried to get control.
“So, four weeks…roughly? With what happened to Mar…is that…will we get him home?”
She opened her mouth and then shut it again. There was a long span where I could see her fighting what she wanted to tell me.
“I will be here. As will everyone else. We will do our best, not just to get Marcus back, but also to help you through anything you run into.”
It was not the answer I wanted or needed. Shaking my head, I turned it away from her and closed my eyes. Tears continued to fall. Eva wiped my stomach and tucked me back into bed. She kissed the side of my head before leaving me to the quiet of the room.
I had to come to terms with the fact that there was going to be a real possibility that I would not have my mate at the birth of our hatchling.
My stomach turned, and I felt the food wanting to make a reappearance, but I breathed through the feeling.
I couldn’t. Not right now. At the very least, I needed to get better, to be the strongest I could be for her.