by T. S. Ryder
Should he be doing this? He had a duty to the pack. Sure, he wasn’t officially the alpha, but he had picked up a lot of the slack. Without him there, would things fall apart? What about Hannah? There were so many people who relied on him . . .
I need to find Charity.
But if she was really in trouble, she would have told him, wouldn’t she?
A voice spoke from behind him. “Slowing down already, huh? Having second thoughts?”
Devin cursed as Leo climbed over and plunked himself into the front seat. Leo, in response, grinned broadly at him. It was far too smug a grin. Devin glared in return.
“What are you doing?”
Leo shrugged. “Are you certain that Charity is a good woman?”
“Yes. And put on your seatbelt.” Devin slowed the jeep a little more.
“Don’t slow down. I’m putting my seatbelt on, see?”
“What are you doing?” Devin repeated. He narrowed his eyes at his little brother.
Leo’s cheeky grin only broadened. “I’m obeying orders. Mom sent me along with you. She said that you have a habit of sacrificing your own happiness for the pack, and she wants to see you finally be happy. So she told me to come along with you and make sure that you find your woman. She seems to be afraid that you’d start thinking about your duties to the pack and change your mind.”
That was exactly what was happening. Devin had to smile at how well his mother knew him, even though sending Leo was a bit infuriating.
“So.” Leo fiddled with the radio until it started playing 60s rock music. “Where do we start?”
“The mainland.” Devin turned his attention back to the road. He started pushing the gas harder again, determination firing in his blood once more. “We go to the mainland and find Charity. And then we find out what exactly is going on here.”
Chapter Seven – Charity
Charity had to work hard to avoid trembling while she watched the doctor do her work. She had come into the hospital with Hope a couple of hours ago. Even though she tried to tell herself that the long wait meant that she wasn’t in serious condition, she couldn’t stop herself from worrying. Hope sat beside her, holding her hand tightly.
“Everything looks fine here.” The doctor folded down the blanket to cover her again. “Some spotting is normal in the first trimester of a pregnancy. Preliminary examination shows there doesn’t seem to be a problem. We’ll do an ultrasound just to be certain.”
Charity nodded. “I was just worried. I haven’t had time to get myself an OBGYN yet. The pregnancy was . . . unexpected.”
The doctor gave her a sympathetic look. “You did the right thing coming in here. That’s what we’re here for, after all.”
The ultrasound showed that everything was normal. Charity breathed out a sigh of relief, although she couldn’t help but have a heavy heart. Her shoulders sagged as the doctor wrote out a prescription for a morning sickness medication just in case, even though Charity hadn’t had morning sickness yet. She couldn’t help but shiver as she considered what might have happened if she had stayed where she was.
Honor had bought a gun. To use on her or Devin? She wanted so bad to return, to see Devin and make sure he was alright. But logically, she knew that Honor wouldn’t go after him. Her sister, as bigoted and idiotic as she was for being bigoted, was smart. She would know that killing Devin wouldn’t do anything to help her cause’. But killing her sister, pregnant with a shifter’s child? Well, she could easily be planning on making a big show out of it, or perhaps even framing Devin.
Charity shivered. It was impossible to know, and she wasn’t certain what she was going to do with herself in the meantime.
“Can I speak with your sister alone for a moment?” the doctor addressed Hope.
“No.”
“Hope.” Charity narrowed her eyes at her sister. “Go on.”
Hope perched on the edge of her chair. She looked between the two of them several times, her expression hesitant. Eventually, she sighed and shook her head. Charity patted her hand as she stood. Once she was gone, the doctor took the seat where Hope had been sitting. She sat in a relaxed manner, but her gaze stayed on Charity’s face.
“Am I right in saying that the father isn’t in the picture?”
“Not yet,” Charity said slowly. “I haven’t had a chance to tell him yet. I lost my phone and I don’t remember his number,” she added quickly. “But I’m sure he’ll be thrilled when I do tell him.”
The doctor hesitated for a moment before leaning in slightly. “If you don’t mind me saying, you don’t seem very excited yourself about this, Miss Gatiss. You said that this pregnancy was unexpected. Were you wanting to be pregnant at this point in your life?”
Charity could see where this was going and felt herself tensing despite herself. “It’s not that I’m not happy. This pregnancy has thrilled me. I couldn’t be happier. It’s just . . . family stuff. My parents are against it. They don’t like it that I’m not married to the father. Not to mention that the father is a shifter—”
“Oh!” The doctor’s expression went from sympathetic to disgusted to knowing. She nodded. “Oh, well that explains it, then. I understand your position completely. Now, there are several ways that you can go about obtaining an abortion—”
“Excuse me?” Charity stiffened. Her eyes flashed as her hands clenched. “What part of what I just said makes you think that I want an abortion?”
The doctor’s expression took on a superior quality. “Look, I understand. I come from a similar family as you. Normally I wouldn’t even suggest such a drastic action, but in your case—”
“I want this baby.” Charity put a hand on her stomach. She trembled with so much rage that it was difficult for her to think clearly, but she forced herself to stay calm.
