Page 55 of White Raven (Nevermore Duet #2)

“So…we’re sure? There’s no baby? Not even a blip, or…anything?” she asked, feeling a sudden urge to tear up.

“Positive. I checked every possible angle. I’m not sure whether to tell you I’m sorry, or offer congratulations, but the good news is that everything checks out perfect. You’re in excellent physical shape.”

“What about my missed period?”

“Likely caused by your hormonal response to being off the pill. Your body has to adjust, and it can throw your cycle off dramatically. You’re perfectly fine.” She turned and took a little prescription pad off the counter. “Did you want to talk about some other options while you’re here?”

“They told me last time that they couldn’t refill them if I didn’t get my blood panels going.”

Dr. Hammond waved a hand and shook her head, writing on the paper.

“Don’t worry about that. I’ve seen all I need to see.

If it’ll prevent you from having another scare like this, then I’ll be happy to write you one.

The panels are to check for other stuff like your thyroid, blood sugar and things like that.

I’m not worried. Take this,” she said, handing her the prescription.

“If you wanna continue the birth control, fill it. If you wanna try for a munchkin, then I wish you the best of luck. Either way…just walk out of here knowing that you have a clean bill of health, okay?”

“Thank you so much,” Brandon smiled.

“Yes, thank you.”

“You’re very welcome. I’ll leave this on the counter.

Just take it to checkout when you’re ready, and I’ll see you in a year for your annual.

” She laid her clipboard on the counter and gripped Rhaena’s shoulder, smiling.

“Have a good one. I’ll send the bill for my model,” she laughed.

Brandon flushed red and gripped the back of his neck while Rhaena joined the doctor in making him more uncomfortable.

On the car ride home, Rhaena stared out the window, congested with a million thoughts. Brandon seemed about the same, barely speaking as the music played on the radio.

So, they dodged a bullet. She wasn’t possibly having Athan’s baby and ruining his life.

She wasn’t having Brandon’s either. This was good, wasn’t it?

Why didn’t it feel good? There were a thousand reasons that finding out there was a little person in her belly would complicate and throw an atomic bomb in everything .

Life was so irritating. She should feel happy about this news.

But then, there were still so many other questions.

Okay, so what if the birth control threw her off?

How did that explain all the other things she was feeling?

The increased appetite. The short fuse she was starting to have…

could be PMS. She missed a period. It was probably ten times as fierce.

The effects of Sarah’s blood could also be a factor, but that was obviously something they couldn’t tell a doctor about.

How did it come to this? How did she get to this point where now that they knew the truth, and didn’t have to worry so much about the future—that future seemed a little less bright without the possibility of something they weren’t even ready for? It left Rhaena curious if she did actually want it…

And if this was about to come between them after all?

These reports told them next to nothing, which was just about what he’d expected, although…

some of it just seemed to add more to the long list of possibilities and lingering questions around who John Allan was, and where the fuck he was hiding.

The one that bothered him the most was—what the hell does he want?

Why all the dramatics? Did he want his daughter with a vampire?

Did he blame Athan for being the reason she turned?

Would it have mattered in the end if Sarah’s blood determined that it was John’s own fault that she was part vampire to begin with?

“I’m starting to think you don’t know how to enjoy vacation time, Kane.” Captain Foley’s voice broke him out of his thoughts, and he turned in his chair to see him leaning over Rhaena’s empty desk.

“I wouldn’t know, sir. The time off was part vacation, part investigation .”

“You can’t marry your work, and your girl, Athan. You and Sarah deserve more than that.”

Athan’s brows lowered. “You know?”

“I heard. Congratulations, detective.”

Somehow, it meant more to him than he would ever admit. Athan smirked. “Thank you, sir.”

“Anything I can help you with?” he asked, pointing to the papers in his hand.

“Not really. Kind of a dead end.”

“Well, I’ve got some good news for another case Rhaena, and I have been working on, but she’s been in and out. Any idea what’s going on?”

Shit…yes. He may have knocked her up.

“I—I don’t, sir. Kinda had my head in the ground lately.”

“Well, now that I mention it, Agent Foster reached out. I thought I should tell you. Seems she’s been chasing a lead on Sykes separately. Wanted me to tell you to back off.”

