Chapter Six
Grace frowned when Claire told her about Roland's revelation that Melissa was actively trying to get pregnant with his child. "So you think that maybe he was the one to give her the abortion drugs to make sure she wouldn't go after him for child support?"
"No. They both wanted a child and already had their custody agreements drawn up." Claire held up the file that Roland's lawyers had sent over. "They were going about it very… cleanly."
Grace hummed. "But they were still having sex rather than artificial insemination."
"I talked to Roland about that. He said that they had tried AI and surrogacy, but neither would take," Claire answered.
She tensed briefly as her stomach churned. She hadn't been dealing with a lot of morning sickness, but just the knowledge that she was pregnant–that Roland thought she was pregnant–and that Roland was a werewolf was making her queasy.
Roland was a werewolf. That really ought to be freaking her out more than it was. The fact that it wasn't freaking her out was worrying her more than the fact that she had slept with a freaking werewolf. Claire shook her head.
Am I crazy?
It had been two days since she last saw him. Claire had thrown herself into the investigation, although there still weren't any reasonable suspects. The main stumbling block was the motive. There was no reason anybody would want to kill Melissa Clarkson. At least, not for the usual motives… There was still the distinct possibility that there was someone out there who knew she was a werewolf. But the knife was plain old steel. If it was werewolf-motivated, wouldn't they have used a silver knife?
What a mess!
Grace frowned. "You're just taking his word for it?"
"No. The medical records are being sent to our ME to confirm. But Roland said that Melissa suffered several miscarriages." If she was pregnant, chances were she'd miscarry during the next full moon. It would explain the cramps she’d had during the last one. The fetus was transforming into a wolf inside her uterus. She was pregnant with a werewolf baby. What was she going to do?
But I might not be pregnant.
"Maybe they weren't miscarriages," Grace said.
Claire shook her head and turned to her. "What?"
"We found abortion drugs in her system. What if somebody else thought she was pregnant and was slipping her the drugs? Maybe she found out and they killed her for it." Grace sighed. "But who would want to prevent Melissa from having Roland's baby? Could we be looking at a jealous ex-lover?"
Or maybe somebody who was trying to make sure that Roland didn't have an heir, to weaken his place as Alpha of the pack. Claire's brow furrowed. Could it have been a member of his pack wanting to stage a coupe? Or somebody on the outside, wanting to force the werewolves to reveal their identity to the world at large?
An alarm on her phone went off and Claire cursed quietly, fishing it out of her pocket.
"I have to go," she said to Grace, hating the way her hands shook. "Doctor's appointment. I want you to dig into past relationships. Both Melissa and Roland's. See if there was anybody too obsessed with them. Got it?"
Grace nodded and Claire headed out. Her nerves kicked into overdrive, making her nausea much worse. She had never been that into the whole baby thing. Yeah, she wanted to have kids someday, but that was a plan for the distant future. She had planned to find a husband who wouldn't mind being a stay-at-home dad, so that she wouldn't have to give up her career. She was okay with it not happening for another ten years! She was still young, she had plenty of time.
Unless she had a werewolf inside her right at that moment. Then she didn't have time to get used to the idea or decide what to do.
What will I do?
***
Dr. Bulla had only been Claire's doctor for the few months since her previous doctor had retired. They still didn't have very easy communication. Bulla was just as young as Claire and was overly professional in an effort to make up for it. Claire didn't really care. At this point, she just wanted someone who was going to be calm and impartial to deliver the news to her.
Her heart was going a little too fast, and she breathed deeply and evenly. Claire lay on the narrow, uncomfortable examination bed, wearing nothing but the stupid blue robe thing that didn't close all the way in the back. She waited. With any luck, Dr. Bulla would come back and tell her that her cramps and nausea were just because of her weight, and tell her to lose thirty pounds.
Of course Claire knew that wouldn't be the case. Roland had been too certain in his statement that she was pregnant.
He's a werewolf, she thought.
In this cool, bright room she had nowhere to run from it. Roland Davis was a werewolf. When the full moon rose, he transformed into a monstrous, hairy creature with the physique of a full-time bodybuilder and the head of a wolf. And he had a tail. She had seen that distinctly when his back had been towards her while she was hanging upside down in her car.
Her car. What was she going to do about that?
Claire shook her head. The car could wait. She had been pushing the whole werewolf thing to the back of her mind, focusing on the case. But the fact was she had slept with a werewolf and she might be having a werewolf baby–or should that be puppy? She should be totally freaking out. So why wasn't she?
Am I in shock? Or is it because there was some part of my mind that already knew and had decided it's not that big of a deal?
The door opened and Bulla came in, wheeling a large piece of equipment. "Detective Doyle, the results came back positive. You are pregnant."
Claire closed her eyes. She was surprised when relief washed over her. Maybe it was because now she knew for certain, and she could stop wallowing in uncertainty. Or maybe it was something else… Her heart calmed. Was she happy about this news?
"What's that?" She eyed the device.
"This is a fetal heart monitor. You're six weeks pregnant, so we should be able to hear a heartbeat."
“Oh,” said Claire softly, still staring at the device.
Bulla winced. “That is, assuming you are planning on continuing the pregnancy. If not, I can give you a referral to—”
Claire shook her head, cutting the doctor off. "Can you just give me a minute? It’s a lot to take in."
Bulla nodded and stepped out of the room again. Claire pressed her hands to her eyes. She had to approach this logically. She couldn't afford to become emotional. How would a baby affect her life, her job? And there was Roland to consider. He had been trying to have a child, and it had always ended in miscarriage–which was likely how this pregnancy would end as well.
And there was the possibility that Melissa had been killed because of her relationship with Roland. If that was the case, would there be a target painted on Claire's back as well? Well, that was a risk that could be minimized.
Pregnancies were dangerous. Given that this wasn't a normal pregnancy, it carried more risk. If she was going to terminate, she had to do it right away. But was that what she wanted? No, she didn’t think it was. There was no reason she couldn’t have a baby, either. She had a steady job and good salary. She could take care of a child. Especially since the father was a billionaire. If she kept the baby, things would work out.
With a sigh, she pulled out her phone and dialed Roland. He answered quickly, as though he had been waiting for her to call.
"If I decide I don't want to risk this pregnancy, what will you do?" she asked, without even a hello.
There was a moment of silence on the other side, and Roland sighed. "I will understand. It's a lot for you to come to terms with."
"But will you find another woman to try to have a baby with? You need your Alpha heir."
"I… I don't know." Roland's voice lowered. "I'm not sure how much more I can take. But if you don't want to have my children, yes. I'll look somewhere else. You don't have to feel pressured."
Jealousy swirled in Claire's heart. It surprised her how much she hated the idea of Roland sleeping with other women. It wasn't like she had any hold on him!
"I have proven myself capable of getting women pregnant, Claire. It's not..." Another sigh. "I want you to have my child. If you don't want to be responsible for a baby right now, we can work something out. I'll take full custody, you don't have to be part of our lives." Every word sounded like it was costing Roland something.
Claire lay down on the bed again, staring up at the ceiling. She could hear how much Roland wanted this baby–wanted the baby, and wanted her. "What if I want to keep it? Custody and all?"
"We can figure that out."
Claire knew what she was going to do. "I didn't want to have a baby this soon. And I wanted to be in a stable relationship first. But even though I'm scared shitless, I'm going to do it. I'm going to carry the baby to term." Unless the full moon killed it. Claire let out a shuddering breath. "Can I come over tonight?"
"Of course."
"I'll see you at 6:00, then." Claire hung up, pressing her hands to her soft stomach. Whether she was ready or not, this was happening.