Thicker Than Ink

Fifty Two (18+)

"Silas..." Ma's voice is weak as she tries to continue talking to me, but getting stronger and stronger now that Pop is in stable condition at the clinic, Paxton's nurse Julia having arrived shortly after us... She had brought with her the news that Mason made it to the clinic, and that as he becomes more and more stable, Ma should recover right along with him,

"I know, Ma... I'm right here, okay? Just give it a few more minutes and then we can get you up and into bed", the pain medication given to Pop is finally dulling the pain on both ends of their connection as Ma leans against me for support... The two of us and Nurse Julie still on the kitchen floor with Addy not too far away mentally going back and forth with Liam and the others to make sure everything is getting taken care of that should be taken care of so I don't have to worry about it... Just like the amazing Luna I've always known him to be...

"No... Silas! Adrian-" My look of confusion makes Ma lose her confidence trying to communicate with me... Her face filled with more guilt than pain as she lifts one of her hands to point towards my mate... My eyes not wanting to follow her fingers as ice washes its way down my spine...

...

Adrian

...

The cramping had started after I had remembered to double back and make sure that the front door was closed because I hadn't been sure if I had actually remembered to close it... But I was well aware that now wasn't the time to mention it...

My mind had been going a million miles a minute... And it hadn't occurred to me that... I'm pregnant... And I was told to take it easy... And to avoid stress as much as possible...

The realization had fractured my world... And there isn't actually time for me to have a breakdown over it... There isn't a way I can let myself start to worry over what's going on with my body or what the tight knots in my stomach might actually mean instead of just anxiety...

But just because I can't dwell on it... Just because I can't pause and break down... That doesn't mean that I'm not afraid... It doesn't mean that I don't feel scared... And overwhelmed... It doesn't mean that I'm not terrified of stressing myself into one of my worst nightmares... It doesn't mean that I'm my grip on the granite countertop of Bethany's kitchen island...

"A-Addy? Baby? What's wrong?" Hearing Silas speak to me instead of his Mom spooks me enough to make me jump... My bottom lip getting sucked between my teeth so that he won't have to see it wobble before I lift my face up from where I've been staring at the swirls in the granite in front of me while double and triple checking with Liam that all of the shifters that had been out running all made it home safe and sound... And that Casper isn't too shaken up and having flashbacks from being exposed to such a violent injury... And that the pack is under control and waiting for the announcement of what's going on because I can't seem to filter the mental connection enough to make sense of anything unless I single someone out specifically... Like with Liam himself...

It's hard to look over at them... Harder than it should be because I'm trying so hard to stay focus and not surrender to the panic climbing up my throat so successfully... My answer to him being the raising of my eyebrows while I avoid making eye contact... A small, "Hm?" eeking its way from behind my lips...

...

Silas

...

"What's wrong, Princess?" My Angel's face is paler than a sheet of paper... And there's a sheen to his skin that looks like it's anything other than healthy... One that I know doesn't match the one that normally comes with his anxiety...  His shakiness making my heart pound just as disconcerting as it was to see Ma on the floor... Nurse Julie seeming to agree with me with how she hops up from next to us after she finishes checking Ma's pulse again... Her attention appreciated while I stay frozen and terrified right where I am... Adrian still refusing to meet my eyes...  Refusing to answer me...

"Princes... Princess, please answer me!" The words get pushed out of my mouth just as he tries to wave Nurse Julie away from trying to check his vitals... His answer turning my soul cold...

"I...Just... Daddy... Just some cramping... I-I'm fine... I'm fine... W-We need to focus... On Bethany... And on Mason..." His voice cracks and shakes as tears finally leave his eyes... One of his hands finally leaving the counter and clutching his midsection the way I suspect he's been wanting.

"I'm fine! Oh, Addy... I'm fine! You take the help right this instant!" I know Ma only means to help the situation... But she's not fooling anyone... But it seems like those are the words my soulmate needs to hear to finally admit to himself that he isnt okay... The small wall he somehow managed to put up between us in his mind to keep me from noticing he was in distress crumbling into nothing as he lets Nurse Julie pull up a chair for him in order to sit down while she reaches tries to make sense of what's going on and what's causing such a panic... Her eyes nearly popping out when Adrian finally whimpers to her why both of us look so stricken...

"I-I'm pregnant... Nurse Julie... And... And Ive been cramping since we got here... And it's... It's the bad kind of cramps... I just... I know it... And I can't! I can't! M-My baby!", The fear inside of him is like a sucker punch right to the gut... The cramps he's feeling frightening... His mind circling the drain over possibly losing the baby we only just confirmed existed and panicking over it... The reoccurring nightmare that he's been waking up in cold sweats from every other morning possibly becoming a reality that neither of us has any real control over... The stress of the day taking its toll in such a devastating way... Even if it's not what we think it is...