Troy [Whitedell Pride: 12]

by Catherine Lievens

  “His blood-pressure is low,” Noem told the doctor and Jared nodded.

  “I wasn’t expecting it to be normal. Do you know when’s the last time he ate?”

  Emery shook his head. “I’m not sure. We haven’t spoken in two days, but I don’t think anyone’s seen him in that time. He was already sick then.”

  Jared cocked a brow. “He was already sick two days ago and you didn’t come to us?”

  “He didn’t want to. He threw up and I found him on the bathroom floor, but he said it was just a stomach bug. He didn’t want me to call you and he—well, he kicked me out.”

  Adrian reached over and squeezed Emery’s shoulder. He was glad for the small comfort. “I’m sure he didn’t mean to do that. He’s been a very solitary man since he arrived here, and I’m sure the sickness made it even harder on him.”

  Emery nodded. “What do you think it is?”

  Adrian’s eyes darkened. “We can’t be sure until we do all the exams.”

  “But you have an idea of what it could be.”

  “Maybe.”

  “Tell me. Please. I need to... I need to do something to help him.”

  “You can’t.”

  “I still want to know. I’m his mate.”

  “It could be a tumor.”

  Emery was glad he was sitting down because he knew he’d have fallen down if he hadn’t. “A tumor?”

  “The lack of appetite, the dizziness, the throwing up, they all lead to that conclusion.”

  “It’s in his stomach, right? That’s why it’s—” Emery gestured toward the bulge he now hated more than anything else. “—that’s why it’s like that.”

  “We’re not sure, Emery,” Jared said, but the look in both the men’s eyes was more telling than their words.

  “Can we save him? How is it even possible? He’s not human anymore!”

  “I know, but we’re still not exactly sure what they did to him. We’re certain they spliced his DNA with harpy DNA, and we thought it was the only thing they did. We don’t know if that could have made him more susceptible to sickness or if it was something else they did.”

  “I’m done. We can take him down,” Noem said and Jared nodded to him.

  “Go and grab a gurney.”

  “No,” Emery said. “I’ll carry him.”

  The three men looked at him, then at Troy, and Emery knew what they were seeing. “I know I’m a lot smaller and thinner than him, but I can do it. I’m not human.”

  “If you’re sure, then okay,” Jared said. He started to put the things he’d taken out of his bag in their place, and Emery wrapped the sheet around his mate’s body. He knew Troy wouldn’t anyone to see him in the state he currently was in. Troy thought people were scared of him, and while Emery knew it wasn’t true, he didn’t want Troy to find out they had one more reason to.

  Once the sheet was in place Emery slid his arms under Troy’s body and lifted him. It was slightly awkward, not because of the weight but because of the difference in heights, but he didn’t care. He needed to be close to his mate.

  Troy settled against Emery’s chest, his face tucked in the crook of Emery’s neck. Emery could feel the small puffs of warm breath coming from his mate, reassuring him Troy was still as fine as he could be in those circumstances.

  Troy’s legs dangled down by Emery’s side, but they didn’t prevent Emery from moving easily. He nodded to Jared and they all filed out of the room. Adrian was the last to come out and closed the door behind himself.

  Not a lot of people were around the house, and Emery was glad for that, even if he knew everyone would find out something had happened sooner or later. Maybe he could talk with Keenan and have him put up a note on the infirmary door, just to avoid people visiting too much.

  Emery followed Jared and Noem into the infirmary while Adrian disappeared somewhere else. Jared pointed to an empty bed in the far corner of the room and Emery walked there. He put Troy down on the bed and checked that the sheet was still in place.

  It didn’t take long for Jared and Noem to get to the bed. Noem pushed the ultrasound machine and moved it next to Troy’s bed before closing the curtains around it to give them privacy. Jared was already putting gloves on and turning the machine on.

  “Can you take the sheet off him?”

  Emery nodded and got to work. It was painful to see how thin Troy had become in only two days, and the bulging stomach made it even more obvious.

