Evaline:
I let out a deep sigh and stood up to stretch my body.
It was Sunday and River was absent again.
Not that I was surprised.
He hadn’t shown his face since the weekend warriors went missing, and every ti I ca in for work, it felt like walking into a fog that refused to lift. The assignnts he gave through his secretary were straightforward and dry - sorting docunts, updating reports, rewriting summaries.
There was no ntions of classified cases. No warriors. Just paper and silence.
Though I did spent last night pondering on the matter, I eventually decided to put away the matter as it had nothing to do with .
By four in the afternoon, I was done with my work. It wasn’t that I was rushing, I just worked faster when I wanted to be sowhere else.
And today, I did want to be sowhere else.
I grabbed my bag and headed downstairs, finding the familiar black SUV in the parking just as it had been every weekend for the past month.
Kieran’s man had been taking to and from the Council headquarters for weeks now, even after I insisted I could just take the bus.
"You don’t need to keep doing this," I had told him during the second weekend. "Really. I’m not new0 anymore."
But he had only said in his usual monotone, "Orders from Alpha Kieran."
Today, however, I wasn’t going back to the Academy.
I hesitated outside the car for a second before getting in. Once the doors were shut and the tinted glass sealed us off from the world, I spoke softly.
"Can you drop in Mapleton Town today?"
He didn’t ask why. Didn’t raise a brow or look suspicious.
"Understood," was all he said as the engine ca to life.
The drive to Mapleton took about an hour. The landscape blurred past the windows - endless rows of forest, glimpses of farms, and quiet towns that had the sa sleepy charm every small place did.
I sat still the entire way, one hand on my belly.
I was more than three months along now.
I knew I couldn’t delay this any longer. I needed to get checked. I needed to know everything was okay. Not just for . For the life growing inside .
When we reached the edge of Mapleton Town, I tapped his shoulder gently. "You can drop off here. I’ll manage from here."
He looked at through the rearview mirror but said nothing. Just nodded once and parked by a corner near a quiet row of shops.
"Thank you," I said. "I’ll call one of my friends. You don’t have to wait."
"Very well," he replied.
As the car pulled away, I waited until it was out of sight. Only then did I pull out a black cap from my bag and tuck all of my silver-white hair beneath it. The strands were always a dead giveaway, shimring like moonlight even under shadow.
Next ca the mask. I slipped it over my face and tucked the edges beneath my ears.
My reflection in the nearby store glass showed a girl who looked like any other in town. Not a she-wolf. Not a student. Not soone caught in the complicated web of Rogue Alphas and secrets.
Just a girl.
That’s all I wanted to be today.
I walked down the quiet main street, scanning the signs until I found what I was looking for: Willow Creek Community Clinic.
It looked clean and small. Exactly the kind of place that wouldn’t ask too many questions if you ca in with a mask and didn’t give your real na.
I stepped inside, inhaling the faint scent of disinfectant and lavender that was filling the air. A receptionist looked up from her desk and smiled politely.
"Good afternoon. Do you have an appointnt?"
"No," I replied. My voice slightly muffled behind the mask. "But I was hoping to see soone for... a check-up."
The receptionist’s gaze lingered a bit, probably trying to guess my age behind the mask and cap, but she didn’t pry.
"Alright. Please fill this out. You are in luck. One of our OB doctors is available today."
I took the clipboard and sat in the corner of the waiting area. For a long mont, I just stared at the form. Na. Age. Reason for visit. Contact details.
I filled in what I could with vague but believable information, using my mother’s old surna instead of Greystone.
The wait was short. Fifteen minutes later, I was in a small examination room with light blue curtains and soft overhead lights.
The doctor was a woman in her mid-forties with soft eyes and no-nonsense energy. She even gave a kind look.
"I’ll just ask a few questions first," she said. "How far along are you, dear?"
"Thirteen weeks," I replied quietly.
"Any major symptoms? Bleeding, cramping, nausea?"
"No bleeding or cramps. Just fatigue and so nausea in the mornings, but it’s been getting better."
She nodded and jotted things down. "Good. We’ll do a quick ultrasound, check for heartbeat, asurents, and general developnt."
I lay down on the table as she prepared the machine.
I didn’t know I was holding my breath until I saw it.
A flicker of motion on the screen.
It was a small shape, curled and moving faintly. And then... ca the sound.
It was the heartbeat. Fast, steady.
I blinked rapidly, feeling my eyes suddenly becoming warm.
"There’s your little one," the doctor said with a warm smile. "Heartbeat is strong. asurents are all within range. Everything looks good so far."
I nodded as I was unable to speak for a mont.
It was real.
It was alive.
This wasn’t so strange nightmare I was going to wake up from. This was my baby.
The doctor printed out the sonogram and handed it to . "We’ll need to do another check-up in four weeks, but for now, I would recomnd plenty of rest, small frequent als, and avoid stress as much as possible."
I wanted to laugh. Avoid stress, she said. If only she knew the chaos of my world.
But I thanked her anyway and promised to follow the advice.
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