Page 29 of A Luna's Revenge (Stone Mountain Shifters)
*****Trigger Warning***** Infant Loss
Charlie
I am still lying here weak in my hospital bed; the door opens, and a female wearing scrubs and a white coat walks in.
"Hey, I am Amaris, one of the healers here." She sticks out her hand to shake mine. "Dr. Frances asked me to check on you today."
"Amaris?" I ask, enclosing her hand in mine. "What are you doing here? I thought you lived in the Still Waters Pack with your mate. We brought you to that mate meet let's go over the results. Your blood toxicology report shows some traces of wolfsbane. Do you know how that got there?"
"No," I say, baffled.
"Yes. It’s trace amounts." She reiterates, "We’ll just increase your fluid consumption, and it should not cause you or the pup any problems."
"P—up?" I stutter.
Amaris meets my eyes. "You didn't know you were expecting?"
"No." I choke out, tears begin trailing down my cheeks. I don't know if I am happy because I finally conceived or sad because I finally conceived, but my life has disintegrated. "How far along am I?"
"Oh, honey." Amaris embraces me. "It looks like you are about five weeks. I'll order an ultrasound." She begins tapping on the screen. "How are you feeling?"
"I am so tired and weak."
"Those symptoms are probably due to a combination of the breaking of the mate bond, your pregnancy, and the wolfsbane poisoning." She divulges. "I'm not surprised you are in the hospital." She begins tapping again and continues.
"I am prescribing prenatal vitamins, plus I am going to up your IV fluids, so the wolfsbane should be out of your system in 24 hours. Those two things will help with the symptoms." Amaris examines my IV bag. "Lastly, I have a supplement I developed for rejected mates. I know you did the rejecting, but it eases mate separation. It’s safe for the pup. I took it myself during pregnancy."
"Thanks, Amaris."
"You're welcome, Charlie. I will be out of town for a few weeks, but I’ll leave extensive notes for Dr. Frances so she can follow up on the wolfsbane poisoning. Do you know how you came to have wolfsbane poisoning?"
"I have no clue."
"Just rest, Charlie. You should be right as rain soon." She smiles down at me, pats my hand, and walks out the door. She was leaving me with so many questions and no answers. I curl to my side and fall into a troubled sleep.
A few hours later, there is a tap on the door. “Come in,” I call out. In walks a gorgeous male. He is tall and muscular with chestnut brown hair and sea-green eyes. As I said before, humans are attracted to shifters for a reason, and here is just another example.
“Hey, I am Alpha Blake Collins. I understand you wanted to meet with me?”
“Y–yes!” I stutter. “Nice to meet you, Alpha.” My mouth has gone dry, and my tongue refuses to work. This male just exudes masculinity.
“Okay.” He blushes and grins slightly, obviously enjoying my stare. “Well, you have me at a disadvantage. I don’t know your name.”
I shake my head to clear it. “Sorry, Alpha.” I sit back and sigh. “Let me tell you a story.” He pulls up a chair close to my bed, and I share my story for the next thirty minutes.
Alpha Blake is attentive yet watchful. When I begin to cry, he reaches out to hold my hand. By the time I am through, Alpha Blake is sitting next to me on the bedwhile I am curled up in his arms, sobbing. Once I am finally out of words and tears, Alpha Blake pulls away. The front of his dress shirt bears evidence of my emotional breakdown.
“Charlie.” He begins. “Let me reassure you that we will do all we can to assist you. I am sorry for what you are going through. If I could only find my Luna, I would not put her through what you have been through. Your mate isn’t very bright.”
“Thank you, Alpha.”
“Please, call me Blake.” He smiles charmingly.
“Thank you, Blake.” I yawn. I am no longer feeling very strong; I am exhausted and spent. “Please don’t let anyone know where I am.”
“You are safe here, Charlie.” I hear Blake whisper as I give up the struggle to stay awake.
As the sun peeks over the horizon in the early dawn hours, my pup slips away from this heartless world. It began as cramps in my lower abdomen, followed by bleeding. I quickly press the call button, and a young nurse enters the room. It’s only a few minutes after she leaves that an on-call doctor arrives, but there is nothing to be done to save my precious pup.
Because wolf fetal growth is faster, we gestate from 4-6 months, so my son was already formed. His lifeless body is so tiny that he can fit in the palm of my hand. After letting me hold him for a while, the nurse takes him away. The doctor is still in the room, tapping notes on his hologram screen.
“What happened?” I cry softly. “Amaris said he should be okay.”
“I’m so sorry.” He pats my shoulder. “We will perform an autopsy, but it’s likely wolfsbane poisoning.”
“Wait! Is wolfsbane transferable through semen between partners?”
“Yes. It’s highly toxic, as you know, and it can be passed via bodily fluids between partners. Is that how you think you may have come into contact with wolfsbane?”
“My mate was taking a wolfsbane-laced tea to subdue his wolf.” I stutter. “Could that have anything to do with my fetus dying?”
He looks at me, horrified. “Uh, yes. I’ll let the lab know. But more than likely, depending on contact frequency, he was probably filling your womb and the pup with wolfsbane. It’s a miracle you even conceived.”
“Um—from my understanding, he—that is, my mate had several affair partners. Would they—would they be in danger?” I don’t know why I care about Tracy Vincent or a bunch of females from my pack who didn’t mind betraying my trust, but I do, especially Tracy’s innocent pup.
“I’m sorry to hear that,” he says quietly. “Again, it would depend upon contact. If it was a string of one-night stands, exposure was likely minimal. However, if it’s a regular sexual partner, such as you, the exposure would be more significant and dangerous.”
“Then perhaps you should contact Dr. Bridgit and inform her of the danger to certain she-wolves because I am not sure about exposure.” I drop my head in embarrassment. “But please keep my whereabouts and identity secret.”
“We can do that. But right now, you are my number one priority. I will give you a bolus of fluids to help flush your system. Just stay in bed and sleep as much as you can today. Sleep is healing.”
He pushes his hologram device stand out the door as it softly clicks shut behind him.
The nurse returns to attach another bag of fluids to my IV.She connects a new tube to the existing one and adjusts the drip rate. Then she says, “We’ve increased the flow, so you’ll need to use the restroom more often. If you need assistance, ring for me.”
I nod. “Thanks.” She cleans up the trash from my bed and tosses it out as she leaves.
I lay back and close my eyes, yet tears stream down my cheeks. It’s a wonder I have any moisture left in me. If only Jenson could have just been a patient and faithful mate. By taking wolfsbane, something his full-grown alpha body could handle, he unknowingly poisoned me and our longed-for unborn son. The irony is not lost on me.
In my darkest hour yet, I retrieve my cell phone and open my text app.