Apprehended Ch. 23

"Did you drink water?" they both asked at the same time.

They looked at each other, realizing that they were more alike than they imagined.

"Good," I said. "Now, we're getting somewhere. That's the first thing you both said that didn't involve jabbing at each other with verbal blows. And yes, I drank water. I'll drink more to placate the both of you if you would kindly ease up on the testosterone." I sighed deeply. "Tony, why don't you head on into the cabin. You can get settled and we can discuss where the elders stand in the morning." I looked at Ethan. "And you will show him to his cabin. Calmly and politely; helping him with his bags if he has any."

I could tell that Ethan attempted to hide a smirk, but failed. "Aye, my Luna. But I will not leave you alone. Gavin will stay with you until I return."

As Ethan rose to his full height, he passed me and planted a kiss across my temple before heading to the door. Tony followed, walking over to me to whisper, "you gotta teach me how you did that," before heading out.

I watched the two of them exit silently, the snow piling high and softly beyond the cabin door. It absorbed the sound of their footfalls, carrying the heaviness of their burdens on the wind and up into the snow-stormed sky.

When the door closed firmly behind them, I sagged a little and headed into the kitchen to grab a bottle of water and a pain reliever for the pounding that took residence in my skull.

It did little to ease the ache.

But the silence helped.

I guess it truly was golden.

***

I barely slept.

It seemed my hormones were either rendering me exhausted or with insomnia. I glanced over to the empty side of the bed. Ethan was already awake, no doubt either downstairs or already out doing...well...whatever he did.

I got up and made my way into the bathroom to brush my teeth, use the loo and shower. Once finished, I got dressed in one of Ethan's pull-overs and a pair of baggy sweats. I knotted my wet hair into a bun and went downstairs.

Only to freeze and swallow loudly as various shades of shifter eyes landed on me.

Shit.

I didn't recognize a few. The others were all part of Ethan's clan. Tony was in the kitchen, eating and watching.

Ethan rose from the recliner and offered me his hand. "My Luna. Come. I would like you to meet the elders."

Oh man.

I was so not prepared for this.

I shuffled into the living room slowly and carefully, making a mental note not to trip or do anything that would make me look clumsy and unsteady. Thankfully, I grabbed Ethan's hand without a hitch and he pulled me into his body to wrap an arm around my waist.

I glanced at my clothing of choice. Had I known there would be company, I would have chosen a more appropriate, less frumpy outfit.

"Elders," said Ethan with a warm smile. "This is My Luna."

They assessed me, their eyes scanning over my entire body as if I were a piece of meat. It was difficult to focus on only one. They were...odd. Not necessarily ethereal like the members of Ethan's clan. Fuck, not even like Ethan himself.

There was something...inhuman about them. Creepy. A bit eerie.

An older woman rose with pure white hair and eyes. Her skin was dark and glimmered oddly in the light of the fire raging in the fireplace. "A human mate," she said, clucking her tongue. "How very interesting, Dune. I never expected you to mate a human."

Ethan replied calmly. "Yeah, well, I can't control my instinctual need for my mate. Shifter or not."

"Indeed," said another elder. He rose, looking every bit authoritarian as he said, "I bid you good morning, Sol Luna. I am Aquarius. And this," he said, gesturing to the dark-skinned woman, "Is Athena."

Huh.

Interesting names. Just as odd as they were.

I inclined my head politely, feeling out of my element. "Nice to meet you."

There was a collective chuckle; one that made me feel a bit inferior. "Her voice is quite melodic," said Aquarius. "Like a bird."

Another male chimed in. "She is a peculiar female. Full of...vitality."

Once more, all eyes zeroed in on me, making me feel extremely uncomfortable. During which, there was a moment of tense silence. Thankfully, Aquarius gestured for Athena to sit down once more and followed suite, causing a generalized shift in focus.

It was like Edwin's funeral; being surrounded by unfamiliars with the ability to murder me in mere seconds.

I swallowed hard.

Ethan moved to sit down on the recliner and pulled me on top of his wide lap, settling me before the elders continued to speak. Having him close to me eased me a little. But it didn't completely remove the eeriness of the shifters.

"There will be a tribunal," a male with long, blonde hair said. His voice was so deep, it reverberated.

"When?" asked Ethan. He kept a hand on the small of my back, rubbing soft circles with his thumb.

"Whenever she wakes. We cannot implement judicial authority without the wolf in question," replied the blonde male.

