Chapter 96

Nurse Irene eyed me like she wanted to dissect me, look inside, and see what made me tick. I cowered under her intense focus.

Until Nancy stepped between us. “We were speaking in hypotheticals only. This girl is not old enough to have a wolf, let alone manifest any abilities.”

“A strange thing to be talking about without purpose,” Nurse Irene said.

“Young people are curious,” Nancy said.

Nurse Irene hummed. “Yes, I suppose that’s true.”

Nancy looked back at me. “Nurse Irene researches wolf abilities. She’s our resident expert here at the hospital.”

I was sure Nancy meant her words as a warning, but I saw an opportunity. If Nurse Irene was so knowledgeable, than she would have direct answers about what would happen to me if the truth of my powers was discovered.

“If you found someone that really did have the projection ability, what would you do?” I asked.

“They would need to be immediately examined, of course. Samples would need to be taken, experiments made. It’s such a rare phenomenon that it would be our due diligence to learn as much as we could before the official researchers took over.”

“Official researchers?” I asked.

Nancy frowned. “People with such rare abilities gain the attention of the Alpha King himself. He has a committee of officially-appointed researchers to investigate such occurrences.”

“The person with the abilities would be sent into the heart of King City to the research facility,” Nurse Irene said, a hint of annoyance in her voice.

I’d be sent to a research facility? “How long would they stay there?”

Nurse Irene looked at me, confused. “For the rest of their lives, obviously.”

The world around me slammed to a stop.

“It might be somewhat unpleasant. Since the King’s officials aren’t bound to the same rules as us here in the hospital, the researchers there are allowed to collect more… painful samples. And then, of course, children would be expected and then housed at the facility.”

My stomach dropped. They’d take my baby?

“It would be a great honor, of course, to dedicate their lives to the furthering of science and helping the King,” Nurse Irene said.

“Yes,” Nancy said, smile tight. “It’s a shame then that we don’t actually know anyone with this ability, since as I mentioned, Cynthia was only speaking in hypotheticals.”

“Yes, that is a pity.” Nurse Irene’s eyes slid back to me, assessing.

I tried to mimic Asher and hide my true emotions behind a mask. But the fear rattling in my chest was so strong, I struggled to conceal it.

“That was a riveting discussion. Thank you for the information, Nurse Irene,” Nancy said, and motioned to me. “But if you don’t mind, we must continue our appointment.”

“Of course,” Nurse Irene said, not taking her gaze off me, even as she back to the door.

Long after she was gone, I still felt the stab of her piercing eyes.

“Hypothetically,” Nancy said, quietly. “If someone had that ability, they would want to be very careful.”

I nodded, understanding and afraid.

Asher noticed later that something was off with me, when he was driving me to the clothing store.

The new coach had emailed the cheerleading squad earlier in the day, alerting us that we would need to wear swimsuits to the next practice. My old swimsuit didn’t fit my changing body shape.

When I had mentioned this to Asher, he’d insisted on driving me.

Now, we sat in his car, with him side-eyeing me at a red light.

“You said the checkup went well,” Asher said. “That you and the baby are both okay.”

“We are.”

“Then why are your hands shaking?”

I clasped my hands tightly together on my lap. I hadn’t even noticed.

I wished I could tell him about my ability. He always had a way of making me feel better about everything. But, especially now, the more people who knew, the more dangerous it would be for me and my baby.

I’d do anything to stay out of that research facility.

Yet I couldn’t stay silent with Asher. He’d never let me slide without an explanation.

“Nancy told me about some things that could go wrong,” I said, not a total lie. “It was… scary.”

Asher’s hands tightened on the steering wheel, knuckles whitening. “Next time, we go together.”

There were a lot of reasons I hadn’t wanted Asher at my appointment this time: the secrets of my wolf and my projection ability, not to mention…

“People might get the wrong idea again,” I said. “Like Coach, they might think you’re the father.”

“Who cares what they think?” Asher said, all cool confidence.

His unshakable self-assurance gave me strength, and I was able to press my greater fears to the back of my mind.

I couldn’t change the past, but… I’d be more careful in the future. If possible, I’d never use my powers again.

Asher followed me into the clothing store. After collecting a few different swimsuits of sizes and shapes, I headed for the changing room. Asher waited in a chair just outside of it.

Part of his insistence to drive me included that I model each swimsuit for him.

“I hate the idea of that creep seeing you in so little,” Asher had said. “I want to see for myself that you are properly covered.”

I hadn’t minded when I had agreed. Asher could likely see more angles than me, and would be able to tell me if the swimsuit revealed too much of my growing belly.

I cared more now, as I changed into the first swimsuit, a modest black one-piece. This one, compared to all the rest in my pile, would hide my stomach the best. However, looking in the mirror, each new pound mocked me.

Did I look… fat?

What would Asher think?

Asher didn’t want me romantically, but the sexual chemistry between us was real. I knew he’d never act on it, but I wanted him to feel it.

Would he still find me attractive like this?

“Everything okay in there?” Asher asked from outside the changing room door.

I sighed. If I refused to come out, Asher would only worry more.

“Don’t laugh,” I called out in warning, and flipped open the lock. I stepped out of the changing room, bracing my fragile heart for the worst.

Asher’s gaze slowly lowered down the length of my body, then dragged back up, snagging on my exposed hips and then at my breasts.

He held himself carefully still, his body tense. A muscle in his jaw ticked. His eyes were ablaze.

“Spin,” he said, voice rough, and I obeyed, turning in a circle.

He rubbed his hand along his jaw.

“Good?” I asked, confidence rising at the sight of such unbridled heat in his gaze.

He licked his lips. “Good.”

Smiling to myself, I returned into the changing room. I had a few more one-pieces to try, but if this one worked, then I didn’t really need to try those ones on. Instead, I eyed the bikini I had secretly snagged while Asher wasn’t looking.

If he reacted so well to the one-piece, I wondered how he would handle the bikini.

Feeling mischievous, I slid out of the one-piece and slipped on the slim bottoms. Then I pulled on the barely-there top. Two triangles covered about half of my breasts, with the rest spilling out seductively.

My underwear covered more than this swimsuit. I’d never wear it in public, but for Asher…

Before I could lose my nerve, I opened the door and stepped out of the changing room.