Pregnant

Chapter 13

You’re being irrational, I chided myself once insomnia finally gave way to fitful slumber. This was about an innocuous nedical consult, nothing more. I would help if possible, then inediately return to my clinic, my life here. No threat existed unless I lost perspective.

Yet uneasy dreams of running alone through moonlit forests pursued me until dawn. A shadowy black wolf lurked at the corner of my vision, familiar and strange at once. But each time spun to face it head on, the specter vanished like smoke through my fingers.

Even in sleep I could not confront the lingering ghosts of my past. Perhaps I never would find courage to stand and fight.

The next morning, supplies had to be restocked and charts updated, providing welcome distraction from restless thoughts. By mid-afternoon, I had almost achieved some sense of normalcy again. Until a shy knock at my office door heralded Collins poking his head in, his tentative expression setting me instantly on edge.

“Hey, Nathan is back, asking to speak with you. Up for sec simmered just beneath the casual words.

in, or should I send him away?” His protective temper

I considered briefly. My raw emotions likely couldn’t handle facing Nathan again so soon without unraveling entirely. But refusing him outright could appear callous when a life hung in the balance.

“Tell him….I need a few days to make arrangements here before traveling. I’ll send word when ready.”

Collins nodded shortly. “You got it.” His head disappeared, followed by receding footsteps and the clinic door chiming. I released a shaky breath. A temporary reprieve, at least. Time to shore up my defenses before confronting fresh ghosts.

The rest of the day passed in a strained haze. By the time the last patient left and we closed up the clinic, exhaustion weighed on me. But Collins breezed in bearing takeout bags and a determined smile.

“Figured you could use comfort food tonight. Brought all your greasy favorites,” he announced, unpacking styrofoam boxes of pizza, fries, and milkshakes onto my office coffee table.

I couldn’t help laughing even through my weariness. “Trying to clog my arteries along with my brain?” But in truth, junk food and mindless TV with Collins sounded like the perfect means of distraction. And goddess knew I needed that tonight.

Soon we were parked on the sagging office couch, boxes of now-cold pizza s**ed around us. Some silly sitcom played on my computer, volume turned down low. Collins’s shoulder pressing against mine kept me grounded amidst the swirling chaos in my mind.

As the credits finally rolled, Collins regarded me gently. “Doing any better? I know seeing Nathan again must have rattled you.”

I leaned my head back against the c**ns with a bone-d**p sigh. “Honestly? I have no idea how I feel. Angry, hurt, terrified…yet some traitorous part of me actually cares whether he’s found any peace all these years.” I laughed harshly. “Pathetic, right?”

Collins shifted to face me directly, expression serious. “Not at all. You have every right to feel conflicted. He was your first love, the father of your children.” He lifted my chin until our eyes met. “But this time, remember – the choice is fully yours. You don’t owe Nathan, or anyone else, a second of your time.”

His quiet conviction helped cement my wavering resolve. I was no longer the timid human girl desperate for a powerful Alpha’s affection. Fate had proven I possessed grounding strength and courage all my own. The fruits of that trials showed in the rich life I had built alone. This time, I controlled the course. Nathan could not unmoor me unless I allowed it.

I hugged Collins fiercely, tension easing from my shoulders for the first time all day. “Thank you for talking sense into me.

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Chapter 13

I’m still not sure what rl choose. But knowing I have your support means everything.”

Collins hugged me back just as tightly. “Always.” Pulling away, he began packing up our trash, respecting my need for space to process. But I caught his hand, struck by a sudden thought.

“Actually, would you mind staying the night? I really don’t want to be alone.” The prospect of silence and solitude felt unbearable.

Collins paused, surprise flitting across his face before he smiled gently. “Of course, if you want company. It’s a slumber party.”

I laughed, the sound rusty from disuse. “I hope you like watching cheesy rom-coms and braiding hair.”

“Lucky for you, those rank among my greatest passions.”

Soon we were bundled on the lumpy clinic couch beneath a pile of spare blankets, an appropriately melodramatic rom-com playing at low volume.

Collins’s soothing presence beside me kept darker thoug comfort of old friendship, appreciating this unexpected D. night.

bay. For just a few hours, I could simply relax into the sing the moon had brought me. A flicker of light in the blackest

When we finally drifted off, Collins’s even breaths subtly easing the lingering tension within me, my final drowsy thought was that perhaps, with him beside me, I could face the demons and shadows of my past once more.

If love long lost still had claim on some fractured piece of my heart, at least now I was no longer helpless to its dangerous eall. This time, I chose my path without blind hope or fear to guide me.

By week’s end, practical matters of preparing for an absence were sorted. My lead nurse Rose would oversee the clinic, with other trusted physicians covering my caseload Not ideal, but manageable for a short trip. The thought of letting my patients down, even briefly, choked me with guilt. But this was the lesser evil.

My boys absorbed the news of my imminent departure with customary dramatic flair. Luke, my sensitive one, followed me around the house clinging tearfully no matter how often I assured them this was just a quick boring work trip.

Levi demanded endless specifics about exactly how long I would be gone while allowing me to fill his favorite superhero backpack with favorite toys and books “for comfort.”

And Landon, my little irrepressible escape artist, somehow slipped out the front door the morning I was leaving to latch onto my leg and refuse to be dislodged.

“No Mommy, stay!” he wailed, big alligator tears streaming down his plump cheeks as I pried his small fingers free. My heart tore, but Collins stood ready to whisk him away the second I broke free.

“Be good for Uncle Collins while I’m gone,” I pleaded, choking back my own tears as Landon reached back bawling for me. Fatherly instincts kicking in, Collins quickly tucked my inconsolable son against his chest, murmuring soothing words until the screams faded to hiccups.

Luke and Levi looked on with round solemn eyes, lower lips trembling. I knelt and hugged them fiercely, memorizing the sweetness of their scents. “I’ll be home before you know it,” I promised. “Mind your uncle and don’t drive him too crazy, okay?”

They nodded, damp faces still pressed into my shoulders. With a final flurry of kisses and reminders to Collins about snacks and bedtimes, before my resolve shattered entirely, I slid behind the wheel of the idling town car that had arrived to

transport me.

As the sleek vehicle headed down the twisting clinic driveway, I twisted in my seat for one last glimpse of my little pack clustered around Collins outside the main doors, waving bravely

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My heart ached with every agile gained farther away from them like a tether stretching to its limit. But I could endure this brief separation, for their future.

To distract my restless thoughts, I reviewed Father’s medical charts yet again. Every detail had been burned into my mind through repeated scrutiny this past week, but focusing on the clinical complexities brought some sense of calm purpose.

I could do this – help the kindly old wolf who had treated me as his own daughter, then return swiftly home to my new life. No complications or lingering ties needed to bind me there permanently any longer. I finally controlled my own fate.

Lost in jotting treatment notes, I scarcely noticed the sleek car navigating out of the forested backroads and joining the main highway. Only when buildings and traffic increased did I glance up to realize we were nearing the sprawling outskirts of the human city neighboring my old pack territory An icy chill skittered down my spine. Too late for doubts now.

1 steeled myself as the car turned down an isolated winding drive through the trees, heart hammering madly. Calm down, I scolded silently. This was only a brief visit, an erran ercy. But even with Collins’s steady strength fortifying my spirit, facing the ghosts of a past

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