We gathered in the library as the whole senior classroom was excited about the big day. Setekh and I kept to ourselves as we stood over by the windows, our bodies mirroring each other like magnets. In his hand, Setekh was looking over his speech as Valedictorian and I for one could not be more proud of him. His academic's were through the roof and he always got straight A's no matter the assignment. I stared at his face, his lips moving silently, his eyes reading over the words that were written in cursive black ink.
I touched his hand as he stopped and looked up at me, flashing that famous grin he was known for and how it made my heart stuttered every time I saw it. I wanted to kiss him for good luck. But my stomach had another thing in mind. My stomach twisted and lurched, the urge to vomit coming on strong as I excused myself and burst out the backdoor of the library as I ran down the hall to the boy's restroom. I nearly knocked down two of them as I headed for the handicap stall and dropped to my knees.
Ugh! Why did this happen to me? And why now? The question provoked another round of emptying my stomach until all I could come up with was dry heaves. I flushed the toilet and rest my back against the wall as I sat on the floor with my gown looking wrinkled. I closed my eyes and took a few deep breaths as I waited for the nausea to go away again. Five minutes in and suddenly the principal was getting all the seniors together to lineup outside the doors of the auditorium. I got to my feet and rinsed my mouth out with water before glancing at myself in the mirror and deciding that I looked fine while on the inside I was freaking out.
What is happening to me? Am I sick or something? As my stomach calmed down, I sensed that I was feeling a little bit better. I exited the restroom and found Setekh standing near the front of the line. I slid in next to him, playing it cool. My heart was pounding in my ears, my eyes nearly blinded by the harsh lights of camera's flashing everywhere. And then, the band began to play as the principal counted us off, reminding us to smile. Together, we walked down the aisle and took our seats along the front row.
After everyone had settled down, a half hour speech was given regarding this year's senior class. A speech about our hope for the future. A future that says we can do anything we set our minds to. In short, I really wasn't paying that much attention. I was counting my breaths and wondering when my next attack might happen. Two hundred and thirty breaths later, it was time for Setekh to give his speech. I quickly gave him a kiss on the cheek, touched his arm, as I told him to not be nervous.
As he stood in front of the podium, the spotlight shining down upon him, I could hear several whispers from some of the other female students including a few mature adult women in the audience. Their comments were flirtatious at best if not slightly irritating. I blocked them out as best I could, but clearly, I wasn't focusing hard enough because I was hearing everything. When Setekh had finished his speech, it was time for everyone to receive their diplomas. And once again, I counted the necessary breaths until my name was called.
"Bane Croft," said the announcement speaker.
The auditorium applauded me as I walked across the stage, shaking the hands of the Superintendent, the vice principal and even the principal himself. I thanked them all and had my picture taken with Setekh as stepped off to the side and away from the other students. My grip on his arm was strong, almost death-like as I sucked in another breath. Only this time it was a struggle.
"Bane. What is it? What's wrong?" He asked.
"You need to get me out of here," I managed to say. "Something's not right. I need to see Dr. Remus right away."
"Are you sick?"
He went to touch my forehead, but I wouldn't let him. "Setekh, please! Just take me to see the doctor. Now!"
* * * *
Waiting in the exam room was like waiting outside the principal's office to see if you got detention. Setekh paced around in front of me, his anxiety was through the roof. I reached for his hand, pulling him in close as I wrapped my arms around him and inhaled his scent. The warmth of his body was comforting to me most of all. But it was his touch that soothed my nerves and calmed my stress. Then came a knock at the door as Dr. Remus poked his head inside and stepped in, closing the door behind him.
"Alpha," he said, bowing at the waist. "What brings you guys in here today?"
"It's me, Dr. Remus," I said. "I can't quite explain it. But I can't stop throwing up."
His brow furrowed. "Alright, well, let's take a look at you."
The basic exam took only a few minutes and as it turned out, I was running a slight fever. But that still didn't explain the vomiting and my senses spiraling out of control. I lay down on the exam table as Dr. Remus lifted up my shirt and prodded around my stomach with a light touch. His expression remained motionless, but his eyes revealed something else. Something that he was curious about, but wasn't one hundred percent sure about the outcome. When he finished, he optioned to take some blood so he could run some tests to help rule out anything else that might be the problem. I agreed as Dr. Remus excused himself and left me alone with my Alpha husband.
