August's POV
(Trigger Warning: Read with caution) READ THE AUTHORS NOTE IT IS IMPORTANT!
I had found out why no one had told me happy birthday quickly that day. It turned out that Alexandre had planned a surprise birthday party for me. It was great seeing all of our family and friends there to celebrate with me. It was nice to see Abuela Rosa again; she had given me some herbs and spices to help soothe the morning sickness. She was excited, having a great-grandchild on the way; she had told me if I were going to have a little girl to name the baby after her.
I only laughed at her and told her we would see. In which she responded that I didn't have a choice. Abuela Rosa was a spitfire not to be messed with. There were pack members that I hadn't communicated with at my party, and I made sure to mingle with them and got to know more about the people who made our pack what it was.
My parents talked to me about making one of the bedrooms in their house into a nursery for me, so when I had come to visit them, there was somewhere for my little one to sleep. My parents were beyond excited to have another little pup around their house. My mom also insisted on making sure Alexandre knew when I was going home after the birth. He would have me staying with my parents so my mom could help me for the first few days to teach me the basics. Alexandre only held his hands up in defeat, saying 'yes ma'am.' He didn't protest anything she had to tell him. It was funny seeing the big bad Alpha get told what to do by my mom. She was five foot nothing compared to his towering height, her pointing her finger into his chest was quite the show.
Luna Graciella only laughed, nudging me with her elbow, telling me she had raised him right. I agree that she did. No one could compare to my mate; he was a breath of fresh air.
Another week had passed by quickly, and today Alexandre took me to Kathy to finally get checked up. My nerves were shot. I didn't know what to expect. My body didn't go through any changes over the past few weeks, and it worried me. We sat down in the waiting area, requesting that we have the room to ourselves. She told us that she was dealing with a patient and that she would be right with us.
"August, if you don't stop bouncing your leg." Alexandre put his hand down on my knee to keep it from bouncing.
"I can't help it, I'm nervous..." I explained. "What if something is wrong?"
"Don't worry, baby, no matter what, I'll be here for you." He squeezed his hand on my knee.
"I'm ready for you now, August." Kathy's voice sounded from the doorway. Alexandre and I looked at each other, he stood, holding his hand out for me to grab. I bit down on my lip as he led me into the sterile room. "Lay down on the bed." She motioned her hand to the bed.
I did as she said. She took a sample of my blood and checked the rest of my vitals.
"So, they told me you felt a knotting feeling when the other Alpha knocked into you?" She questioned; I nodded my head, verifying that was true. Alexandre grabbed my hand as if he could feel my nerves building up, but I could tell under his calm exterior that he too was nervous.
She pulled out a machine similar to the one the nurse at the Omega residence had used on me. Kathy directed me to pull my shirt up, and she flicked the machine on. Much like the last time, she pressed the wand on my stomach, trying to pull up the image of our pup.
There on the screen was our little pup. Kathy frowned for a second and pulled out another smaller machine and turned it on, pressing the paddle-like thing on my stomach. I could faintly hear my heartbeat, but the silence that echoed in the room fell heavy in my heart. I could hear Alexandre inhale, his grip on my hand tightened.
"I'm going to get doctor Miles in here really quick." Kathy sat the paddle down on the counter.
"Kathy..." Alexandre exhaled. "Just tell us..."
"I-" She started, looking at the both of us with sad eyes. "There is no heartbeat..."
I didn't hear anything else after that; I didn't want to hear anything. I failed our baby; it was my fault. I ignored the obvious signs of me being pregnant. Had I not I wouldn't have gone out that morning with Alexandre; I would have just slept in, maybe if I had listened to Alexandre's warning bark and reacted quicker.
Had I not...
My throat constricted, and I let out a low moan. My chest hurt, my body hurt, my body felt like lead.
Alexandre's POV
I saw my mate fall apart right in front of me, and I could feel his hurt. Dimitri let out a mournful howl in my head, crying to comfort our mate in any way possible. The news that there wasn't a heartbeat shattered him. I could feel that something was wrong when I could hear August's steady heartbeat, but not the sound of our pup's heart thumping away. I think both of us knew that something wasn't right, but both of us hadn't wanted to believe it until we did the examination today. We even waited a week extra just in case the calculation was wrong.
Kathy gave us instructions on what we would need to do today, but it seemed to go in one ear and right out the other. Something we had wanted so badly was taken from us to be with our goddess, and there was no reversing time. I pulled my mate off of the bed and clutched him to my chest. I began to mourn with him over the loss of our pup.
Kathy put her hand on my shoulder and gave me a look filled with sorrow. "I'll give you two some time alone. I'll be back when you two are calm."
I nodded my head, and she left us to ourselves.
If only I had let him sleep in that morning instead of dragging him out there with me. If only I had caught onto Ethan's scent, or the sound of the Alpha's trampling through the forest.
If only...
I had failed my mate, I had failed my pack, and I failed the goddess. I couldn't fathom how I would tell our pack about this, about how I could not protect my mate at the beginning of his pregnancy. I knew one thing I would do, and that was to remove Ethan Berger of Italy from this earth. He was the leading cause of this. He was the one to end our pup's life.
