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Ashley laughed dryly, staring at the ceiling. She’d been up for junior partner, but whether or not she still would be once she told her boss she was pregnant was anyone’s guess. She was inclined to think not, since it was still a man’s world. Even a normal kid would take her attention away from the office.
She swallowed, belatedly registering her thought about a 'normal kid'. She picked up the phone again.Is there any chance my baby is normal?She knew what the answer probably would be, but she’d had to ask anyway.
The wait while the doctor on the other end of the text messages replied was interminable.Not what you mean by normal, no.
Ashley sighed, but that had been what she was expecting, so she told herself she shouldn’t feel let down that he didn’t hedge at all. If there was zero chance, so be it. Her hand, still holding her phone loosely, flopped out to her side on the bed. She wasn’t ready to give up her new lifeline, even if she didn’t really want to face this yet, either.
Another beep made her consider her phone, but so far everything this doctor had said had been respectful and pertinent, so she should probably read it.Would you like me to recommend a local obstetrician who can be trusted?
That made her blink stupidly. Obstetrician… right. She had confirmed her pregnancy at the family doctor’s office she went to, but the nurse had given her a list of obstetricians to look into at the end of her appointment, because they didn’t have any baby doctors in the practice. She hadn’t looked any of them up yet; in stewing over how she was going to tell Rafael, she’d pretty much forgotten she needed to do that. Then she had to wonder at his word choice.Trusted or who knows the answers to anything I’ll want to ask you?
Trusted. I’ll know the details, but look up Dr. Shana Anderson. Just moved into Aurora, so confirm the address. Give them my name as your referral, they’ll take it from there.
That didn’t exactly answer the implied question, but it was a start. She had enough information that she could proceed, and she probably should make that appointment soon; she wasn’t sure how early she was supposed to see a doctor, but it was probably supposed to be early.
Another beep.It might be best if you didn’t tell anyone but Shana who the father is. Gossip could be a problem.
Ashley was tempted to call him after that vague statement. It sounded like Raf’s comment about him being a target, but this had nothing to do with money. Had Raf not explained fully? Perhaps he didn’t want to force details on her if she wasn’t ready? Or was this part of the same concern, just hinting at unexpected places to find problems? If the doctor could be trusted, surely that meant her staff could be.
Or was it that the doctor was trustworthy because of knowing there were other creatures out there, while her staff was all normal and wouldn’t understand? That made more sense. But it also implied more secrecy, and that was part of what she was uncomfortable with. She wanted answers, not more secrets.I am going to hold you to some straight answers once I can handle it.She typed out the message and her thumb hovered over the send button. Should she ask for more now? Tell him to pass on a message to Raf? No, at least not the latter. She’d been clear with Rafael, and he’d accepted that except for the quick warning. She was still on board with that. She pushed the send button and wrote off everything to do with the father of her child for at least the weekend.
Instead she did a Google search for the name Brenton had given her, digging up the phone number for the woman’s office. "Hi, my name is Ashley Seaver, and I’m probably supposed to see someone right about now… I’m six weeks pregnant. I was referred to Dr. Anderson by Dr. Charles Brenton."
Chapter 15 - Rafael
Rafael’s week—hell, his entire month—had definitely taken a turn for the worst. Being told he was smothering her… he was worried, damn it all. He threw himself into one of his more interesting security projects, something that had arisen through the discussion over how to market Club Phoenix directly to shifters. Could he code something that would be unique to shifters, like a Facebook group but independent of any ties to mainstream social media? The question had been eating at him in the back of his head, so it seemed like a good time to delve into it.
The problem, he knew, would be expanding it to be able to connect Alphas for private and secure conversations, or allow multiple clans to hold an event together where all members of each could access the event information, and even connect with others who would attend. The required constraints grew every time he thought about it.
If he took a step back to look at himself, he was avoiding the gigantic dragon in the room, but he tried to avoid thinking about it at all. Every time his thoughts went to Ashley or how alone his bed felt ever since they had last shared one, he obsessed over things like control. Raf prided himself on being in control, but he couldn’t dictate Ashley’s life just for carrying his child. He might not have thought himself possessive before, but that had all changed once the reality that he would be a father had sunk in.
That he’d rushed well past the mark in his haste was readily apparent from the way she’d shut him down. He didn’t dare even check in with her to make sure she was doing well for fear she would cut off all communication completely.
Raf started holing up at his office at Club Phoenix, working on the shifter-only platform code for developing other social apps. It wasn’t relevant to his business, but Heliodoro mostly continued without him; there were always plenty of projects whether he was creating new ones or not.
When he caught himself staring into space bouncing back and forth between missing Ashley and his weak indignation at her pushing him so far away, it was clearly time for a drink. How much productivity he’d accomplished in the last week was debatable. Raf ordered a bottle of extra strong single malt and took it into the shifter-only lounge because it was quieter than the main room; unfortunately here, too, there were happy couples that seemed put on the earth just to torment him.
He’d been drinking for a while at least when Lance and Chas claimed the seats on either side of him. The fact that they’d approached without his awareness gave him a sense of just how much he’d had to drink on an empty stomach. He hadn’t been this drunk in… he didn’t know how long.
"Am I usually this bad?" Chas asked, looking between Rafael and Lance.
Lance grunted a noncommittal noise. "Not usually, but you’ve looked pretty shit before, too. Usually takes a big setback, though."
Raf glared at them both. "What, am I not allowed to drink in my own club?"
Lance leveled a glower at him, just the slight downturn of his mouth enough to signal how much Raf was trying his friend’s patience. "You know damn well this is not like your usual drinking habits."
"No, it damn well isn’t," Rafael agreed. "How the hell do you expect me to react? I’m not supposed to check on the mother of my child. Would you be in any better state?"
The accusation made both his featured friends exchange a glance, but there was more they seemed to convey with it that Raf couldn’t bring himself to try and unpack. It was Chas who finally spoke. "C’mere," he ordered, beckoning. "You look almost feverish, Raf. If that’s just the effects of too much booze, you should know better." The man pressed the heel of his hand to Rafael’s forehead, and his eyes widened. "Raf, you’re actually sick? What the hell happened?"
"M’not sick," Raf argued, pushing his friend’s hand away. "Just not sleeping much."
Lance reached out a hand, but held it away from Rafael’s arm by a few inches. "I’m not sure that’s true, Raf. I can feel your heat without even touching you."
"I’ll get over it." Raf knew both his friends were worried about him, but as dragons, they weren’t subject to much that would actually do them lasting damage. His friends exchanged another look; this time he was irritated enough to say something. "What?"
"Lance joked about your true mate pushing you away earlier," Chas told him. "I’m starting to wonder if there’s some truth to the legend."