Athan dropped the papers to the desk and leaned back in his chair. “Yeah, that’s not gonna happen. You don’t leave threatening messages on my fiancé’s front door and think I won’t get to the bottom of it. With all due respect, sir…Foster can blow my dick.”

Foley chuckled through his nose. “I’m not saying I don’t agree with you. Foster and her team don’t determine what happens at my precinct. I was told to pass the information, and I have. What you and Sarah do with it is your business. Just…don’t make me regret it, yeah?”

“Noted, sir.”

“You seem tense, Kane. Someone that intended to be spending some much-needed time with a new fiancée shouldn’t come off so heavy. Are you alright?”

No.

“I’m good, sir. Just wanna figure this out and put it behind us, that’s all.”

Foley straightened, fixing his suit. “Here if you need anything. Have a good night detective…and let Northwood know I need to speak with her if you could.”

“10-4.”

Foley strode off, and Athan peered down at the paperwork.

The feathers were raven. The material from the blanket only really showed traces of Sarah’s DNA—and would have shown his own, had they had any way of determining that.

All they did know was that it seemed the blanket was much older than Sarah may have expected.

At least the material used was, if not the blanket itself.

He knew one person who could help with that.

Nell. And it just so happened Sarah was there with Wren this afternoon.

Wren had been learning the tricks of Nell’s trade for a couple of weeks now, and ever since he’d taken Sarah to the back room, she’d been hard to pry away.

He couldn’t blame her. In fact, it gave him joy to give her something that made her smile.

It was like leading a small child into Boston’s biggest toy store and savoring the magic of the elation thrumming through their face.

A child…a baby. Christ, keeping this from her was an awful idea.

He was chewing a hole in his lip the entire ride to Nell’s shop, not even realizing by the time he pulled up that he hadn’t lit a cigarette in about two hours.

Funny how stress can either go one way or the other.

You either burn through a pack or forget that they exist altogether.

Sarah, however, hadn’t forgotten about hers.

She was puffing away at the back door in the alley with a paper coffee cup in the other hand.

“Hey, you.” Her smile seemed…off. He approached her, sliding an arm around her back and pulling her close. “You look tired.”

“You look beautiful,” he replied, accepting her cigarette when she turned it and placed it in his mouth.

The taste of her lingering on the filter made his heart speed up.

She really was the most beautiful creature.

That hair had gotten longer, and immortality suited her.

Her body in some ways felt different these days. Stronger. Sexier.

“Better day?” she asked, taking a sip of her coffee. Her slender eyebrow raised while the other stayed put…as if she were fishing for a bit more than how his day was.

“You could say that. Jenkins had the lab results ready. I just came from the precinct.”

“And?”

He took another hit off the cigarette, turning it and handing it back to her as he lifted the plastic bag with her blanket inside.

“They’re raven feathers. Not much else to go on as far as the blanket, but I thought about handing it over to Nell.

She knows appraisers and people that could possibly figure out where it originated.

She’s a master at finding answers for old things. ”

“Hmm…interesting choice of words,” she breathed, dropping the cigarette and snuffing it out with her foot.

“What do you mean?” He ran a hand through his hair, looking at the crack in the door when he heard Wren and Nell laughing about something inside.

“I thought finding answers from old things would be easier these days. Especially when one of those old things swore to tell me the truth from here on out.” She pulled away from him and crossed her arms as she leaned against the wall beside the door.

Fuck…she knows. Wren must have said something.

“You’re talking about Rhaena?” His teeth were clenched so hard that they started to ache. Sarah only nodded, and his stomach churned. “I can’t tell you what I don’t know, Sarah.”

“I’m not worried about why you didn’t tell me Rhaena might be pregnant. I’m worried about why you’re not telling me the reason it’s bothering you. Do you still have feelings for her, Athan?”

His mouth involuntarily parted, and the sick feeling in the pit of his stomach turned to sorrow that she would even think something like that. “What?”

“Do you love her?” she asked, pressing her lips together like she was trying not to get emotional.

“Sarah, you know I never loved her like that. Me and Rhaena…we’re not…” He turned to the side and gripped his hair in his hand. “Fuck.”