The Forest

Thirty-Eight.

TW: Miscarriages

Lucia stood before me with a slight frown on her face. I had been here for the last four hours since Court had brought me in.

Lucia had come over to see if I was stable before she went back to attending Lotus.

Lotus had spent the last four hours in labor. She's still in labor. Every now and then I could hear her yelling. Thorin had been there by her side the entire time.

She had happened to go into labor at the worst time possible. When a skin-changer and minotaur attacked. The entire two packs are on high alert now.

We were in a building that had been turned into a makeshift infirmary. I assume this is what this building's purpose will be from now on. It was large and sectioned off into rooms for anyone who came in seeking medical attention.

Which is why I'm here. I was covered in bruises from when the skin-changer had physically assaulted me. But that wasn't that part that had worried Court. It was when I began bleeding and it formed on the dress when I was sitting.

My period wasn't due yet and even if it was it was never quite this heavy.

The awkward questions of Lucia asking if the skin-changer had assaulted me came next. I denied it. He never got the chance when I began ripping off pieces of his face and then me shifting and tearing him apart.

I've always been human. There was no fear of me being anything else. Then I turned into a wolf.

I had been the bridge between the humans and the wolf-shifters. But now I'm just one of them. There's nothing connecting me to the humans any more than there was with Court. And they had turned on Court at one point.

I had been the one to patch those relations but now I didn't know what to do.

Court leaned up into me before pressing a kiss to my cheek. He's still the same though. Out of everything that has changed Court remains the same.

He hadn't left my side since he had found me. He had been the one to help me shift back and then hold me through it all. I have no clue what I would do without him. 

Another scream from the room Lotus is in came out.

"Do you think she's okay?" I asked.

"She has a lot of people with her. Childbirth can be complicated, and I hear it can hurt as well, but Lotus is strong. She can do it."

Court wrapped an arm around me as I curled up into him. "Are you okay my love?" Court asked.

"I'm in a lot of pain and I'm cramping badly." I murmured.

"I know, Lucia said she's looking into it. Hold on for me." 

I had no choice but to hold on. I'd do it for both me and him. 

The two of us sat there waiting for Lucia to be done with Lotus. Xerxes had appeared before she had.

He had walked into the infirmary and took a look around before spotting us and coming over. 

"Ruby." He gave me a nod before turning to Court.

"What?" Court asked.

"I came to tell you we've disposed of the minotaur. We found two other skin-changers not that far out and another minotaur we disposed of them and sent a small group out, six strong, to see if there were any others. As far as we know they were the only ones."

"Did you find anything out?" Court asked.

"A little bit from one of the skin-changers. They stopped pressing borders to have us lower our guard. They intended to lure out one of the leaders' mates to kill. Lotus is always surrounded and there's no chance of her slipping away so they choose Ruby and lured her out using her mother." Xerxes answered.