Chapter 232
CASSIE had been left alone by both the doctor and the nurse. Her cell phone buzzed, and she glanced at the screen. IVY.
Instead of answering the text message, she chose to ignore it for now. She was too wound up over the idea of being pregnant. She really didn’t think it was possible, but she couldn’t be one hundred percent sure.
TESSA, the nurse, returned with a needle to get blood work.
“So, I have some bad news.”
Uh-oh.
“What’s wrong?”
“We’re out of urine tests.” She gave a nervous laugh that showed how exhausted she was.
“That’s okay. I’m probably not pregnant anyway.” She wanted to believe that so much, but the flip-flopping of her stomach and the way her hands shook spoke otherwise.
“Well, Dr. LEVI says you need it, so we’re going to give you a blood one instead. Our lab is open for another hour.” She prepped CASSIE’s arm. “Those are better anyway. More accurate. And at the same time, we’ll test your iron and see if you have any viruses going.”
She watched TESSA get her blood in quiet panic. Her breathing pounded loud in her ears. She couldn’t be pregnant. She’d only had sex with TALEN that one night, and while it had been multiple times, it hadn’t even been a month yet.
Before that, she hadn’t been with her ex in at least six months. She’d been broken up with him for over a month before she went to AURORA. And even before that, he’d been ignoring all her attempts at being intimate. She’d been traveling, or he’d been traveling. When he was around, he didn’t want to do anything with her.
The bastard had been giving her excuses for not wanting to have sex for long months, saying he was tired or had to work late when all along he’d been with someone else. It just went to show CASSIE was bad at reading liars. He’d been lying to her for God knows how long.
“So, do you want me to wait?” she asked once TESSA was done.
“No.” TESSA sighed and let her shoulders fall. “We had a temp in last week who overbooked by twice the normal, and tonight we’ll be working late. Dr. LEVI said once he gets results, he’ll call you on your cell. Then we can schedule an appointment for the next day or two to figure out what’s wrong if nothing comes up on your blood.”
“And if something does show?” She didn’t voice the pregnancy possibility. “What if I’m anemic or something?”
“It can be treated. Don’t worry. Dr. LEVI will call you in a few hours and chat with you.”
She picked up her bag, put on her coat, and left the doctor’s office feeling more stressed than when she’d walked in. Her phone rang a second time. It was another text—from MASSIMO—letting her know he was in town and would meet with her soon.
Damn. She wasn’t in the mood to see him now, but she’d already agreed. She headed to GERRI’s building, wondering what could be wrong.
She passed by AURELIS’s bakery and stopped. The scent of honey buns made her stomach growl. She needed to grab some, or she might kill someone.
The bell dinged on the door as she walked in.
“Hi, VIOLET,” CASSIE smiled at AURELIS’s sister. She was at the bakery more and more since AURELIS got back with her ex, an ex nobody knew about until after they got back together.
“Hi, CASSIE.” VIOLET sighed as she wiped down the counter. “You just missed hell.”
CASSIE raised her brows and glanced around the empty bakery.
“Hell?”
VIOLET nodded and placed two honey buns on a porcelain plate and filled a cup with tea. “There had to have been like fifty people here just now, all wanting something sweet.” She came around the counter and put the plate on one of the tables. “Sit. You look dead on your feet. Is GERRI working you super hard?”
She sat and groaned. Where did that come from?
“No, not really. I’m actually headed to her office now. She’s not in, but I need to check her mail and set up for tomorrow.” She picked up a sticky, freshly baked bun with honey dripping from it, the dough so soft her fingers mushed it while she lifted it to her lips. “I’m supposed to meet someone there for dinner too, but I so wanted these.”
She groaned when she took the first bite, letting the sweet, warm, gooey dessert make her taste buds dance and filled her with joy. Who knew food could do this to a woman? And it wasn’t even chocolate.
VIOLET laughed and brushed a stray lock of dark hair behind her ear. “I would ask if you should be eating this before dinner, but clearly, you should.”
She sipped her tea and thought about canceling her dinner with MASSIMO, but he had gone out of his way to be nice to her. Even after she’d told him there was no chance for them, he’d never gotten fresh or tried to push her into an actual date. He told her he’d be her friend if she was open to that, and she was.
“I shouldn’t be eating these, but I can’t help myself,” she mumbled between bites. “They’re addictive.”
