Rachel POV
"Your mother is doing well considering," Art said.
"Considering what?" I asked.
My body was hot yet numb at the same time. I had a baby monitoring band wrapped around my waist to monitor my daughter, a pulse oximeter to monitor my oxygen and pulse, a blood pressure cuff for exactly that, and two IVs to make sure the hospital had access to my bloodstream as fast as possible "just in case."
Saying I felt out of sorts was putting it mildly.
"Considering the quack caring for her had kept her overmedicated for the last two decades," Art said, shrugging a shoulder, "I think they did all they could to keep her barely conscious to avoid her fighting for her freedom. According to Justice, she can't even speak."
I frowned, the muscles in my face moving as sluggishly as the rest of me, "According to Justice? You haven't seen her?"
Art shook his head, "No. I distracted the facility attendants while Justice got your mother from her room
Rachel POV"How is my brother?" I asked again, feeling like a crazed parrot as I clutched my mother to me yet every muscle in my body had gone tense in her arms.Ethan was going to have to be okay, too. I couldn't gain my mother only to lose my brother. Ethan was too young, too vital, and he had too much life left to live.Mama sat at my side on the edge of the bed tangling her fingers with mine while being careful not to pull on my IV lines or interfere with her own. We were a pair of invalids it seemed.I couldn't quite comprehend the situation we were in. Everything felt too surreal. Nothing was going the way I had ever imagined it in my head though I had certainly dreamed of my mother being returned to me more than once."Ethan is still unresponsive," Tyler answered, taking a seat beside me and reaching for my other hand, "He's not getting worse, but he isn't improving at all either. Your mother has agreed to donate blood. The hospital is tryin
Rachel POVDays turned into weeks in Our Blessed Goddess Medical Center.Mama had taken over a week to detox from the drugs flooding her system. She'd managed to regain her ability to speak after only a few days. She was, however, still taking physical therapy to assist her with strengthening her muscles and bones again after all those years of living a dormant life in the asylum.My body was still fighting against itself. Some part of me -some animal part deep inside- wanted to reclaim the ability to shift, to fight, to run.I knew Rayne wanted to stretch her legs, but I didn't think my wolf was the one calling all the shots. I believed most of the restlessness in my body was from a part of me even more primal than Rayne herself."Have you seen Ethan today?" I asked my mother.Mama looked up from where she had been studying her hands. I knew it would take her a few moments to respond. She'd gotten her voice back, but speech was still not ea
Rachel POV"The baby is coming!" I criedHow was my baby coming?I'd had pain in my back, but I was used to that by now. I spent all day in the bed. My stomach was so swollen I couldn't see my feet and the extra weight put pressure on my spine.I had not had the first cramp! Where were my contractions? Where was the agonizing pain women all talked about?"Relax," a nurse said as she bustled into the room behind my mother who'd bolted for the hall as soon as I'd first called out.The nurse looked gloriously professional and capable. I wanted her help more than I wanted my next breath of air. I sighed audibly in relief."It's not really my water breaking? Was it just some kind of---accident?" I asked, blushing as I looked at the tablet where the Alpha Council was still hanging on the line on their side.All the male Councilmen looked terribly uncomfortable while the two females both looked amused. I was mortified this had happene
####WARNING This story will contain: Strong Sexual Content, Strong Language and Scenes that may be triggering, Viewer discretion is advised.######### "Get away from me!" I kick at the three men trying to hold me down and flail my arms as hard as I can. My fingertips have become claws as I try to reach for my inner wolf to shift in self-defense. I only just had my eighteenth birthday a week before; I haven't gotten good at shifting on my own yet and it is nowhere close to night much less a full moon so instinct alone won't let me shift. 'Rayne?' I try to get my wolf to wake up in my mind. 'Rayne? Wake up!' I try again to call her. One of the men has my arms stretched over my head while the other two have got my legs. I struggle against them, but it's useless without my wolf coming to my aid. I'm too small to cause much damage. They have me beaten with numbers as well as size. A fourth man steps into my view with a clear glass in his hand. It's full of some kind of dark-colored
The Next Morning"Who are you?"I came awake with a jerk, disoriented and aching all over. A heavy male body lay beside me---we were both naked except for the sheet covering our bodies.Embarrassment stained my skin bright red. I searched my memories of the night before, trying to figure out how I had gotten here while attempting to wrap the sheet around my body. I stopped when I realized I'd leave my bed partner totally nude.My skin felt too hot and too tight as I tried to work out how to get myself out of the situation.I wasn't used to being around naked men even if I was a werewolf. We cared about propriety no matter what humans thought!I remembered myself saying over and over, "I'm your mate!"I eased myself off the bed to look for clothes. I tried to be as quiet as I could so I didn't wake up the stranger. I didn't take the sheet to spare his decency, instead sacrificing my own modesty: I'd rather be ca
13 Days Later "I'm nowhere near close," I groaned, rubbing my forehead as I leaned away from Bella's laptop. Bella admitted, "I don't know where else we can look for money. We've mortgaged all the properties available to you, Patrick, anything we had records of from your mom's estate, and everything my parents can offer. Our house is already under mortgage. We only have two days left." Time was not on our side. "What about the banks? No. We've talked to every bank. What about other lenders?" I was panicking, nearly hyperventilating. The kidnappers had been sending video clips of Ethan being beaten every day. "Yes. We talked to all of them except---" "Nathan can't help. I can't even ask. House Lewis isn't involved in this. They don't need me dragging them down too. Besides. How would I explain this to him?" I took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. I was capable. I had always been good at find
3 Years Later"Happy Third Mating Anniversary!"Tyler didn't reply to me as I mind-linked him. I knew he heard me all the same. As my mate, he couldn't block my messages even if he didn't choose to reply to them."Please come home right after work today. I'm preparing a special surprise to celebrate the occasion. You'll love it. I promise." I could feel a spark of interest from Tyler's side of the bond though he remained silent.Most females would have been at least a little concerned if their mate refused to respond to them, but I knew my situation wasn't ordinary.I was the offspring of an omega father from a lower pack who had blackmailed my alpha mate into accepting me by faking a pregnancy.The fact I hadn't known if I was pregnant or not at the time didn't matter. I had said I was pregnant; I wasn't. It was a lie. It was a lie I told for money.Money Tyler Wrigh
"I can't believe she's pregnant! I'm so, so sorry, Rachel!"I trembled from the force of my emotions. My tears washed away years' worth of stress and frustration and pain. I felt myself coming alive again as my sadness melted away to reveal hope for a different future for myself.No one had ever told me a mate could cause so much unhappiness to their supposed 'other half.'Bella led me to the sofa where I collapsed into a corner, kicking off my shoes so I wouldn't dirty her cushions. I drew my knees up to my chest and wrapped my arms around my legs. I thought maybe if I could make myself small enough, I could contain part of my feelings or at least shrink them down to a more manageable size."I thought The Model was just supposed to be a cover story for the events you 'couldn't' attend?"I rubbed my eyes with the heel of my hand as Bella's air quotes surprised a chuckle out of me as my tears dried.T