Chapter 23 - Mariella

903 50 5
                                    

I flipped yet another page of my book. A month has passed by and I'm stuck in this damn room again. Only this time it was not by choice. I'm not doing well at all. In fact, I feel like I've been run over by a bus, but on the bright side, my baby bump is already growing. I subconsciously put my hand over it and rubbed softly.

I heard the doorknob twist and my husband walked in. "Welcome back, handsome," I greeted and he gave me a warm smile. "How was your day?" I asked. Ever since he took on the responsibilities of a king, he hasn't seen me nearly as much as I'd like and it has been killing me.

"I should be asking you that," He came over to me and ran the back of his hand down my face to my neck. "I'm taking you to the hospital."

"Grey you don't have to-"

"You've been saying that for weeks and you've only gotten worse," His hand crept over my stomach. "I'm not taking no for an answer." He softly demanded. He hooked his hands underneath my body and carried me from the bed.

"Can I walk at least?" I laughed and laid my head on his chest. Secretly not wanting him to let go.

"Nope," He smirked and opened the door. He took me to the car and gently placed me in the passenger seat. I rested my head on the window and stared at the landscape surrounding the road. I felt a hand on my stomach and smiled because I already knew who it was. I put my hand on top of his and sighed with content. "Have you thought of any names?" He asked and I shook my head. I have been stumped with names so I just thought I'd do it at the birth.

"Have you?" I asked and I couldn't help but notice the smile that made its way onto his face.

"I was thinking that if it is a boy, we could name him Simon- I mean I don't know." He said as an adorable blush crept onto his cheeks. I've never seen him this uncertain before.

"Simon is a beautiful name, love." I reached over the console and gave him a small peck on his cheek. His face contorted into his signature smirk and his hand gripped my belly a little more.

"Since when do you start calling me love?" His velvety voice filled the car.

"Since now." I replied. He smiled at my comment and shook his head.

"You never cease to amaze." He whispered softly as I moved my thumb along the ridges of the back of his hand.

"Well, one might say that I'm full of surprises," I grinned. He chuckled softly but stopped when I coughed a little bit. "Grey, you don't have to worry about me all the time. I'm fine." He kept his eyes on the road and sighed.

"No." He simply said and I rolled my eyes. I understood why he was concerned but I don't want to be a burden. I want him to be happy and carefree. For once.

The rest of the ride remained silent until we pulled up to the hospital. Again, Grey carried me out of the car and the entire way to the doctor's office. Only letting me go so I could lay down on the paper covered bed and even then he had a tight grip on my hand. After a couple of minutes, the doctor walked in with a clipboard and gave me a warm smile. I returned it, but Grey squeezed my hand and glared at the doctor with blazing red eyes. I kissed his hand to calm him, but he only stopped when the doctor looked down at his clipboard.

"Good Morning, My King and Queen. I'm Dr. Jacob."

"Good Morning," I said and shook his hand. "Please, call me Mariella." I requested and he looked to Grey for approval.

"I'm sorry I can't do that, My Queen," Ugh, of course he said no. "It says here that you came for an ultrasound and check-up?" He asked and we nodded. "Alright then, What seems to be the issue?" I opened my mouth to speak but Grey was quick to intercept.

"She's pale, nauseous, dizzy, tired all the time, gets headaches, and she's starting to cough." Grey said all in one breath. The doctor gave me a glance before writing everything he said onto his clipboard. After he wrote it all, he did the necessary routine procedures with Grey's close supervision.

"Everything seems normal for her condition, but we will see more during the ultrasound," I went to stand up, but Grey lifted me again and took me all the way to the other room. Once I was situated, I rolled my shirt up over my stomach and held Grey's hand. The doctor plastered cold gel on my stomach with a wand and moved it around while staring at a screen. I didn't exactly know what to look for so I just focused on our hands and waited for him to finish. "Ah, there's your problem." He said and I immediately looked to the screen, but what I saw confused me.

"What is it? What's the problem?" Grey asked frantically and Jacob laughed.

"Congratulations, My King. You're having twins." He smiled. I looked at Grey and saw that all the color had drained from his face.

"Twins?" I exclaimed with a squeal. When Grey finally turned to me, his expression matched my own. I took his face in my hands and kissed him longingly. I pulled away to look at the screen again as Jacob took pictures of them and printed them out on a machine for us to see up close. "Grey, look! They're so tiny!" I said as I pointed at our two little babies. He laughed breathlessly and kissed my head.

"This is all great news, yes, but there is one concern," He said while wiping the gel off of my stomach. "She is still a human."

"What is wrong with that?" I asked, squeezing Grey's hand.

"Well when a human carries a vampiric child, the baby feeds on small amounts of her blood. It would have been fine if you were having just one baby, but when you carry multiple, they tend to take more than they should," He took off his gloves and put them in the trash. "The symptoms you have now will only get worse as they get bigger, and if you don't turn within the later months, the babies could end up taking too much." He bowed his head and left the room.

For a moment, I felt my world crumbling down, but I have to do this. I need to live long enough for Grey and I need to live long enough for my children. "My love-"

"I'll do it," I said with conviction. "I know it's going to be hard, but that's why I have you," I smiled sadly. He still didn't look very convinced, so I held the pictures up so we could both see them again. "You have made so many sacrifices for us, Greyson. I don't want to see you in any more pain." I kissed him softly on the lips. "Let me do this for us." He nodded hesitantly and I kissed him again.

"Just give me a few days to prepare," He said. "I'm gonna need to get you a lot of bodies," He rubbed his chin before looking at my terrified expression. "I was kidding!" He shouted in defense. He put his hand over his torso and laughed until he couldn't breathe. "You should have seen your face!" He said between laughs as his hands went to his eyes to wipe the tears that were starting to form.

How did I get so lucky?

A Vampire's BrideWhere stories live. Discover now