Wildfire

Chapter 22

Kalen

It was around noontime when I woke up to the sound of crying. I bolt out of bed, ignoring the initial dizziness of standing up too fast. The sound comes from the bathroom, the door slightly ajar, a small sliver of light peeking out.

I push the door open, shocked to see that it was Harper crying, not Toby. It was unlike Harper go cry, and seeing him sit in the bathroom floor in tears made me feel uneasy.

"Harper? What's wrong?"

I feel Toby's presence behind me, his hand pressing against my back.

"Harper," he whimpers.

Harper holds his hands towards me, sobbing heavily. I kneel on the ground, scooting on my knees to go towards him. I cradle him close to my chest, his arms wrapping around my neck.

As quickly as he pulled me to him, he shoves me away. Turning around to face the toilet, lifting the lid just as he begins to throw up.

I feel his dizzying pain through the bond. Harper's body shakes violently with each strong heave. His stomach contracting and his back arching. He chokes and gasps, struggling to breathe. Each time he inhales, another bout of sickness hits him.

Toby gasps, dropping to the floor and rubbing at the space between Harper's shoulders as he heaves into the toilet bowl.

Once finished, Harper leans back on his heels, wiping at his mouth with his hand. His chest jerking as he gasps for air. I grab a small washcloth from the closet and wet it with cold water. I bring the cloth to his face, pressing it against his forehead.

"Are you feeling unwell?" I ask. "I'll bring up some medicine if you need any. I can have Dad make you a hot toddy for your throat. Or maybe we should get you to the pack doctors if you're throwing up this violently."

Harper shakes his head, leaning back to press his body against mine.

"I'm not sick," he whimpers. "I'm just... scared. So scared."

"You're making me nervous, Harper."

"I... I didn't believe it when my wolf told me. So I took this from the doctor's office this morning while you and Toby were still asleep." Harper hands me an object that I hadn't noticed when I first came into the bathroom.

It was a positive pregnancy test. The two dark lines clearly displayed on the little screen. I let out a breath, my heart stuttering in my chest.

Harper was pregnant...

Oh, Goddess, Harper was pregnant!

Toby seems to recognize what the test was, his eyes widening the longer he stares at it. He reaches for the test, staring at the small screen with teary eyes.

"I took seven other tests with the same result. I didn't want it to be true. I wanted this to be a dream that I'd wake up from. But it's not. This is real life and it's terrifying. We're not ready for a pup, Kalen," Harper sobs slowly, his hands clutching onto my arm. "We're not ready."

I turn towards Toby, seeing the overwhelming amount of guilt in his eyes. There it was again. That expression. Why was he guilty? It wasn't his fault that Harper was pregnant. So why did he look devastated?