Page 5 of Rust the Rejected
My wolf retreats, and I pull the dress over my head as I tell her about Amanda. We hurry to get Sam from the Alpha’s office. He’s with his beta and a few other males. They leer at me as we enter. I ignore them and focus on Sam.
“Amanda’s in labor! We need you to bring her back home with your pickup—”
“Why the hell did she go anywhere when I told her to stay her ass at home?! She never listens, no matter how many lessons I give that stubborn she-wolf.”
My mouth gapes. Does he mean he hurts my sister? Why didn’t she tell me?
“Shut your mouth and take me to her.”
I blink at his harsh words but set the thoughts aside. My sister and the pup come first. We’ll have time to figure out what to do about Sam after the birth.
We drive to spot and find Amanda on the ground with her back against the evergreen and her sweatpants beside the tree. Her knees bent with her feet wide apart on the grass. Her face contorts as she screams in agony.
“No time to take her back. I’ll deliver the pup here. Natalie, you’ve watched me enough times to know what to do,” the midwife says as she hurries to Amanda’s side with me close behind her.
My sister doesn’t register our presence until the midwife kneels in front of her and calls her name. Amanda opens her eyes and stares unseeingly. Another contraction hits, and she wails how much it hurts. Blood gushes to the grass.
The midwife checks her, then glances at me. Regret fills her brown eyes as she shakes her head.
Tears blur my vision. I grab Amanda’s hand and whisper how much I love her, along with words of encouragement.
Sam growls.
“You better not die on me, Amanda! Deliver my pup and quit with your whining. You hear me? Of course, it hurts. Who the hell said it would be easy?”
Tears—not just from the pain in her womb, but from the heartless words of her mate and our Alpha—stream down my sister’s flushed cheeks. Her entire pregnancy was rife with pain. Not one moment was idyllic for her. She did her best to ignore it. But I could tell by the sadness in her eyes she was not enjoying her pregnancy. And the oaf of a male wolf shifter she mated with was of zero use to her.
Like the other males in our pack, he only cares about his offspring. Their sole focus on increasing our numbers since so many of the pack died from the unexplainable affliction. Now, instead of cherishing the she-wolves, the males view us as breeders. And the gods forbid if a she-wolf fails to produce pups or ages out of fertility! She’s tossed aside by her mate, and he chooses another. She becomes the head mate while the original moves to the sidelines and hopes he will provide for her, too.
The day my sister and her male pup died in childbirth marked the end for me. Instead of mourning his loss, our Alpha turned from their lifeless bodies to pin me with his intense stare.
“You will become my mate since your sister failed me.”
That night after I buried my sister and her pup beside the graves of our parents, I left the only home I’d ever known.
I gathered some clothes and my savings—including the sizable inheritance from my parents. Without a backward glance, I left my pack’s land. After years of witnessing the pain and the loss she-wolves experienced—even before the years prior to the affliction—I knew the gods wanted me to help females as an OB-GYN. It became my mission through the years at the University of New Mexico undergrad and medical school to excel in my studies. During my residency, I applied to positions far away from my former pack. Miami accepted me.
My eyes open with a fierce determination to help my patient and her unborn baby. As I have for the last twelve years, I use the tragic memory of my sister and her pup to urge me to do my utmost to care for other females. From finishing my studies early and succeeding in my residency until now, I do it all to honor my sister and the struggles of the she-wolves of my former pack.
I take a deep breath and exhale to clear my mind. Focused and determined, I leave my office for the examination room. Ready for the day’s challenges.
“Natalie, Thandie and I are going for happy hour with a few others in the department. Do you want to join us? You’ll get to meet more people and have fun doing it!”
Paloma Sabela Garcia—the OB-GYN department secretary—smiles at me as Thandie nods in agreement.
I consider their offer, then decline.
“Thanks ladies. But I’ll have to take a raincheck. Too many boxes sit in my living room waiting for me to unpack them,” I say, then grin. “You have no idea how many times I rotated three wrap dresses this week!”
They glance at each other, then burst out laughing. With a shrug, I join them.
It’ll be nice to have girlfriends again. During school, I was too busy to bond with others. Without the pressure to do well and to finish early, I have time to spend with others. Just not tonight.
I watch them still giggling as they leave my suite of rooms.
After I complete notes in the charts for the day’s patients, I head to my car. Fortunately, work study, scholarships, and grants covered most my education. So, I splurged on the pre-owned Volkswagen Beetle convertible. Now, I can enjoy the sunny Miami weather every chance I get. So, unlike the rainy Pacific Northwest. And I’ll do anything to distance myself from that place.
As soon as the ignition starts, I press the button to lower the roof. Then pull my mane of midnight hair with its snow-white widow’s peak into a ponytail and slip on a pair of oversized glamour girl sunglasses. The playlist of Miami-inspired dance music has me tapping my fingers on the steering wheel as I navigate through the streets.
