Tortured Soul

by Julia Laque

  “Yes.” She smiled encouragingly.

  Rachelle replied calmly, her expression bland. “With your kidnapper’s baby?”

  “Okay.” Evangeline rolled her eyes. “The whole “kidnapper” thing needs to stop. I told you, I offered to stay with Adam to help him get his sister back. Mom, he’s really a great guy and I’m so happy when I’m with him. We’re in love. Trust me when I tell you this is good news.”

  Her mother continued to stare blankly at her.

  Evangeline waited and when her mother still said nothing, she said irritably, “Mom, please say something. I can’t read you. Is this shock, anger, what?”

  Suddenly her mother buried her face in her hands and began to wail.

  Evangeline looked up at the ceiling and let out a long breath. “Mom, please stop. There’s no need to cry. I’m happy. You should be happy too. You’re going to be a grandmother.” She sat next to her and put a reassuring arm around her.

  Rachelle continued to cry for a while as Evangeline comforted her. When she calmed some she took her hands away from her face and looked at her daughter.

  Evangeline gave her a warm smile to let her know she was fine.

  Her mother stared at her awkwardly, her eyes shimmering. “It’s all my fault.”

  “What? Of course not—”

  “No!” Rachelle cut her off, shaking her head wildly. “I should have told you a long time ago, but now…”

  Rachelle let out another wail and Evangeline waited quietly, no longer smiling, but listening anxiously, her heart beating quickly now. “What are you talking about?

  Her mother inhaled sharply. “It’s too late. God! Please, don’t hurt her. It wasn’t her fault.”

  Evangeline shot up from the bed and rounded on her mother. “Mom, what the hell are you talking about? What’s wrong?” she shouted.

  Rachelle stared at her now as if she were a stranger. Evangeline had the craziest urge to shake her mother.

  “Mom!” Her mother looked like she was about to pass out before she spoke and when she did, Evangeline’s world came crashing down.

  Rachelle stared miserably. “You were never supposed to have a baby, Evangeline.”

  Evangeline winced and jerked away from her mother. “What? Why would you say that?”

  Rachelle shook her head numbly and whispered, “What have you done?”

  Chapter Seventeen

  The following weeks after their announcement were the happiest and saddest Evangeline had ever experienced. Her life had completely changed so rapidly, she had to stop and wonder if she were living a dream.

  Upon leaving her parent’s house, Adam had insisted she move in with him. His reasoning was only he could take care of her in her condition and he simply needed her close to him. She knew how he felt because her feelings mirrored his, but she also knew he was trying to protect her from her parents.

  Adam had told her about the fight he’d had with her father. The fifty-four-year-old man had actually rolled up his sleeves and shoved Adam several times in an attempt to get him to fight, even punching him in the face, but Adam didn’t budge. He’d even told a shocked Evangeline he respected her father for hitting him, for he would have done exactly the same thing had it been his own daughter.

  To her utter dismay, Geoffrey was not speaking to her now. When Evangeline had come down to his office after her bone-chilling conversation with her mother, he’d walked out without looking at her.

  The next day, she’d gone back to pack a few things, but no one had been home. Katherine was in Chicago already, and was ecstatic to become an aunt to a wolf, as she’d put it, when Evangeline called her with the news.

  “They’ll come around, babe. Grandparents can’t resist holding their grandchildren in their arms,” Adam told her one night as they lay on his overstuffed couch in the living room watching television.

  She smiled at him as she flipped through one of her many books on motherhood. Evangeline knew he worried all the time. He was constantly fussing over her and making jokes to make her feel better. Truth was, as hurt as she was her parents weren’t speaking to her, she was so happy to be with Adam he really didn’t have to worry. He made her feel like the luckiest woman in the world.

  They slipped into this life together so easily it almost astounded her. She barely had time to think how fast things were going because it came so easily to them. It seemed as though they’d been together for years. He made love to her every night. They showered together in the morning and talked over dinner they’d prepared together in the kitchen. Evangeline could not remember feeling so happy and at ease.

  Adam lay with his head in her lap, watching the flat screen over the fireplace. He changed the channel and a rerun of the day’s soap opera came on.

