“Given the man who attacked was Lycan, it’s a possibility.”
“Oh my god, would you stop it with the whole werewolf schtick. Come on. I’m not an idiot. I’m not into cosplay or whatever it is you’re doing.”
“It’s the truth, and I’ll prove it two nights from now.”
“You going to change into a wolf and howl at the moon?” she taunted.
“Yep.” Spoken quite seriously.
A more gullible woman would have believed him. “I don’t know how I didn’t see the crazy before,” she claimed with a shake of her head.
“You’ll see it’s true soon enough, and then we can talk rationally about the situation.”
“Is that when I should expect your next abortion push?” Which she’d admittedly thought of. Being told the pregnancy might kill her had that effect, not to mention she’d always imagined having a child with someone she loved and who would be there as not only a father to the child but a lover and best friend to her. Boy had she misjudged Ulric.
“I learned my lesson. I won’t tell you what to do.”
“What he is going to do is allow you to make an informed choice.” Dr. Silver entered, and Honey literally growled. Maybe Ulric’s madness was contagious.
“You drugged me,” Honey accused, jabbing a finger in her direction.
“I did.”
“You might have hurt my baby.”
“I’m a doctor, not an idiot. The baby is fine. You, on the other hand, might not be. Ulric wasn’t lying when he said you could die. Most likely horribly if old accounts are to be believed.”
“No real doctor would ever say to that someone. You’re both crazy. Who came up with this sick game? What is this like extreme LARPing werewolf style? Are you getting a sick kick out of terrorizing a pregnant woman?”
“You hardly look terrified,” the so-called doctor replied dryly. “What you are is stubborn and quite frankly more stupid than I would have expected from someone in your field. Do I look like a person who likes to role play for amusement?”
Her lips turned down. “I don’t know what kind of person you are.”
“In two days, you’ll see your oversized sperm donor is telling the truth.”
“Ew.” Honey wrinkled her nose.
So did Ulric. “That was uncalled for.”
Dr. Silver shrugged. “But truthful. I have better things to do than argue with someone being so willfully ignorant. I’ll be back shortly to take your vitals.”
“Like fuck you will,” Honey grumbled.
“So you don’t want me to check on the baby?”
Honey wanted more than anything to know what was happening inside her body, but the doctor was right about one thing. She could be stubborn, and she wasn’t cooperating with her kidnappers. “I don’t want you anywhere near me or my child.”
“Very well. I’ll return when you come to your senses. Let’s go.” The doctor snapped her fingers at Ulric.
He glanced at her. “I am not your dog to order around.”
“Actually, if you want me to stick around to help her, then, yes, yes you are. I have better things to do than deal with this.” She waved a hand at Honey.
“You can’t leave. She needs your help.”
“Then you’ll do as I say.” The doctor waited in the doorway.
Ulric appeared torn. Honey made the decision easy for him.
“Get out. I don’t want to see you either.”
“Honeybee, I’m—”
“Don’t you dare apologize. I won’t forgive you for this, Ulric.”
His shoulders rounded, and he sighed. “Holler if you need anything.”
“How about my freedom?” she spat.
“Are you always this melodramatic, or is it the hormones?” Dr. Silver dryly asked.
“Argh!” Honey grabbed the nearest thing, which happened to be a knickknack on the dresser, and threw it.
The doctor easily sidestepped and tsked. “Your aim is terrible.” With that, she left.
Ulric hesitated.
“Get. Out.”
He left, and the door shut behind him.
She never heard it lock, but when she tried the handle, it didn’t open, and a pad beside the door kept asking for validation.
“Argh!” She slapped her hands on the thick wooden panel before turning to pace while muttering, “I can’t believe they did this.” The pair of them working in cahoots because he didn’t want to be a dad. It was working. Did she really want to be tied for life to a guy who would condone her kidnapping and try to make her believe he was a werewolf? Why couldn’t he be like a normal fellow and just ghost her? This seemed so elaborate.
The only thing she couldn’t complain about? The accommodations. She was a prisoner in the most luxurious room she’d ever seen, with a decadent bathroom, featuring a tub deep enough to soak with jets. Not that she stripped to try it. It seemed wrong to decry foul play while basking in a hot bubble bath.
The view from the windows showed her in some kind of rural location with an epic view of a spreading forest and a dark blue lake. Paradise if she wasn’t a prisoner.
A knock at the door preceded it opening to reveal Ulric bearing a tray and, racing in through his feet, Terror.
“I’m not hungry.” She turned her back to him.
“Don’t do that. I know you are. You haven’t eaten all day.”
“And who’s fault is that?” she snapped.
“You know what,” he hotly retorted right back, “I’m doing the best I can in a shit situation.”
“Also your fault. I wish I’d never met you,” she lied. Because ignore the time since she peed on a stick, and before that she’d truly never been happier. Even now, with him being crazy, she missed him.
“We were fated to meet, Bee. And soon you’ll understand why. You’ll see why I’ve been so secretive.”
She snorted. “I believe you’re a werewolf like I believe aliens live amongst us.”
“They probably do. Although I’ve never met anyone who smelled alien.”
“I like the way you keep slipping those tiny werewolf bits in.”
“Two more days and I’ll show you.”
The longest two ever, which included pacing that room, refusing Dr. Silver’s offers for examination, rebuffing Ulric’s attempt at reconciliation, wanting to protest by ignoring the trays of food, and failing because she was just so damned hungry. Even the nausea couldn’t put her off.
By now someone had to have noticed her disappearance. Francis or her parents. Surely the cops were already searching for her. At the same time, as Honey wondered about a possible rescue, she had to admit, despite being a prisoner, she wasn’t being abused in any way.
The food was excellent and plentiful, her accommodations more than adequate. Entertainment was provided in the form of television, books, and games. Cuddles with the kitten. She just wasn’t allowed to leave or call anyone.
On the day of the full moon, Dr. Silver arrived after dinner, just before twilight.
“How are you feeling?” she asked.
“Fine.” Not entirely true. Honey had felt jittery all day.
“You don’t seem fine.”