Chapter 22 Devastating News
My heart stops.
Damon is here. In Vancouver. At this hospital.
Which means he left pack territory without permission. Abandoned his duties as Beta. Put himself at risk of banishment or worse, all to check on me.
"I..." My voice comes out strangled. "I can't. I can't see him."
The nurse's brow furrows in confusion. "Are you sure? He seemed very concerned about you. Said he's been calling every hospital in Vancouver trying to find you."
Of course he has. Because that's who Damon is. Loyal to a fault, even when that loyalty could destroy him.
But if Mason finds out he's here, if Stella discovers he came to check on me...
"Please," I beg. "Tell him I'm not well enough for visitors. Tell him anything. Just... he can't be here."
"I really think—"
"Please." My hand instinctively goes to my stomach, to the life I'm trying to protect. "It's not safe. For either of us."
The nurse studies me for a long moment, and I wonder what she sees. A terrified girl? A paranoid patient? Or someone genuinely in danger?
Finally, she nods. "I'll tell him you need rest. But Sage, he's not going to stop calling. Not going to stop trying to see you."
"I know." And that's what terrifies me. Damon's protective instincts won't let him just walk away. Not when he knows I'm hurt.
After the nurse leaves, I lie there trembling. Part of me desperately wants to see him. To have one friendly face in this nightmare. But the risk is too great.
If Mason traces Damon here, if he finds out about my pregnancy...
No. I can't let that happen.
I press the call button for the nurse again. When she returns, looking slightly annoyed, I force out the words.
"I need Dr. Chen. Now. Please."
Something in my voice must alarm her because she moves quickly, hurrying from the room. Within minutes, Dr. Chen appears, concern etched across his features.
"What's wrong? Are you in pain? Is the baby—"
"My friend is here. Damon. He's looking for me." The words tumble out in a rush. "You can't let him see me. You can't let him know I'm here."
"Sage, if he's your friend—"
"He's also Beta of White Moon Pack. The pack that banished me." I struggle to sit up, ignoring the pull of the IV. "If they find out where I am, if they discover I'm pregnant... Dr. Chen, they'll come for me. They'll take my daughter."
It sounds paranoid. Probably sounds insane. But I see recognition flash in Dr. Chen's eyes. He knows about pack politics. Knows how valuable a pregnant omega would be, especially one carrying an Alpha's child.
"What do you want me to do?" he asks quietly.
"Register me under a different name. Jane Doe, anything. Keep my real identity off the official records." I'm shaking now, adrenaline and fear coursing through me. "And tell Damon... tell him I was here but I left. Tell him I'm safe. But please, don't tell him where I went."
Dr. Chen hesitates, clearly torn between patient confidentiality and basic human decency. "He seems genuinely concerned about you, Sage. Are you certain he's a threat?"
"He's not the threat. He'd never hurt me. But his Alpha... his pack..." I can't finish the sentence. Can't articulate the depth of Stella's hatred or Mason's blindness.
"Alright." Dr. Chen makes his decision. "I'll handle it. But Sage, you can't hide forever. Eventually, you'll need to make some difficult choices about your future."
He's right. I know he's right. But right now, all I can focus on is surviving the next day, the next hour, the next heartbeat.
Dr. Chen leaves to deal with Damon, and I'm left alone with my racing thoughts and the steady beep of the fetal monitor.
Thump-thump. Thump-thump. Thump-thump.
My daughter's heartbeat, strong and steady despite everything.
I close my eyes and try to breathe. Try to calm down before the stress affects her. She's been through enough. She deserves peace, even if I can't find it myself.
Time passes. I don't know how long. Eventually, there's a soft knock on the door.
"It's Dr. Chen. May I come in?"
"Yes."
He enters, and I can see the strain on his face. Whatever conversation he had with Damon clearly wasn't easy.
"I told him you were discharged this morning. That you were stable enough to leave and that you asked not to be contacted." Dr. Chen sits in the chair by my bed. "He didn't believe me at first. Insisted on seeing you himself. It took some convincing."
"What did you say?"
"That you were frightened. That you'd been through trauma and needed space to recover. That the best thing he could do for you was respect your wishes and give you time." Dr. Chen's expression softens. "He made me promise to tell you something if I saw you again."
My throat tightens. "What?"
"He said, 'Tell her I understand. Tell her I'll keep her secret. And tell her that she's stronger than she knows.'"
Tears blur my vision. Even now, even when I'm pushing him away, Damon is trying to protect me.
"He also left this." Dr. Chen pulls an envelope from his pocket and hands it to me.
With shaking hands, I open it. Inside is a stack of cash—at least five thousand dollars—and a note written in Damon's familiar scrawl.
'Sage,
I don't know what you're running from, but I know you must have good reasons. The money is yours. No strings attached. Use it to start over, to build the life you deserve.
