“Your Mother's name was Meredith Phillips. She was my little sister. She was 24 when she had you. She was in a car accident a few months later and she died. As your Mom said, we don't know who your father is. All I ever heard was his first name, Patrick. But that wasn't enough to track him down.” My Dad finished. Meredith. My mother's name. It was nice to finally know but really this wasn't helpful information. Obviously, my Mother was human. I needed to know about my werewolf side and clearly that was my father. With only a first name, it would be like finding a needle in a haystack. I sighed, frustrated.
“Is there anything else you can tell me?”
Chapter 49
“I'm sorry honey. That's all we know. Your birth mother was very secretive about your father. She was sure he was coming back for her but that was all she said. No one ever came looking for her, to our knowledge.” My Mom said. It was so weird to know my Mom was actually my Aunt.
“Why the secrecy? Why not just tell me you're my Aunt and Uncle?” I asked. My Dad looked down as if he wasn't sure how to answer my question. My Mom looked at me.
“That's my fault. When your Mother passed and we talked about adopting you, I wanted you to be mine. Your Father and I couldn't have any children. Your Mother had lived with us during the last months of her pregnancy. I had been with you since birth. But I wanted to be Mommy, not Aunt Diane.” I thought for a moment. I guess that made sense but I still didn't see why it was necessary.
“I also didn't want to tell you because I thought it would be painful for you. Your Mother being gone. Not knowing about your Dad. I thought I would tell you when you were older but then everything happened.”
She trailed off.
“You mean, when you had me committed?” I asked snidely. I saw my Mother flinch and immediately regretted saying it.
“Carrie, we had no choice. Malorie's family already had a lawyer. They were threatening you. It was the only thing we could do.” She was crying again by the time she finished and again I regretted saying anything.
“It's okay. I understand. I'm sorry.” I told her.
“So, are you going to move home now?” My father asked. I heard Gabriel start coughing and I knew he had been caught off guard by the question.
“Don't even think about it.” He said to me through the mind link. I smiled at him.
“I'd never leave you.” I assured him.
“No, Mom and Dad. I love you guys but Gabriel and I are living together.” I watched my parent's faces contort.
“But you aren't married?” My mom started.
“I don't like you shacking up like this. Carrie, we raised you better.” I flushed. I felt put on the spot, how could I explain that Gabriel and I were bonded. They couldn't understand such a thing. I tried to figure out how to explain our relationship. I couldn't exactly tell them we were mates. That would only confuse them and they might think I'm crazy again. As I hesitated, trying to figure out how to explain to my parent's that my relationship with Gabriel was serious, Gabriel decided to take matters into his own hands.
“Actually, I had intended to do this soon, but now seems as good of a time as any. I was planning on asking Carrie if she would marry me.” He announced. I stared at him in shock, my mouth hanging open. He turned to me and I lost myself in his blue/gray eyes I loved so much. He was beaming. I realized I was too. I hadn't realized I was smiling but I was. Ear to ear. Gabriel returned my smile. He took my hands and I stared up at him. Then he got down on one knee and I nearly fainted when he pulled out a small jewelry box.
I was barely breathing and I could already feel the tears welling in my eyes. I looked down and smiled as the first tear slipped from my eyes.
” Carrie, will you be my wife?” He asked. My Mom gasped. Part of me was curious about how my Father was reacting but I couldn't take my eyes off of Gabriel. I nodded as the tears started flowing freely.
“Yes! Yes! I will!” I croaked out. Gabriel slipped a beautiful vintage ring on my finger. I was speechless. It was beautiful and I couldn't believe this was happening. He stood and I threw myself into his arms. I was so happy, I felt like my heart was going burst.
Gabriel wrapped his arms around me and gave me a kiss. We pulled apart when my Dad cleared his throat.
“Sir, I promise to take good care of your daughter.” Gabriel said, extending his hand. My Dad's eyes.looked misty and he cleared his throat as he shot out his hand and shook Gabriel's
“You'd better. That's my girl.” He replied. My Mom came over squealing in excitement.
