Wysteria

As if by fate

I sat frozen in place, my mind continuously running over the news I had received. I'm pregnant.. with my fathers child. No matter how many times I said that, it never felt real. It was like a bad dream. How could this happen to me? just when I'm starting over? this has got to be some cruel joke. 

"I believe the goddess has a plan" Faye says " I don't think she'd do this without good reason."

"how can you defend this?" I demand "I'm pregnant! with our father!"

Faye looks hurt, as if I had wounded her, I felt bad for snapping at her but this situation would be difficult to handle if it weren't my fathers baby, but it is. and its there because of something I had no say in. I curled up on my bed, my head spinning.. and, as though it was finally sinking in, I began to cry. I sat there, my head buried in my knees as the moonlight shone into my window from the world beyond its glass until my alarm began to blare. 

"we have to get ready for work, Tera" Faye says

"I know" I say

I can tell she's worried about me, I can feel it. And I was grateful. Even though she was an unexpected development in the story of my life, I'm glad I have her. If I hadn't met Faye, I'd still be in that house with that monster... and.. this child inside me... who knows what would have become of it.. or what it would turn into if he decided we keep it. A son could become abusive and sick, like father... or a daughter could face the same abuse I did at the hands of our father.. 

"our child won't end up in either of those situations" Faye says "I'll make sure of it"

Her determination was impressive, her power apparent. I don't know where you came from or how you got here, Faye, but I'm glad you are here.

"I'm not going anywhere either" she says "its you and me, Tera, Always... now, we need to get ready"

I turn off my alarm and flick on the light before heading to my closet. Mr. and Mrs. Rhodes seem like nice people; not only have they given me shelter, food, and work, they've even bought me clothes. I want to believe their reliable, but Its hard to trust a stranger... when you can't even trust your own father.

"Tera?"

"yea, Faye?" 

"What do we do about the pup?"

I froze. I was so focused on the fact that I'm pregnant with my fathers baby I didn't even think of the physical issues surrounding it.. If Mr. Rhodes finds out, he's going to fire me for sure.. having a pregnant teenaged rogue around could cause some serious issues.. I know I wasn't ok with this at first.. but I love this job.. this place.. losing it would be devastating..

"there's Abortion" I say

"absolutely not" she growls " I can't believe you said that, you wouldn't.."

she's right. No matter who the father is, I couldn't hurt an innocent baby... but then what.. I need to think about this.

"for now, we don't tell anyone" I say " I have to think about this... and I like my job"

"good thinking" she says " we've only known these people a week; they seem ok but no mother just trusts anyone with their kid... especially not wolves."

After showering and brushing out my hair, I tied it up and left the bathroom, heading down the stairs to the Inn below. Once I walked into the kitchen, the smell of Bacon, eggs, sausage, pancakes, and toast hit my nose. My stomach growled loudly, causing Jason to look at me with a small smile. 

"you'd best sit down, missy" he says " you've got to eat breakfast"

"oh, no. Thanks Jason, but I'm good" I say " I'm not that hungry"

Truth is, I am hungry. But the problem is that once I eat something in front of people, they're going to notice my lack of an appetite.. and if they ask, I don't know what I'll say. 

" your stomach disagrees" he says

"you've been either avoiding meals" he says " or eating in your room away from people."

"huh, yo-"

"Noticed? yea." he says " and I'm not the only one. Kalen is concerned about you."

"Mr. Rhodes?" I ask

"that's right. when he learned you weren't eating properly" he says " he was worried, a little mad too."

Mad? why would he be mad about my eating habits?... my eyes went wide.. does he know I'm pregnant? No! how? that couldn't possibly be it... right?

"He talked about how skipping meals is unhealthy" he says " and told me to make sure you eat properly from now on. so, sit down."

"what do we do now, Faye?" I ask

"we could always run for it" she says " your not fully healed yet, but its good enough to run at top speed in human form... of course, they'd probably catch us"

"any other ideas?" I ask

"you could tell him you haven't been feeling well" she says "the smell of food makes you nauseous, but other than that your fine.. its not perfect but it might buy us some time"

"brilliant"  

" I try"

"sorry Jason, its just.. lately the smell of food makes me feel nauseous." 

"are you ok?" he asks

"yea, its just nausea" 

 my stomach growls loudly... why did it have to growl now? Jason gives me a serious look.

"nausea or no, you have to eat" he says "take a seat, food is up"

I sit down and moments later a plate was sat in front of me. Besides the fact that I eat very little, I can't help but worry that the food might be poisoned. 

" Tera, I want you to smell the plate" Faye says

"How come?" I ask

"trust me" she says

When Jason turned around to focus on the rest of the food, I lowered my head towards the plate, closed my eyes and began to sniff the food.. It smelled normal to me, but... wouldn't it always?.

"its fine" Faye says

"how do you know?"

"because werewolves have a higher sense of smell than humans" she says "not many things can get past us."

I pick up the fork and and begin to eat, careful not to reveal my nonexistent appetite, as Jason kept cooking. After a few bites of pancake, a little sausage, and a bite of eggs I feel as though I'm going to puke if I eat anymore, so I push the food forward and get up.

" Thanks, Jason" I say

"sure thing." he began "I'll just take th-"

He turned to find my plate barely touched but I hurried from the room before he could say anything. once I was free from the kitchen, I was ready to start my day. 

