Page 17 of The Alpha’s Rejected Arranged Mate (Bluebell Valley Wolves #3)

Finn’s arm was like a vice around Elin’s waist. He practically lifted her off her feet as he pulled her to the Alpha’s house. Several of the other wolves tittered. To them, it just looked like their new Alpha needed his Luna too much to resist. Elin knew better, though. The moment he’d asked her if she was all right, she knew he could tell. Whether it fully sunk in yet or not, she didn’t know.

He pulled her into the house and shut the door. His hands pressed against it, his back turned to her. His breathing was ragged.

“Elin… please tell me you aren’t pregnant,” he whispered.

Elin winced. He sounded so… afraid. She’d been expecting anger, but this fear. “I haven’t been able to take a test yet. But I think I am.”

“How long?”

“I figured it out the morning before you left for the mission. It’s why I left so early that morning. I was trying to find a test that I could take so that nobody else knew I was taking it,” she said, fumbling over her words as she tried to explain. “We were so busy. You were about to go on a mission that would put you in danger. I didn’t want to distract you. I hoped you wouldn’t notice.”

Finn turned finally. His expression was raw, his eyes guarded. “So you’ve suspected for a few days? That’s it?”

Elin frowned at him. “Why do you say it that way? I wouldn’t have had all those discussions about kids and being mates with you if I’d suspected. I was waiting for the right time but knew it had to be soon. Just not before you leave to go hunt down demons!”’

Her wolf growled. Angry at Finn for not being happy, or angry at her for snapping at their mate? Elin couldn’t tell.

“Christine needs to give you an exam right away,” Finn muttered. “Beth was pregnant with me only for a month. You shouldn’t have physical changes this dramatic in only a few days. We have to know for sure. Only then can we… deal with it.”

Deal with it. Elin knew what that meant. And she also knew what her answer would be. But for now, she kept quiet. Best not to open that can of worms until they knew that this was a pregnancy, not just a pregnancy scare. Intuition and the changes she’d already undergone made it pretty clear, but it wouldn’t hurt to make sure.

Finn left the house to get Christine. Once they were back, Finn explained the situation in a short, clipped tone. Christine listened, her expression going from wide-eyed to perfectly professional.

“Change into this,” Christine told Elin, handing her a hospital gown. “We don’t have any tests, so I’ll have to give you an ultrasound. And if you are pregnant, I’m going to want to do a full physical exam.”

“I’ve never had one of those before,” Elin said.

Christine smiled at her. “Then it’s good to get it now. We’ll have a baseline to work off.”

Elin nodded and stepped into her and Finn’s room. As she changed from her clothes to the hospital gown, she caught sight of herself in the mirror. Her stomach was slightly more distended, and her breasts were heavier. Her arms, butt and legs, though, were noticeably slimmer. She blinked in surprise. Wasn’t pregnancy meant to make you swell up? Her mother said she’d had to get new shoes when she was pregnant with Elin.

She tested her clothes, putting them back on. She never wore them skin-tight, but they were baggier than she’d realized when she put them on this morning. A chill swept through her. She hadn’t lost that much weight in one day, had she? It was just because she hadn’t noticed, right?

If she had dropped that much weight in the space of a few hours, what sort of strain would that have on her heart?

In any case, this was why she’d spent the last few days always hungry and tired. A body wasn’t meant to drop that much weight in such a short time. Her stomach churned, and her heart beat faster as she put on the gown. Then, she called for Christine to come in. Finn followed after her, his blue eyes dark with worry.

“No,” Christine said, putting her hand on his chest. “You stay out there until I have the chance to talk with Elin.”

“But—”

Christine shook her head. “Just wait.”

Finn let out a huff and stepped back. Elin wanted to tell Christine it was all right. She would prefer to have Finn in here with her. But she stayed quiet—Christine was rather intimidating when she wanted to be. Once the door was shut, Christine sat near Elin and explained the procedure. They’d need to use an internal ultrasound since she was likely early in the pregnancy.

“Oh,” Elin mumbled, her cheeks going hot.

“Do you want Finn in here with you, or do you want him to wait outside?” Christine asked.

Elin bit her lip. “I want him with me. But I don’t want him to be worried.”

“There’s not much anyone can do about that,” Christine answered. She patted Elin’s hand, then called Finn to enter.

Within a few minutes, they had their answer. Elin was pregnant.

“The fetus looks to be about nine centimeters long. That’s going to be around thirteen to fifteen weeks. When was your last period?” Christine asked, looking up at Elin.

Elin thought back. “Um. It was five weeks ago, I think.”

“So, it is accelerated,” Finn murmured.

“Spotting may occur with a pregnancy, making it look like a period,” Christine said hopefully.

Elin shook her head. “I haven’t slept with anyone but Finn in over two years. And we didn’t start sleeping together until… what was it? Two months ago?”

“Less than thirteen weeks,” Finn murmured. “We’ve always used condoms. Except… once. But I pulled out.”

