Page 36 of What's Rogue Got To Do With It

This isn’t how you thought it would happen, Father, but I finally became what you always wanted.

21

LARKIN

There was a hint of autumn in the morning air as we loaded into Auden's truck. Unlike the cabins that varied from needing work to having to be torn down, the vehicle was his baby. The paintwork gleamed from his polishing and it had a radio that didn't need constant fiddling. I sat in the back while my mate was in the passenger seat.

Auden had asked if Creven wanted to drive because as the Alpha it was my mate’s decision but he let the former Alpha get behind the wheel. Auden navigated the winding mountain roads with the confidence of someone who'd been making this drive for decades.

"Dr. Granger is an excellent physician.” Auden glanced in the rear view mirror as we descended the mountain toward the town nestled in the valley. "She's been taking care of shifters in the county for twenty years. Heck, she’s delivered half the cubs in the surrounding packs."

My belly clenched but not with morning sickness. This was nerves. My medical appointment wasn’t just a pregnancy checkup. This was my first official appointment as a member ofa pack. There was no bribing one of the staff into letting me use a fake name. I didn’t have to worry that someone would put a hand on my shoulder in the waiting room and haul me outside.

My mate must have sensed my anxiety because he reached out and placed a hand on my knee. That accompanied by a reassuring smile and him saying he’d be with me, eased my jitters.

“Does she know about us?" Creven’s fingers tightened on my leg.

“Don’t worry. You’re good to go. Nothing much fazes the doc but I’ve filled her in and she’ll charge us pack rates and not human ones.” Auden grinned at me in the mirror.

The modern clinic was small and it was tucked between a bakery and a bookstore on the town's main street. Once we finished and we’d satisfied ourselves the baby was healthy, I was charging into the bakery and buying something yummy.

Dr. Granger must have been looking out for us because even though there were a couple of people in the waiting room, she met us at the door and greeted our former Alpha as an old friend. She carried the scent of lavender on her skin but it wasn’t perfume or body wash. Having grown the herb, I suspected she was also a gardener.

The aroma was calming and I loosened my grip on my mate’s hand. Auden plonked himself in a chair and picked up a magazine, telling us to bring him a pic of our little one when we were done.

"So, you're the famous rogues who've been causing all the excitement.” She gestured for me to get on the examination table. "Auden's been talking about you two for weeks."

“Not both rogues but close enough.” That was my mate.

“But you’re looking at the new Alpha. Ta da.” I gave Creven a mock bow.

“Ahhh. That was Auden’s plan.” She put a finger to her lips. “But he’s still standing and I didn’t notice any bruises.”

We both laughed. “I’ll let him tell you how we did it.”

The doctor checked my blood pressure and took my temperature, though from my experience, a nurse usually performed those tasks. I was glad she did though, as being with strangers who weren’t out to make my life difficult was still new to me.

"How are you feeling? Any morning sickness?"

"Some nausea, but nothing that’s kept me down.” I went to bed earlier than usual but with the upheaval in our lives, that wasn’t surprising.

“That’s normal. Let's have a look at your little one, shall we?"

She warmed up the gel and spread it over my belly as Creven held my hand. I’d watched this procedure so many times on TV and now it was happening to me. And our baby wouldn’t be the child of a lone wolf and rogue.

My mate squeed as a grainy image appeared on the screen and while I was desperate to see our baby, I couldn’t make out anything. Was that a leg or an arm?

“This is so exciting.” Creven was rolling back and forth on the balls of his feet but I was squinting at the screen, getting irritated if he could see what I couldn’t. But my annoyance vanished as a regular thump thump filled the room.

“Our baby’s heart?” I sobbed and my mate kissed the top of my head. We’d been through so much to get to this point and our little one’s heart was beating in time to my own. My shoulders heaved and I wiped the tears away with the back of my hand.

"There's your cub.” Dr. Granger said I was about three months. She pointed out the head, spine and limbs. “And the heartbeat is strong.”

Awww our baby had arms and legs.

“There’s only one baby.”

Our little one’s heart beat echoed around the room and bounced off the walls as Creven and I shared a glance.

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