Rogues and Royals

Infante and Infertile

Melody’s POV

“Hmmm?” I scrunched my eyes together while they were closed, a massive headache thrumming through my head making me feel nauseous.

“Thank Goddess…. Melody?”

“Mmm?” Teddy. I could feel that it was him with the way he grabbed my hand. His rough stubble from a few days without shaving brushed against the back of it feeling like sandpaper. “Love?” I squinted open my eyes together while the brightly lit room and saw a plethora of worried faces. “What happened?”

One moment I was holding the baby in the bathroom, the next was all a blur for me then as my memory felt fuzzy. “Can we have some privacy?” Teddy turned to Jude, Axel, Ted Two, and the doctor; all of them getting up to leave. Jude shot me an apologetic look, one that spelled bad news.

My heart rate spiked as I looked around the small hospital room, only settling when I saw Lucy sleeping peacefully in the bassinet. Goddess, for a second there… I didn’t want to think about that though, the mere idea that my baby didn’t make it leaving a copper taste in the back of my throat.

Teddy cleared his throat as he reached out and took my hand, his rough callouses making my soft ones feel dainty. “What’s the damage? Did we lose a lot of wolves?” That must have been why everyone left, knowing I hated it when pack members died.

“We lost no more than usual… The rogues are getting more organized though. But all of that can wait for now.” Teddy reassured me, his hands squeezing mine more tightly.

“Alright… We can work with that. Just give me a few weeks to rest and recover then we’ll ask Nix about all this trouble.” I reassured him, seeing his lips go into a tight line.

“That’s not… Melody…” Teddy’s words were failing him, a look of regret flashing across his face for a second.

“Teddy; what’s wrong? You’re scaring me.” I whispered, my hand going to my throat and feeling the warm stone of the Corazón de la Luna pulse slightly. It never came off of me now, the precious link to our Goddess like a safety vest I wore at all times now.

“When you passed out, Melody, after all of the fighting; you were hemorrhaging due to complications. The placenta didn’t come out like it should have and you bled an awful lot from the tearing it caused.” Teddy wasn’t looking me in the eyes, his gaze instead traveling to our small sleeping pup. “You can’t have any more pups…” he said it in a whisper, the faintest breath that I had to strain to hear.

“What?” Surely I didn’t hear him right. There was no possible way. We had plans for more pups in the future, wanting our own army of young ones running around.

“The doctor tried to do all he could; but he said the way that you tore, it’s going to leave too much scar tissue. If you do get pregnant, it’ll be a miracle.” A few tears escaped Teddy’s eyes, his voice hitching. “If hadn’t of run off as soon as Lucy was out, they would have never had to move you. This is all my fault.” A son tore through his chest as tears came to my own eyes then too.

“I-I can’t have any more pups?” My breath felt hot as those words escaped my mouth, like saying them was putting a curse on me for it to be real. “no….” My voice cracked then as the lights around my vision began to tunnel, my heartbeat picking up again and making the monitor beat erratically.

All the bay names we have, the siblings we planned for Felix and Lucy, the little patter of many feet running around the house… All of our plans for the future were gone in an instant, changing what we wanted at the flick of a switch. “S-surely he’s wrong, right? I can just get better and h-he can go back in and repair me when Ambrosia comes back…”

Teddy shook his head as another sob caught in his chest, his hand trembling against mine. “I’m so sorry, my little baker…”

Tears flowed freely from both of us then, reality crashing down on me at the sight of my broken mate. I ignored the lines going into my arms and sat up all the way in the bed, leaning over to pull my mate closer to me. “Shhhh… I-it’s not your fault, my love..” my own tears were burning trails down my cheeks as I said it, trying to keep my voice level. It was almost impossible though, the hopes of tomorrow vanishing in an instant.. “It’s going to be alright…” but it’s not… nothing’s going to be alright.

I held onto Teddy tightly as we both cried our hearts out then, the overwhelming hopelessness crushing me to the bed itself. I wanted to sink into the mattress and hide, tired of the bad news, the espionage, the attacks. I wanted it all to go away and just be simple Miss Melody Bells again, the one who was a wallflower who liked to bake.

A soft mewing came from the bassinet then, breaking the gloom of the room and causing Teddy and I to faulted in our pity. When the mew came again, Teddy got up and rushed over to the bassinet. “My little LuLu… I’m sorry baby..” he cooed at her between the snot and the sobs. “Papi didn’t forget you.” He slowly walked with her over to me, holding her out gently as if she was made of delicate glass. “Sh-she hasn’t eaten yet.” His breath hitched as we tried to compose ourselves, the needs of the baby cutting through our gloom and despair.

“Here.” I held my hands up to him after I dried my eyes on the pillow, watching him place the delicate bundle into my arms.