She took my hand and gushed about how beautiful the ring was. The ring was white gold. It had a large cushion cut diamond with rose cut diamonds surrounding it. It was clearly a family ring and I loved it.
We visited a little longer with my parents. I asked them again if they might have any information about my birth father but they swore again that a name was all they knew. We exchanged numbers and I promised to have them over for dinner soon and they promised the same.
When we left, I hugged my parents goodbye. They were no longer protesting me living with Gabriel. The engagement had shut that down which I figured was Gabriel's reasoning. We left the house and got in the car to go home. My heart swelled. So much had changed in the last few hours. My parents and I had talked. I had some information about my birth parents now. Most importantly, Gabriel and I were engaged. I was so excited and happy. I day dreamed all the way home about my dream wedding.
Chapter 50
We walked into the house and set down our things. It was late afternoon and I was feeling lazy. I went and changed into some comfy clothes and made Gabriel come cuddle with me. I laid down, my head on his chest and his arm around me. I must have fallen asleep quickly. I was dozing when Gabriel's phone rang. The sound made me nearly jump out of bed, stunning me awake.
Gabriel answered. I could hear his Mother's voice on the other end but couldn't make out what she was saying. Gabriel had a very serious expression and I was sure he was getting bad news. I dipped into his conversation via his mind link.
“Oh, Gabriel honey. Everything is okay now but it's been a long hard day. Lauren went into early labor with the twins. They said it's common with multiples. They were able to stop her labor though but they are going to keep her for a few days and then she has to be on bed rest until she has the babies.” That sounded like a rough day. I didn't know Lauren all that well but she had been nice and I liked her.
“Can you and Carrie come down, honey? Marcus has been a mess. He was so worried about Lauren and the babies. I feel like, even though everything's okay now, he is still stressed. He could use his brother.” She finished. Gabriel looked at me and I nodded as I got up and went and got dressed. I quickly braided my hair into a low side braid after I put on a simple t-shirt and jeans.
Gabriel was ready when we came out and we made our way over to the pack hospital. I still found the concept of the pack hospital strange. A while back, I had asked Gabriel about it. Why not just use human hospitals? His response made sense though.
“Firstly,” he explained, “going to a human hospital would throw up a lot of red flags to the humans. It's law that we keep our true natures hidden from humans. So, drawing attention to ourselves in a human hospital would be problematic.” He explained.
“What would give our kind away?” I asked.
“A lot of things could. Our body temperatures are different than theirs. They would most likely think we are running fevers when we aren't. A wolves pregnancy isn't the same. A female wolf only carries for seven months, not the nine for humans. We think it's because of our healing ability. It allows the pup to develop faster.” He continued. “Then there is the healing ability in general. Would seem pretty odd to a doctor when we heal in hours instead of days. Plus, we don't need a very large hospital. We rarely get sick. We do get occasional injuries and of course there are births. They have about ten beds in the pack hospital. It's always been enough.” His reasoning made sense. He was right. A lot of things about a
wolf would seem strange to a human doctor. It was better to be treated by our own kind.
We got to the pack hospital and made our way to the desk and asked for Lauren. We were taken back to her room immediately and I suspected that Gabriel's beta status was why we were treated with such deference. We went into a small room and Gabriel's family was there. I smiled as I greeted his Mom and Dad. Then I made my way over to greet Lauren.
She was in the hospital bed and had a monitor on her belly. I saw a roll of paper printing out something graph like and figured it was monitoring the babies. This was all new to me so I could only guess. She smiled and took my hand, thanking us for coming. Marcus gave Gabriel a hug and I could see his Mother's description had been accurate. Marcus had dark circles under his eyes and his hair was disheveled as if he had been running his hands through it. After he and Gabriel hugged I felt like he breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed like they were close. It was sweet and Gabriel's Mother had known that Gabriel's presence would comfort him. Marcus sat down in a chair and within fifteen minutes was snoozing lightly. Gabriel made small talk with his Mom for a bit and then got into a conversation about sports with his Dad. His Mom made his way over to me and Lauren and we talked for a bit.
