Under the weather

  Marie's POV

"Marie! Marie!" I heard the Head cook frantically knocking on my doors as if she was going to break it down. I had been working throughout the day before in preparation for the Alpha king and his entourage that was visiting the pack and now more than ever, there had been too many things to work on.

I would not blame the woman, I had told her to give as much work as possible. I had buried myself deep into work since that night five weeks ago.

Firstly because I wanted to avoid Eric as much as I could, and because now, it had gotten to every ear who cared to listen about how he had rejected me painfully and without remorse.

They had come directly to me to ask that I give them the details of the rejection as if the night was not humiliating enough.

Eric on the other hand had avoided me like a plague, his sister has made it a point to sing praises of her brother for rejecting a nobody like me.

"I am coming, don't break the door down," I moved slowly to open the door, damn! I needed that sleep.

"You silly girl! I only gave you thirty minutes because you were dozing off on the work. Now you have used a lot more than that here," She pushed me aside with her big body, and moved past me into my small room.

Through the years, she has somehow become like a mother figure if I could say. And her no-nonsense attitude makes me even more pleased with her.

"Please give me a few more minutes. I am just super tired, I can't help it," I sat on the small chair in my room. I have been having really bad mornings and I thought the best thing to do was to have a good sleep.

"Are you sure you are okay, Marie? You don't look good at all, child. I suggest you see the pack doctor," she said out of her looking out for me but I know there is no point, it's probably nothing.

"Don't worry about me. I don't need any of that. You know I am as strong as anything you can think of," I replied with a crooked smile.

"Oh is that why you can hardly do anything else but sleep?" She was not having it.

"Okay, okay, I am getting off now. Let's go. You said the Alpha king is visiting in two days," I said standing up and putting my hair in a ponytail, ready for work.

"Are you sure you don't need to see the pack's doctor? I can just take you there," she offered again.

"Let's go," I said, locking our hands together and leading her out.

The rest of the day didn't go as I wanted it to go of course, but it was not bad either. We suddenly had a lot of helping hands as if the moon goddess was on my side.

The royal hall was the venue, and it had to be decorated royal style. New table clothes, newly made furniture for the alpha king. Fresh flowers were cut and were supposed to be taken care of before the alpha king's visitation. The food would be prepared in the morning of the said day.

This was the first time the alpha king was visiting our pack and it was a big deal for everyone, especially the alpha, the Luna, and the higher rank pack members. They would do anything to get in his good graces and this is just one of the ways.

"Get working, Marie. We don't have all day," I heard Madam Christy, the head cook nagging at me, I was dozing off again.

"I am feeling nauseous and lightheaded, would you let me sit down for just a few minutes," I said, but I was not waiting for her reply. I found myself a place to sit while murmurs surrounded the hall by the other frustrated workers.

I suddenly felt cold within me, what was wrong?

'Lily, are you okay? Is that you?' I asked my wolf, no matter how hard I worked, I had never had to feel this particular way, I just thought she would know what was wrong with me more than anything else.

'No, nothing is wrong with me but I think there is something wrong with you. Something different, I think you need to go to the doctor like Madam Christy's advice. You don't feel so good, I can feel it too'

Like was the reply I wanted to hear, if Lily does not know what's wrong with me then it must be something serious.

I stood up to find my way around to the pack doctor, but I noticed I could not get my legs to be stable. They felt wobbly and before I could help myself back on the chair I had stood up from to gather more strength, I fell down hitting my body on the cold hard floor.

"Marie. . . Mariee. . ." I heard voices calling out my name but they sounded really faint around my head. The sight of Madam Christy overshadowed me before darkness enveloped me.

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"Marie, you silly girl! I told you to see the pack doctor! You should have listened to me," Madam Christy's voice welcomed me from my almost-death experience.

I looked around to figure out my environment, they had taken me to the pack doctor after all.

"Stay back, you should not move around until we are sure what's wrong with you," Gamma Angela, the pack doctor said, as she made her way inside my stall.

"Are you her guardian?" She questioned Madam Christy while she scribed on the note in her hand.

"No, but. . ."

"Then you have to leave. Only her guardians can stay," she is as cold as they say.

"Doc, it's not as bad as that. I am only here because I worked too much, nothing more. If I get a good night's rest tonight, I will be as good as new in the morning," I declared, trying to clear the room from the awkwardness.

"I will be the judge of that, please leave Omega," She replied and it seemed there was no way to convince her to let Madam Christy stay.

I muttered a thank you to Madam Christy before she left the room. She had only wanted to help.

"Now, can you explain to me exactly why you are pregnant?" She dropped the news as if it was a mere scolding.

"What?" I sat up straight, not believing my ears "Pregnant? How come? How is that even possible?"

'The stranger!' Lily whispered in my head and the night of passion that never really left my memory started flooding back.

Of course, that was the way.

But how could this happen to someone like me, does this happen? It was only one time, my first time. How can I suddenly be pregnant!?

I wanted the ground to swallow me up or maybe I would sleep and I never have to wake up again, forgetting about my life here and any other place in the future.

"Are you listening to me?" The doctor asked, clearly impatient.

"Yes, I am," I looked down at my fingers and they were shaking, my whole body was shaking and the thoughts that filled my head were "what else would I do?

"Congratulations," she said now, in a more kind way, "You should get ready to register with the other expecting mothers. . ."