by T. S. Ryder
She was right. Charity cursed over and over again as she pressed on the gas again. The cars behind her were still honking and the man driving the one directly behind her was giving her the middle finger. She ignored it all. Without her phone, she wasn’t going to be able to tell Devin what was happening. He wouldn’t know why she had disappeared.
And even worse, if Honor came after him, he wouldn’t have a heads up. He didn’t know. She ground her teeth as she continued to drive. Her stomach clenched and all she could do was pray that Honor wasn’t going to go after him.
Chapter Six – Devin
“No answer.”
“Then leave a message.”
Devin frowned as he played the message for the fourth time. The call had come from Charity’s number, but the two voices on the other end sounded identical. He wasn’t certain which one was Charity, or if either of them was. The two of them didn’t talk over the phone very often. Neither of the voices in the message had the same laughing quality Charity’s voice had in real life.
He shoved the phone into his pocket as he barreled up the path to his house. The geologists studying the island had come to the shifter town hall that morning. If ‘town hall’ was the correct word for the little ramshackle church that they held all their important meetings in. Devin had been excited to see Charity at work, but she hadn’t been there. Instead, it was a bunch of other people he didn’t know.
The meeting had barely begun before the Gatiss family had charged in. Charity’s dad had actually taken a swing at him. They had screamed at him about seducing and abusing their daughter. Devin hadn’t replied to their accusations, though the unspoken assumption that he had raped Charity had made him want to scream right back. How had they found out about him and Charity? She wouldn’t have told them.
He shook his head as he headed upstairs, taking them two at a time. They probably had merely heard that he and Charity were spending time together.
It was Honor that he had been most wary of. While Charity’s parents shouted and cried, she had just stood there. She had stared at the gathered geologists and a look of disappointment had come over her face. In the end, she had declared that he ‘wouldn’t get away with it’ and left. And, like she ruled the roost, her parents had followed.
Since then, he hadn’t been able to get hold of Charity. He phoned her a dozen times, but it always went immediately to voicemail.
Something was wrong. Devin might not know what that was, but he didn’t need to. Something was wrong and he wasn’t going to just stand around waiting to find out what that was.
The whole house seemed to shake when he slammed open his bedroom door, but he ignored it. He shared the room with his youngest brother, Leo, since they were all needed to help care for their mother. Devin put most of his wages into the renovations that Leo did around the house while he stayed home with their mom.
I’m due for a vacation anyway, he thought, though his stomach cramped. If he lost his lifeguarding job . . .
But there was something wrong. Charity wouldn’t just disappear from a job she loved, and it couldn’t be a coincidence that her parents found out about them right before she left. But running away from shame? That wasn’t Charity, either. There was something wrong, something sinister. And he was going to find her and make sure she was okay.
Devin grabbed a backpack, then stopped. What did one take on a trip when they didn’t know how long they were going to be? He’d never been on more than an overnight trip away from the island, and then it was usually to another island. His heart pounded as he moved to the stash of cash he always kept in his closet. He’d take that. Extra pair of pants. A t-shirt and sweater. Maybe another sweater in case it rained.
“Yo, you’re running around like a herd of elephants.”
Devin turned to see Leo standing in the doorway. He frowned as he viewed his brother. “What’s up?”
“Go get the others. I’m leaving for a while and you’re all going to have to pick up things while I’m gone.” How much could he tell him?
Leo stiffened. “Leaving? Now?”
“Yeah. Don’t look at me like that. This is important. Now go get the others.”
“Is this about that human woman you’ve been hanging out with?”
Devin closed his eyes briefly. It appeared that he wasn’t going to have the choice about what to tell them. He stuffed some socks into his backpack and turned to Leo. “Yes. It is. She wasn’t at the meeting today and she’s not answering her phone. I’m worried about her.”
Leo made an incredulous noise in his throat. “You have got to be kidding me. You’re the one who has always told us to be careful about our interactions with humans. Now you’re running off after one of them? And a Gatiss, no less? Please don’t tell me you’ve slept with her.”
Devin glared at him.
“You did.” Leo’s eyes widened. “You actually slept with her? Way to leave your brains in your crotch! You know as well as any of us that Honor Gatiss has it out for us. And now you’ve given her the perfect ammunition. You’re barely making any headway to help the pack. This whole thing you’ve got going on was a trap from the start. Now they’re going to accuse you of something horrendous and—”
“Charity isn’t like that!” Devin couldn’t bite his tongue any longer. If their situations were switched, he’d be thinking the same thing. But the fact was that Leo had no idea who Charity really was. She was nothing like the rest of her family and would not be part of trying to entrap him. No. If she wasn’t here, then something had happened. “Go get the others. Now.”
Leo’s jaw tightened. His eyes narrowed. But he nodded without another word and left. Devin released a shaky breath. He closed his eyes, centered himself, and shoved the new bicycle lock he’d just bought into his backpack. He had a jeep that he could take, but gas cost a fortune. He took his bike as much as he could. Last, he grabbed his keys and headed downstairs.
His mother looked at him knowingly when she knelt beside her. He didn’t need to explain to her; she put up a hand and shook her head when he opened his mouth. “I heard what you said to your brother. I have not seen you like this with any girl before. She’d better be worth it, Devin Luthor. She’d better be worth it.”
