Page 73 of The Wolf's Bullied Pregnant Mate
This was the life I wanted. This is the choice I wanted to make: to stay.
Chapter 25 - Adalyn
The beep of a hospital machine slowly stirred me into consciousness. The first thing I saw after the white ceiling above me was my grandmother’s eyes. They were the richest brown, settled on me. Her face was pinched into uncertainty, but a smile broke out as soon as she saw me.
Her hands reached for mine.
“Adalyn,” she breathed. She brought my clasped hands up to her lips to kiss my palm. “My Adalyn. You’re okay.”
Her eyes shined with tears as she nodded, as if to herself.
“Gramma?” I murmured. “What’s happened?”
“You got hurt,” she said. “During the fight with the shifters. A demon poisoned you, Addie. You went unconscious, but—well, Zephyr and the others were there. They called for help for you.”
“Zephyr…” I repeated, my eyes scanning the room. “Where is he? I need to see him.”
My grandmother hushed me, petting my hair. “He’s here,” she assured me. “He’s waiting outside. I asked him to give you and me a moment first.”
It was then that I realized my grandmother knew. Knew that Zephyr and I were mates, knew that I was pregnant, knew that Zephyr was of the original shifter bloodline from the Cove.
“Gramma…”
“We’re not going to discuss any of it now,” she said, her voice tight with all the things that she wasn’t yet saying. “But wewill, Adalyn. For now, you should be with your… Your mate before he paces a hole in the hospital floor.”
Everything in me ached but as soon as I saw Zephyr’s shadow in the doorway, I couldn’t help my smile. My grandmother kissed my forehead before standing, leaning far heavier on her cane than I recalled, even on the day we had video-called. Once she disappeared from the hospital room, Zephyr was there, kissing me. I winced as I lifted my arms to grasp onto him.
“Adalyn,” he murmured, kissing me as he kept repeating my name. “Adalyn, you’re okay. You’re alive.”
I forced a laugh. “You didn’t think I would be?”
“I was scared,” he admitted. “You were so white… The poison was infecting you. Your wounds were turning purple, and I just—” He pressed his forehead to mine. “I was so terrified of losing you.”
I held his face in my hands, kissing him again. “You won’t ever lose me, Zephyr.”
He pulled back, his eyes wide. Tears welled in them. “You mean it?”
“Always,” I whispered. “I lo—”
“All right,” a voice announced from the doorway. “Let’s check on your baby’s health, shall we?” A female nurse walked in, her smile wide, as she wheeled in an ultrasound set-up with her. Zephyr stilled, his hand tightening on mine.
“It’s far too early for a proper first scan, but we’ll see what we can see there. I’ve heard there are special circumstances here.”
Zephyr nodded. “Shifter DNA can enable faster growth, right?”
The nurse nodded. “It means that pregnancy detection could be done faster, and the growth of your baby might befurther along than would be expected at this point. We’ll be keeping a close eye on you, Adalyn.”
I nodded, fear nestling in my stomach.
But it was all taken away once the scan began and the sound of a heartbeat began to pulse. But that was impossible. I had only had sex with Zephyr more than a week ago.
I looked at him, but his face was dazed with awe as an image came up on the screen. It was a tiny dot, but it was something.
“At the moment, your baby is no bigger than a grain of rice,” the nurse told me. Once again, it felt impossible. This was… This was something I thought would be more like a month along. But then I thought back to Harper’s pregnancies. She had developed quickly, her pregnancy lasting several months rather than a full nine months as usual.
“Damn,” Zephyr whispered. “That is amazing.”
His hand found mine as we both gazed at the baby on the screen.
