Unbelievable (Sequel to Unexpected)

Cleared

One week after the grocery store, they were back to being more like roommates than Mates. They did continue to be around each other. Neither wanted to feel like they did before with the minor separation and with the pup. Being so early in the pregnancy meant they should be near each other at all times, in every single way. Both had settled for just being near each other in whatever room they were in. On rare occasions, Charlotte would sit right next to Lana as she worked on her laptop, sometimes even resting her head on the other's shoulder. That's as far as it went though. Lana kept her promises, never pushing for anything, even if she sometimes wished she could touch the girl without her flinching. Especially when Charlotte was feeling sick due to the pregnancy and would spend more than five minutes in the bathroom. She wanted to take care of her Omega like she said she would; it was easier said than done.

Like now, she was fighting with herself on bothering Charlotte. The Omega was currently bent over the toilet, emptying out the light breakfast she'd had. Charlotte had kicked her out of the bathroom when she tried to hold her hair and rub her back. This is all my fault, Lana repeated to herself as she listened to her Omega. She hit her head against the wall as she could hear Charlotte retching and moaning in pain. I did this to her, she leaned back against the wall once she succeeded giving herself a headache.

"...Alpha." She wasn't sure if she'd heard correctly and waited to hear. She could feel the pain and aches dully in her mind through the bond. She could feel a tugging sensation as well. Only when she hears the plea again did she give in and go into the bathroom. She was met with Charlotte leaning back against the tub, holding her stomach as she whimpered. Without a second thought, Lana was kneeling next to her Omega. Gently, she pulled the Omega onto her lap and cradled her head against her chest. She could easily smell the sick coming from the toilet and flushed it, shutting her eyes as she did. Charlotte continued to whimper in her arms and clung to her shirt; her fingers almost felt like claws as they held on.

"Shh Charlotte, I'm here." She kept one arm loosely around the girl's waist, the other smoothed down her hair and trailed down her shoulder.  "I got you. I'm here." She cooed as she gently rocked them. Charlotte's pain throbbed through the bond and she couldn't think of anything to do but keep her as close as possible. Charlotte let herself be cradled. She clutched to her Alpha like she was the only thing keeping her from being sick again. It wouldn't be too far off. The Alpha's scent was doing amazingly as she took deep breaths, trying to get as much of it as she could.

Charlotte took a few more deep breaths before opening her mouth to speak. It took a few tries. "I hate this." She whispered with a strained voice. Her throat was raw and sore, her neck hurt from choking, her stomach and chest hurt from heaving. She was in so much overall pain she wanted this to be done with then and there. She hadn't expected it to be this bad; sure she'd heard stories and seen pregnant Omegas and Betas before. But she didn't think morning sickness or whatever this was would be this bad. As she was about to speak again, her stomach clenched hard and only a pained gasp and moan came out.

Lana didn't know what to do. This was all her fault. If she'd been careful that night this wouldn't be happening to Charlotte. She'd have been able to be in school already, she could have friends and be out with whoever. "I'm sorry." Lana pressed her face into Charlotte's hair. "I'm so sorry I did this to you. We can go to the doctor and find out what's wrong. Just know I'm so, so sorry." She couldn't help getting choked up. Charlotte was calming down but it did nothing to comfort her.

"N-not your f-fault." Everything hurt. It was almost worse to not think about it than it was to. This felt worse than Charlotte's presentation. Then, it had felt like her insides were twisting and tying themselves together. She had felt too hot and like everything was throbbing. She almost wished for that. Now, it felt like everything was only getting tighter and it wasn't a throbbing ache. It was like she'd been cut open. Everything was cold, not hot, and she couldn't get warm. Only Lana's body heat  and scent was what was keeping her from going into shock. She was sure of that. But she couldn't let Lana blame herself. "Not your fault." This time she tried to sound more insistent; even though she really did want to blame Lana. "And no doctor. Please, d-don't take me to one." Doctors were one of her least favorite things. Sure, they were suppose to help. But did they ever really?

"Charlotte, I've got to. You're in a lot of pain and this isn't helping either of you." Charlotte felt another spike of pain and dug her nails into Lana's shirt. She shook her head and pressed her face against Lana's throat. If she opened her mouth, she could easily bite down- which she kind of wanted to do. "Baby girl, please." Lana was pleading now. She couldn't stand seeing her Omega like this and could only guess what is was doing to the pup. She needed to make sure they were both okay before anything else.

"Say that again." Charlotte was speaking through clenched teeth. Her eyes were shut tight and hands almost hurting Lana.

"Say wha-."

"Call me that again. Please." How Charlotte said it tore into Lana. She didn't understand why it'd help, other than it would comfort the girl.

"Okay baby girl, whatever you want." She pressed her lips against Charlotte's head and rubbed at her arms. The girl felt so cold in her arm. "I'll take care of you baby, okay? Just tell me what to do, sweetheart." It felt ridiculous saying those names. She never had before but she'd do anything to distract Charlotte from the pain.

Charlotte had nuzzled her way to press her mouth again Lana's neck again. When she spoke, Lana could feel her lips moving against her skin. "Talk to me. Call me those again and don't let go. Please don't let go." She was near babbling as the pain seemed to be lessening. Lana did as she was told and continued rubbing her arms and back. She said every pet name she could think of as she rocked Charlotte. The Omega's groans of pain turned into little whimpers as it seemed to be helping. She also noticed how Charlotte was scenting her; the Omega was getting as close as she could without actually biting her. "I'm sorry." Charlotte's only response was a low growl. Lana could feel Charlotte's frustration in the back of her mind. Instead of pressing further, she kissed Charlotte's cheek gently. The Omega seemed to melt into the touch with a sigh.

A thought came to Lana and she lifted her head and, without moving Charlotte, brushed aside the girl's hair. She looked at the exposed pale skin and bit back a gasp. Charlotte's neck was bright red and obviously agitated. The Mark. Lana held back the need to touch the skin as she examined the mark. Where she had bitten months ago was inflamed and looked near infection; this was the cause of everything. Lana sighed heavily and leaned her head back against the wall. She'd heard of this happening before. It was rare, but happened during rejection. Whether either party was knowingly rejecting it, the bond mark would become infected and be extremely painful. To who was rejecting it.

Before, they'd both been rejecting it. Neither one of them had wanted to be a part of the bond or mating and suffered for it. Lana had been sick and Charlotte near immobile. Though that was painful and both agreed to not go through it again, they hadn't been together like they should've been. Lana could say she wasn't rejecting the bond in any way; whether for the pup or both of them in all honesty. She hadn't been too sure of Charlotte and from what she could sense through the bond, she was still distant. It hit the Alpha harder than she thought it would. Her Omega was rejecting her regardless of the pregnancy or their agreement. Charlotte, the girl she'd mated and bonded, didn't want her.

It angered Lana.

But she held it in fear of scaring Charlotte. She looked down to the Omega's face and back to her neck. With a hesitant hand, she brushed her fingers over the skin. Charlotte immediately froze and mouth opened in an inaudible scream. Her fingernails now dug into Lana's skin. The physical pain was nothing near realizing her mate was rejecting her. In the back of her mind, Lana wondered what this was doing to the pup. Their pup. Baby. Theirs and Charlotte still didn't want it.

She couldn't blame her by any means but it didn't stop the anger.

"We're going to the hospital." She growled out and lifted Charlotte with perfect ease. Charlotte looked like she was going to argue but quieted with a look from the Alpha. This wasn't the time to argue with Lana.