  Evangeline looked at him, raising an eyebrow.

  He grinned at her sheepishly. “What? My sister used to watch this show, so I had to. I check every now and then to see what’s going on. I swear it’s my one and only guilty pleasure.” He winked.

  Evangeline tensed slightly. The subject of his sister was always stressful, but Adam seemed okay as he continued to flick through the channels.

  The Fighters continued to search for her on a daily basis. Adam sent Alex and Nick to Chicago to talk to another pack, but so far they had not learned anything new. Whenever Evangeline was at work, she knew Adam was out searching for Serena. She prayed the girl was okay and they’d find her soon. She hated seeing him stressed.

  “What does your pack think about your secret soap opera fascination?” Evangeline teased in an effort to distract him.

  He gave a short laugh, his boyish grin making her breath catch. “You’re going to sell me out, aren’t you, babe?”

  Three weeks into her pregnancy, Evangeline was showing like a woman six months pregnant. Her swollen belly amazed her. She was feeling the bond mothers share with their unborn babies, talking to her belly and poking back whenever the baby kicked.

  One morning Adam woke her up excitedly, his eyes wide and shining. He’d been staring at her naked belly and saw a tiny foot push outward under her skin. The look on his face had brought tears to her eyes.

  The following day, Evangeline and Adam went to the doctor for a checkup and discovered they were having twins. Thrilled beyond belief, Adam called the Fighters over to the house to celebrate.

  They all sat in the dining room eating pepperoni pizza, what Evangeline craved, along with nachos, bananas, and Ramen noodle soup.

  “I hope it’s two boys,” Ramo said, sitting beside Evangeline, fisting a lager. “We need little punching bags around here.”

  “Hey!” Evangeline scolded him playfully.

  “What? You know any kid of his,”—he pointed at Adam—“is going to drive us all nuts.”

  Adam looked at her. “He’s joking, babe. I was an angel.”

  “Fuck that. He was a little monster.”

  Nick gave Ramo a look. “If he was a monster, then I don’t even want to know how you were.”

  Ramo laughed. “No, you don’t.” He took a swig from his beer. “Of course, Alex wants you guys to have two girls so he can teach them to braid hair.”

  Alex flipped him off.

  Evangeline watched the Fighters round on each other with a smile. They were closer than any family she’d ever known. Even Adam was happier than she’d ever seen him with his Fighters all around him talking about his impending fatherhood, even chiming in to abuse Ramo or Alex, as was the habit around the Fighters.

  “Damn, Eva, when are you coming up for air?” Ramo teased her as she took another slice.

  Adam came to her defense instantly when Evangeline couldn’t with a mouth full of pizza and giggling simultaneously. “Leave her alone, she can eat the whole pizza if she wants.”

  Ramo was staring at her comically. “I’m pretty sure she did. Next time I’ll bring seven pizzas instead of four.” He looked around the table. “The twins are gonna be born with pepperoni-shaped birth marks.”

  Th
ey all laughed.

  Ramo continued on. “But really, I hope they look like you, Eva. Just think if it were our babies, they’d have my stellar good looks. Alas,” he said mournfully.

  “We seriously need to find his mute button.” Alex told Adam then looked back at Ramo. “Don’t you get tired of your own voice?”

  “Hell no. My voice is hot. Anyway, the babies like my voice. They’re jumping all over in there.” Ramo reached a hand over Evangeline’s belly.

  Adam growled low.

  Evangeline looked over. “Adam, stop. I don’t mind.”

  Ramo spoke for his cousin. “We can’t help it, honey. I’m touching his mate and his cubs, it’s in our nature to be protective.” Yet, Ramo continued to lay his hand over her stomach, waiting for a kick. “Relax, bro, I’m family so get used it. Hey! That was a strong one!” he announced as one of the babies kicked into his hand.

  “Okay, you felt them kick. Now get your hand off my mate,” Adam barked.

  In the fifth week of her pregnancy, the doctor put her on bed rest to Evangeline’s disappointment. Adam, however, loved she would have to stay put. From then on, her doctor referred her to Dr. Moros, the very man who nursed Katherine as a child. Since turning into a vampire, Dr. Moros began studying the anatomy of vampires and werewolves. He had become extremely popular in the East Coast for curing physical ailments of the supernatural and humans. His ability to multi-task at lightning speed elevated his status over the last few years.