  Jared squirted some gel on Troy’s stomach and used the transducer to spread it while Noem turned the lights off. Adan, the only other person in the infirmary, didn’t protest, not that Emery expected him to.

  Emery grabbed Troy’s hand in his and squeezed it hard. Troy didn’t react and dread filled Emery. “Why isn’t he waking up?”

  “His body is too tired to keep him awake. Once we know what’s wrong with him, we’ll have to give him an IV and some food.”

  Jared turned toward the ultrasound display and Emery looked too. He watched as Jared moved the transducer, but he couldn’t make sense of what he was seeing. Jared did, though, and the fact that he was frowning wasn’t reassuring. “What’s wrong?”

  “I... I’m not sure. It can’t be.”

  “Jared! What’s wrong? Is it a tumor?”

  Jared shook his head. “I don’t think so.” He looked at Noem. “You have to take some blood and check it for hCG hormones.”

  Noem’s eyes went wide. “Are you sure?”

  “Not completely, but we need the results as soon as possible.”

  Noem got to work and Jared turned back to the screen. He moved the transducer around, but Emery still couldn’t see anything. “Jared, please. Tell me what’s going on.”

  “I think you should sit down.”

  “He’s dying?” Emery blindly reached for a stool and sat down, his hand never leaving Troy’s. “He’s... how long does he have? Can we do anything?”

  “He’s not dying.” Jared turned to look at Emery. “I think he’s having an egg.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  Jared pointed at a rounded form on the screen. “See that? I think it’s an egg.”

  “But... how? Why?”

  “I can’t be sure, not yet, but if you think about it, it makes sense. Troy is half harpy. A harpy is a creature with woman’s head and bird’s body, which means they probably produce eggs.”

  “You mean he’s pregnant?” Emery felt numb. He knew he should’ve been reacting differently, maybe fainting or screaming, but he was too shocked for that. He could only sit there and hold Troy’s hand.

  “I think so, yes.”

  Emery opened his mouth, then closed it. He opened it again and croaked, “Is it a girl or a boy?”

  “I don’t know. I can see only the shell right now. I have to research avian reproduction, but my best bet is that Troy will have to, uh, lay the egg, then wait for it to hatch.”

  “Hatch? Lay the... egg? Troy’s... having an egg?”

  “Yes. Are you okay?” Jared’s voice was soft and understanding, but Emery wasn’t sure of the answer.

  “I don’t know. You’ve just told me my mate is pregnant, which should be impossible, but even worse, he’s not pregnant with a baby but with an egg!”

  “Breathe, Emery. You won’t help things if you faint or have a hysteric episode.”

  “Breathe. Breathe? How can you... how can I stay calm? I’m going to be a father! We’re having an egg and we don’t even know how or what the baby’s going to be? Is it... what if it’s a bird?”

  Emery was hyperventilating, but he couldn’t seem to be able to stop himself. He saw Jared put the transducer down and walk around the bed to face him. Jared’s hand rose and he slapped Emery on the cheek.

  The sting of pain was enough to bring Emery out of it. He blinked and held his free hand up when Jared made to slap him again. “Don’t, I’m... fine. Maybe. I don’t know. But I’m not going to
faint, I swear.”

  “He’s going to need you, Emery. You can’t lose it and run away. You can’t.”

  “I know, and I wasn’t planning to. I’m... I’ll be there for Troy.”

  Chapter Four

  Troy’s head was pounding. He groaned and shifted on the bed and wondered what had happened. The last thing he remembered was being in his room with Emery, but he knew from the smell that he was in the infirmary now. He would have recognized the antiseptic scent anywhere. He tried to open his eyes but the harsh light made him blink.

  “Wait, I’ll lower the light.”

  Emery. He was there with Troy in the infirmary, so hopefully he hadn’t decided to run. “What happened?”

  “Can you open your eyes for me?”

  Troy nodded and peeked, but Emery really had lowered the lights and he was able to open them. Emery was standing to Troy’s side, a frown on his face and worry in his eyes. “There you are.”

  “What happened?”

