Alpha's Vow (Shifter Ops 2)

She had to come during work hours, so I meet her there.

She sits on the examination table in her gown, her face drawn and pale.

“Everything will be fine, right? With the baby? There aren’t weird complications because of the mixed species?”

I move to stand in front of her, my hands resting on her hips. “If anything, it’s the opposite, angel,” I reassure her. “Our baby will be strong. He or she won’t get sick. They won’t be susceptible to diseases or injuries. Even if they never shift, I think most halflings are blessed with strength and good health.

Her brows fly up. “Some don’t shift?”

Damn. I’m trying to get her to relax, not freak out. “It’s okay, angel. Our pups will be perfect, whether their genes manifest as human or shifter.”

Her eyes grow bright. “Pups… plural?”

“Well, yeah. I mean, if you want. I definitely want more than one.”

A smile tugs at her lips.

“You?” I ask.

“Yeah. I want two. A boy and a girl.”

“In that order?”

“Yes. But as Adele keeps telling me: we plan, God laughs. That’s what her grandmother used to tell her, anyway, and it seems to be true in my case.”

A light tap sounds on the door and a smiling, dark-skinned female doctor comes in. She’s friendly, and has a very laid-back demeanor, something I thank Fates for.

“Hi there, I’m Dr. Johnson.” She shakes my hand.

“Lance Lightfoot.”

“Charlie, it’s good to see you again.”

“Thanks,” Charlie says weakly. She’s already peed on a stick and had her weight measured. The nurse told us that the doctor would probably do an ultrasound today, since Charlie was worried about having taken the birth control pills for the first couple of weeks.

The doctor asks her a few questions and then asks if she wants an ultrasound. When Charlie agrees, she squirts jelly onto her belly and presses the wand against her abdomen.

The rapid tap-tap-tap of our baby’s heartbeat comes through and Charlie tears up. “Sounds good to me.” Dr. Johnson smiles at Charlie. “Your baby is just about the size of a grain of rice.”

I squeeze Charlie’s hand and lean my head against hers. “All good, angel.”

“Yes, all good. Any questions for me?” the doctor asks.

Charlie opens her mouth, then looks at me and closes it again. “I don’t think so,” she says weakly.

“Okay, I’d like to see you again in a month. Here’s some information on recommended diet. I’ll write you a prescription for prenatal vitamins, or you can buy them yourself. With your insurance, the prescription makes them a little cheaper for you.”

The doctor leaves and Charlie gets dressed. As she yanks on her postal uniform, she blurts, “Oh my God, Lance, halfway through that, I suddenly started worrying that she would see something to clue her in that the baby isn’t human. But you wouldn’t have let me come here if there would be a problem, right?”

“You’re not giving birth to a wolf, Charlie. There’s nothing odd to see. Now if they want to start taking blood for tests, I’d have to stop them, but that shouldn’t happen until the baby’s born.”

Charlie’s eyes are round and wide. “But…”

I hold her shoulders. “There’s nothing at all to worry about.”

“How will you stop them if they want to take blood?”

I shrug. “I’d figure something out.”

“Should I even have this baby with human doctors? I mean, are there shifter doctors somewhere that we should use instead?”

I rub my forehead. “Maybe. I don’t know. Shifters don’t get sick, so we don’t need doctors. I can look into it.” I seriously doubt I’d find anything, but you never know. More and more shifters seem to be mating with humans, something that has a lot of the packs alarmed for the fear that our species will die out. I hadn’t paid much attention to the talk because I was in the service and never planned on mating. But now that Fate paired me with a human, I can only surmise that it’s for our survival, not the other way around. Fate doesn’t make mistakes.

“Maybe I should have a home-birth,” Charlie says when we walk outside.

I stop and look toward the mountains, considering. “I don’t know, angel. If something went wrong—not with the baby, but with you—we’d need human doctors. I want you to be safe.”

“Oh.”

I nudge Charlie toward her car and hold the door while she climbs in. “Everything will be fine. Nothing to worry about. I’ll follow you home, okay?”

Charlie’s brow furrows. “I… I think I need a little alone time. Just to process everything. Can we skip tonight?”

My heart stutters.

Fuck.

“Angel, what’s bothering you? How can I help?”

“No, nothing. Don’t freak out. I just need some space. This is all really fast, and I have to get used to the idea of having a wolf pup. And being your mate. And everything that goes with it. Is it fair to ask for a night off?” She says it kindly, but her words still pierce my heart.