Where He Belongs

~Twelve~

I wasn't too sure how to feel about the story she told us. In a way I though that Clarissa was real victim here. She had asked them to stay in the village; it couldn't have been too hard now could it have been? Her being upset with our mother was understandable. With out father not so much. Sure he was the one who expressed not wanting it live in the village but it had been our mother who had made the final decision.

But what did I really know? After all, I didn't even know I was pregnant.

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The village was much larger than our own little circle.

There were dirt roads and beaten paths connecting numerous homes. They were fancier than ours, with painted shutters and big front porches. Wolves were moving along, not even bothering to give us, the strangers, a second look. "Follow me and stay close to your brother." My mother ordered.

Thomas maneuvered me in front of him, hands on my shoulders. We walked down several patches, my eyes drawn to wolves were bright clothes. "They get those clothes from the market," Thomas explained. "From the human world. But they're expensive and only take money."

"Whoa." I couldn't imagine not bartering for goods. It was all my parents told me about.

"Yeah. Look how big their houses are. They have water running into their house that they can drink, electricity, and even TV."

"TV? What? How do you know that?"

"Because. I've met other wolves at the Market and they told me all about it," Thomas replied.

My brow furrowed. TV was a human thing. My father told me about it. Moving pictures behind glass. How could wolves have it too? Probably the same way they had human clothes. "Wow. Will I see a TV where we're going?"

"Maybe," Thomas replied.

We stopped a big blue house. The paint was chipping some and the porch looked a little old but it was easily twice the size of our cabin at home. We walked onto it, my mother pressing a little circle by the door knob. Instantly a keening noise filled my ears. Shrill, almost like a bird's song but much more grating. I cringed, hands flying to cover my ears. "Pretty awful huh?" Thomas asked with a grimace. "I don't know who these wolves handle it."

The door opened immediately. A woman who looked just like my mother stood there. She was wearing am long gray dress, her hair sweeping down her back. "Come in." Her tone was chipped and she spent a moment just looking sharply at my mother.

My mother walked in with no delay, slipping her shoes off once she was inside. We followed suit, my bare, swollen feet on the cold wood. It was nice and smooth, unlike, the wood floors at home. "I've missed you Clarissa," my mother stated feebly. "I hope you've been well?"

"Fine. When did the symptoms start?"

She looked expectantly at me, making me stutter, "Oh. Uhm, like two-two months ago."

"Hm. And how long after you were mated?"

Shame burned inside me. My tongue felt heavy. I couldn't get the words out. "He was taken by force," my mother said softly, seeing my lack of response. "He wasn't claimed."

"Pack or rouge wolf?"

"We don't know."

"Hm."

The walls were painted white. Plants sat here and there on side tables pressed against the wall. I looked at Thomas to find his eyes wandering just as much as mine. He caught my eye though and smiled reassuringly. "We'll sort everything out." He assured me in a whispered.

I took a deep breath and nodded my head. We were taken into a back room where herbs were drying and unfamiliar equipment was. I could only assume it was all human made. I was sat in a hard backed chair, a needle pushed into my arm and my blood drawn out. She bagged the needle and put a contraption on my arm that got tighter and tighter like a snake constricting its prey. Then she she told me to lay back on the little cot beside a box-like thing in a stand. I looked at my mother once more for reassurance before doing as she said. She pushed up my sweater making me whimper in worry. Her eyes widened some but then she just look determined. Her cold hands ran over the swell, apply gentle pressure here and there. It didn't hurt but it felt odd. "This is gel that will help us see what's going on, okay?" Clarissa asked holding up a bottle.

I nodded my head and she squirted the goo on. She took out a nub-like thing with a handle and turned on the box. She rubbed the nub over my abdomen looking at what must have been a TV. I saw darkness for a while and then a white smear came into view. She stopped, pressing some buttons and suddenly a white line appeared at the button, spiking up and down. "We don't have any sound," she said softly. "But the computer picks it up. That is your child right there. And that is its heartbeat."

Next thing I knew, I had fainted.

-Unedited-

Next Update: Monday (due to holiday): 4/6/15