  “You fainted. Do you want to try and sit up?”

  “Sure.”

  Emery gently grabbed Troy’s shoulders and helped him to sit up. He slid a pillow behind Troy’s head and laid him down again before straightening the sheets. It was obvious he knew what was wrong and didn’t want to tell Troy. He wasn’t even able to look at Troy in the eyes.

  “What’s wrong with me?”

  Emery paled. “Do you want some water?”

  Emery turned to the nightstand to take the glass someone had left there but Troy extended his arm and grabbed his mate’s wrist. “I’ll drink later. Can you please tell me what happened?”

  “You fainted.”

  “I noticed. I want to know why I fainted and why you look like you’d rather run away instead of staying here with me.”

  “I don’t want to run away, Troy. I didn’t want to before, and I want to even less now.”

  “Why? Are you feeling guilty because I’m sick? If that’s the only reason, then I’d rather you go than stay.”

  “Oh, Troy, no.” Emery sighed and sat next to Troy’s hip. “I don’t feel guilty and I haven’t changed my mind. I don’t regret claiming you at all, and I don’t want another mate.” He gave Troy a cheeky smile. “Does that cover everything?”

  Troy couldn’t help but smile back. “Yeah. Sorry, I...”

  “I know, you need time to accept everything and to let the fact that I’m not going to disappear sink in. It’s okay. I just wish I could do more.”

  “Are you going to tell me what’s wrong with me?”

  “Yeah.” Emery took a deep breath and grabbed Troy’s hand, squeezing it almost to the point of pain. It was enough for Troy to know something was seriously wrong. “I want you to tell me what symptoms you had in the past couple of days.”

  “Emery, please don’t make this even harder. Just... tell me what it is.”

  “I don’t think you’ll believe me if I do.”

  “Fine. I puked my guts out.”

  “That’s all?” Emery’s eyes had a knowing glint in them, and Troy knew his mate knew exactly what had happened to him. Hiding it wouldn’t help.

  “I was dizzy, nauseous and tired.”

  “You also couldn’t stand to eat.”

  “Yeah. So?”

  “Those were all symptoms of what’s happening to you. This,” Emery turned and Troy quickly moved to the side to make more space for his mate. Emery stretched down, his hand never leaving Troy’s and the other one going to Troy’s stomach. “Is another symptom.”

  Troy looked down. He had almost forgotten how weird his stomach was now. The thing looked even bigger than before. “How long was I out?”

  “About a day and a half. Jared got some liquids into you and checked your health. He took out the IV about an hour ago.”

  “But... it’s bigger.”

  Emery’s hand tensed on Troy’s stomach but he didn’t move it away. He started to make small stroking motions instead, his fingers twirling over the sheet that covered Troy’s lower body. “That’s normal.”

  “There’s nothing normal about this—this thing, Emery! Are you going to tell me what the fuck is wrong with me, or do I have to ask Jared?”

  “You’re pregnant.”

  Troy opened his mouth and closed it again. “Very funny.”

  “I’m not joking. As far as Jared can tell, it has to do with your harpy DNA. You’re not exactly half female but the XX genes were enough to... create... all the stuff necessary to get you pregnant, so when I claimed you, well, it happened.”

  Troy looked at his stomach and couldn’t convince himself it was his. It felt as if it belonged to someone else. “Please tell me you’re joking. Please.”

  Emery shook his head, his hair caressing Troy’s arm as he moved. “No, I’m sorry. Jared did all the exams twice and they all gave the same results. You’re pregnant.”

  Troy’s mind was unable to process the new information. He felt as if it was all happening to someone else, as if he was looking at his stomach from the outside. “What is it?”

  “We don’t know.”

  “No, I meant, is it a girl or a boy?” Troy didn’t even want to start thinking about what exactly the baby could be. Emery was half shifter and half vampire, while Troy was a mix between human, bird and woman. A chuckle escaped him. For all he knew, he could be about to give birth to a chicken.

  “Troy? Are you okay?”

