Chapter 87 - Their Cursed

Calder

Although we hadn’t seen Jaime around for a minute, I still didn’t like Remi going about on her own. So Cullen and I decided that I would take her down to the clinic while he met with Zeus. It was probably best that he didn’t have Remi around when he was bound to get too riled up anyway. If he took her to the clinic, he would be wondering what Zeus wanted the whole time. Also, she seemed to be most upset when Cullen was angry, especially at her.

The weather was starting to turn as the late fall morphed into early winter. I decided to drive us over to the clinic instead of walking to save us from the wind. Werewolves were warmer than average humans, and we didn’t need as much insulation in normal circumstances. When the snow began to fall, a sweater would be more than sufficient to block out the cold. Remi seemed relaxed and cheery today, and it was a welcomed change from the past couple of days. I held her hand in her lap while we drove, gently running my thumb back and forth across her knuckles.

When we got inside, the receptionist recognized Remi and me right away. “Alpha Calder. Miss Remi. How are you both?” she asked.

“Great. And yourself?” Remi answered her with a sweet smile. That smile always made my heart melt, and I was sure it had a similar effect on others.

“Just peachy. Full Moon always revitalizes the body. Charles mentioned you would be coming in today. Just give me one moment,” she said, turning her attention to her computer. As I stood there with Remi waiting for the receptionist, it dawned on me that Cullen and I had never officially announced Remi as our mate to the pack. She had now been around for weeks with us, and those closest to us knew her, but very few people outside of the packhouse were aware of who she was. I would need to talk to Cullen about it later, and probably my mother. Now that I thought about it, it was a little odd that my mother hadn’t said anything about it since Remi’s arrival. She was ready for my father to retire and hand us the reins completely, and she seemed to love Remi from the moment she laid eyes on her.

“Alright, let’s take you back to a room,” the receptionist said as she stood from her desk. We followed her back through the hallways and into an examination room. She left us alone, telling us that Doctor Charles would be along shortly. Remi moved towards the bed and went to sit on it. Before she could jump up on it, I picked her up from behind, earning me a loud squeak. I set her on the bed, and she gave me an adorable frown.

“I can get up here myself,” she pouted.

“I know,” I said, smiling. I stood in between her legs as she sat on the bed. She wrapped her arms around my waist.

“Are you sure you don’t have work that needs to be done? I know you were a bit distracted that last couple of days because of me….” she fretted.

“No, baby. I am right where I want to be,” I told her. I reached up and tucked her hair behind her ear before leaning down to kiss her soft lips.

“Are we going to tell Gentry about Sammy’s note today?” she asked after a moment.

“We probably should. If Zeus asking to meet with us is any indication that he and Pip are on the mend, then Gentry will be less worried about Pip. Maybe some hope in finding his mate will turn his mood around,” I said. Remi nodded.

“I hope we can find her and convince them to talk. Gentry deserves to have his mate, and he was so happy before everything happened,” she said.

“We’ll find her, baby. Gentry is my best friend, and I don’t intend to let him down,” I promised her. Right then, there was a knock at the door, and Doctor Charles came into the room.

“Good afternoon, Alpha, Luna,” he greeted us. “Remi, you are looking well this morning.” She gave him a nod. “Your shift went well, then?”

I stepped to the side so he could speak to her. “Uh, yea. It was okay,” she said. It had not been ideal, but the potion had kicked it there at the end, and she was minimally sore today. After my first shift, I couldn’t get out of bed for two whole days with how sore my body was. Cullen and I had both held her last night, hoping that it would lessen the aftereffects she felt this morning. with enough contact from us

“Any residual soreness today?” he asked. He reached out and grabbed her hands, beginning to move her limbs around.

“Just a little but nothing too bad,” she said.

“Well, you must have one strong wolf. Most folks can barely move after their first shifts. Your mate over there was particularly whiny, if I recall,” he smirked at me. I scowled at him when I saw Remi suppressing a giggle.

Charles continued to give Remi a look, making sure there were no signs of injury or problems after her shift. Finally, he concluded she was good to go. “You look impeccable, young lady. You definitely have the Moon Goddess looking after you. You are fortunate not to have any aftereffects, I must say.”

“Maybe,” Remi said, smiling as her eyes connected to mine.

“I did hope to talk to you about the concerns you had last time we met,” he said. “Calder, would you mind waiting outside in the hall? I think Remi and I should speak privately for a moment.” My eyebrows knitted in confusion. Anything that concerned Remi concerned me. I looked down at Remi, who was looking down at her lap.

My eyes went back to Charles, who was looking at me with a calm expression. “Uh, sure,” I said. I leaned over, kissing Remi on top of her head before leaving the room. I stood in the hallway, staring blankly at the door. What could Charles want to talk about with Remi? Cullen had been with her the entire time when she was last here. I had half a mind to link him and see if he knew, but he was probably still speaking with Zeus, so that wasn’t a good idea.

Cullen

I sat in my office, scrolling through emails and sending quick replies where they were warranted. I wasn’t exactly thrilled to be meeting with Zeus instead of being with Remi right now. However, I was pleasantly surprised that she was seemingly perfect this morning. She put up no complaints about being sore or tired. She fared far better than we had after our first shift.

My office door opened, and I looked over to see Pip striding in. I narrowed my eyes at her. “Hi, Cully. How’s my girl doing?” she asked cheerily. Zeus walked into the room behind her, a little more hesitant to just stride into my office like Pip.

