Chapter 93 CARE
Adam's POV
“I swear this isn’t necessary.”
Kael didn’t slow his steps as we entered the physician’s wing. “It is more than necessary. What kind of goosebumps stays for over two days?”
I tugged my sleeves down even though they already covered my wrists. Everything covered me today, as Kael had insisted. Long sleeves, high collar, thick trousers… I looked like I was hiding from winter, not walking through a warm corridor lined with polished stone and herbs hanging from the ceiling. The goosebumps weren’t even cold anymore. They just… stayed, like rashes that aren't itchy.
“I told you,” I said, “it’s probably nothing. My body does weird things all the time.”
“That’s exactly why it’s not nothing,” Kael replied.
I wanted to argue, but the truth was sitting heavy in my chest. Two full days of goosebump bumps just resting all over my body. No fading. Even when I slept, even when Sara rubbed my arms and told me to stop worrying. I hated that part most; that I was worrying. I hated that Kael noticed everything because I feel like all I do is make him worry. And it's like my body kept giving him reasons to hover.
The physician looked up as we entered. Her smile was gentle, but her eyes sharpened the moment she took me in.
“Lie down,” she said.
“I can sit,” I replied.
Kael’s hand pressed lightly against my back. “Please, lie down.”
I did. The bed was cool through the sheets. When she reached for the hem of my shirt, I stiffened out of instinct.
“I have to check,” she said calmly.
“I know.”
She lifted the fabric, exposing my stomach. I turned my head away, staring at the wall. I hated being looked at like this. I focused on my breathing while she pressed her fingers against my skin, her touch professional and careful.
She hummed softly.
Kael leaned closer. “What is it?”
She straightened. “I can't find any immediate cause for the goosebumps. No fever. No inflammation. His heart rate is stable.”
I let out a breath I didn’t realize I’d been holding. “See?”
“But,” she continued, and my chest tightened again, “your pup is growing quite fast. You’ll be getting a more visible bump anytime soon.”
I snorted before I could stop myself. “I know. I’m getting fatter.”
Kael smiled instantly, like he’d been waiting for that opening. “You’re not getting fat. You’re still skinny. You’re not eating well enough.”
I rolled my eyes and turned to the physician. “Please tell him it’s not healthy to shove food down my throat every minute.”
She smiled. “It’s not healthy.”
“Yes,” I said, doing a small victory dance in my head. “Thank you.”
“But,” she added, “I can also see that you’re not getting food shoved down your throat every minute. Eat well, please. And listen to your Alpha.”
I groaned. “He should listen to me.”
Kael didn’t miss a beat. “I always listen to you.”
I opened my mouth to argue, then closed it. Because the annoying thing was… he does. He always listens to me. In fact, he listens too much; every sigh, every flinch, every small thing I wished he’d ignore.
“Time up,” the physician said, clapping her hands once. “You both get going.”
Kael reached for me immediately. Arms already moving like it was the most natural thing in the world to carry me.
“Nuh uh,” I said, pushing lightly against his chest. “I can walk.”
His brow furrowed. “Adam—”
“I can walk.”
A pause. Then he stepped back. “Fine.”
We walked out together, side by side. His pace matched mine without effort. That somehow made it worse. It's like he was always adjusting himself around me.
We barely made it down the corridor before we ran straight into Mira.
She rolled her eyes the moment she saw me, then straightened and bowed to Kael, her voice turning soft and overly sweet. “Alpha Kael. There’s an emergency that demands your attention.”
I hate the way she says his name with that too fake girly voice of hers. I've heard her talk normal when Kael is not present.
Kael’s hand came up to my face. His thumb brushed my cheek, his eyes full of apology before I even understood what he was apologizing for.
“Go inside,” he said quietly.
I nodded. “I’ll go see Sara.”
He hesitated, then nodded too. “I’ll come find you.”
I turned away, already sighing. The tension between us had been sitting there since the soup incident, heavy and unspoken. He wanted to talk. I knew that. I also want to apologize for snapping at him, he was just being protective of me and it was unreasonable for me to make him feel like a bad guy for that. I just don't know how to open the conversation and just apologize.
I wasn’t looking where I was going. My head was down, thoughts spinning the way they always did, when I bumped into someone hard enough to jolt my shoulder.
“Are your eyes going bad?” a man snapped. “Heard you’re weak and always sick. You can’t walk properly without your Alpha guardian?”
I looked up, stunned. I didn’t recognize him. Didn’t know his face or his rank. He was taller than me, broad, with a sneer already settled like it belonged there.
“Are you sad about something?” I said slowly. “Jeez. Just go the other way.”
His lips curled. “Do you need help getting back into your fancy chamber where you hide in shame all day?”
My heart started pounding. Not even out of fear, just disbelief ‘cause who is this guy? “Excuse me?”
“Go back to whatever hell hole you came out from,” he continued, voice rising. “Your presence here is ruining things. We can’t all suffer just because the Alpha wants to keep a sick doll in his inner chamber. You’re no trophy—”
“I’d love to see your tongue cut off when Alpha Kael hears of all the nonsense you just said to his mate.”
Sara’s voice sliced through the air, sharp enough to shut the man up.
I turned. She was walking toward us fast, eyes sharp, posture straight. The man turned to face her, clearly startled, but before he could say anything, she reached into her sleeve and flung a powdered substance straight into his face.
He screamed. Actually screamed!! And I loved the sound of it.
He clawed at his eyes and ran blindly down the corridor, slamming into the wall, cursing loudly as he disappeared.
I stared after him, then yelled, “Seems like your eyes are going bad!”
The sound that came out of me after that was laughter.
I turned back to Sara. “What was that?”
She shrugged. “Just spices for cooking. I borrowed from the kitchen earlier.”
I shook my head, chuckling. “Thank you.”
She looked at me for a long moment, then softened. “I was just making sure they know not to bully my son. Before this, you were a Prince. And you still are my Prince.”
Something in my chest cracked open.
I hugged her before I could think. Buried my face against her shoulder. She felt like warmth and something steady. Something I didn’t know I’d been craving.
Kael cared for me. I knew that. He’d punish the whole pack if anyone hurt me. But this… this was different. This was quiet. This was instinctive. This was the kind of care I’d watched Brian get growing up and never questioned why it wasn’t mine too.
Sara’s hand rubbed my back slowly. “Don’t let anyone talk down on you,” she said. “You’re worth more than this entire pack. And you’re my world, dear. You’re loved. I love you, son.”
The words slipped out before I could stop them. “I love you too… mom.”
I felt her breath hitch.
She hugged me tighter, shoulders shaking. “You just called me mom.”
I pulled back slightly, looking at her through the blur in my eyes. “Well you are my mother, aren’t you?”
She nodded, tears rolling freely now. “Yes. I am your mother. I am.”
And for the first time, even with my body doing things it shouldn’t, the fear quieted just a little.