Ethan nodded tightly. "Alright. Where?"

"Here," said Aquarius. "Amongst the members of her clan and before her Alpha."

"You will contact us immediately when she rises," said Athena. "Her crimes are most rancorous. Against an Alpha no less."

Ethan's brows furrowed. "Yes, well, I am still responsible for her."

"Not when a wolf strays from the law. She is no longer your ward," said the blond male. "She is a criminal."

Ethan nodded again. "So I take it we're done here?"

All at once, the elders rose. "Call upon us the minute she wakes," said Athena. "We won't be too far."

With that said, they slowly filed out, bidding their goodbyes and grumbled farewells. Ethan left me on the recliner as he escorted them off the property, coming back inside once they were gone.

"Interesting people," Tony said, nursing a cup of coffee.

Ethan stalked into the living room with hands on his hips. "Yeah, well, they aren't people, Tony."

"Oh, believe me, I know," he said.

I lifted my legs and tucked them into my body, wrapping my arms around myself. "They're a bit weird."

Tony snorted. "Agreed, darlin.'"

"Don't call her that," said Ethan, heading into the kitchen to grab his own cup of coffee. "Remind me why you're still here?"

Tony smiled. "And miss this? I'm the sheriff. I needed to see this through. I was also hoping they didn't stay too long. People are beginnin' to ask questions."

"Rodina isn't awake. There's no telling how long it'll be. I can't really force them to leave until this is taken care of."

"How is she?" I cut in.

They stared at me. "Doc says she's in a coma," said Ethan.

I recoiled. "What?"

He nodded and took a sip of coffee. "I've been checking in on her daily. Baldridge has been keeping a close eye. She's being monitored. Though it is unsure how long it will last."

I thought about that, feeling a little queasy. "Does the Doc know what caused it?"

Ethan rested against the kitchen counter. "Her injuries were rather extensive. Though Beta and I weren't aiming to kill, enough damage was done. She was in pretty rough shape. But her healing progressed quickly. Which is normal for a wolf. However, we're still uncertain why she is comatose. We're only speculating that it could be due to a stroke of some sort."

My eyes widened in horror. "Stroke? How...why..."

Ethan hesitated, noticing my reaction to the news. He hadn't told me any of this before. "How about I feed you, ma cherie? We can discuss this later."

I knew what he was doing. He was attempting to change the subject.

I shook my head, unwilling to let it go. "Ethan. Please tell me. Will she be alright?"

He sighed heavily and considered it. "We're not sure," he mumbled, taking another sip.

I considered that. Truly considered it. The implications. The possibility that Dina could die over...something that clearly wasn't worth a life.

It was almost too much to bear.

I belched and put a shaky hand to my mouth as I inadvertently visualized Dina on a gurney, pasty and gleaming with a sheen of sweat.

Lifeless.

Unmoving.

A breathing corpse.

Tony waved a hand in my general direction. "She's going to puke, Dune."

"Shit." Ethan tossed the coffee into the sink along with the mug, causing it to shatter loudly as he ran to me and scooped me up. He headed into the bathroom so quickly, I barely registered the distance. I was grateful.

The toilet had never looked so appealing.

He lifted the lid and sat down with me on his lap. Thankfully, I made it; the vomit expunging where it should rather than Ethan's clothing. Or the floor.

Or possibly the couch or recliner.

When I finished, I felt a little better.

Ethan flushed and brushed tendrils of sweaty hair away from my face. "You okay?"

I nodded. "Yeah."

He reached for the lower cabinet and grabbed a towel to clean my face. "Let's get your nausea pills."

I didn't argue.

Ethan rose with me in his arms and settled me near the sink so I could wash my face and brush my teeth. When I was done, I headed back into the living room and headed for the kitchen, where Ethan already had my pills available with a glass of water.

I swallowed them in bulk and polished off the water. Tony took the empty glass and washed it in the sink, picking up the small shards of glass that remained from Ethan's shattered mug.

"I'm sorry about that," I said to them both.

They turned to stare.

"You have nothing to apologize for," they said in unison.

I glanced between the two.

"You have to stop doing that," Ethan gritted out.

"Me?" replied Tony. "You're the one who copies me. I am, after all, the Sheriff."

"And I am an Alpha. What's your point?"

"Are we going to start measuring dicks now too?"

Ethan smiled widely, revealing his fangs. "We all know mine is bigger."

Tony snorted. "Sure. Right."

"Glad we agree on something," Ethan shot back.