I've set up a secure email account for you: [email protected]. Password is the name of the book you were reading the day we first shifted together. Check it when you're ready. I'll send updates when I can.
You're not alone in this, even if it feels like you are. I'm here, even from a distance.
Stay safe. Stay strong. And know that some of us never stopped believing in you.
\- D.'
The book I was reading when we first shifted together - Jane Eyre. Of course he'd remember that.
I clutch the note to my chest, overwhelmed by gratitude and guilt in equal measure. Damon is risking so much for me, and I can't even thank him properly.
"He's a good friend," Dr. Chen observes.
"The best." My voice cracks. "Which is why I have to keep him as far away from this as possible."
Dr. Chen nods, understanding. "Well, for what it's worth, I've updated your records. You're officially Jane Doe until you decide otherwise. The nurses have been informed that you're in a sensitive situation and that your privacy is paramount."
"Thank you." I wipe my eyes. "For everything. You didn't have to help me like this."
"Thomas is a good man. When he vouches for someone, I pay attention." Dr. Chen stands to leave. "Rest now. Your body needs time to heal."
But after he's gone, I can't rest. My mind is too active, cycling through everything that's happened.
I lost my son.
I'm carrying my daughter, who by all rights shouldn't have survived.
Damon knows I'm in Vancouver, even if he doesn't know exactly where.
And somewhere back in White Moon territory, Mason and Stella are probably celebrating their victory. The troublesome omega finally removed from their perfect life.
The monitor continues its steady beeping, and I find myself fixating on it. On the impossible strength of my daughter's heartbeat.
Dr. Chen said he'd never seen such vitality in a fetus that had been through this kind of trauma.
What does that mean? Is she just naturally resilient? Or is there something... different about her?
I think about the rogue's words. How he knew I was carrying twins just from scent alone. How he said twins were rare and precious.
What if there's more to this pregnancy than just biology? What if Mason's Alpha blood combined with my omega genetics created something unique?
The thought both terrifies and fascinates me.
A knock on the door interrupts my spiraling thoughts.
"Come in," I call, expecting another nurse.
But it's Dr. Chen again, and his expression is grave.
"Sage, I need to run some additional tests. The blood work we did while you were unconscious showed some... anomalies."
My heart stutters. "What kind of anomalies?"
"Your hormone levels are unusual. Elevated in ways I've never seen in a pregnancy before." He pulls up a chair, his demeanor shifting from doctor to researcher. "And your daughter's heart rate, while strong, is faster than it should be for a fetus at this stage. Almost... wolf-like in its rhythm."
"What does that mean?"
"Honestly? I don't know." Dr. Chen runs a hand through his graying hair. "I need to do an ultrasound. Get a better look at her development. If you're comfortable with that."
An ultrasound. Which means I'll see her. Really see her for the first time.
"Yes," I whisper. "Yes, I want to see her."
Dr. Chen moves efficiently, wheeling over an ultrasound machine and helping me adjust my position. The gel he spreads on my stomach is cold, making me flinch.
"This won't hurt," he assures me. "Just try to relax."
The transducer glides over my skin, and suddenly the monitor fills with grainy black and white images.
"There," Dr. Chen says softly, pointing to a tiny shape on the screen. "That's your daughter."
I can't breathe. Can't think. Can only stare at the miracle on the monitor.
She's so small. So perfect. I can see the rapid flutter of her heart, the slight movement of her tiny limbs.
My daughter. My baby girl.
"She looks healthy," Dr. Chen murmurs, taking measurements. "Size is appropriate for gestational age. All major organs are developing normally. But look at this..."
He adjusts the settings, and suddenly I can see her more clearly.
And that's when I notice it.
Her heartbeat isn't just strong. It's impossibly strong. The rhythm is faster, more powerful than any human fetal heartbeat should be.
And there, in the grainy image, I swear I can see something else. A glow, maybe. Or maybe I'm imagining it.
"What is that?" I point to the strange luminescence around her tiny form.
Dr. Chen leans closer to the monitor, his brow furrowed. "I... I don't know. It could be an artifact of the ultrasound. Or..." He trails off, clearly uncertain.
"Or what?"
"Or your daughter is manifesting supernatural traits earlier than should be possible." He looks at me, wonder and concern warring in his expression. "Sage, wolf genetics don't typically express this early in fetal development. But your daughter... she's showing signs of shifter DNA already."
"Is that dangerous?"
"I don't know," he admits. "I've never seen anything like this. Most shifter children don't show any supernatural traits until after birth. Some not until puberty. But your daughter..." He shakes his head. "She's special, Sage. Unprecedented."
The word echoes in my mind. Unprecedented.
Just like her survival was unprecedented. Just like her heartbeat is unprecedented.
What have I created? What kind of child am I bringing into this world?