The Broken Wolf
Chapter 124

Seth jumps out of the bed, quickly crossing to the door and ripping it open. “We need a nurse!”

“Seth, stop,” I say, but he’s not listening to me at all.

“Molly, I know you don’t want to,” he says, a furious look on his face. “But you have to take the medicine. The babies won’t have a chance without it.”

“They do, though!” I exclaim, but he shakes his head.

“No!” he roars, thoroughly and completely furious now.

“Just f*****g listen!” I yell at him as a nurse walks in, her eyes wide, clearly trying to decide if she should come in or run far away.

Seth looks shocked that I’d yelled and I can tell he wants to say more, but he’s holding his tongue, hands balled into fists at his side.

“You healed me before. We should try again,” I say to him, unafraid of his anger.

“What?” he asks me, confused, but his anger easing a small bit.

“My finger,” I say, my words hanging a moment. “You healed it. Well, Altair did. We need to try again. If it doesn’t work, they can hook the medicine back up.”

His face softens as realization hits him. He nods, reaching up to unbutton his shirt. The nurse looks to me and I motion her out. “We’ll call you if we need it hooked back up. I promise.”

Seth takes a deep breath, looking at me with an emotion I can’t quite place, and he shifts, leaving Altair in front of me. I realize that he won’t be able to reach me in the bed, so I stand and walk the few steps to the chair, my legs so very wobbly.

I pull the gown down so he can get to each puncture and he steps forward, nuzzling his head against my arm before leaning up and carefully licking over each little spot. He nudges my shoulder with his head and I turn so he can reach the back. He sits back, waiting and watching as each little spot begins to close up.

I can feel his excitement through the bond as he shifts back to his human form, kneeling in front of me and watching them heal completely. He looks up at me, relief evident on his face and k****s my shoulder, where the bite is healing.

“I don’t understand how this works,” he says quietly. “And it’s worked twice.”

“I don’t either,” I tell him, running my hand through his hair. “But I’m so glad it does. Next time, it’s what we do first.”

He nods, placing his forehead gently on mine as we take a moment together, just breathing a deep sigh of relief.

There’s a knock at the door and the doctor enters, confused at my now healed shoulder. Seth stands and dresses, then moves to help me stand and tucks me back in, explaining what happened to the doctor, and telling him about my finger.

“Do we know if this is the bond,” he begins, “Or possibly from your magical abilities?”

I shake my head. “I don’t know for sure, but I believe it’s the bond. He healed my finger before the spell was lifted from me.”

“I’d like to keep you here, still,” he says and I frown. “It’s healed on the surface, but I need to be sure the infection is healed as well. I want to hook the IV back up, but only with fluids. We won’t do any more antibiotics as long as the infection is clearing.”

I nod at him in understanding but Seth doesn’t look happy. “Can she move upstairs with the IV? You all can come check her there?”

The doctor stops and thinks for a moment. “I have concerns about your babies. We can check on them in about an hour, and then later tonight and make a decision then.” There’s a finality to his voice and I realize that he had not really expressed his real concern earlier, probably hoping to keep us calm.

“Are they alright?” I whisper, looking up at Seth who also looks concerned.

The doctor sighs and clasps his hands. “It is concerning that their heart beats dropped. Since it’s so early in your pregnancy, it’s even more concerning. If we’re being honest, Princess, your medical records aren’t helpful because your body metabolized things differently when you were younger and, well… it still is.”

“What do you mean?” Seth asks him, moving close to me and taking my hand in his.

The nurse comes back in and takes my other hand, inserting the needle and setting the IV back up again, this time with just the fluids as the doctor wanted.

“The antibiotics we gave her would probably take you down for two weeks, sir. I know she was sick earlier, but that seemed to be more pregnancy related. Essentially, it seems that since her mother was a witch, she’s half witch… half human.”

I feel my heart constrict and it’s hard to breathe. “One of the babies is a witch,” I whisper, feeling overwhelmed.

“We don’t know that for sure,” the doctor says, shaking his head.

“We do,” Seth says firmly. “The boy has a strong wolf. The girl has magic, and I’m not sure she has a wolf. Does this mean that something safe for one will not be safe for the other?”

The doctor nods at him and looks at us sympathetically. “We’ll check them again in a bit and hope for the best.”

After he leaves, Seth gently moves me over and climbs back into the bed with me. “I hate this,” I say, snuggling into his chest. He wraps his arms around me and just holds me close, bringing comfort, even in this scary situation.

“I like the name Alice,” he says quietly, and it makes me smile.

I nod. “I like it, but that’s not her name,” I tell him with a smile. “I saw them in a dream. I know their names.”

“Yeah?” he asks, looking down at me with a smile. “Want to share their names with their father?”

I giggle at him, wrapping my arm around his middle and laying my head on his chest. “Cora and Andrew.”

“Cora and Andrew?” he says, his fingers playing with my hair gently. “That sounds perfect.”

We lay like that for quite some time, Seth with his arms around me, holding me close and playing with my hair when he finally breaks the silence.

“Assuming the babies are alright, and you’re feeling alright,” he starts. “I’d like to go visit the young future Alpha Chris. I’d like you to go, too. But only if everything is alright and you feel up to it.”

“I’d like that,” I say, not lifting my head. “Why do you want to visit?”

“Your dad and brother say that no one is crossing their border,” he begins, pulling his hand up to rake through his own hair. “I believe them. But they’re crossing SOMEWHERE, and that only leaves their borders. Their finances were a mess and you helped out, but you said yourself that it didn’t add up.”

“It didn’t,” I say, thinking back. “I had wondered if the Alpha was funneling money somewhere secret. It’s possible they ‘re moving payments around trying to keep it secret.”

“I don’t think Chris knows what’s going on,” Seth says and I nod in agreement. “I looked at the work you guys did for their finances. They didn’t do anything you two suggested, but they’re somehow still functioning. And he refuses to hand the pack down to his son. None of it adds up.”

“Unless he’s taking payments to allow them through,” I say and he nods.

The nurse knocks and enters the room, wheeling in the ultrasound machine again with the doctor following.

“Let’s get some more pictures,” she says to me with a smile as Seth helps me sit up and adjust.

Once she’s set up and ready, she turns the screen with a smile and I notice even the doctor is smiling a bit. “Their heartbeats are back up. Not completely, but higher than last time. That’s so great, Princess.”

“It is!” I tell her with a smile, my eyes full of tears of happiness.

Seth leans down and k****s me on the head. “I’m going to go run and tell your parents. I had linked them before, but it may be good to tell them in person.”

I nod, smiling at how thoughtful he can be. He leaves the room and the nurse helps me sit up, fixing the bed so the doctor can check my vitals.

“Your b***d pressure wasn’t that concerning earlier, but it was low. It’s normal and your temperature is lower as well. A low fever, but lower than it was.”

“That’s good, right?” I ask, trying not to get too excited.

He nods at me. “It is, Princess. I’m going to go ahead and let you go upstairs, but with a monitor on you if that’s agreeable.”