Coyotes: Denis

Chapter 17: Unintentional

Anders' Perspective

   None of this was supposed to happen.

   I didn't travel halfway across the country to be stuck in a waiting room. I was hired for a job, and I had already supremely fucked it up. A couple nights of hormones really threw everything for a loop.

   I looked over at Benoit, and I could see his anxiety.

   Between this budding new thing with them, the potential of a pregnancy looming over, and the new revelations in my research? We had every reason to be keyed up.

   Things were back on track to begin the job, until they weren't. Denis' mother sent a letter to his home, asking for help in providing her with treatment.

   And now we were here, not allowed in the room because we were not mated with her, waiting for any kind of news.

   Benoit was biting at the tips of his claws, foot tapping rapidly on the ground. I wanted to reach out and pull him in close to soothe him, but that would have the opposite effect under the gaze of strangers.

   I did my best to joke and make light most of the time, but now I was just as nervous as he was. How would we handle it if she came out of the room upset? What if something was seriously wrong with her, and she wasn't going to get better?

   I still couldn't believe that those two had crawled under my skin, and settled some place in my chest to stay. I barely knew them. And here I was, concerned for their feelings and safety.

   When the door clicked open, Benoit almost jumped out of his skin. He rushed to his feet, and I took a deep breath through my nose to steel my nerves.

   I don't know what we were expecting to see, but the doctor waved us in. We shared a nervous look before heading inside.

   Denis had her arms crossed, and her back hunched. She looked even skinnier than before, and when she met my gaze, her eyes were bloodshot. We hadn't seen her in a few days, but the difference it had made was shocking.

   We sat in the chairs that were available, and looked between her and the doctor.

   "Hello boys, Denis gave me permission to allow you in here so I could discuss this with all of you." She said.

   I held my breath. Benoit kept his eyes glued on the doctor.

   "So, as I was telling Denis, her test results showed an extremely high increase in progesterone. It is much higher than what would be normal, even in a pregnancy that is four weeks along-"

   I couldn't believe what I was hearing. We all suspected it, but hearing the confirmation come out so certainly, and casually, from the doctor made it so real. A month along meant that she had been pregnant even before we caught the bighorn, and it was definitely from her heat. It was mine.

   "-and given the sexual history that she gave to us, I am nearly certain that two implantations have occured."

   Benoit interrupted the doctor. "Are you saying that-that there's twins?"

   She smiled politely, but shook her head. "No, not quite. Because of the irregular hormones, it's likely that one pregnancy began, and then another one occurred after the fact that signalled the body to produce extra progesterone. It's very possible for Coyotes to have a litter with multiple fathers."

   We looked at each other, and then at Denis. Benoit couldn't remain still, and he rose up to be by her side and try to hold her hand.

   She must not have been angry, because she reached out and took it. Maybe I had underestimated how tired the sickness, or the pregnancy I supposed, made her.