Brawn - Laurann Dohner [89]
“Four?”
“Myself, Ellie, Tammy and I believe you know Jessie Dupree. She worked with your father.”
Shock tore through Becca. “She’s pregnant? She’s uh, mated, to one of the New Species?”
“She married Justice North secretly but they decided to wait a while before trying to have a baby. No one who knows about their wedding has leaked it to the press yet but that could change at any time. Tammy lives at Reservation full-time and Ellie has moved here since we have the better medical facility and they are safer from prying eyes. We’d rather be safe than sorry. So far all pregnancies are healthy and we’re hoping it stays that way. Ellie is due to have her baby soon and Tammy is just a little farther along than you are.”
“This is so much to take in. I thought I was alone.”
“You aren’t. You and your baby just got a really large family, Becca. New Species will consider you that.”
“But I’m not one of them.”
“Your baby is and you are his mother. They treat mates just as if we’re one of their own.”
“I’m not a mate.”
“You’re still family.” She paused. “Why don’t you want to see Brawn?”
Becca hesitated, not sure her pain at his abandonment was enough to justify it but she had a list of reasons besides that. “He was clear from the moment I met him that he doesn’t want anything to do with women like us. He never would have touched me if we hadn’t been kidnapped. We were forced to be together and we thought we weren’t going to be rescued. He was going to be sold at some point and they probably would have left me there to die when they abandoned the warehouse or put a bullet in my head.”
“It must have been very stressful.”
“It was and that’s how Brawn and I ended up getting so close.”
Trisha hesitated. “I am curious. I gave you antibiotics. Did you take them?”
“No. They were horse pills and I just tossed them. Why do you want to know?” She reached up and touched her forehead. “I don’t have a fever, do I? I’d have noticed if I had some kind of blood infection from the needles they used.”
The doctor hesitated. “They weren’t to fight an infection. Those pills were to prevent you from getting pregnant.” Her gaze dropped to Becca’s rounded belly. “I wondered if you either hadn’t taken them or they just weren’t effective. I have the answer now.”
Anger instantly surged inside Becca. “What?”
“I know. It was really wrong not to give you a choice but you should realize how much we needed to protect this secret. As you stated, you aren’t a mate and we couldn’t let you leave if there was a chance of you being pregnant.” Trisha met her gaze. “Try to understand our position. Would you have preferred we kept you here against your will until we knew for sure you weren’t? That was the only other option. It’s not just about you and your baby. It’s about my son, Ellie’s and Tammy’s. All future Species infants.”
It took a lot for Becca to fight through her anger and the feeling of betrayal. They’d tried to abort her pregnancy. She clenched her teeth.
“I’m sorry. Honestly. You were traumatized enough and we were trying to protect you from further harm. Tell me honestly that this pregnancy hasn’t torn up your life.”
“I want this baby.”
“I know.” Trisha’s features softened. “Believe me, I can guess how much you’ve gone through to try to hide and protect your child. I’d have done the same.” She bit her lower lip. “Why couldn’t you just tell us? You’re a smart woman and I can’t figure out how you thought you could do this on your own.