“Hello, Pip. Please come right in,” I said monotonously.

“Oh, sorry!” she said sweetly. I sighed.

“Why am I here?” I asked her.

“Well, I would have preferred Calder be here too, but….” she trailed off, looking over her shoulder at Zeus, who was standing only a few steps into the room. Pip turned back to look at me. She stood up a little taller. “You two need to talk. I will not live with two of my favorite people in the world always being hostile to each other. So, I am going to go over to Luna’s office for a few minutes, and you two are going to figure this out.” She waved her hands between us as she ordered us to reconcile. With that, she turned and breezed past Zeus, closing my office door behind her.

Zeus and I looked at each other. “She sure is bossy,” he said, trying to break the tension.

“I admire her natural confidence. It is not often she doubts herself,” I dug at him. He was quiet for a moment, holding my gaze. “So, seeing as she is no longer locked within her bedroom or crying, she must have forgiven you?”

“We’re working on it,” he answered. I nodded my head.

Zeus sighed, running his hand through his hair. “Look, she wants me to apologize to you and Calder….” I raised an eyebrow, waiting. I wasn’t going to make this easy for him and was curious how this would play out.

“Look, I’m a selfish asshole. I always have been. I realize now that it’s a problem, and I am going to be better for Amanda.”

“Hmmm.”

“What I did with Bea and Jaime was wrong. Both of them.”

“Hmmm.”

“Are you going to say anything?” he asked, sounding more annoyed now.

I eyed him carefully, not saying anything for a minute. “I just can’t decide if this is a charade to get Pip to forgive you or if this is genuine,” I thought.

“It’s not a charade,” he claimed.

“You have never been sorry for anything in your entire life. So why would you be now?” He gritted his teeth, not giving me an answer. “I find it hard to believe that you are here in my office to apologize to me after Calder and I made a fool out of you. Don’t think it hasn’t crossed my mind that you stood up that girl to get to me.” I stood up now, placing my hands on my desk. “I wouldn’t put it past you to hurt your own mate just because you know that I care for her. So, forgive me if I am not totally convinced she should not have rejected you before walking out of that packhouse Sunday morning.” He growled at that, closing the distance so that now the only thing between us was my desk.

“I would never use my mate as a pawn!”

“And does she know you threatened to fuck my mate hours after we arrived?”

“What?” Pip gasped from the doorway. Zeus’s face paled at her voice.

Remi

“So, I wanted to talk about your concerns about birth control,” Doctor Charles started. I nodded my head. “I don’t want to lie to you so I will be honest. When Gentry first asked for my help, he gave me a background check that Cullen had done on you. There were a few things that caught my interest.”

“Oh,” I said nervously.

“Remi, I want you to know, I pass no judgment on you or your past. Your situation is very unique, and I wouldn’t ever claim to put myself in your shoes. However, I do wonder if your concerns about becoming pregnant have to do with your previous pregnancy?” he asked.

I swallowed the lump that was forming in my throat. I could barely talk about this with my mates or Pip, and now I was getting ambushed here. “Remi, I asked Calder to step outside, so you didn’t feel the pressure of your mate’s emotions right now. I am here to help you in any way that I can, but in order to do that, I do need to know what happened previously.”

I took a steadying breath as I looked into Doctor Charles’ eyes. He had such a kind face and gentle smile; it made it a little easier to open up to him. Slowly, I told him everything. He listened patiently, waiting until I was finished to ask any questions. “Remi, would you like to have pups with your mates?” he asked softly.

That wasn’t an easy question to answer. In a perfect world, yes. I would love to give my mates a child as they both want. But this isn’t a perfect world, and I wasn’t able to bring my first child into this world. So when I didn’t answer, he tried another question, “Are you afraid that you would not be able to bring another child to term?” I nodded my head this time.

“If it were possible for you to give birth to a pup safely, would you want to?”

“Yes,” I answered quickly. There was no doubt in my mind that I would give Calder and Cullen a child if I could.

“Based on the things you have told me, I do not believe what happened was your fault. I am not sure how much you know about werewolves and reproduction, but more often than not, wolves cannot impregnate someone who is not their mate. Now, you are obviously a special case as your wolf was suppressed.” He paused for a moment, judging my reaction. Pip had told me a little about this. “There are a few tests I would like to run, but now that your wolf has emerged and you have shifted, I want to believe that this should no longer be a concern you need to have. So, if you would like, we can try and find you some answers. I am sure there has been some misguided pressure from the Alpha family regarding all of this, and I can imagine it might help things if you had some answers yourself.”

I nodded my head. “Thank you, Doctor Charles.” It felt like a weight was lifting off my shoulder as he spoke. There was a possibility of having a family with my mates. I could give them something they really want now that they have given me the world.

After Doctor Charles took a few vials of blood, he opened the examine room door to an irritated Calder. “I’m all finished. She is all yours. I will speak with you next week, Remi,” he said as he pushed passed Calder.

He covered the space between us in a few quick strides. “What was that about?” he asked seriously.

I gave him a warm smile. “He didn’t want you to get angry with him when I flinched at him drawing blood. Angry Alphas can distract good doctors.” I was glad Doctor Charles had kicked Calder out for that conversation. I was hopeful that there was a possibility for me to have children with Calder and Cullen but until I knew either way, I didn’t want to get their hopes up.