Page 47 of In Plain Sight

“Promise me she’s going to be okay. I’ve never heard of a sickness that wouldn’t allow a person to shift. Her wolf should be protecting her from this,” I repeated.

“You’re not listening. It can’t,” Doc said again.

Thomas put his hand on my shoulder, and I jerked away, but he only put it back and squeezed hard enough to get my attention. “You might want to sit down for this.”

Sit down? I didn’t want to sit down. I had to do something, but there was nothing I could do. I had never in my life felt so helpless. With Thomas guiding me to sit, I obeyed. My shoulders slumped over in defeat and an unimaginable pain set into my chest. I’d failed my mate.

Lily kneeled before me. “Bran, listen to me. What Doc is saying is that when we shifted, Ruby tried to, and she couldn’t. She could not call her wolf forward. Now it’s still early, but there’s only one reason any of us knows of that would cause this.”

I looked up into her eyes as tears flooded mine. I shook my head. It wasn’t possible.

Thomas squatted next to his mate and smiled. “We believe Ruby’s pregnant. Looks like you’re gonna be a dad, buddy!”

I sunk back against the couch in complete shock. Pregnant? Ruby was carrying my child? How was that even possible? It had only been a few weeks since we’d met.

“Bran, you okay?” Lily asked, but it sounded like she was off in a great distance. “Doc?”

“Give the boy some time, he’s just in a bit of shock.”

In the next room Ruby vomited again. I stood and walked towards the noise. I felt like I was having an out-of-body experience, watching myself move, but not feeling a part of it. No one moved to stop me this time.

The bathroom carried a terrible odor, but I didn’t care. I fell to my knees by her side and pulled her hair back out of the way as another wave of nausea hit her. When she was through, she took some toilet paper and wiped her mouth before turning to look at me.

A tear ran down my cheek. She was so pale and fragile looking. My eyes shot down to her flat stomach and I watched as my hand reached out to reverently touch it.

“I’m so sorry,” I said.

She smiled and shrugged. “I guess they told you both the bad and good news,” she said in a hoarse voice, no doubt strained from throwing up so much.

“This is all my fault. I didn’t think,” I started to ramble, but she quieted me with a radiant smile.

Her hand covered mine where it still rested on her stomach. “It’s worth it,” she insisted.

I stayed with her through it all, holding back her hair, washing her face, and putting cool rags on the back of her neck to soothe her. Doc left with instructions to call if anything changed or worsened, but Lily and Thomas stayed. They didn’t get in the way or hover over Ruby, but they were there, just in the next room through it all.

I tried to tell them it wasn’t necessary, but when I went to kick them out they both stubbornly insisted they would do the same for any member of the Pack. While I tended to my mate’s needs, they tended to mine. Lily mothered me like no one ever had before, insisting I eat, and drink regularly, reminding me that I wouldn’t be able to help Ruby if I let myself get too weak.

For thirty-six hours, my mate continued to vomit until she was only throwing up bile and blood. Doc came back several times to check on her but assured us there was nothing more that could be done. It just had to run its course.

Thomas traded off watching Ruby for me whenever Lily insisted I had to rest. I didn’t sleep well, the nightmares and guilt plagued me, but I tried because I knew Lily was right and my body needed the rest. I had to stay strong for Ruby and the baby.

A baby? I was going to be a father. This changed everything, but it also changed nothing. I had never felt so helpless in all my life.

Finally the vomiting ceased and Ruby crumbled to the floor like a wet noodle. I shooed Lily out of the room, ran a hot bath, and carefully lowered her into the water. Bathing and caring for my mate brought me a little peace. She stubbornly insisted she could do it herself, but she had little resistance left in her. Her body was so weak and vulnerable that it had my wolf on full alert.

I lifted her from the water, dried her with a towel, and took one of my shirts to cover her. Once I had her dressed and tucked her into bed, Lily came in. She fussed over her and helped feed her some chicken broth and dry toast she had ready and waiting. Ruby only got a little in her before exhaustion set in and she curled into my side and slept.

“Should we wake her and get a little more food in her system?” Lily asked, clearly as worried as I was.

“No, just put it in the fridge and I’ll make sure she eats when she wakes.”

“How are you holding up?” Thomas surprised me by asking.

I shrugged. “I’ll tell you when I figure that out myself.”

He laughed and nodded. “She’s stronger than she looks, Bran.”

“I know. I just pray the baby survived this. She’d never forgive herself if we lost it.”

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