"Setekh, talk to me. You've barely said a word since we got here."
Setekh stood over by the window, his arms folded across his chest. "I had a conversation with the Dr. just now and what he believes to have found is almost impossible beyond reasoning."
"A conversation? I didn't see you two speaking."
"It wasn't that kind of conversation, my love. We spoke telepathically."
"Oh. Well, what did you find out?"
Setekh bit his lip, his eyes looking worried. "Remus thinks that you might be pregnant."
I blinked not once, but twice as I let out a laugh. "Oh, that's a good one!"
"I'm being serious, Bane. And to make matters worse, I almost believe him."
"But that can't be. Males can't procreate. Only women can do that."
"Unless it's a miracle bestowed upon you by the Wolf Mother," Setekh said.
I couldn't believe it. My mind was spinning. And that's when Remus returned a few minutes later holding a syringe in one hand, and a vial in the other. He went to work instantly, sticking the tiny needle in my arm as he pulled back on the plunger. Seeing my blood flow out of me took a little while due to my tiny veins. Remus mentioned that it was like drilling for oil. But I just laughed and said, "At least you're getting something."
"How long before you can confirm the pregnancy, Dr. Remus?"
"The blood test will look for markers in Bane's DNA to help identify the possibility of male pregnancy. But we can always do an ultrasound just to make sure."
"Do it," Setekh replied.
Once my blood was drawn, I lay on my back and lifted up my shirt just slightly enough to expose my flat stomach. Dr. Remus went to work hooking up a machine as he applied a small amount of gel and smeared it around with what looked like a scanner of some sort. With his free hand still available, Remus skillfully typed away at the keyboard as my eyes darted around the room, looking at anything and everything except for the monitor that produced a black and white screen.
Unfortunately, curiosity got the best of me as I stared at the monitor and waited with bated breath to see if the rumors were true. I couldn't see anything at first, but then, a closer look revealed the outline of my stomach with a giant black hole in the center. Then Remus pointed at something in the middle of the screen.
"There. Can you see it now?" He said, pointing to a tiny peanut-sized orb.
"What is it?" I asked.
"That's your baby."
I rest my head against the pillow. "Oh, my God. I can't believe this is happening right now."
Setekh moved to be my side as he took my hand. "How is such a thing possible, Dr. Remus?"
"How is anything possible, Alpha? I mean, based on what we've seen here today, the miracle of your mate actually being pregnant tells me that this wasn't just by accident, but with the help of nature. After all, nature is the balance of power."
"And how long before the baby comes to term and I'm do?" I asked quietly.
When no responded, I stared at their faces, their eyes showing signs of uneasiness. And I knew at that moment that it wasn't going to be good for me.
"A female Ulfheobar struggles during the actual labor and can sometimes never be able to be revived in time. Most of the time the baby takes so much energy out of them, that they die on the operating table before the infant is finally brought into this world."
I must've looked green in the face as Setekh leaned in close and put our heads together. His voice speaking softly as he told me how much he loved me.
"What about a male Ulfheobar? Surely, I'm not the first of your kind to have to go through this," I said.
"Actually," Remus replied. "You are indeed the first male to ever become pregnant since your bloodline comes from a very powerful race of female warriors. But I promise you that we are going to do everything that we can to make sure you pull through this. You have my word as well as my blood oath."
A few minutes later, after a rather long discussion on how to handle this situation, we finally came to a conclusion and went out separate ways as Remus shook our hands and left the room. I sat up straight, lowering my shirt back down as Setekh helped me down off the table and walked silently behind me without saying a word, let alone acknowledge me until we were safely inside the foyer of our home. The front door slammed shut behind us as I flinched and made my way upstairs. As for the bed, it looked exactly the same as I had left it this morning as I took off my clothes and crawled under the safety of the covers.
Well...I guess that solves the mystery.
Author's Note: Hello everyone! I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Sorry, it took me so long. Anyway, Bane is now pregnant! Can you believe it? I think Setekh is going to make a great dad someday. :)