  Troy shook his head and started laughing. It wasn’t a happy sound, rather a nearly hysterical one, but it seemed to be the better way to get everything out. The alternatives were either crying or exploding.

  Emery held Troy through it, never saying anything, not even when the laugher slowly shifted into a full out crying session. Troy burrowed his face into his mate’s neck and let it all out—the fear, the pain, the confusion, the disgust he felt for what he’d become. He’d thought that finding Emery would change things for him, and they had, just not in a nice way.

  “Sssh, Troy. Everything will be okay, you’ll see.”

  “How can you say that? We don’t even know if this—this thing is going to be human! Between you and me, it’s next to impossible!”

  Troy tried to push away from Emery. He was angry—with himself for thinking he could be normal again, with Emery for making him think of that possibility. Emery didn’t let him go. He tightened the hold he had on Troy’s shoulders and kept him close. Troy would have to hurt his mate if he wanted to get away, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it.

  Emery didn’t deserve that, not after everything Troy was putting him through. Troy stopped struggling and sagged against Emery’s body. The rhythm of Emery’s heartbeat was comforting, just like the warm pressure of his arms around Troy was, and Troy could feel himself calm, at least marginally.

  “There’s something else.”

  Troy chuckled. “Of course there’s something else. As if I don’t already have too much to deal with.”

  “We don’t know if our child is a girl or a boy because the baby is, well, it’s an egg.”

  Troy wanted to cry again, but he was pretty sure he’d finished the tears for now. “An egg? What am I, a fucking chicken?”

  “No, you’re an incredibly strong man who’s had a lot of stuff dumped on him in the past few months.”

  “That’s an understatement. I don’t... I don’t know what to do.” It wasn’t exactly the truth. Troy knew at least one thing he wanted—he wanted the thing that was growing in him out.

  “Jayden is doing his best to find information on harpies and on avian reproduction. We know the labs had a few, so maybe we can even find one. Jared is handling the physical side with Adrian, but until you, uh, you lay the egg, we can’t do much more.”

  “Until I lay the egg.”

  “Yes.”

  Troy shook his head. He needed to talk with Jared.

  * * * *

  Emery didn’t know what to do. Troy had asked him
to get Jared, then he’d fallen into a silence that he still hadn’t broken. He just sat there on the infirmary bed, his hands together on his lap, his eyes down. Emery was relieved when Jared finally appeared.

  “Sorry. One of the kids got a cut.”

  “It’s okay. Uh, Troy woke up a little while ago.”

  “Did you tell him?”

  “Yes, he told me about the—the egg.”

  Jared’s smile was gentle. He took Troy’s exams results from the nightstand and looked through them, but Emery knew nothing new had been added. “How are you feeling?”

  “How do you think I’m feeling? I have a thing inside me.”

  A pang of guilt passed through Emery’s mind. It was his fault that Troy was in this situation. He could have let Troy fuck him instead of what they’d done. It wouldn’t have been a problem for him, and Troy wouldn’t be pregnant. Still, Emery couldn’t bring himself to regret it, not completely.

  He was scared to death, but he also felt just a bit happy. He’d never have thought he’d have kids. He’d sometimes wondered what it would be like to become a father, but he’d always pushed the thoughts aside when they came up because he knew it wasn’t possible.

  Now it was, though, and he couldn’t help but wonder how their child would be. Would it be a boy or a girl? Would it have red hair like Troy or darker hair like Emery? What about the eyes? Green or Violet?

  It was actually easy to concentrate on these random and unimportant questions—on the normal ones—if anything else, to avoid thinking about the more important ones. Was the kid going to be a shifter? A harpy? A mix of everything Emery and Troy were? Would it even look human? Emery could only imagine how Troy was feeling having it inside him.

  “I want it taken out.”

  Emery’s head snapped toward his mate. Troy’s expression was set in a stubborn frown that told Emery everything he needed to know. “Are you sure? It’s... well, we don’t know what it is, but it’s still our baby.”

  “If you want it that much, then you can find a way to be the one having it, because I’m not. I don’t want this—this abomination inside me.”