I felt so light, like each word he pushed out of that gorgeous mouth was a balloon that brought me higher and higher. Every day, Wyatt managed to prove to me in a different way just how amazing and perfect he was. "What do you think that means, though?" I asked. "That he tasted like that? What does that mean?"
Wyatt scratched his forehead and turned his head the second before a car pulled up at the end of the drive. "That's a pack vehicle," Wyatt said, lifting me from the couch.
"But I thought they couldn't hurt us anymore?" He carried me cradled against his chest, depositing me in his bedroom.
"Don't move. They shouldn't be able to hurt us. I don't know why that person is here, but until I do, stay in this room. Do you understand?"
I nodded as Mr. Boots gave a meow, almost as if to say he would make sure I did. It wasn't until the door closed that I realized Wyatt meant to leave me in there without him. My first instinct was to follow, and I lunged for the doorknob, earning a sharp hiss from my feline soldier.
Thankfully, I didn't have long to wait. Wyatt returned, telling me first that everything was fine, though he didn't look happy and only slightly relieved. He brought me out to the living room where a tall Asian woman stood with a black bag and a red peacoat.
"Hi," she said with a wave. "I'm Tiffany. Doctor Tiffany. I mean, no, Dr. Llewelyn, but everyone in the pack calls me Dr. Tiff. Alpha Walker sent me when he heard of your blessed birth."
I didn't remember telling Alpha Walker of the bun in my miracle oven, and unless Wyatt snuck off to do it, he hadn't either. So who had spilled the beans?
Whoever had, that person wasn't Tiffany, and she looked at me with nothing but an open, friendly smile. "As I was telling your…" Her gaze flitted to Wyatt just quickly enough it wasn't so much rude as it was awkward.
"He's my boss," I said, making Wyatt snort.
Dr. Tiff licked her lips nervously but quickly recovered. "As I was telling your boss, I'm here to give you a checkup and see if we can't answer some questions about how far along you are and what we can expect moving forward."
So someone had not only told Alpha Walker about my pregnancy but knew some of the details that only few knew. I could count the number of people who could do that on two hands. Wyatt grabbed my hand, and I knew he was thinking the same thing. If Alpha Walker could find this out without really even trying, what couldn't he do? My brain buzzed, bringing back a familiar, unwanted feeling.
I fought my first instinct to open my mind and pull from as many people as I needed to chase the feeling away. Most times, that only made it worse. Wyatt squeezed my hand again, reminding me of his presence. What had he said? Assless exterminator's suit and a backpack sprayer. I pictured him that way, grinning immediately.
I took a breath. Exhaled. There was a reason to be suspicious, but that didn't mean Dr. Tiff had any motives other than those mentioned. And really, those were both pretty important questions she wanted to try to answer. I might not have liked the way her help came my way, but I couldn't let that influence whether or not I accepted it.
Resolved, I steeled my expression before looking to Wyatt, expecting an argument from him. He was already looking at me and smiling.
"If she can help us understand how this is going to happen if I never shift…"
"Hold on. I don't want you to believe my skills are beyond what they are," Dr. Tiff interrupted me. "I've never seen a blessed pregnancy firsthand. I probably haven't read any books that the Walker alphas haven't already. They were all in Nana Walker's possession. But I am the doctor here. I've helped deliver many children both through C-section and vaginal birth." She cleared her throat. "Not that those are both options for you."
"You don't have to be embarrassed. I'm not offended." Did she think I'd be mad that she'd seen a vagina? So had I.
She tightened the grip she had on her bag. "So, yes, going back to what you said. We have options if you never shift, but we'll both be going blind here. We'll be learning at the same time, which I'd love to do, if you'll let me."
I'd been sure of my answer a while ago, but now I was even more confident. "Yes. Please."
Wyatt stayed close the entire time, never leaving the room unless Nash or Aver were in the room. They'd come home soon after, their tires rolling down the driveway so fast they left dark lines in the driveway from the gravel spitting away from their tires. They both claimed to have just come home for lunch, at ten AM.
And they were still here an hour later, with no obvious intentions of leaving. I didn't really want them to. I felt a lot of the same kind of calm around them as I did around Wyatt, just not at such high intensities.
Dr. Tiff gave a thorough examination, and after a lengthy oral portion, she'd worked slowly down my body. She had her stethoscope against my bare stomach, and she straightened, making a note on my file. "That's surprising. I can hear the baby's heartbeat."
"Why is that surprising?" It sounded like a good thing.
"You aren't showing as much as I would have expected for how far along that makes you. Typically, parents aren't able to hear their baby's heartbeat this way until around eighteen weeks into the pregnancy, sometimes more. You could be halfway through this pregnancy."
That was certainly a shock. My mouth felt dry, and I moved my tongue around with difficulty. "Maybe I should sit down."
"You are sitting down, babe," Wyatt said. He sank down next to me. "So he's a little small. What are the reasons for that? You can hear the heart. That's the most important thing, right?"
"It is very important, and yes, loud, clear, and to my naked ear, at just the right speed. Next time I come, I'll bring the portable ultrasound unit, and we can all see what I'm already pretty sure of: that we will have a healthy child who is maybe on the small side."
"Is that my fault? Because I sometimes don't eat?" I blurted out, not thinking how, outside of context, that sounded like I was admitting to something else.
"You sometimes don't eat?" Dr. Tiff's eyes narrowed.
"No, but I…" My throat felt like it was closing, and I looked to Wyatt, my expression pleading.
"Baby, do you mind if I try to explain?" Wyatt asked.
"Please."
"I've only known Wyatt for a short time, but in that time, I've been able to observe him nearly every hour of the day."
"Even when he sleeps?" Dr. Tiff asked, smiling like she was making a joke.
"Sometimes," Wyatt deadpanned. "He's always moving, and sometimes he moves right on through mealtimes, but it seems more like an attention span thing. Since then, he's had us to remind him when he hasn't eaten a meal. Probably been making up for some missed ones in that time, if I'm being honest."
Dr. Tiff didn't answer right away. "I want to talk more about this moving forward, but I'm comfortable tabling this for now. We'll want to concentrate on your pregnancy and keeping baby and father healthy. Yes?"
"Yes," Wyatt and I both replied.
"I'll be back tomorrow. I would return today, but with Alpha Walker's illness—"