"Tera, we need help in the dining area" a voice calls

I made my way to the dining hall, just as I was entering it a large chandelier came crashing down. A coworker's young daughter was standing beneath it. I ran towards it, wanting to make it in time to save her and in a split second, I stood on the other side of the room with the little girl,  crying loudly, in my arms as the chandelier landed on the floor, shattering to pieces. Moments later, people were swarming us and my coworker, Erin, came rushing over.

"Asia" she called

I handed the little girl to her, watching as she pulled her tightly to her. She looks at me.

"Thank you, Tera" she says " thank you, so much"

"no problem, Erin" I say " I know how much she means to you"

she was checking her daughter when the bell out front went off.

"coming!" I call

As I left the room, people sweeping the floor, my mind went back to my pregnancy. A feeling of warmth washed over me.. but then, it was gone. I can't get attached to this child.. its my fathers baby.. having it would be wrong.

"you can't help it, Tera" Faye says " its our pup.. your as helpless as I am in this"

"I know, Faye"  I say "but its still not right... he's our father"

"I know"

I'm turning the corner, ready to help the guests

"Welcome to Evercrest Inn, How can I help you?" I say

My eyes land on a beautiful woman with lightly tanned skin, long black hair and beautiful green eyes. I stood there, frozen at the sight before me. There she stood with a man, their luggage... and nine kids.

"mom, when are we going to the beach?" a boy says

"soon, Ashton" she says

I shake my head as she walks over to me. 

"Hi, are their any rooms available?" she asks

"yes. Hi, yes" I say "we have plenty of room. lets just get you registered over here"

she follows me back to the front desk as I start typing into computers.

"mommy" a little girl says "they took Susie and they won't give her back"

"boys, give Susie back to your sister" the woman say 

three boys stop throwing a doll around and returns it to the little girl who hugs it tightly, soothing the toy. The woman looks at me.

"I am sorry about this." she says "their not usually this hyper, their just excited."

"no worries." I say "you must be really busy having nine kids, I don't think I could do it"

"yea, it can get kind of hectic" she says "but I wouldn't trade my kids for anything in the world."

she looks at her kids as the boys argued with the little girl, a smile on her face.

"They're literally my entire world" she says " there's nothing I wouldn't give to keep them safe, healthy, and happy; that's just what mothers do. we can't help it."

"Fathers, too" her husband says

"yes. its what parents do" she corrects herself.

The way she looked at her husband said it all, she loves him. At first, this shocked me. Do people actually love their spouses? their children? is this a human thing? or is it universal? and if its universal, how come my father doesn't show it like this? could it be that my fathers actions were done... out of love?

"don't think like that, Tera." Faye says "that's not love, no matter what that man says"

"I know, Faye" I say 

"you really love your husband, don't you?" I ask

"of course." the woman says "Our parents didn't agree, since were cousins and all, but you can't help who you love. The heart wants what it wants, and mine made up its mind."

I found this shocking; despite being related by blood, she doesn't stop herself from loving her cousin enough to marry him and have kids with him. How can this be ok with her?

"we may be blood, but its a distant enough connection that its not a risk" she says "Asher has stood by me through a lot. he makes me laugh and smile, cheers me up and encourages me. I love him.. so what if we're cousins, it doesn't change anything."

"not even, for your kids?" I ask

" especially not for them." she says " I adore our children, not just because their his but because their mine. We made them together, and their perfect.. even if I didn't love Asher, which won't happen, my love for our kids wouldn't go away, I'm their mother."

I smile, what an amazing family. 

"There you are" I say " follow me, please."

They follow me up the steps.

" Breakfast is at 8am, lunch is at 12pm, and dinner is at 6pm, room service is also an option." I say "if you need anything, feel free to call the front desk or ring the bell and we'll be with you as soon as possible. Alright, these are your rooms"

I stop in front of two doors, turning to face them with a smile.

"towels are in the bathroom cabinet as are soaps and other bathroom necessities" I say " if you need time to relax, check out the garden its magical. If you have any troubles or concerns don't hesitate to call; My name is Tera, I'm the Inn manager and i am happy to help however I can"

"thank you" the couple says

with that I headed back to work, my mind returning to the child within. 

"what are you thinking, Tera?" 

"That maybe loving this child isn't wrong"  I say "it's true that its my fathers baby, but its mine, too... so, Loving it can't be wrong, I'm its mother."

"yes, we are." she says "so, have you decided what to do yet?"

"yes. We'll just have to keep it"  I say " we can't abort it, and it might be like us, so adoptions out of the question; not to mention I wouldn't trust another with it anyway."

" And what if we find our mate?" 

"we're a tribrid, I doubt we have a mate" 

" and, if we do?" she asks

"we're going to reject him"

I could tell she was displeased with this idea, but it didn't matter. I want to live among the mortals, and be a part of their world. Besides, no male would accept their mate having another mans child.. not a werewolf, at least. 

" we don't know that"  she says "but still, I understand what your thinking. And, for the most part, I agree. This child comes first."

"Always"  I say 

We have reached an understanding. I return to work, a newfound light shining on my situation as I gently rub my stomach where my entire future grows, preparing to enter the world. Meeting this family today, helped me to realize that even if its my fathers child, its mine to. its almost as if fate led them to me. This couldn't possibly go wrong.

"so.. how do we tell everyone?"

And my moment is ruined... Oh shit...