Devin embraced his mother. Her bones seemed to protrude from her thin body and he swallowed thickly. She’d been hit by a car many years ago and was left for dead. If she wasn’t a shifter with advanced healing, she would have died. As it was, she was so badly injured that she couldn’t do much but sit in her chair anymore. Even shifting caused her so much pain that she couldn’t anymore.
“She’s worth it,” he promised her. “She wouldn’t have run away without good reason. I have to find her and make sure she's okay.”
His mother nodded. “Then go. A shifter needs his mate.”
Devin made a strangled noise in his throat. He almost protested that Charity wasn’t his mate, but there was no time for this sort of argument. Besides that, when it came to his mother, she always had to have the last word. By the time they were done arguing, he’d be convinced that Charity was his mate. Even though she wasn’t.
He didn’t believe in mates – the kind in the romance novels. People weren’t destined for one person. Love came from getting to know each other, not some undeniable outside force . . .
His brothers had all gathered outside by the time he had pulled out his jeep and checked it over to make sure that it was in shape to drive through the city. The bike was loaded into the back along with a sleeping blanket and a chest of food. The oldest of the boys, save for him, folded his arms as he stared at Devin.
“Leo tells us you’re going after that Gatiss girl.”
“I am, Francis.” Devin fished the keys from his pocket and tossed them to his brother. “You’re in charge until I get back. Or you could divvy up my tasks between the four of you. Get Leo to take on more. Those are the keys to my files. We’ve got some property tax stuff that needs to be filed by the end of the week, the Smithsons ne
ed extra rations from the storehouse, and I was supposed to get some kittens to the Fosters. There is a list on my desk.”
Francis scowled, but Ivan, the next oldest, nodded. “We’ll take care of everything.”
Jeffery smirked. “She that good, huh?”
“I’ll call when I can. I’ve got my phone. I’m going to add some to the plan to cover the long-distance charges. Try to use the landline when you call me. It’ll cost less that way.” Devin shouldered his pack and jumped into the jeep. “Take care of Mom.”
He drove away. Nerves churned in his stomach as he passed the familiar sights. The jeep gurgled and rattled, but it would hold well enough. Hopefully, he’d go to the mainland to find Charity having slept in or gone on a shopping trip with her sister. But if not . . .
Should he be doing this? He had a duty to the pack. Sure, he wasn’t officially the alpha, but he had picked up a lot of the slack. Without him there, would things fall apart? What about Hannah? There were so many people who relied on him . . .
I need to find Charity.
But if she was really in trouble, she would have told him, wouldn’t she?
A voice spoke from behind him. “Slowing down already, huh? Having second thoughts?”
Devin cursed as Leo climbed over and plunked himself into the front seat. Leo, in response, grinned broadly at him. It was far too smug a grin. Devin glared in return.
“What are you doing?”
Leo shrugged. “Are you certain that Charity is a good woman?”
“Yes. And put on your seatbelt.” Devin slowed the jeep a little more.
“Don’t slow down. I’m putting my seatbelt on, see?”
“What are you doing?” Devin repeated. He narrowed his eyes at his little brother.
Leo’s cheeky grin only broadened. “I’m obeying orders. Mom sent me along with you. She said that you have a habit of sacrificing your own happiness for the pack, and she wants to see you finally be happy. So she told me to come along with you and make sure that you find your woman. She seems to be afraid that you’d start thinking about your duties to the pack and change your mind.”
That was exactly what was happening. Devin had to smile at how well his mother knew him, even though sending Leo was a bit infuriating.
“So.” Leo fiddled with the radio until it started playing 60s rock music. “Where do we start?”
“The mainland.” Devin turned his attention back to the road. He started pushing the gas harder again, determination firing in his blood once more. “We go to the mainland and find Charity. And then we find out what exactly is going on here.”
Chapter Seven – Charity
Charity had to work hard to avoid trembling while she watched the doctor do her work. She had come into the hospital with Hope a couple of hours ago. Even though she tried to tell herself that the long wait meant that she wasn’t in serious condition, she couldn’t stop herself from worrying. Hope sat beside her, holding her hand tightly.
“Everything looks fine here.” The doctor folded down the blanket to cover her again. “Some spotting is normal in the first trimester of a pregnancy. Preliminary examination shows there doesn’t seem to be a problem. We’ll do an ultrasound just to be certain.”
Charity nodded. “I was just worried. I haven’t had time to get myself an OBGYN yet. The pregnancy was . . . unexpected.”
The doctor gave her a sympathetic look. “You did the right thing coming in here. That’s what we’re here for, after all.”
The ultrasound showed that everything was normal. Charity breathed out a sigh of relief, although she couldn’t help but have a heavy heart. Her shoulders sagged as the doctor wrote out a prescription for a morning sickness medication just in case, even though Charity hadn’t had morning sickness yet. She couldn’t help but shiver as she considered what might have happened if she had stayed where she was.
