Page 57 of A Luna's Revenge

I am speechless. I go to leave as I want to process this on my own, but Dr. Bridgit stops me. “Please, Alpha, sit down. I still have some things to tell you.” I take my seat.

“All the other tests came back okay, too,” she remarks. “Because of issues with population decline in the territory among shifters, there is a new mandate from the AlphaCommander. He has ordered that going forward, all medical tests, procedures, surgeries, births, deaths, etc., are to have a DNA analysis performed simultaneously. These results are added to a database within the Stone Mountain Genetic Research Institute for research. We hope our scientists can study the results and find answers to stop the population decline before we become extinct.

“Therefore, as per the mandate, while I ran those tests, I extracted your DNA sequencing and everything that entailsand sent it to the Stone Mountain Genetic Research Institute. I was notified today that your DNA results are back. Which, in and of itself, is nothing. No noted anomalies. However, it came back with a match to recent birth and death certificates.”

“What does that mean, exactly?”

“Alpha, I don’t know how to tell you this, so I will show it to you.” She turns her hologram screen towards me so I can read it. There were two documents on the screen: a birth certificate anda death certificate, both under the name of Jenson Black, III.

I look at Dr. Bridgit in confusion.

“Keep reading. Look at the mother and father.”

“Charlie Ann Black! Jenson Black, II.! What in the world is this, Dr. Bridgit? Explain this to me.” I can’t think straight; my mind is shutting down. I am confused and dizzy. Overwhelmed with these feelings, I cannot understand what I am seeing.

“It appears that Charlie gave birth recently, Alpha. The pup was too early, and it passed away. I’m sorry, Alpha.” She came to stand before me and placed her hand on my shoulder in sympathy. “The cause of death is wolfsbane poisoning.”

I quickly raise my head to meet Dr. Bridgit’s eyes. “Is wolfsbane transferable through body fluids, like during sex?” She nods her head sadly.

“Noooooooo!” The magnitude of what I’ve done hits me all at once. Panic overloads my system as my heart begins to race. Bile rises in my throat; I just barely make it to Dr. Bridgit’s trash can before I lose the contents of my stomach.

Dr. Bridgit handed me some tissues solemnly. I take them, wiping my mouth and spitting. “So, you are telling me that I inadvertently killed my unborn pup by taking that tea, the only pup I will probably ever have a chance of siring.” Nothing makes sense right now. My mind cruelly plays back all the trysts I had over the last three months prior to Charlie’s leaving me. How many damn cups of tea did I consume to sedate Asher, only to murder my own pup.

“Alpha, I need you to listen to the rest. Stay with me here. I know this is hard.” She says softly, but I can feel the anger seething beneath the surface of her professional mask. I deserve this, so I nod. “I don’t know how much goodI am going to say will do, but if you can learn from it, I think you need to hear this.” I nod again. “Your strong Alpha body was not even able to handle the amount of poison you put in it because it injured you. The pup passed because of the poison, and Charlie was probably sick due to it as well. I haven’t pulled her medical records, but hopefully, she won’t have any lasting damage. Before you make selfish decisions in the future, think over the consequences. I’ve always heard that it’s the goddess’s punishment upon us, but the truth is, it’s the consequences of our bad choices. No one made you do what you did.”

In that moment, while drowning in grief, helplessness and loss wrap around my throat like a hand choking me, my heart is on its knees. My breath comes in sharp gasps while my heart is pounding in my chest, a punishing thumping that drums through my ears, drowning out all other sounds. I am frozen, paralyzed by guilt. The heaviness of my past affairssinks painfully in my skin as my stomach drops with nauseous churning. I bend at the waist in my chair and hug my legs.

A loop of every illicit encounter I’ve had replays in my mind, a reminder of how those stolen moments of passion have led to this result. Every caress or stroke now feels like a knife twisting in my gut as I realize the extent of what I have done. The pup I longed for, the blame I placed on Charlie, the excuses I gave myself to cheat. I had finally managed to implant my heir in Charlie’s womb, and I had been the cause of its demise. Not only that, but I had sacrificed the one thing that had ever really mattered—Charlie.

Seeming to sense my spiral, Dr. Bridgit speaks again softly. “Alpha, there are a few more things I need to tell you. I checked the DNA database. Tracy Vincent gave birth to a daughter.The pup's DNA doesn’t match you; you are not her father.”

And there was the kick in the gut! How had I not seen through Tracy’s lies? Why had she been able to deceive me so completely? “Dr. Bridgit, what would have been the effect of wolfsbane on me and my wolf?”

“Even while not taking it, the wolfsbane stays in your system. With the levels you had in your blood, even with your strong, Alpha body, it would take days to work it out. If you took the tea every 2-3 days, you would be constantly under its influence. Your wolf would be subdued, decision-making would be impaired, and your superior cognitive facilities would be diminished, among other things.”

“So, I would be easily deceived. My natural ability to perceive lies?”

“Would be non-functioning.” She declared. “Until the wolfsbane worked completely out of your system, you were little more than a regular human.And that's not considering whatever effect the black magic that was used.”

“Anything else?” I stand and stare at Dr. Bridgit tiredly. I feel as though I am having an out-of-body experience. I am physically here, but my mind is simply gone. Asher is beside himself. You would think he would be saddened at everything we just learned. But while I am numb, he is full of rage and tearing the inside of my mind to shreds.

“Just one more thing,” she sighs deeply. “You are aware of Cheating Mate Syndrome now, correct?”

“Yes,” I moan weakly.

“While you were gone to the Alpha Conference, the mysterious illness that Luna contracted was CMS and we had to perform surgery,” she admits. “We kept it secret and treated Luna for it without her knowledge. But I want you to know, she nearly died and would have died if not for the treatment.”

“Is that all?” I grit out through my teeth. Between Asher and my self-flagellation, I am barely keeping it together.

“Nothing else.” Dr. Bridgit shakes her head. “Do you have any further questions for me?”

“No,” I snap.

“I will set you up an appointment with the pack therapist. I recommend you keep it because you are going to need to stay strong if you are going to lead this pack.”

“Will do, Doc.” I nod and go to my office. Sitting back at my desk, I reach into the bottom desk drawer and do something I’ve never done in my life; I take out a dusty old bottle of whiskey that my grandfather left to me. It’s a unique blend that can intoxicate shifters. After the crap show my life has become, I need to sink into a bottle.Reality slowly fades around the edges as I drink glass after glass and sink into blissful oblivion.

Chapter 32 - A Divorce and A Wedding

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