Asking for a different doctor would probably cost her another couple of hours. And while they had gone to another city where Honor probably couldn’t find them, she couldn’t waste more time. If she hadn’t been spotting and had been worried for her baby, she would have gotten a computer and checked her online phone account to see if there was a way to retrieve Devin’s phone number that way.
Charity took a deep breath. “If you’re wondering why I seemed upset, it’s because my family is furious I was dating a shifter in the first place. I don’t want an abortion.”
The doctor held up her hands. “I understand what you’re saying.” Her tone told the opposite story. “But being pregnant with shifter babies is highly dangerous for a human such as yourself. There is a severe problem with the fetus shifting inside the woman’s womb, causing her to hemorrhage and die. Your spotting could be indicative of—”
“You already said that it was normal.” Charity reached for her clothes. “You, as a doctor, should know that the myth about shifter babies shifting form in the womb is a load of crap. That never happens. Shifters don’t even shift until they’re in their teens.”
“I am only telling you that you have options.”
Charity shook her head. “You are propagating blatantly untrue falsehoods meant to frighten women into aborting children they’d otherwise want.”
The doctor didn’t speak again. There was a curious look on her face, and that only served to enrage Charity all the more. She stomped away, hands clenched with the prescription crumpled in her hand. She had meant to ask about what the best prenatal vitamins to take were, but after that, she didn’t want to say another word.
The thing that angered her most was that there was a good chance that the woman actually believed what she was saying. It was one of those wildly-believed things that was nothing more than a harmful lie. If there was any danger to human women being pregnant with shifter babies, there would be incidents on the news about it. Instead, there was study after study that proved human women actually were healthier when pregnant with a shifter’s child than they were carrying a human baby.
Hope followed her silently until they were in the car. At that point, she cle
ared her throat and handed the keys over to Charity.
“I don’t remember where that motel was.”
Charity took the keys. Normally, she would gently encourage Hope to drive — goodness knew her husband never let her when they were driving anywhere together — but in her present situation, she didn’t have the patience.
Once they were driving away, Charity told Hope what had happened in a tense, angry voice.
Hope’s eyes were wide by the time she was done. “Oh. So that’s why you’re so angry.”
“Yeah, it is. I just can’t believe that she would think I wanted that just because the father of my baby is a shifter. It was like she hadn’t heard anything else I said.”
Hope picked at her cuticles. “Charity . . . Isn’t she right, though? I know that abortions are difficult, but in certain cases like this, it’s an option because the pregnancy poses a danger to the mother. I mean . . . nobody expects you to die for this. You can have other babies, but only if you’re alive.”
“There is no danger!” Charity slammed her hand into the horn as someone cut her off. She inhaled deeply, trying to calm herself. Every inch of her trembled. She had thought that Hope, of all people, would have listened to what she was saying rather than falling back on old myths. “There is no danger to my life because of this baby, Hope. And that is the end of the discussion.”
“There is.”
Charity shook her head. Maybe driving while being this angry was a bad idea. She pulled off into a parking lot and stopped the car. When she turned to her twin, Hope’s eyes were hard and her jaw was set.
“There is a danger to you because of this pregnancy.”
“Do I have to show you all the research that I did when I first became pregnant? I’m not going to—”
“Will you let me finish?” Hope crossed her arms. “There is a danger. From Honor. Maybe there isn’t a risk of the baby shifting inside of you.” The expression on her face showed her she wasn’t convinced, “But Honor is a danger to you right now.”
“That’s her problem. I’m not going to abort my child just because Honor has her head up her ass.”
Hope leaned back into her seat. A muscle twitched in her jaw. “And what about Mom and Dad? You know how they reacted to hearing about this? Mom was heartbroken and Dad . . . Well, Dad was furious. Neither of them would blame you if you—”
“This is my baby. And I am going to keep it, raise it, and love it. Regardless of what Mom, Dad, or Honor think of it or me. What makes you think that I would care more about them than about my own child when I can hardly stand to be in the same room as them?”
“Charity, I just . . . I just don’t understand how you could get involved with a shifter in the first place!” Hope clenched her hands and sucked in a deep breath. “They excrete pheromones that make women go crazy for them when they otherwise wouldn’t have anything do to with them. Does he make you have sex with his animal form?”
Charity couldn’t make herself speak. She was so enraged that all she could do was leave the car and walk away. Another blatant untruth. There had been so much research done on shifters and the myths about them. They were well publicized. So why was it so hard for people to actually read those papers rather than just covering their eyes and ears and repeating centuries worth of slander?
Going back to the island had been a mistake. The only good thing she had found there was Devin and now this baby. Even Hope was too wrapped up in lies to care about the truth about shifters. So she could keep arguing with them until she was blue in the face, or she could just cut her family from her life. The thought hurt, but how much did she have to do with them, really?
She wasn’t certain how long she walked around. By the time she returned to the car, her feet and legs were starting to get sore from all that walking. Hope was still in the passenger seat. Her eyes were red and puffy. Charity didn’t look at her as she slid into the driver’s seat.