Honor had bought a gun. To use on her or Devin? She wanted so bad to return, to see Devin and make sure he was alright. But logically, she knew that Honor wouldn’t go after him. Her sister, as bigoted and idiotic as she was for being bigoted, was smart. She would know that killing Devin wouldn’t do anything to help her cause’. But killing her sister, pregnant with a shifter’s child? Well, she could easily be planning on making a big show out of it, or perhaps even framing Devin.
Charity shivered. It was impossible to know, and she wasn’t certain what she was going to do with herself in the meantime.
“Can I speak with your sister alone for a moment?” the doctor addressed Hope.
“No.”
“Hope.” Charity narrowed her eyes at her sister. “Go on.”
Hope perched on the edge of her chair. She looked between the two of them several times, her expression hesitant. Eventually, she sighed and shook her head. Charity patted her hand as she stood. Once she was gone, the doctor took the seat where Hope had been sitting. She sat in a relaxed manner, but her gaze stayed on Charity’s face.
“Am I right in saying that the father isn’t in the picture?”
“Not yet,” Charity said slowly. “I haven’t had a chance to tell him yet. I lost my phone and I don’t remember his number,” she added quickly. “But I’m sure he’ll be thrilled when I do tell him.”
The doctor hesitated for a moment before leaning in slightly. “If you don’t mind me saying, you don’t seem very excited yourself about this, Miss Gatiss. You said that this pregnancy was unexpected. Were you wanting to be pregnant at this point in your life?”
Charity could see where this was going and felt herself tensing despite herself. “It’s not that I’m not happy. This pregnancy has thrilled me. I couldn’t be happier. It’s just . . . family stuff. My parents are against it. They don’t like it that I’m not married to the father. Not to mention that the father is a shifter—”
“Oh!” The doctor’s expression went from sympathetic to disgusted to knowing. She nodded. “Oh, well that explains it, then. I understand your position completely. Now, there are several ways that you can go about obtaining an abortion—”
“Excuse me?” Charity stiffened. Her eyes flashed as her hands clenched. “What part of what I just said makes you think that I want an abortion?”
The doctor’s expression took on a superior quality. “Look, I understand. I come from a similar family as you. Normally I wouldn’t even suggest such a drastic action, but in your case—”
“I want this baby.” Charity put a hand on her stomach. She trembled with so much rage that it was difficult for her to think clearly, but she forced herself to stay calm.
Asking for a different doctor would probably cost her another couple of hours. And while they had gone to another city where Honor probably couldn’t find them, she couldn’t waste more time. If she hadn’t been spotting and had been worried for her baby, she would have gotten a computer and checked her online phone account to see if there was a way to retrieve Devin’s phone number that way.
Charity took a deep breath. “If you’re wondering why I seemed upset, it’s because my family is furious I was dating a shifter in the first place. I don’t want an abortion.”
The doctor held up her hands. “I understand what you’re saying.” Her tone told the opposite story. “But being pregnant with shifter babies is highly dangerous for a human such as yourself. There is a severe problem with the fetus shifting from in the woman’s womb, causing her to hemorrhage and die. Your spotting could be indicative of—”
“You already said that it was normal.” Charity reached for her clothes. “You, as a doctor, should know that the myth about shifter babies shifting form in the womb is a load of crap. That never happens. Shifters don’t even shift until they’re in their teens.”
“I am only telling you that you have options.”
Charity shook her head. “You are propagating blatantly untrue falsehoods meant to frighten women into aborting children they’d otherwise want.”
The doctor didn’t speak again. There was a curious look o
n her face, and that only served to enrage Charity all the more. She stomped away, hands clenched with the prescription crumpled in her hand. She had meant to ask about what the best prenatal vitamins to take were, but after that, she didn’t want to say another word.
The thing that angered her most was that there was a good chance that the woman actually believed what she was saying. It was one of those wildly-believed things that was nothing more than a harmful lie. If there was any danger to human women being pregnant with shifter babies, there would be incidents on the news about it. Instead, there was study after study that proved human women actually were healthier when pregnant with a shifter’s child than they were carrying a human baby.
Hope followed her silently until they were in the car. At that point, she cleared her throat and handed the keys over to Charity.
“I don’t remember where that motel was.”
Charity took the keys. Normally, she would gently encourage Hope to drive — goodness knew her husband never let her when they were driving anywhere together — but in her present situation, she didn’t have the patience.
Once they were driving away, Charity told Hope what had happened in a tense, angry voice.
Hope’s eyes were wide by the time she was done. “Oh. So that’s why you’re so angry.”
“Yeah, it is. I just can’t believe that she would think I wanted that just because the father of my baby is a shifter. It was like she hadn’t heard anything else I said.”
Hope picked at her cuticles. “Charity . . . Isn’t she right, though? I know that abortions are difficult, but in certain cases like this, it’s an option because the pregnancy poses a danger to the mother. I mean . . . nobody expects you to die for this. You can have other babies, but only if you’re alive.”
“There is no danger!” Charity slammed her hand into the horn as someone cut her off. She inhaled deeply, trying to calm herself. Every inch of her trembled. She had thought that Hope, of all people, would have listened to what she was saying rather than falling back on old myths. “There is no danger to my life because of this baby, Hope. And that is the end of the discussion.”