Page 35 of The Alpha's Rejected Arranged Mate

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.”

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