Rejected, Pregnant, and Hunted

Late

As my eyes fluttered open, I realized it had happened again. I had passed out. Looking around at my surroundings, I am in my bed. The last thing I remember was arguing with Jake; he left, looking at my brother, and then waking up just now.

“You fainted,” he said, with furrowed eyebrows and squinting his eyes as if he were trying to examine me, a look of suspicion emanating from him.

I looked at my brother with frustration taking over me, as I racked my brain trying to figure out what was causing me to feel so nauseous, especially since I had barely eaten in days. Could it be the trauma of being officially marked and then watching my mate find his true mate? We hadn’t completed the marking and mating process, was my body reacting? Was it the heartbreak of it all? Did I eat something foul?

And then it hit me like a ton of bricks. My period was late. I glanced at my smartwatch, scrolling through it as I tracked my menses on it. I scrolled back further, panic gripping me at the realization that I was more than just late.

Oh, my goddess. It couldn’t be, I thought to myself. My anxiety levels were skyrocketing. I was on the contraceptive pill. How could this be? I couldn’t be pregnant. Could I? While I was deep in thought, something grabbed my attention and interrupted my inner conversation.

“I’m gonna call the doctor to come check you out,” my brother called out, moving to grab his phone from my bedside table.

“No, don’t. I’ll be fine. It’s probably just something I ate,” I protested. I wasn’t ready to see the doctor, and I sure didn’t want my brother to find out about this. I needed to keep him out of everything. He was the future gamma of this pack. I didn’t want to make things awkward for him or jeopardize his position.

I will make an appointment to see the doctor tomorrow once this vomiting has subsided. For now, I will play the food poisoning card.

Just when I thought life couldn’t get any more complicated. I sighed out loud in exasperation.

I spent the day in bed, and by nighttime, I was feeling much better. My brother had dropped off some electrolyte drinks, and I could maintain my fluid balance. It was definitely worsening in the mornings, so now I had resigned myself to the fact that I was pregnant. Now I just needed to get a pregnancy test to verify what I already knew.

There’s no way I could pull that off in this pack where everyone knew one another’s business. I would need to go into a human town and get some pregnancy tests. I also needed to see a doctor to find out how far along I was. I had decided that I would go into town and see a random doctor. That way, no one would know what I was doing.

A few months ago, I would still be in denial and shocked, but I would feel comfortable knowing that Jake would be there for the baby and me. But now that I had seen his true colors, I was nervous. I was also nervous as to what the rest of the pack would think about it, especially since Jake had met his fated mate. He was about to become the alpha of Quaking Aspine. He would want his mate to provide him with an heir. It was far from ideal, but I believed everything happened for a reason, so I would just trust in the process for now.

Making my way downstairs for the first time in almost twenty-four hours, I headed for the fridge. The smells instantly made me want to regurgitate, so I swiftly shut the fridge door. I looked over the toaster; the toast was bland, and that could work.

After some toast and water, I made my way back upstairs to the shower, in an effort to perk myself up a bit and look a bit more presentable. I spent the better part of forty-five minutes in the shower, and I feel a little more human now. I wasn’t one to wear makeup. In fact, I didn’t even own any; I looked at my pale and already gaunt face. I still felt rough, but I needed to suck it up and get some answers, so I pepped myself up as much as I could and hoped that no one would see me as I made a mad dash for my car.

Seeing the doctor was easy enough, although I definitely paid for the privilege. I don’t know how anyone can afford to with prices like that. I managed to get a referral. Now I just need to book an appointment. Then I could get my ultrasound, which was also known as a dating scan. They informed me that there could be quite a wait and that it would be costly. It was okay, though; I had savings, and I wanted to know where I stood.

After calling the radiology center, they booked me for a scan for one week. I was lucky they had just had a cancellation. I also asked them to consider me for an earlier scan if one became available.

It was late in the afternoon, and my stomach was finally settling, so I stopped in at a quaint little café. The aroma of roasted coffee instantly made my stomach turn, but I needed to eat something, so I settled for a bottle of dry lemonade and a cheese and cracker pack I saw in front of the counter. It wasn’t much, but it would help maintain my blood sugar levels and tide me over until I was back home in the packhouse and could make some toast.

The drive back to White Pine was a blur. It was almost like I was on autopilot, just replaying the events of the past few days. What a rollercoaster it had been. My life had been flipped, turned upside down. I never imagined I would be pregnant without a partner, not to mention pregnant by someone who was mated to someone else. This was frowned upon by our people. I would be an outcast, even though it wasn’t my fault. I hadn’t done this alone, but no one seemed to place blame on the male counterparts in these scenarios.

What was I going to say to Jake? How would I tell him he’s going to be a father? What would his fated mate have to say about it? Sure, it happened before she was on the scene, but I can’t imagine she will take too kindly to it. Not to mention my parents, my brother, and the rest of the pack.

Snap out of it, Katya, I thought to myself. It didn’t matter what anyone thought. All that mattered was that my baby was healthy and that I would always love and accept it. What others mattered didn’t matter to me; as far as I was concerned, I was all this baby needed.

I stopped to scan my card to get past the gates. I was almost home. My bed was practically calling me. I had never felt so lethargic in my life.

“We need to eat more. We need to feed our growing pup,” Indigo called out.

“I know Indigo, I will do better, I promise,” I replied to my other half.

“We’re in this together, Katya,” Indigo reminded me. It gave me comfort to hear that, to know that my pup would never be alone as long as she had Indigo and me.

An overwhelming sensation of guilt overtook me. I needed to get more calories in. I would have a read through Google once I was snug in my bed and figured out what to expect for the next several months of this pregnancy.

I'd decided that once I had told Jake the news, I would see the pack doctor. The doctor in the human town was great, but I knew there would be differences in my pregnancy because I was a werewolf.

After scrolling for a couple of hours, I learned I needed to eat and drink more. I learned about what I could expect in the coming weeks as far as a normal pregnancy went, but I still needed to know more about what to expect, being that I was part wolf.

Exhaustion overtook me, and before I knew it, I was drifting away into sleep.

I was woken early by my phone ringing loudly. Usually, I would put it in sleep mode overnight, but I must have been so distracted that I had forgotten. Luckily, I hadn’t too, as the radiologist had called advising there was a cancellation today, and that if I could make it in the next hour, I could have my dating scan today.

Well, she didn’t need to tell me twice; I had jumped out of bed and pulled my clothes on quicker than ever, maybe a little too quickly as the nausea hit me again. Luckily, I was able to vomit quickly enough, and I didn’t have time to wallow in sickness today. I was determined to get my dating scan done. I grabbed a sports drink out of the fridge and headed for my car.

As I was turning the key in the ignition, I saw a shadow darken my view. It was Max. Ah, I did not have time for this right now.

“Hey Max, I’m in a hurry. Can we catch up a little later?” I blurted out while putting my seatbelt on.

“We’ve got training this morning, remember?” Max called out in frustration.

Ah, could you ask Blake to fill in for me, please? I’ll owe him one. I have to go. Talk later,” I called out as I drove off.

I would never usually be so rude, but I was adamant that nothing would get in my way this morning. I was on a mission.

As I made my way out of White Pine pack territory, I felt something that I wasn’t quite expecting. It was excitement. I was excited to see my pup for the first time. I wondered if I might find out about my baby’s gender. Would it be a boy or a girl? I didn’t have a preference; I just wanted my pup to be healthy.

Close to the human town, I slammed on my brakes as a figure stood in the middle of the road.

"You've got to be kidding me!"