VIOLET shook her head with a grin. “You sound like some of the bear shifters that come in here desperate for a fix.”
She stopped the second honey bun mid-way to her mouth.
“A fix?”
“For honey. You know, bears and honey.” VIOLET giggled.
“If I could get you to deliver this to my house, I’d never leave my bed,” CASSIE told her honestly. She licked her fingers after the last bite of the second honey bun and gulped down the tea. “Okay, I gotta go. But you rock, and I will be back for more tomorrow.”
“I know,” VIOLET winked. “It’s why I’m making these in the evenings too. Just for you.”
“And here I thought my dependency on these wasn’t that obvious.” She gave an embarrassed giggle. Damn, was she that desperate for sweets?
She headed for the door, opened it, and stopped. The cold wind howled around her and made her face burn a little from the low temperature. She inhaled and sighed. Why did she enjoy the cold so much late? It made her sleepy and ready to put on her comfiest PJs and take a nap. She glanced over her shoulder at VIOLET and waved.
“Thank you!”
CASSIE burrowed her face into her thick woolen eternity scarf wrapped around her neck. She yanked out her mittens and put them on and was glad she’d worn her warmest boots. It was freezing.
She got in her car and drove the short distance to GERRI’s place.
When she got there, MASSIMO was already at the front of the building. She got out of the car and let him give her a kiss on her cheek.
“CASSANDRA, you look beautiful.” He spoke with an accent she still couldn’t place and smiled as he raked his gaze over her. He sniffed and came closer, the smile dying on his lips.
“CASSIE, how…how are you?”
She cleared her throat and shrugged. “I’m good. Let’s go upstairs so I can do this mail before we get some food. I’m starving.”
He laughed. “I’m sure. You look exhausted. Are you sure you’re up to dinner?”
She frowned but didn’t say anything. She must look like shit for him to be the second person to say that to her.
“I’m fine.”
They got in the elevator, and at the same time her cell phone started ringing. The call fell through due to bad service. They’d just gotten off on GERRI’s floor when it rang again.
“Hi,” she said, recognizing DR. LEVI’s office.
“Hi, CASSIE. We have your test results,” she heard MYRA’s voice tell her. “I hope you’re not too shocked to find out you’re pregnant.”
CASSIE’s throat ran dry. She cleared it twice but wasn’t sure what to say.
“Are you sure?”
“Oh, honey, we are very sure. Especially with how far along you are. Three months.”
“Wait, what?” She couldn’t be three months pregnant. She only had sex a month ago with TALEN, and before that, she had been getting herself off with battery-operated buddies for at least six months. “So how in the world could I be three months pregnant? I think you must have someone else’s test results. Those dates don’t add up.”
“Really?” MYRA sounded confused. “We can run them again and I’ll get back to you.”
“Thank you. That would be great.” She was pretty sure at this point there was no way they had her test results. They must have confused them with someone else’s.
She clicked off the phone and glanced up to catch MASSIMO staring at her with confusion.
“Everything okay?” he asked.
She nodded. “A mix up at the doctor’s office. They must have gotten someone else’s results.” She didn’t go into the actual diagnosis but saw understanding fill his eyes.
“CASSIE, you are definitely pregnant.” He said the words so softly she wondered how she heard him.
“How could you know?” Then she thought about his shifter hearing.
“Oh, you heard what she said?” She shook her head and tapped his arm. “They must have made a mistake.”
He grabbed her by her arms and met her gaze with his own solemn one.
“She’s not wrong. I’m telling you because I can scent it. You are having a baby.”
The floor fell from under her feet, and she wavered. He helped her stand and guided her to the closest wall.
“I can’t be three months pregnant. That’s impossible.”
“It’s not impossible.” He cupped her chin. “Not if it’s a shifter baby.”
“What?” She was too confused to figure out what he was saying. A weird buzzing started in her head. It grew louder, and her muscles started feeling weaker and weaker.
“They grow at a faster rate. A month can be three for a shifter child. So to your human brain, you are pregnant one month, but the baby developing inside you is growing at a faster rate.”
Oh. Oh, shit.
The door to her left opened, and she turned her face to see GERRI. Behind GERRI, TALEN followed. The fury in his gaze at seeing MASSIMO’s hands on her face turned her blood to ice. She didn
’t get a chance to say anything. The buzzing in her head blocked out everything else, pulling her out of reality and sending her into darkness.