Page 19 of A Luna's Revenge (Stone Mountain Shifters)
Charlie
Reality fades in and out while I float on the edge of my subconscious, as if on the ocean. Rising and cresting in my mind, I hear the water lapping and splashing. Lana takes charge, but we don’t physically change places; that would be fatal for the pup. Instead, she takes the lead while I retreat to the recesses of my mind, watching and waiting, barely aware. It’s for the best. Lana embodies pure instinct and nature. We need to work as a team for our pup to survive this—for all of us to survive.
Deep silence cocoons me. Peace washes over my mind and body. I feel every nerve ending, down to my very atoms. I shatter, and the pieces scatter like dandelion seeds, carried by a child's breath. At this moment, I feel both nothing and everything simultaneously.
As the pieces of my soul reassemble, I am gripped by the darkness; shadows converge around me. I hear silky whispers caressing my body and flowing across my soul. What are they saying?
Suddenly, I am ripped from the edge, like a bubble popping. My senses are overwhelmed by the bright lights, the harsh humming of medical devices, and the pain ripping through me. My eyes remain closed, and I cannot move, but I am achingly aware of everything around me. Tears pool and drip down my temples.
The mood is tense as the medical team works quickly around me, their voices rising in a murmur. Soon, their anxious words become clear.
"The baby's heartbeat is getting weaker, doctor," a nurse exclaims, looking at the monitors and then at the team.
The anesthesiologist who sits at my head responds promptly. "Starting oxygen at 2 liters per minute." He slips an oxygen cannula around my ears and into my nose despite my tears. “Oxygen is set up, and anesthesia is ready, should it be needed," she reports calmly.
The doctor nods, her face serious. The monitors suddenly begin to blare, signaling fetal distress. The heartbeat becomes frenzied, its rhythm rapidly deteriorating into a distressing flatline.
"Please pass me the knife," the doctor instructs firmly. "We need to rescue the baby now! Get the neonatal team in here, STAT!"
My scream pierces the air: "Aaaaaahhhh!" Then silence.
Jenson
Goddess! This has been one hell of a day. After leaving headquarters, I searched the grounds for Charlie. I finally found out that they had sent her to the hospital. Most everyone is preoccupied with the injured being carried in, so I go unnoticed as I search the emergency room for signs of her.
Asher rises from the inner synapses of my brain; like a fog, he lifts up, firm. "Pup!" He demands.
I come to a screeching halt. "Wait? What?"
"Must find pup now! Mate and pup in distress." Asher commands.
"Charlie!" I shout. "Charlie! Where's Charlie?" I frantically approach the double doors that lead to the med bays.
I hear, "Sir! You can't go back there!" But I ignore the woman, ripping curtains back and throwing doors open. No one is going to keep us from finding her.
My rampage doesn't stop at the emergency room; I circle back to the front desk. "Where is Charlie?" I shout.
A male in a suit approaches me hesitantly. "Are you Charlie's mate?"
I whip around and recognize one of the men who had been in the conference room with Charlie earlier. I grab the male by his collar and shove him against the door frame. My mouth inches from his face,"Where's Charlie?" I seethe.
"Release me." He gasps for air as he pulls my hands from around his throat. "They took her to labor and delivery."
I drop the man like a stone, and he collapses to the floor. Whipping around to the receptionist, "Where is labor and delivery?" I demand like a madman, nearly frothing at the mouth.
"Sixth floor." She squeaks and points to the elevator bank.
I race over to the elevators and punch the call button. Once inside, I select the button for the 6th floor.
The elevator has barely enough time to stop when I dart out. While I search for which way to go to delivery, that itchy sensation pulls me to the double doors on the left.
As if led by instinct, I charge through the doors, run down the corridor, and find myself outside a room marked Delivery Room 604 . I charge in and find chaos on the other side as a blood-curdling scream cuts through the air: "Aaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"
Doctor Emily Sutton
"Heart rate has flatlined," Nurse Reynold yells. “We have lost the pup!"
I drop my hands dejectedly. I know that once we lose that heartbeat, the fetus has died, and there is no hope for its survival. I wipe my eyes with my sleeve and sigh."We can still save mom."
Suddenly, the delivery room doors slam open, and an Alpha stands in the doorway. "Charlie!" He cries. "My pup!" He mourns. It causes the rest of us toshow our necks and howl in sympathy.
He approaches the mother and gently cradles her abdomen between his large hands. Dipping his head, he kisses her motionless stomach as his tears trickle down. Racked with sobs, this giant Alpha, on his knees, whispers sacred words of love to the stilled, unborn pup.