"You realize that I was being sarcastic?" said Tony.

"Tell that to your mother. She knows how big I am."

I swear, I gaped, my eyes going back and forth between them. They were worse than a bunch of hormonal, high school teenaged boys. I was especially shocked by Ethan, who only spoke that way to Gavin. I wasn't sure if this was them at their most civilized towards each other, but it beat the consistent arguing. I wasn't going to complain.

"Yeah, well I fucked your sister," added Tony.

"I don't have a sister," said Ethan dryly.

"If you did, I would've fucked her too, you bastard."

I shook my head and turned to leave them be.

Ethan stopped me. "Hey. Put on some shoes and your coat. We're going to see Baldridge in his office."

Right. I forgot about that. "Alright. Gimme a few minutes."

I heard them continue to insult each other as I left.

Which was quite funny.

***

I sat impatiently in the waiting room with Ethan beside me.

The office was small, with a few chairs to the right. The walls were a clean, crisp white with linoleum floors. It smelled of antiseptic; reminding me of hospitals. A short, dark-haired woman sat behind an oval, oak desk to the left, where she answered the telephone in hushed tones.

No one else was waiting.

"Does he see human patients too?" I whispered to Ethan.

He leaned in, his thick hair falling off his shoulder. "Here, yes. This is his practice away from the clan."

"Oh." I took another look at the receptionist. "Is she..."

"Human?" he finished.

I nodded.

"Yes."

That made sense. When we arrived, she noticed Ethan and all but choked on her own tongue. He truly was a sight to behold. Seeing him for the first time always elicited attention.

"Annie?"

I glanced up and noticed a nurse enter, carrying a clip board and pen. She wore blue scrubs, with dirty blonde hair and stunning green eyes.

"Yes?"

She smiled...then shifted her gaze to Ethan. "Oh," she muttered, noticing him. Her face went red and she looked away, tucking hair behind her ear. It took her a few seconds to compose herself. She cleared her throat and focused on me pointedly. "We're ready for you."

I rose and Ethan followed, dwarfing the small space with his powerful size.

Her head went up as she tracked his movement...and his towering height. She swallowed loudly. "Will you be joining us?" she asked.

Ethan smiled, making it a point to keep his fangs hidden. "Of course. She is my mate."

The nurses eyes widened in astonishment. Ethan's words were very different. I too had difficulty adjusting to his terminology. Clearly, she was having the same problem. "Oh...ahhhh...alright...sure." She blinked a few times and straightened, pulling herself together once more. "Please, follow me."

We followed along in silence. I did my best to hide a smile. I always found it quite interesting observing female reactions around Ethan. Ethan always made it a point to ignore it; either due to annoyance or blatant dismissiveness, I wasn't quite sure.

The nurse directed us through a narrow hallway that branched off into different examination rooms. Ours was the last to the left. It was cold, with an examination table, a small desk littered with papers and a telephone. Lastly, there was a sink, a red contamination bin, glove box and two chairs.

"Ms. Bell, please have a seat on the exam table." She moved to the sink and opened a cabinet above, grabbing a plastic bag. "This is your gown. Please put it on. When you're done, we can check your weight, blood pressure and pulse."

I took the gown with shaky fingers. "Thank you."

She inclined her head and shifted to Ethan. "I don't believe I caught your name."

Ethan offered her another dazzling smile, this time, revealing his dimples.

I swear, her eyes went even wider and she hitched in a breath.

"Ethan," he said quietly.

She smiled, indicating the chair behind him. "You can have a seat here, Ethan."

With that said, she flourished out of the room and closed the door on her way out.

Ethan took a seat in the chair, which was two sizes too small for his frame. "Human females are predictable," he muttered.

I peeled off my coat. "I'm human," I said.

He shrugged, resting a thick arm on the armchair. "You're my mate. The sole exception."

I took off my hoodie next, followed by my sweats.

Ethan reached out and wiggled his long fingers. "Give me the gown. I'll open it. It's cold in here."

I handed it over. He ripped it open easily and gave it back, the material a little scratchy in my palm. I unfolded it, messing with the ties and trying to figure out how to put it on. Ethan got up and assisted, tying it loosely in the front.

"Should I take off my bra?" I asked.

"It's not necessary. The Doc is going to be focused on your stomach. Let's keep it that way."

"Alright."

He leaned in and invaded my space, wrapping his hands around my waist to lift me onto the examination table. Once I was settled, he asked, "are you cold?"