After an hour or so of us crying, August tired himself out, falling asleep in my arms. I combed my fingers through his brown locks; it was the only thing soothing me at the time. There was a soft knock on the door, and Kathy walked into the room with Miles following her. August let out a small hiccup, making me rub his shoulder.
"We're going to need to extract the embryo, both Miles and I agree that he should take a medicine that will force his body to miscarry the baby naturally." I squeezed August's shoulder, not wanting to hear the gruesome details. "We're afraid if we do the other operations to remove the embryo that it may prevent him from having children in the future. We'll need to do daily checks on him, he'll be losing a lot of blood, during the first few days he might bleed a lot." Miles explained, sitting a bottle of pills down on the cabinet.
"I'm sorry, Alpha," Kathy explained; I could tell that she too was taking the news hard.
"Make sure he's eating, don't leave him alone either. If he becomes too weak, have him come to my office so we can monitor him closely. When Omega's lose their pup, they tend to take it a little harder than the normal submissive. August might have a fiery spirit, but he's also an Omega." Miles explained, I only nodded.
"Please tell August's mother and my mother." My voice cracked. "I'll announce it to the pack tomorrow evening." They nodded in response. Once again, leaving me alone with my sleeping mate in my arms.
I took time to process the words they had told me before I got up out of the chair, I laid August down on the bed and cleaned the gel that was now hardened on his stomach off him, and I adjusted his clothing. I grabbed the bottle of pills and shoved them in my pocket before I picked my mate up again and carried him out of the packhouse.
Many pack members stared at me, carrying my mate out of the infirmary with teary eyes. I laid him gently down in the back seat of my truck, kissing his forehead. He let out a small whine before falling back to sleep. My heart squeezed, my mate's spirit was broken.
I slowly drove to my parent's cabin, so many great memories resided in the house, our first time together, beautiful nights watching an anime he forced me to watch, and I made him watch a scary movie that would have him clutching to my chest the entire time, in return. I knew after this week, possibly two weeks. It would be a place that haunted both of our memories.
"Jaxon, I will need you to take over for a while. You'll know why tomorrow." I linked to my Beta.
"Alright, boss." He responded, not asking any further questions, which I was thankful for.
I looked in my rearview mirror; August laid there, his eyes now open, vacant. Dimitri just wanted to stop the vehicle and comfort him, as did I, but I knew we needed to get home. He needed a bed to rest on.
When I pulled up to the cabin, both of our parent's cars were parked up front. I carried my mate into the house, and both of our mothers rushed to us. At the sight of his mom, he began to sob again, reaching his arms out to her. I sat him down, and his mother pulled August into her embrace.
"Everything will be alright, baby." His mom rubbed his back. "Everything will be alright."
---
Later in the evening, our parents had left, leaving us alone. August took his first dose of the medicine and was now sleeping in the bed. I made sure he had a glass of water sitting on the nightstand. We were able to get him to eat just a small bit of dinner. I, too, had little appetite to eat.
I pulled August closer to me, inhaling his scent, a faint smell of sorrow surrounded his body. Dimitri wanted to howl into the night, to show our pack that we were grieving the loss of our baby. I combed my fingers through August's hair- to soothe him or me, I didn't really know. I just wanted to stay glued to his side.
Halfway through the night, I could hear moans of pain coming from our bathroom. August was no longer at my side; I jumped out of bed and ran into the bathroom. My mate laid in the bathtub, groaning. August's face contorted in pain, tears fell from his eyes in a continuous stream, his face was pale, and his hair stuck to his forehead.
"It hurts," August whined, leaning his head back. I stood, glancing over the tub to see blood slowly trickling its way down into the drain.
"I know, baby, I'm sorry." I patted his head. "Here, scoot up," I told him. He did as I asked, and I climbed in the bathtub behind him.
"I'm so sorry, Alexandre." He cried.
"You have nothing to be sorry for, my love." I kissed his shoulder. "Our pup is with the goddess; no matter how much it hurts, they're in a good place." He laid his head back into my chest, closing his eyes, trying to wish away the pain. I wish I could take this pain away from him.
One thing was for sure after today.
I would kill Ethan Berger.
A/N: This chapter is out to all women who have suffered from a miscarriage. 15/100 pregnancies sadly end with a miscarriage. It is a topic not many people like to shed light on, leaving women who suffer from it feeling like they did something wrong. I've seen friends lose their very much wanted child, and noticed how their world fell apart. It's a very hush, hush topic. No one talks about it, sadly. I just wanted to say if you or a loved one has suffered from a miscarriage, you're not alone, you're not a failure, you're loved, you're strong, and you're not alone. It is mentally and physically taxing on the mother. I always wanted to bring light to real topics in my stories, as controversial as some may be, as upset as you may feel about them. This is another topic I wanted to put in my story. I'm sorry if I got you riled up, but I honestly wanted to make it a learning moment. Although I may have some facts wrong because I personally have not experienced this myself. I wanted to let others know that if this happens to them, that there's always someone in your life that you can lean your shoulder on.