Mate to the Mated

House Hunting

I feel a small amount of stress posting anything after everything that has happened in my life over the course of the past month. So much has changed, yet, I don't want drama to affect one of my favorite pastimes. I have too many feelings towards the somewhat awkward situation that I've been in for me to trust myself with a proper explanation. Those who were involved, those who took sides, and those who watched the petty drama, you will all have your own opinions. In some sense, I feel like I've been lied to and manipulated into an image of a person that I am not, and such a loss of the respect I had perceived to have has pulled the rug from beneath my feet.

"Some friends will depart, some stay the same
Some will fuel the anger, some heal the pain
Some will help me up, some tear me down
But what goes around comes around"

Now, if you haven't already decided that you don't care, I invite you to enjoy the chapter. Hopefully more will follow soon.

Jaime led Vanessa and I out of the kitchen, grabbing a set of keys from a bowl in the main room before we left the house. 

A large black jeep was waiting just around the side of the mansion. Vanessa ran for the passenger seat, and Jaime laughed. “I guess you're in the back, dear.” She glanced at my stomach. “Enjoy it while you can still fit.” 

She opened my door for me, and I stepped up and into the car with ease. I settled into the leather seat with a sigh, trying to catch Jaime's eye in the rearview mirror as my mind began to wander. 

“You have questions, I'm sure.” She smiled, starting the engine. Soft music began to fill the void in the car, and Vanessa was quick to sing along at a quiet volume. “You're pregnant with a wolf pup, and an Alpha wolf pup, at that. Wolf pregnancies are pretty similar to human pregnancies, with the morning sickness and the hormones and all of the cravings. Our bodies just develop faster. Most pups are born, perfectly healthy, after around six months of gestation.” 

So I just had less time to prepare. Fucking wonderful. 

She reached an arm back and gave my hand a squeeze. “Wolves also heal much faster, though, so giving birth isn't as hazardous for our health as humans.” I saw her smirk in the rearview mirror. “And we bounce back into action within a few days.” 

I gulped. She was making this all seem very simple, but the knowledge that within six months I would have a pup in my arms was nerve wrenching. Humans get almost a full year, if they don't have any complications, to prepare for a newborn. I was given half, at most, and I didn't even have a house yet. 

I felt a headache coming on. 

Vanessa sighed. “While you contemplate the impending doom that's growing in your womb…” she trailed off and cranked the volume on the car's speaker system. I couldn't recognize the band that was playing, but there was a lot of chugging guitar and heavy drums before her voice joined a chorus of melodic screams. 

Jaime bobbed her head along, and I sat in the backseat trying not to self inflict a panic attack. 

Just breathe, little mate. You are not alone. 

I took a deep breath and turned to stare out the window as the trees flew past. Pretty soon trees turned into fields, and fields soon began to become littered with fast food restaurants, shopping centers, and small collections of houses. 

The car began to slow down, and I realized that we had entered one of the neighborhoods. We were surrounded on all sides by whitewashed siding and manicured lawns.