“I’m sorry,” Hope said. “I’m sorry for everything I said. It was awful of me. I’m so sorry. You’re right. I need to start making my own choices and looking at things logically rather than relying on hearsay. I’d like to stay with you. I want to help you every way I can with this baby, Charity. And I . . . I want to get to know your shifter. I don’t want to be like them. Like Mom and Dad and Honor. They’re so full of hate. I don’t want to . . . ”
Charity nodded slowly. The rage inside of her ebbed a little more. She squeezed Hope’s hand. “Okay. I’m sorry for yelling instead of trying to explain. I’m just so tired. But I’m sorry.”
Hope embraced her, hugging her tightly. “I know you are. You’ve had to go it alone for so long. But you’re not alone now. I won’t let you be alone. I promise. I’m here for you. Whatever you need. I’m here.”
Chapter Eight – Devin
After going to Charity’s apartment and finding it empty, Devin didn’t know what to do. He used the keys she had given him to get inside and found it to be as neat as it usually was. Until he had gotten to the bedroom. Where clothes were flung on the bed and drawers were left half-open. It was clear that she had left in a hurry.
But where? And why?
He tried calling her, but there was no answer. Again.
Even though the city was next to the ocean, it felt far too distant. On the island, he was never more than an hour’s jog from the water. Here, all he could smell was car pollution and all he could hear was motors and people talking. It was too noisy to think. The worst of it all was that as he was driving down the freeway, smoke started to belch out of the jeep. So now he and Leo were at a mechanic’s shop. Waiting. Doing nothing.
It grated on his nerves more than he cared to admit.
“This is an old beauty, isn’t it?” the mechanic said as he peered in at the engine. “I haven’t seen one of these for ten years.”
“Yeah, well, my little brother here needed a starter car,” Devin lied. He kept his tone friendly and polite. “It’s just fine for driving around the island but apparently can’t handle this city traffic.”
The mechanic nodded. “So you’re from the island, huh?”
“Yeah.”
Leo shifted next to him, arms crossed over his chest. He looked as uncomfortable and on-edge as Devin felt. Devin rested a hand on his shoulder, trying to help him relax.
“So you have to deal with them shifters a lot, I bet. Damned freeloaders. They get free money from the government for doing nothing and who pays for it? You and me. They should take those shifters and make them get jobs. Take the money away and they’ll work, let me tell you.”
Devin’s nostrils flared. Did the man know he was talking to shifters? Was he hoping for them to say something incriminating? His hands clenched as Leo shifted uncomfortably beside him. He would have liked to have said exactly what was on his mind, but with a glance at his brother, decided not to risk it. They were in unfamiliar territory. It was clear that this guy was hostile towards shifters. How hostile, though?
No. He might still fix the jeep if he knew they were shifters, but he also might charge them extra for it. He might refuse to fix it at all. And worst of all, he might be one of those humans who came at shifters with every weapon they had and then claimed self-defense afterward.
Devin sucked in a slow breath, calming himself. He wasn’t going to say anything about being a shifter, but that didn’t mean he had to be silent while his people were being bashed.
“Look, they don’t really get that much. Not even enough to feed a regular-sized family.”
“’Cause they breed like rats.”
Leo’s head dropped to his chin and he kicked a rock that skittered over the ground. “Lots of our neighbors are shifters.”
The mechanic laughed. “Must mean that you have lower property values. But I’ve seen their women. Real knockouts. You boys must be pretty lucky, surrounded by those fine—”
“How long will it take to fix the jeep?” Devin couldn’t stop himself from interrupting. Great. Just by talking like
that, he probably increased their fees double fold. He shoved his hands into his pockets while the mechanic looked between them, his expression put-out. If he was this ticked off at them for not playing along with his anti-shifter sentiments, how much worse would it have been if they had actually said they were shifters?
“Couple hours. There are a few parts that need replacing, but I’ve got everything here in the shop.”
“Thanks. Leo, let’s go get something to eat.”
The brothers walked away. Devin had to fight the urge to turn around and tell the mechanic exactly what he thought of him. But he had already done enough. Best to just get it over with. As they walked, looking for any sign of a restaurant that wouldn’t be too expensive, Devin found his shoulders slumping. Should he have more aggressively defended his people against that man’s bullshit?
“I’ve never been this far from the ocean before,” Leo mumbled. His shoulders hunched and he looked at the ground as he walked. “It’s making my shark very nervous. When I joined this quest of yours, I thought it’d be a simple matter of finding your girlfriend and learning that she had slept in or something. I never thought that it’d end up this big.”
“She’s got a friend in the next city.” Devin touched his pocket where his phone was. There were pictures on it that Charity had sent her. “I think I have a picture of her house. We might be able to get the address from it. If not, then I remember her name . . . I think.”
Leo grunted.
Devin put a hand on his shoulder. Not for the first time, he considered how much simpler life would be if he was human. Did they even understand how good they had it? Not to have to face all of this constant discrimination? They didn’t have to worry about hiding who they were for fear of retaliation. Well . . . perhaps not all of them. Humans were hardly okay with their own people if they appeared slightly different to them. Shifters were just an easy target.
Once they found a restaurant, they took a booth that was well away from everybody else where they could have privacy. Devin ordered the cheapest entrée for himself, and Leo followed suit. As they waited for their food, Devin considered his little brother. His gaze locked on the table.
