Chapter 487

Olivia

I woke up in the morning to the feeling of the warm sun streaming in through the curtains and a cold spot in the bed where Nathan would normally be.

Yawning, I rolled over and sat up. The sound of the shower turning off in our shared bathroom caught my attention, and I rubbed my eyes as Nathan emerged along with a plume of hot steam a few moments later.

“You’re up early.” I glanced over at the clock, which read 6:05 in the morning. That was nearly half an hour before Nathan usually got up to head to work for the day.

“Yeah.” Nathan crossed the room, still wrapped from the hips down in his towel, and planted a warm, damp kiss on my forehead. “I’m heading out early today.”

I raised an eyebrow in surprise. “How come? I thought today was supposed to be a short day.”

“It was.” He sighed and dried his hair in the vanity mirror. The water on his back glistened in the morning light, highlighting his taut muscles.

Despite the cold winter outside, Nathan never seemed to get soft and sleepy like so many others. He was always in peak physical condition without even really having to try that hard.

It was a trait that most people envied, and it was a trait that I hoped would be passed down to our children.

“Something changed,” I said; more of a statement than a question. I had a pretty good idea as to what exactly had changed: Dan.

Our impromptu exit from the luncheon the week before had left Dan in somewhat rare form. Or maybe it wasn’t so much our impromptu exit as it was the photograph of me and Clarissa that was now circulating the internet and my subsequent interaction with Dan on the dance floor.

Either way, Dan wasn’t in the best of moods since then—not that he ever was in much of a good mood, but this felt different.

All week, Dan had been making demands of Nathan.

Go here, do this, say that. Don’t forget about that money your pack needs, Nathan. Oh, your local library needs a new heating system? Your port needs wood for new docks? Let me just dangle these checks in front of you. Carrot, meet stick.

That sort of thing. Nathan had been taking it in stride, just as he always did, but I could tell that it had been taking a bit of a toll on him.

But it was Friday, at least. Just one more day until the weekend, and then…

“Don’t forget about your promise.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know,” Nathan replied with a chuckle. “Phone is turning off at 5pm today.”

“And…?”

“And…” He shook his head and laughed. “I will spend the weekend with my family, resting, and picking out furniture online for little Alvin’s nursery.”

“Perfect.” I swung my legs over the bed and stood, walking up to Nathan. I wrapped my arms around him from behind despite the fact that his damp skin got my shirt wet. “I’ll be looking forward to it.”

He smiled and turned in my arms, dipping his head to press a soft, warm kiss against my lips.

“Me too, Liv. Me too.”

…

A soft groan escaped my lips as I carefully laid on the bed, clutching my stomach.

“Ugh… Today, of all days,” I muttered under my breath. I had so much to do today, and yet here I was, trying not to throw up in the middle of the afternoon.

I hadn’t been hit with much morning sickness throughout the entire pregnancy, which was a relief. And at this point, more than five months in, I had thought that I would be beyond that point.

But, today, it seemed as though mother nature had other plans. No amount of ginger ale or saltine crackers could quell my stomach; in fact, I had thrown up everything I had consumed so far. Even water.

“You’re getting dehydrated,” my wolf scolded in the back of my mind. “Maybe you should go to the doctor now.”

“No. Not yet.” I breathed in through my nose and rolled over onto my side in an attempt to ease some of the pressure. But even that movement alone set my head spinning.

“Why are you so stubborn? Just go to the clinic.”

“It’ll pass,” I said with a wave of my hand. “Remember how sick I got with the twins? This is nothing compared to that.”

My wolf huffed in annoyance. The past three hours had gone much like that, with my wolf insisting on seeing a doctor while I repeatedly refused. I clearly wasn’t thinking straight. And yet, here I was, still nauseous as hell with no plans whatsoever to leave my house.

“It’ll pass,” I repeated. “It’ll… pass…”

But even as I spoke, another wave of nausea took over me. It was all I could do to lurch out of bed and bolt to the bathroom, clutching my stomach in agony.

I barely made it in time before what little bile I had left inside of me came out, this time so painfully that it felt as though my raw throat would come out right along with it.

When I was finished, I let out another audible groan and fell back on my haunches, where I rested my head on the side of the cabinet next to the toilet.

Breathing in through my nose and out through my mouth, I shut my eyes against the spinning of my head. The dizziness was even worse this time, bordering on pure vertigo.

And that was when I felt it: something warm. Something warm that was trickling down my thighs, specifically.

My eyes shot open at the sensation. “Shit…” I whispered as I reached down and touched my leg. When I pulled my fingers away, the tips were red and sticky. Blood. “Maybe I should… After all…”

I hauled myself to my feet and stumbled into the bedroom, reaching for my phone. Nathan. I had to call Nathan. This was no mere morning sickness episode or stomach bug.

This was serious.

But when I dialed his number and waited, there was no answer. My hands shook as I dialed again, and again, and again. Still no answer. The phone just rang and rang infuriatingly until it went to voicemail each time.

“Nathan, where are you?” I whispered. Even speaking those words aloud made my legs shake from the effort, and I felt my knees buckle beneath me. I stumbled onto the edge of the bed, not caring if I stained the sheets with blood.

Finally, when I dialed his number with shaking hands again and there was still no answer, I resorted to calling Angela instead. She picked up on the third ring.

“Hey, what’s up?” she asked. “I was just—”

“Angie, I’m… I’m bleeding,” I stammered out immediately. “And I’ve been throwing up, and I’m dizzy, and…”

“Oh my god. Where’s Nathan?”

“I… I don’t know,” I managed through a thick lump that had formed in my throat. Even as I spoke those words, I felt as if my very consciousness was fading away. “Angie, I need help…”

“I’m coming, Liv. Wait there. I’m coming…”