Everyone stands silently grieving with the family, arms all drooping dejectedly. A blip flashes on the monitor, then another. The nurse gasps as a regular rhythm resumes across the fetal heart monitor. "Dr. Sutton! The pup is alive. Look at the monitor."
Relief washes through the delivery room as we all cheer for the return of the pup's heartbeat, and I resume the c-section.
"Someone get him in a sterile gown. Alpha, move your hand slightly up and change places with me. Your pup needs your touch. Don't remove your hand for any reason. Gloves! Nurse Reynold, sterilize the abdomen."
"Proceed with anesthesia," I order because the mother was screaming earlier. I want to ensure she stays sedated and doesn't experience pain.
As someone slips gloves on the Alpha, one hand always on the pup, I open the abdomen just above the pubic line. Once accomplished, I begin separating the muscles from the tissue to reach the uterus. One slice and I have access to the pup.
"Alpha, place your hand on the pup as I deliver." He does, and I safely remove the squirming pup and clamp off the umbilical cord.
"Congratulations, Alpha, it's a boy." Tears stream down his face as he beams at the tiny gray pup.
"My boy," he weeps. "Is Charlie okay?" He looks at the unconscious female.
"She’ll be fine. We’ll take care of her. She was never in much danger," I say. The neonatal team is ready to take over. "I recommend the Alpha keeps his hands on the pup until he’s stable," I instruct. Cutting the umbilical cord, we hand over the father/son package to the neonatal team.
"Will do, doc." One of the neonatal team doctors wraps the pup in a blanket and leads the Alpha and pup to the pup warmer for immediate post-delivery assessment and treatment.
Nurse Reynold turns to Dr. Sutton with concern. "The baby isn't responding well." The neonatal team immediately whisks the pup with the attached Alpha out of the room. The Alpha looks back at Mom as if he is reluctantly leaving her, but the pup is responding to his touch andneeds the Alpha more now.
Even though I am still worried about the pup, I must stay focused on the mother. "Mother's status?"
Nurse Reynold nods, her voice steady. "Her vital signs are good, and she is stable."
"Good. Let's close her up."
Jenson
Much later, my tiny pup has been poked, prodded, assessed, and placed in an incubator for a couple of hours. Even though he is full-term, the trauma he endured prior to his delivery distressed him. The doctors say he’ll be fine. They want to ensure he is fully oxygenated fora couple of hours.
As I sit here looking at my son, I am once again filled with remorse at how I handled things with Charlie. I realize I had a lot of things going against me, like the poisoning, spells, tampering, and even letting that idiot elder talk me into not discussing things with Charlie beforehand.
Now, here I am, faced with my reality. A beautiful pup, and I’ve finally found my lovely mate. But my life is a total mess. If I ever get to explain things to Charlie, I will never hide anything embarrassing from her again. I never should have done so to start with. Total honesty from here on out. And if it’s the last thing I do, I will push for Ms. Vincent’s prosecution.
The fated mate bond is sacred. It should never be tampered with. I understand everyone has free will and can make their own choices, but when you choose to enter into a mate bond, all parties and all outsiders should respect that choice.
Fated mate pairings are responsible for 95% of our population. Only 5% of chosen mates can reproduce. Our population is decreasing rapidly, so the fated mate bond is sacred and protected by laws.
Recently, we have been attending mandatory training about Cheating Mate Syndrome or CMS. It’s when one of a pair of mates cheats on the other, and it causes significant health issues with the cheated-on mate. When wolf shifters find their mates, their biologies sync. Wolf shifters are carnal and like to cheat.
But cheating damages mates, it damages relationships, and ultimately, it damages families, which in turn damages our decreasing population. We are cheating our population out of existence.
If adults want to cheat and the mate is okay with it, without the pain, we can medically intervene to make it a safer practice. Or, a shifter can renounce mate bonds and cohabitate however you wish or go your separate ways. Just ten years ago, CMS was unnamed and unknown, while the victims typically died. The same is true with RMS or Rejected Mate Syndrome. Today, those are preventable and even curable.
"I want Tracy Vincent held accountable for her crimesandmy mate back. I am committed to doing whatever it takes to achieve this. Through my involvement on this task force, we have discussed and will implement numerous measures to prevent future incidents. We will thoroughly vet servers and staff and safeguard drinks to ensure the safety and security of all future conference or meeting attendees."