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Maybe I wanted a baby of my own to love and take care of. It obviously wouldn’t always be as easy as holding them and smiling at them—but I’d been through some really difficult shit, and I’d survived just fine.

So why couldn’t I survive motherhood?

Beck didn’t bring up the baby as we got in his truck again, or as we drove home, but me?

I couldn’t stop thinking about him.

Or about the appointment that was still a long thirteen days away.

I went back to work the next morning, and Beck went back to protecting me. Love apologized again while she, Tori, and I worked together, and I decided to forgive her for keeping the truth from me.

She’d been in a hard position, with her only options being to betray Madd and Beck, or to keep the secret from me. If she’d known much longer, I felt like she probably would’ve given in and told me, so it was alright.

We moved on, and that was that.

Both girls kept my secret, thankfully.

The days passed by slowly as I got closer and closer to the appointment. I could tell Beck hated giving me space, but he was doing it anyway, which I appreciated.

I met his family like we planned, and it was a little awkward, but they were really nice.

When the appointment finally arrived, my best friends and I enacted a plan we’d cooked up. All three of us had picked up a shift for that day.

They joined me at my workstation—which was in Beck’s line of sight—and I slipped out of view when he wasn’t looking. Tori and Love would cover for me if he asked where I was, and the office wasn’t far from the bakery, so I wouldn’t be gone long.

Hopefully, he wouldn’t realize I’d left at all.

My heart beat rapidly as I pulled away from the bakery, my lips stretching in a wide but reluctant smile as I put more and more distance between me and Beck.

Eventually, I’d have to come clean to him about the whole situation.

Soon, probably.

He’d been nothing but respectful since the night we’d played poker, so I owed him the truth after I figured it out myself.

When I slipped into the waiting room, a few curious gazes landed on me.

I recognized all three of the women immediately. They were all pack members.

Which didn’t bode well for me, or for secrecy.

Guess I was going to have to tell Beck sooner, rather than later.

Like, immediately.

Fantastic.

The receptionist was also in the pack, and recognized me instantly. She took me to a room immediately, hiding me away from the prying eyes in the waiting area, but the damage was already done.

Maybe I’d get lucky, and they’d just circulate rumors about me getting a yearly woman’s exam or something.

The doctor came in a few minutes later. She was calm and happy, and took my blood and other measurements herself. She told me she could get the results within the hour if I waited, so I waited.

A message came through ten minutes into waiting.

Tori

Bauther’s onto us