I shivered. "A little. This gown is thin."

He smiled and took off his black, button-down sweater to wrap around my shoulders. "Better, love?"

I huddled into it. It smelled so good. Like him. "Yes. Thank you."

He kissed my forehead just as the nurse returned, staring between us as if she didn't expect Ethan's PDA.

Annnnnddddd cue the throat clearing once again.

"Are you ready?" she asked, running a hand along the length of her scrubs.

Ethan winked at me and stepped away to take his seat, the chair moaning when his weight registered.

"Yes. Where do you want me?" I asked.

"Let's get you weighed in the adjacent room. We'll take your blood pressure in there as well."

I glanced at Ethan. He nodded once.

"Alright."

Ethan made a move to get up and help me off the table but I told him it he didn't need to. It took a few minutes, but when we were done, we headed back into the room and Ethan helped me get right back onto the examination table.

"The Doctor will be here within a moment," she said, after typing a few things on the computer.

"Thank you," Ethan said.

She smiled warmly-mostly at Ethan-and left once more.

"How was your pressure?" Ethan asked. "Still low?"

"She didn't tell me."

"I'll ask Baldridge when he arrives."

Speaking of the Doc, he entered with a smile, wearing the typical white jacket. Adorned with a lanyard housing his identification. "Luna. Alpha." He inclined his head at Ethan, then took a seat at the computer desk; accessing files and going through a few things before getting started.

"Her pressure," Ethan said, breaking the silence. "How is it?"

Baldridge kept his eyes on the screen. "Lower than I'd like it to be. Her pulse is fine."

"What can we do?" asked Ethan.

"I would suggest more fluids. Water. I'm going to give some B12 to assist. I also suggest eating foods with a little more salt."

That placated Ethan. "Alright."

There was a brief moment of silence before things picked up again.

"Okay," said Baldridge rising from his chair. He moved to the back of the examination table and pulled out a medium-sized machine; fully equipped with speakers, a small screen and a...

"What is that?" I asked, pointing.

The Doc smiled and settled the machine beside me. He pulled over his chair and took a seat, getting the machine started. "That, my dear, is a transducer." He pulled it from its sheath and cleaned it with an alcohol wipe. "Alpha," he said, rising to get some sort of gel in a large plastic bottle. "Can you move your mate up and have her lay down?"

Ethan was on it, having me settled within a few seconds.

"Her gown," the Doc continued. "Open it, please."

Ethan followed, making it a point to shield my breasts as my stomach was exposed.

Cold air ticked my skin and Ethan leaned in a little closer, offering whatever warmth he could. I was grateful. And nervous as hell.

"Alright," said Baldridge, starting up the machine. "The lights Alpha. If you would, please."

Ethan plunged us into darkness as the machine stirred to life, taking a few moments to start up. "This is going to be a bit cold," he said, reaching over to squeeze the blue gel onto my stomach.

I jerked upon contact.

Ethan noticed and took his spot beside me, holding my hand and engulfing it in his warmth. Which was just what I needed. It steadied me.

Then the Doc proceeded to smudge it over my flesh, pressing the transducer-wand-looking-thingy- over my belly. He used his free hand to type on the keyboard in front of the small screen. "Let's see," he mumbled, moving the wand around.

I waited quietly, occasionally tilting my head to the left to get a gander.

"Ah," he said with finality. "Here we are." He turned the screen for Ethan and I; a blurry, black and white image filling the entire surface area.

Ethan leaned in to get a clearer look.

"If you focus here," said Baldridge, pointing to what looked like a kidney bean, "this is the young."

I squinted.

"Beautiful," said Ethan, a smile erupting on his face.

Indeed it was.

Though it was nothing more than a small, discernable shape, it was the product of Ethan and I. A life growing and thriving within me.

It was very enlightening.

And difficult to hold back the tears as I watched the little shape amongst the mass of blurry pixels.

Ethan ran his thumb underneath my eyes to rid them of moisture and pressed a tender kiss to my lips before refocusing on the screen. "Can we hear the heartbeat?"

"Oh, yes, of course," said Baldridge. He pressed a button and...

The small room erupted in a cascade of sound.

Thwump a thwump a thwump a.

It almost sounded like a little drum; constant and steady.

Ethan laughed at the sound, the joy of hearing our baby's heartbeat evident in his voice. "Precious," he said. "And perfect."

We listened to the strong beats for as long as we could, the sound offering comfort. And a happiness that was so contagious, even the Doc was smiling.