  Adam had been a bit hesitant to call the good-looking vampire doctor down from Boston, but Evangeline reminded him Dr. Moros was one of the few who knew about her healing powers and could be very helpful should something unforeseen happen.

  “Wow, you’ve grown into a beautiful woman, Eva,” Dr. Moros expressed when he first visited Adam’s round house. “Look at you! You could be a model.”

  Evangeline blushed helplessly then suppressed a laugh at the expression on Adam’s face. Dr. Moros had a Clark Kent thing going on, an older Clark Kent with graying hair at his temples. He was tall and handsome with glasses and adorable dimples. “Thank you, Dr. Moros. It’s great to see you again. How’s married life?”

  An odd look flickered over the doctor’s face before answering. “Fine, fine.” He sat next to her on the living room couch and Adam came closer to hover over them. “And how is Katherine? Is she still living at home?” His face softened somewhat as he spoke about her sister.

  “Not at the moment. She’s in Chicago now, studying to be a chef.” Sensing Adam was becoming annoyed as they chatted on, she changed the subject to the purpose of the doctor’s visit. “Dr. Moros, have you ever delivered baby werewolves from a human before?” she asked lightly and they began to discuss her delivery, which would occur in the next week or two.

  The doctor assured them everything was going to be fine. He, personally never delivered cubs from a human, but he’d read up on it and said it wasn’t much different from delivering humans at all.

  The following week was filled with deliveries from Pottery Barn and Baby’s R Us. Adam turned the guest room next to the master bedroom into a beautiful baby’s room. He worked endlessly, painting, putting up shelves and assembling two cribs. All Evangeline could do was shop online.

  On the morning of September twenty-second, as Adam stood at the stove flipping pancakes for breakfast, Evangeline felt her first contraction. She froze from turning a page in a Land of Nod catalogue at the kitchen table. “Adam,” she uttered, as the pain grew stronger.

  Dr. Moros had warned them her labor would spring on her quickly and not last very long, just like her pregnancy.

  Adam turned to look at her and paled.

  “It’s happening,” she breathed, then winced at the blinding pain slashing through her. “Call—call—” But before she could finish her sentence, she fainted.

  ****

  “She’s coming around. I don’t want to risk moving her to a hospital. Like I said, at the rate the labor is going, we won’t make it in time anyway.”

  Adam listened numbly to Dr. Moros. The doctor seemed to be speaking to him from the far end of a tunnel as he sat on the bed next to Evangeline, his heart pounding in his ears.

  The moment he’d realized the babies were coming, he’d rushed to Evangeline’s side, barely making it to catch her as she slid off the chair. “Why…why did she faint? Is it normal under these circumstances?” He meant, of course, a human bearing two werewolves. He shivered and ran his hands over his face.

  The doctor was disinfecting a bunch of odd-looking tools that made Adam’s head spin and his stomach churn. “I’m sure it was just from the pain. It hit her pretty fast.” He was moving at lightning speed. Thank God! He sped from the bed to the makeshift table preparing for the delivery. Dr. Moros moved back to the edge of the bed in a flash, laying something down. “Contractions usually begin subtly, then progress, but things are happening much faster for her.”

  Vampires might be his sworn enemy, but they could move at an unbelievable pace. It had taken Dr. Moros one minute to get dressed and teleport to the house from his hotel. Adam had to keep telling himself this doctor was cool, but he could hear his father’s voice in his head telling him he was a fucking lunatic to allow a vampire to deliver his babies and keep his mate out of danger.

  “Adam?” Evangeline came to, but before he could answer, she let out a moan and reached for his hand, squeezing it hard. “Ow!” she yelped, squeezing her eyelids tight. “Oh, God! It hurts, it hurts, it hurts.”

  Adam felt his head reel and his throat close. He put a warm hand on her forehead, wishing it were cool and let her squeeze the other. “I’m sorry, baby. I’m sorry. It’ll be over soon. I’m right here.” How the hell could he have done this to her?