Suddenly his Mom grabbed my hand and screamed in delight.
“Ohhh, he finally asked!! How amazing!” Lauren started to congratulate me and Debra threw her arms around me, hugging me tight. Her perfume hit me like a poison cloud. I had smelled it before but this time the smell caused my stomach to roll dangerously. I tried to back away without being rude when a wave nausea hit me. I quickly darted off to the bathroom, fearing the worst.
I got to the bathroom just in time. I threw up a few times. I had sweat beading all over my face as I started to dry heave. I finally finished getting sick and I went to the sink and rinsed out my mouth and splashed my face. I went back into the room and everyone was looking at me concerned.
“Are you okay?” Debra asked me.
“I'm fine. I've been feeling off the last few days. I'm sure it's nothing.” I said. I saw Lauren and Debra share a strange look and wondered what that was about. Gabriel came over to me and kissed me on the forehead.
“You didn't tell me you weren't feeling well.” He said with a slight frown on his face. I slipped my arms around his neck and rested my head on his chest.
“I didn't want you to worry. It's not a big deal. Maybe just a bug or something.” I replied.
“What's been going on?” He asked.
“Have just had some stomach issues and I've been a bit tired.” I answered. Debra cleared her breath.
“Uhh, could you be pregnant?” She asked bluntly. I looked at her and laughed.
“Pregnant!? No! I couldn't be.” I said and I paled. I looked at Gabriel and he was looking at me with a curious expression. “I couldn't be, right?” I said to him in disbelief, backing away slightly.
“Uhhh, I'm pretty sure you could be. We haven't been preventing it. And since we are fully mated, that makes it even more likely.” I looked at him like he had three heads. I couldn't be pregnant. I couldn't be someone's Mom. I wasn't ready yet. I barely felt like an adult. I started to try and breathe deeply but my breath was getting shallow. I started gasping for breath, feeling as if my throat was closing.
“Is she having a panic attack?” I heard Debra say but it seemed far away. All I could seem to process was that I needed to breathe and I was having a lot of trouble doing that at the moment.
“Yeah, I think she's hyperventilating.” I heard Gabriel say. I felt the tingles as he took me into his arms. I started to feel calmer as my head pressed against his chest. I could hear his heart beating and focused on that. After a few moments, I was able to catch my breath.
I looked at Gabriel.
“I'm terrified.” I told him through our mind link.
He smirked.
“Yes, the panic attack clued me in.” He said teasingly. I blushed and swatted his arm.
“Do you really think I could be?” I asked him. He shrugged.
“Maybe. It's possible. Only one way to find out.” He said. I looked at him and narrowed my eyes.
“Aren't you terrified?” I asked. He seemed pretty laid back about this while I was completely freaking out.
“I am a little, but I'm also excited and a tiny bit hopeful.” He said. I just stared at him. Hopeful? He was HOPING I was pregnant. I felt myself growing angry.
“Seriously? Hopeful!? You're hoping? Are you crazy?” I practically yelled at him. I was pretty sure I was being a complete jerk right now but I couldn't seem to help myself. Gabriel smirked at me again but I wasn't in the mood to find it charming.
“I might be a little crazy. You see, a while back I met this beautiful woman who I fell head over heels in love with.” He started.
“ Yes, and she was conveniently your mate as well.” I added.
“What does that matter?” He asked.
“Well, it seems like the mate thing kinda forces you to love one another.” I explained. Gabriel frowned at me.
“Carrie, that's not how it works. The mate bond draws you to one another. It definitely makes your attraction strong. But it doesn't make you love someone. I love you for a thousand reasons. Being my mate is only one of them.” I was surprised by his declaration and embarrassed by my mistake. It did set things in a different perspective. I think I had assumed that a lot of Gabriel's feelings for me were because of the mate bond but him declaring he loved me for myself was very sweet and romantic. I smiled at him.
“I love you too. I just don't know if I am ready for Motherhood.” I replied.
