A Bribe

Two Month’s Later

[Marissa’s POV]

The world blurred around me as I ran as quickly as I possibly could. Strange creatures were chasing me, wanting to use me as their next meal. Despite knowing that I could probably take them on, I found myself unwilling to risk the child within me. I needed to protect it with everything I had. I couldn’t let it be killed. It was the only thing helping me remain sane.

Since waking up in a clearing with absolutely no memories of anything before that moment, I had struggled with remaining in control. Some days were harder than others, but up to this point I managed to keep the dark from taking me completely.

However, now I found myself the prey of strange beasts with skeletal heads and decayed bodies. I didn’t know how they managed to find me or what they wanted, but no matter how quickly I ran, they kept up their chase.

Panting, I chanced a glimpse to find the creatures becoming dangerously close. I needed to hurry, but I was afraid that shifting now would put too much strain on my body and cause me to go into premature labor.

‘Lose them.’ A small voice in the back of my mind suggested.

‘How?’ I demanded, ‘all these fucking trees are too close to one another!’

‘Climb.’ The voice suggested.

Climb? Was she insane? How was I supposed to climb while heavily pregnant? That was foolishness!

‘You’ll die otherwise.’ The voice growled.

Shit. Extending my claws, I looked for the closest tree trunk and began to do as the voice suggested. What was the worst that could happen? I would fall to my death or be eaten. Falling sounded like the better of the two if it came down to it.

Reaching the first limb that was thick enough to hold my weight, I scrambled onto it and examined the limbs above me. Below, I could hear the creatures growling and hissing as they looked up at me with blood-red eyes.

"Fuck."

Sucking in a breath, I jumped, grabbing the closest limb and pulling myself onto it. One after one, I climbed, higher and higher, until I could no longer see the ground. Finally, reaching the top of the tree, I collapsed in a nook and worked to catch my breath.

"I did it." I huffed, feeling pride surge through me.

However, the pride didn’t last long as a pang of pain shot through me, spreading from below my belly button to my back. Letting out a hiss, I pressed a hand against my abdomen and felt it tighten and then go slack again.

"Oh no," I puffed, realizing exactly what was going on here. I was going into labor in a tree! A tree, of all things! A tree!

Biting back the yelp of pain that came next, I looked around at the other trees around me. I couldn’t give birth in a tree. I needed to find help.

Inching my way to the edge of the branch closest to me, I weighed the distance and whether or not I could make it. I leaped, landing on a branch of my neighbor's tree. Bracing myself, I scrambled across to the next tree and the next, all the while trying to ignore the pain that was radiating through me from my body preparing for birth.

When I finally burst into a clearing, I spotted a small town that seemed to be my only option. Quickly climbing down from the tree I was currently in, I clutched my stomach as I limped towards the closest shop I could find.

Stumbling through the glass doors, I collapsed on the floor, causing those closest to me to let out exclamations of shock.

"Ma am!" an older lady with a kind face and curly gray hair gasped, kneeling beside me. "What’s wrong?"

"Baby," I panted, curling in on myself. "Is coming."

As if to better clarify what I was saying, a gush of amniotic fluid and blood erupted from between my legs, staining the carpet beneath me.

"Oh my!" The woman gasped, looking towards the shopkeeper. "Call an ambulance immediately!"

"No!" I rasped, reaching out and grabbing the woman’s wrist. "No hospital."

As a wolf, I couldn’t go to a hospital, especially in a town filled with humans. If they figured out my secret, then I could be treated as a science experiment.

"But sweetheart, that baby is going to come soon." The woman continued. "We have to get you to a hospital."

"Please, no hospital."

For a moment, the woman remained silent, watching me and debating whether or not she should listen to me or not. When she finally let out a long breath and nodded, I closed my eyes and let out a relieved sigh.

"Marshal!" The woman yelled at the shopkeeper. "Help me get this young lady to the back office."

"But Patricia!" Marshal barked, seeming genuinely shocked. "We don’t know the first thing..."

"I do!" A woman with brown hair and deep green eyes announced. "I’m a midwife. I can help with the delivery."

"Thank you." Patricia murmured. "Now, sweetheart, can you stand?"

"Y-yeah," I responded, slowly getting to my feet.

As I got up, Patricia and the brown-haired woman took their places on either side of me, helping me towards the back room where Patricia had indicated. When we arrived, I was put on a couch while the others busied themselves with getting linens and a bucket of water.

"This isn’t ideal." The brown-haired woman said as she began to feel around between my legs. "Is there a reason you don’t want to go to the hospital? Are you in some kind of trouble or trying to hide from someone?"

I had to bite back the shocked laugh that wanted to escape me at her assumptions. If only that was the reason. Being on the run from someone or in hiding would be so much easier than being a wolf that shouldn’t even exist in the world of mortals.

"I just..." I groaned as a particularly painful contraction hit me. "I just can’t."

"There’s a lot of blood." Patricia pointed out, seeming genuinely alarmed. "What should we do?"

"She needs to go to a hospital." The brown-haired woman responded, giving me a nervous look. "Sweetheart, I’m sorry but..."

The rest of her words were lost as my vision began to blur and my ears began to ring. My world was becoming nothing more than pain and anxiety as I felt myself beginning to drift. Fuck, how was I supposed to stop them from sending me to the hospital now?

With this thought rushing through my mind, I felt myself slipping more and more until everything turned black.

The sound of machines beeping and an irritating tug on the top of my hand roused me. Overcome with confusion, I let out a groan and opened my eyes to find a blaring white light shining down on me, nearly blinding me as I tried to remember exactly what happened and how I had gotten here.

Soon, images of me running from the skeletal creatures and going into labor appeared, causing me to jump up and take in the room around me. Fuck! I was in a hospital, attached to machines that were monitoring my vitals, and an IV was taped against my hand, pumping me full of some amber-looking liquid.

"My baby," I whispered, pressing a hand against my soft belly. "Where is..."

"Don’t worry," A deep voice spoke up, making me tense. "Your child is just fine."

Biting back my immediate response, I looked towards where a man with white hair and glowing golden eyes was watching me.

"Who are you?" I asked slowly as a feeling of familiarity hit me. "And what have you done with my child?"

Even if I didn’t quite recognize the man, I knew that he was dangerous with just one look.

"I’m Davison," the man responded with a smirk. "And I have a proposition for you."

"A proposition?" I repeated, unsure of whether or not I was hearing him correctly.

"That’s right," Davison responded, slowly getting up from his seat. "I need your help, and in return for you doing what I ask of you, I will give you back your child."

I sucked in a sharp breath at his words. Was he really trying to bribe me with my child right now? Who the fuck did he think he was?

"If you’re considering challenging me, I would think again." Davison chuckled as I readied to attack. "You don’t know how much trouble I’ve already gone through to keep these humans from realizing that you aren’t one of them."

Opening my mouth, I prepared to respond, but stopped. Narrowing my gaze, I met Davison’s amused gaze and felt myself deflate.

"What will you have me do?" I asked, trying to prepare myself for whatever was to come.

"I need you to help me kill someone." Davison responded easily. "Are you willing to help me in order to keep your precious child safe?"

"I…" Was there really any other response to this? No, there wasn’t. "I will."