  She opened her eyes as the pain subsided. Her gaze disoriented, but again the contractions took over her body and she arched back against the pillows. “My, God, is all this normal? Why does it hurt so much?” Evangeline muttered through clenched teeth.

  “You’re doing great, Eva. It’ll be over soon, honey,” Dr. Moros soothed.

  “I’m not doing anything.” Evangeline panted as another pain came fast once more.

  Good God! Adam had never felt so incredibly helpless in his life. He wished he could bear it all for her. It was killing him to see her in so much pain. He leaned his face closer to her, whispering words of comfort.

  Relaxing a bit, she gave Adam a feeble nod. Even in agony she was worried for him.

  Adam turned a tense face to Dr. Moros. “Can we give her something?”

  “Unfortunately, no. It’s too late. She’s almost ready to start pushing.”

  Adam heard the front door open, footsteps, and then voices downstairs. The Fighters had sensed his fear for Evangeline, their emotional bond stretching out across the entire town. They were just as concerned as he was now, pacing through the house.

  Evangeline gripped his hand hard again, her nails digging into his skin. This time she screamed louder and then followed it with a curse. “Fuck, Fuck, Fuck!!!”

  Adam lost it and snarled at the doctor, eyes shifting. “DO SOMETHING!” His voice was animal-like now.

  The bedroom door jerked open and Jason came in.

  “Perfect timing,” Dr. Moros uttered as he began moving Evangeline toward the edge of the bed. “I take it you’re the beta?”

  Jason nodded.

  “Good. You need to get your leader out of here,” he said calmly as he lifted Evangeline’s knees up.

  “Fuck you! I’m not leaving her!” Adam had the insane urge to rip the doctor in pieces.

  “You’re not thinking clearly and that’s understandable, but I’m pretty sure she’s dilated ten centimeters by now. You can’t be here when I check. By the way you’re looking at me right now for touching her legs, I won’t have hands to deliver these babies.” The doctor was getting angry now. He spoke to Jason. “He’s going to be trouble once I…” He nodded toward Evangeline’s nether region.

 
“Come on, Adam,” Jason said.

  Evangeline’s head angled back again and her cry shot through his heart. She was focused on her own pain and not listening to what was going on around her.

  He looked wretchedly at her, his face strained and drenched with sweat. “I can’t leave her.”

  Dr. Moros cursed. “Fine! Step away from the bed then. You,” he shouted at Jason, “make sure you have a good grip on him. Remember, she’s delivering two babies.”

  Adam stepped as far away from the bed as he could, never taking his eyes off Evangeline. Jason came to stand next to him, ready to grab him if he should make a move toward the doctor. Jason kept his eyes respectfully on the floor, but he was going through almost the same pain as he was. It was probably not a good idea for two werewolves to be in the same room right now, but he was not leaving Evangeline. At least Jason still had a fairly leveled head at the moment.

  “Okay, Evangeline, we’re going to start pushing. Can you hold your legs up for me?” The doctor placed her hands under each knee and showed her how to lift them once she began pushing. “Right. Just like that.” He brushed his hand over her brow and Adam made a mental note to shoot this doctor and then go to medical school.

  He should be doing it. He should be taking care of her and helping her right now. He was the one who caused this. But no, he was sitting on the windowsill like a dumb ass because he couldn’t control his temper.

  He couldn’t remember when Jason put a restraining hand on him, but his beta’s grip was tight on his shoulder. Adam noticed then he was half standing, apparently about to attack the doctor.

  Evangeline was pushing now, holding her knees back toward her head as the doctor counted back from the number ten. “You’re doing great, Eva. Keep going. Three…two…one.”

  She let down her legs with a loud huff, breathing hard, her body drenched now.

  Adam got up, shrugging Jason’s hand away and walked slowly to her. Dr. Moros gave him a dark look. “I’m fine. Let me help her.” Adam’s fury with the doctor had dimmed slightly as he watched his Evangeline work on her own to birth their babies. And just then, his concern for the woman he loved, who was giving him two children, overrode his jealous, overbearing nature. He knew the doctor wasn’t going to hurt her. He was doing everything he could for her.