A month later, Della and Jared had just finished a sparring session in the woods, and were headed back to the Pack House. Jared's expression was sullen, and he was glad Della had stopped sparring with him in front of the pack a year ago, when they had turned 19 and he began preparing in earnest to become the next Alpha of Snow Moon. He was nearly ready, the only thing holding him up was that he had yet to find his fated mate.
How did Della, a tiny, five foot three, dainty little princess, always manage to kick his ass? His face was already almost healed, but his bruised ego lagged behind.
Della playfully punched him in the arm, seeing the defeated look on her brother's face made her want to gloat. He looked like a scolded puppy. "Oh, stop pouting," she teased. "It's our secret. Nobody has to know your sister can kick your Alpha ass."
"Maybe they should make you the Alpha," he replied, kicking a rock like it had offended him somehow.
"Maybe they should," she said, giggling at the thought. "But they won't." She grabbed his arm, and they walked in amicable silence down the path that led out of the forest surrounding the Pack Lands.
They approached the Pack House, rising tall and magnificent against the lush green backdrop of the forest. Della could smell the beef stew the cooks had been slow roasting all day. She was suddenly starving!
"Something smells delicious," she said, and picked up her pace. Jared knew what was coming. "Last one there is a rotten rogue egg!" Della yelled, pushing herself to run as fast as she could.
Then, out of nowhere, she felt a wave of nausea wash over her like dirty water. She stopped, dry heaving into the grass. She lay down, panting, waiting for it to pass.
"Della!" Her mother had seen her fall to the ground, and came running, followed by her father and his Beta, Joshua. By the time they arrived she had picked herself up, and though she still felt a bit weak, the worst seemed to have passed.
"I must have pushed myself too hard sparring with Jared," she said, shrugging her shoulders. She continued towards the Pack House, hoping they would let it go. She should have known better.
"Della, we are going to see the healer," her mother insisted. Della rolled her eyes, but knew it was useless to argue. Her parents had always been overprotective.
"You go on and get dinner," Della told Jared. "Mom and I can go. You just make sure and save some for me." She was starving, and the smell of beef stew wafting through the kitchen windows was enough to make her mouth water with anticipation.
Sparring took a lot of energy. She made it look easy to defeat someone twice her size, but in reality it was not. "Jared fought valiantly," she said, "but the enemy was just a tad bit stronger and more skillful." She told her family. She wished she could take her words back, after she saw his face redden with shame and anger flash in his eyes. "I'm just kidding, brother," she told him, reaching for him and giving him an apologetic hug.
Her father, Alpha John Draven, was quick to come to his son's defense. "She's an anomaly," he reminded Jared. "She is small, and quick. Remember, she can take down anyone, including me." They headed for the Pack House, and Della watched enviously, imagining beef stew melting in her mouth along with buttery mashed potatoes.
She and her mother walked hand in hand along the path to the healer's office. "So Jared is ready to be Alpha," she mused, "all except for meeting his fated mate. Do you all have a plan for that?" She knew that her parents wanted it to happen soon. Her father was eager to retire and spend time traveling with his Luna.
"The Moon Goddess will reveal his fated mate when the time is right," Leah said, stopping suddenly and turning to face her daughter. "Della, is there anything you haven't told me? Anything at all?" She leaned forward, as though she had caught a scent. Della pushed her away.
"Mom! You are being weird. Do I stink? I was just sparring with Jared in the woods again."
"No, it's not that." Her mother suddenly looked more worried than before. "Let's get you to the healer."
"You're freaking me out, Mom," Della protested, "there is something you aren't telling me. What's going on?"
Her mother looked at her strangely, an intensity in her eyes Della had never seen before. "Della, are you still a virgin?"
"What? Of course! Why would you even ask me such a thing?" She felt insulted. How could her mother think she would go against the Moon Goddess in that way? A feeling of dread settled over her like a fog as they approached the small office of Trish, the pack healer.
"Luna Leah, Delilah," Trish greeted them with a warm smile and ushered them inside the office. "Glad to see you."
"I hope we can get to the bottom of this." Della said, glaring at her mother and turning her attention to Trish.
Trish looked Della up and down, frowning. "Della, your scent is different. If I didn't know better…."
Della didn't miss the look that passed between the healer and her mother. The dread intensified to pure terror, and she finally lost her ability to be polite.
"Enough of the cryptic bullshit! Tell me what is going on, and tell me now!" Della demanded, furious. She stripped out of her clothing and put on the gown Trish handed her. Trish asked her for a urine sample, and she headed to the small bathroom to pee in the small cup. She brought the sample back out, and watched as Trish performed a test, her face unreadable as she read the results.
"Della, I don't know how to tell you this, as I can see you truly don't know that it is even a possibility." She looked at Della with pity in her eyes. "Della, you are pregnant."
The world spun in circles around her, and she sat back on the exam table to keep from fainting.This had to be a joke. She couldn't be pregnant. She was a virgin! "That's impossible," she said angrily. "I am a virgin."
The healer and her mother both looked at her skeptically. "You can tell us dear, no one will be mad at you." Della's mind reeled. How could they not believe her? She was pretty sure she would know if she had done something that important! "We can do an exam to determine if you are still intact. Would that be okay?"
"Yes," Della said vehemently, certain it would prove she was telling the truth. She had never been with anyone, she couldn't be pregnant! She laid back on the table and waited as the healer gently probed her, and when she looked at Della again her face was grim.
"Della, I believe what you are saying, that you believe you are a virgin. However, my exam shows that you are not. Your lack of memory of the event leads me to the only possible conclusion, that you were drugged, and while you were unconscious, someone took your virginity."
The weight of the healer's words crashed down on her and her legs slammed together, a mix of fear, shock, and disgust washed over her.
Above all of that, however, a fierce protectiveness rose. There was a life inside of her. She felt the bond form, and she knew she had a fight on her hands.
"I was raped?" She whispered, and the walls of the office seemed to close in on her, and coupled with the looks of pity from her mother and Trish it was enough to make the room begin to spin again. She jumped up, dashing for the bathroom, and almost made it. Instead, she vomited all over the floor right outside the bathroom entrance.
"Della, baby, my poor child," her mother crossed the room and held her, rocking her back and forth, trying to soothe her hysterical daughter.
"Della, we should discuss your options," Trish said gently, "I need to do an ultrasound, to help pinpoint the age of the… pregnancy."
"You mean the age of my pup?" She said, and the two older women exchanged a look. This was going to be a lot more difficult than they had imagined.
"Della," her mother reached for her hand, her voice cautious. "No one expects you to bear the burden of a pup forced upon you. It is early, you can take a pill and it will be like nothing ever happened."
Della stared at her mother, her mouth moving, but her voice caught in her throat. Was she serious? She could already feel the life in her womb, the faint connection. How could she even suggest such a thing?
"Don't tell me you want to have a pup grow up knowing he was fathered by a rapist," her mother said, but Della suspected that her real hesitance had a lot more to do with her brother's upcoming transition to Alpha. There were always challengers, those who would use anything they could to tarnish the name of the Alpha family and attempt to claim it for themselves. Fury made Della's blood boil, and she fought not to shift into her wolf.
"Let me be clear about one thing. My pup is innocent. And he will be born, and he will be provided for," she glared at her mother. "We will discuss options, but not one of them will include killing my defenseless pup."
Della sat back on the table. "Shall we have a look at the little guy?" She asked Trish, tears flowing down her cheeks, her anguish made bearable by the love blossoming in her heart, a love she knew was bigger than her hatred for the pig who had put her in this situation.