Page 72 of White Raven
Wren lingered in the doorway for a second, offering them both an apologetic smile before shutting the door behind her. Athan approached Rhaena who was visibly shaking, unable to keep herself from crying. He wasn’t used to seeing her like this. Actually…he’dneverseen her like this. It had to be something awful. He eased his hands onto her bare shoulders and leaned in to force her eyes up to him.
“Is it Jenkins?” he asked, hoping it was just a nasty breakup. It only made her cry harder, tears spilling over her eyelids as she squeezed them shut. “What happened? Did he break it off? I’m sorry, I’m not really good at this shit, Rhaena. You gotta help me out here.”
“I—” she started, breaking into a howl that heaved out of her caving chest. It had to be more than just a breakup. Rhaena was so much tougher than this. “Athan, I think—I think I’m pregnant.”
Shit.
That was…not what he expected at all. He felt his mouth slowly drop open, and all he could think to do was stare at her.“You’re having puppies?” Her closed fist connected with his gut before he had a chance to smile, and the wind left him in a grunt.
“Could you not be an asshole?!” she wept, not finding it funny at all.
“Rhaena,” he drug out in sympathy. “It’s okay…come here.” He pulled her into his chest and rested his chin on top of her head while she wailed like a four-year-old denied their favorite toy. This was a big deal, he could admit…but for whatever reason, he didn’t find it such a bad thing. “What makes you think you’re pregnant?” he asked, spotting the trash can by the kitchen table.
“I’m eating like my fucking life depends on it,” she sniffed, pulling back and wiping her nose.
“Rhaena, you eat like that all the time. That means nothing.”
“Look, I know your delicate ego can’t handle it, but I’ve also missed a period. And I’m not on birth control anymore. Last time, they wanted to do bloodwork, and I didn’t think that was a good idea…forobviousreasons. So, they didn’t give me another refill.” She turned towards the sink, gripping her hair with both hands, and her snotty paper towel dangling from her fist.
“Oh…” he mumbled, not sure what to say.
“Yeah.Oh.” Rhaena blew out a long, frustrated breath and dropped her hands to the counter, bracing her weight on it. “I’m so fucked.”
Another thought crossed his mind—one not so pleasant and plunging his amusement through the floor. “R-Rhaena…how long have you been off the pill?”
“Almost two months now. I ran out, and they wouldn’t send refills without an exam. Why?” She turned around and leaned against the counter, meeting his eyes—and the panic in them. “What?”
Before Sarah—even after he’d met Sarah, they’d…fuck…how long ago was that? Was it even possible for him to get her pregnant?
The thought momentarily consumed him, and he spiraled in his mind of how any possibility of that being the case could affect both their futures. He was almost positive Jenkins would leave her, and even if he didn’t…God, that would be the most fucked up thing ever. And Sarah…it would devastate her. It would devastatehim. They were already fighting for their freedom to be together for eternity without looking over their shoulders for a nuisance. They were mated. Bonded. He’d asked her to be his fucking wife. She—
“Athan!”Rhaena barked, snapping him out of a vortex of pure, undiluted anxiety. Her hand flapped out in front of her, and her attention lingered on the fists clenched at his sides. He hadn’t even realized how hard he’d tightened them until he opened his palms and saw tiny crescent marks from his fingernails. “You’re not allowed to be more taken back by this shit than me. What’s the matter?”
“I—the last time we…you don’t think…” He stared at her blankly, trying to figure out how to finish his thought, and if her face could get any more pale, she’d be transparent.
“No. No, that’s not possible. That can’t even happen…can it?” Her voice shuddered, and that paper towel raised back to her mouth in her fist. “No. No, I had a period after…I’m almost positive.”
“You’realmostpositive?!” He could feel his control slipping little by little, that unsteady heart in his chest testing the confines of his sternum.
“Don’t do this to me,” she broke, leaning over her legs as her back sputtered in sobs. “God, what did I do to deserve this?”
He stood frozen, and barely able to swallow. His skin prickled, and his chest hurt. His mouth felt like they were filledwith dust and cobwebs, and he felt like vomiting. Which was selfish considering the fact that he couldn’t fathom what Rhaena was feeling right now. She was clearly distraught enough by the notion that being pregnant would possibly be the end of her career. The whole axis of her world tipping in a direction gravity wouldn’t be able to save her from. And he just added a sweetener. Now she was questioning if she could even figure out which one of them fathered her baby.
Baby…Christ.
“Rhaena…sit down,” Athan whispered, taking her softly by her shoulders and leading her to the chair she’d been sitting in when he got there. He knelt down in front of her and raised her chin, swiping a thumb beneath her puffy eyes.
“I can’t do this. I can’t—” she wept.
“Stop. It’s okay…it’s all gonna be okay. You don’t even know if you are. Is that accurate?”
“Wren was going out to get tests. You must have met her on the way out.” She sniffed hard, and sharply inhaled, wringing the snotty towel around her busy fingers.
“Does Jenkins know?”
“No. We’re…I don’t even know what the fuck we’re fighting about. I don’t honestly know if we’refighting.” She raised her hands, slapping them into her lap. “I was doing just fine, you know? I washappy. I was just coming around to the idea that I wouldn’t have to become this—thingevery month! Brandon and I were blissful. We took down the bad guys, and Wren was safe. Brent lived through thatbullshit. Everything was fine!”
Athan gently gripped one of her hands, and she cried silently, shaking her head.
