Page 29 of Alpha's Twins
“Let’s try again,” Emily says, her tone encouraging. “We’ll figure it out.”
I nod, trying to believe her. “Okay,” I agree, but the exhaustion in my voice betrays me. I reach toward the plant again, determined, but the energy inside me feels wild, like a live wire. It slips from my grasp, and this time, the daisies wilt under my touch, their petals drooping and falling in a lifeless heap. Better than exploding, I guess.
“I just don’t understand,” I say, my voice a mix of confusion and defeat. “It’s never been like this. I don’t even know whatthisis.”
“Don’t worry,” Marian says, though her eyes are more curious than concerned. “It’s unusual, but not unheard of.”
“Unheard of for what?” I ask, desperate for answers.
She pauses, a thoughtful look crossing her face. “Are you tired? Dizzy?”
I nod, remembering the nausea and the strange rush I experienced this morning. “Sort of, but only this morning,” I say, explaining what happened just before they arrived. “It was the coffee, I think.”
Marian tips her head back and cackles, “It was most definitely not the coffee that did this to you.”
I catch a flash of confusion, and then a knowing look appears on Emily’s face, as if she’s just caught on to what Marian is saying, and I’m the only one left confused.
“Could it be…” Emily starts, but Marian interrupts her.
“Pregnancy,” she announces, like it’s the most obvious thing in the world.
“Pregnant?” I echo, my voice high and strangled. “But…how?”
Emily raises an eyebrow, a slight smirk on her lips. “I can explain the mechanics if you’d like.”
Heat rises to my cheeks, and my mind races. Could it be true? My hands creep to my stomach, the thought so huge, so unexpected, that I can barely breathe.
“Pregnant,” I say again, trying to process the word, the reality of it. “I can’t be.”
Marian’s laughter dances through the air. “You most certainly can be.”
“But what if Aiden doesn’t want…” I start, the panic settling in like a stone.
The two women watch me with sympathy written all over their faces, and I feel my emotions threatening to spill over, all my fears racing to the surface.
“Do you want me to confirm it?” Marian suggests, more gently. “I can perform a fertility spell, then you’ll know for sure.”
I freeze for a moment, but then nod, even though I’m terrified. I need to know. Marian looks at Emily, a quick flick of her eyes, and Emily steps closer to me, reassuring and warm.
“It’s going to be okay, Serena,” she says, but I can barely hear her over the roar in my head.
I watch as Marian lowers herself to the ground beside me, her presence demanding and impossibly magical with the backdrop of my wild garden. Everything seems to still around us, and I sense the shift in the air, a gathering of energy that’s both familiar and foreign.
Marian’s hands hover over my stomach, her expression one of intense concentration, and I hold my breath, waiting for her to say something, anything, to break this unbearable suspense.
The moment stretches on forever until finally, she sits back, a satisfied grin spreading across her face. “Not just pregnant,” she declares, her voice rich with amusement. “Twins.”
My heart stops, then starts again in a frantic rhythm. Twins. The word is too big, too impossible, and I feel the world spin around me, a dizzying, overwhelming rush.
“Oh,” I say, the sound small and lost.
Emily’s eyes are wide with excitement. “That’s amazing, Serena,” she says, her words tumbling over each other.
“Is it?” I ask, my voice barely above a whisper. I feel the panic rise, a wave threatening to pull me under. “What if Aiden doesn’t want pups? What if…what if he doesn’t want me?”
Marian shakes her head, a knowing smile on her lips. “Oh, he wants you, dear.”
Emily squeezes my hand, but I can’t shake the feeling of terror that’s clawing its way through me.