“Well, let's figure this out first and we'll go from there.” He replied. A moment or two later, Suzie came into the room and checked on Lauren. After she finished, I followed her out of the room.
“Suzie!” I called out to her. She turned around and smiled at me.
“Carrie, hun. What can I do for you?” She asked sweetly.
“Ugh…. I need a pregnancy test.” I told her. I saw her eyes go wide but she quickly recovered.
“Of course. Come with me.” She replied, leading me into another room.
Chapter 51
Suzie led me into a patient room and left saying she would be right back with a test. I sat there feeling anxious. I was only 21. I wasn't sure I was ready to be a Mother. Could I even be a good Mother? I was still learning to be just a functional adult and a pack member.
Suzie came back in with the test.
“Do you know when your last period was?” She asked me. I looked at her and blushed. When was it? At the institute? I couldn't really remember having one since I started living with Gabriel.
“I think it may have been two months ago. I'm not entirely sure though.” I told Suzie. She nodded and handed me a cup.
“Just go inside and fill this up. We'll go from there.” She said handing me a small plastic cup. I took the cup and went into the adjourning bathroom and collected my testing material. I screwed on a lid and washed my hands leaving the cup on the counter. When I opened the door, Suzie came in.
“We usually just take these and do the test in the back but I can tell you're anxious to know so I'm gonna just do it here.” She said. She took out some test strips and dipped them into my sample. I turned away and went to pace around in the main room. I knew it would take a moment and staring obsessively wouldn't make the test develop any faster.
After a few seconds though, the need to know became overwhelming. I went back into the bathroom and Suzie was still looking at her watch.
“Only 20 more seconds.” She said. I felt my chest tighten.
“You okay?” Gabriel asked me through our mind link.
“Nope.” I replied. “I'm about to have a heart attack. We will know in a moment if we are going to be parents.” I said. I turned my attention back to Suzie and saw the test she was looking at.
I had never taken a pregnancy test. I had never needed to. I could see the test but I had no idea what
the result meant. Suzie looked at me and smiled.
“So, two pink lines means..?” I asked her, praying it meant no baby.
“It means.. Congratulations!” She said. I stared at her for a moment, my brain refusing to absorb this new information. I just stood there. I couldn't seem to form a sentence or move. It was as if I were paralyzed. Suzie looked at me strangely. I couldn't blame her. I could only imagine my shocked expression right now. Finally able to have enough coherent thought to move, I walked back into the room and sat down. I felt numb.
I heard footsteps in the hallway and a second later, Gabriel quickly knocked on the open door before coming in.
“So… what did the test say?” He said walking up to me. I looked over at him and tried to form the words. Nothing came out so I nodded instead and felt a tear slip down my face. I wasn't even sure why I was crying. Happy. Sad. I didn't know how to feel. I felt surprised. I knew that much but aside from that, I wasn't sure about the rest. Terrified, maybe. Ok, definitely terrified. Overwhelmed, no doubt. Gabriel sat down on the bed beside me and took me into his arms. I immediately felt comforted in his warm embrace. I felt a tear slip down my cheek. My throat felt tight, as I fought the urge to cry harder. I snuggled into Gabriel. I couldn't do this. I wasn't fit to be a Mother.
“You always do this.” I heard Aeliana say.
“Do what!? Get knocked up and panic?” I asked, irritated. It wasn't like I was being dramatic. This really was a big deal.
“You doubt yourself. You always have. You always assume you're not enough. That you don't deserve to be happy. You're wrong.” She said. “You're strong. You're kind. You're courageous. You'll be a wonderful Mother and our pup will be the most adorable pup in the pack.” Suddenly I had a vision. I was chasing a small child. I couldn't tell if it was a boy or girl but they had had golden curls. The vision came and went so quickly that I thought I might have dreamed it. It was just a quick glimpse but I knew when I saw it that the golden curls were my childs. My hand slipped down and I touched my belly. I looked up and met Gabriel's eyes. How was he taking this? Was he upset?
The Journey To Become The Perfect Werewolf Page 19