“Not exactly effective birth control. But if this pregnancy is accelerated, we don’t know if it was weeks or days when the fertilization occurred,” Christine said. She grew silent for a moment. “Finn, I need you to step outside for a moment.”

Elin let out a protesting noise, but Finn had already left the room. She pulled her arms around her waist, feeling vulnerable and abandoned. Christine let out a heavy breath as she sat next to Elin.

“I’m sorry, I know you’d rather he stay,” Christine said, her tone comforting. “But I think we all know how he feels about this. We need to talk about your options.”

“Options,” Elin repeated. She knew what that meant and curled in on herself protectively. The image of the baby she’d dreamt about that night came back to her. She could almost feel the weight of her baby in her arms right now.

Christine continued, her tone soft even though her voice was firm. “We all know Finn’s mother died because of her pregnancy, and this is accelerating more quickly than a normal one, too. This is going to put a lot of strain on your system.”

“Especially my heart,” Elin murmured. She shivered. “My dad died of a heart attack.”

Christine nodded slowly. “Did he have any underlying illnesses? How old was he?”

“I… don’t know,” Elin admitted. Her memories of her father were fuzzy at best. Traditional shifters rarely went to doctors. It was believed that shifters just didn’t get sick. Not that it was true; they just had a stronger immune system.

“Do you get chest pain when you exert yourself? Short of breath?” Christine asked.

Elin thought it over. “I run out of breath quickly when I’m running but not so much in normal circumstances. And no chest pain. Not even heartburn.”

Christine took her pulse and listened to her chest and lungs. “We can do an EKG if you’re worried but seem to be healthy. That said, you will need to decide if you want to terminate the pregnancy soon. We don’t know when the window for a medical abortion will close, and surgery is always risky.”

“As risky as carrying to term?” Elin asked hesitantly.

Christine shook her head. “With what we know… nothing is riskier than doing that.”

Elin winced, then squared her shoulders. “But we have you. You’re a doctor, and we know what to expect. They didn’t have any sort of experience or medical care with Beth. I don’t want to have an abortion. I want to keep my baby. Are you willing to be my doctor, knowing the risks?”

“I wouldn’t abandon you,” Christine told her, reaching for her hand. “We’ll need to monitor your condition closely. Right from the start, I’m going to put you on bed rest. You’ll need to avoid straining your system.”

“You’re not going to try to convince me to change my mind?” Elin asked doubtfully.

“No. Do you want me to keep you informed as to what options there are to end pregnancy, or is that a hard line you don’t want me to bring up again?” Christine asked.

“Don’t bring it up again,” Elin said softly.

Christine blinked a few times as though trying to keep her expression neutral. “Of course. I’ll help you as best I can. You’re strong and young.”

Elin smiled at her. “Thank you. I’d like to talk to Finn now. I need to tell him what I’ve decided.”

Christine nodded once, stood up, and patted Elin’s shoulder. “I’m here for you.”

She stepped out of the room. Elin took a deep breath, trying to sort through her emotions. There was happiness, but it was buried deep beneath fear and concern. Mostly because she didn’t know how Finn would respond. They were careful. Not careful enough, it seemed. He was so determined that he didn’t want to be a father.

Except he does, she thought, then shook her head. She’d made her choice; it was up to him to make his.

Finn stepped into the room, his eyes dark and shoulders slumped. He closed the door but didn’t speak.

Elin braced herself. “I’m keeping it.”

Finn’s jaw flexed, and he looked away.

“I know it’s not what you want to hear. But this baby won’t have the same childhood you had. We know how to protect them against demons. They won’t see any lingering around and do not know how to describe what they see. They’ll have a pack who will band around them,” she started.

“And what about you?” Finn’s voice was rough.

Elin winced. “I made this choice long ago, Finn. I heard about women dying in childbirth as a kid. I heard about human women who were forced to choose between putting off their cancer treatments or…” She sighed. “I used to have nightmares about it. That I was pregnant and being told I had to choose whether it was me or my baby that died.”

Finn looked up, his eyes haunted. “That’s fucked up.”

Elin frowned at him. “I didn’t do it on purpose!”

“I… didn’t mean it that way.” Finn slumped to a chair. “I know you didn’t do it on purpose. I’m sorry. But this is real, Elin. It’s not a nightmare, as much as I wish it were. It’s real, and we have to deal with very real consequences.”

“That’s why I’m telling you this. Because I thought about it far too much.” Elin shook her head. Was it the Moon Goddess giving her visions of this possibility years ago, or was it just the anxiety that came from losing her father? “I made my choice long before it was ever a possibility.”

Finn pushed back to his feet. “But—”

“But nothing. I made my choice. So long as there is a chance that we both will survive the pregnancy, I have to take it. Right now, I have hope. We have Christine and the information we need to know about what to expect.” Elin reached for his hand, but he pulled away. “There’s a chance, Finn. So I’m going to give my baby the best shot at living.”