Chapter 4

Caustic 8

Jason

The phone rang for the umpteenth time that morning and I was seriously considering chucking it out in the snow. I sat slumped over my desk with aches where they had no right to be, ignoring the caller. From the tenth floor of my company building, I could see the things happening in Rosedale but nothing seemed to interest me.

I had returned from a business trip in Tokyo and after a little sleep, my phone was blowing up with calls. I should have known what I was getting into when I had appeared on the top ten list of the youngest billionaires in the world. I ranked at number four and had no intention of dropping lower than that. Simultaneously, that meant working harder and putting in longer hours.

Carter Inc. had been my idea child while my friends were chasing the wind and partying hard. My favourite childhood toy had been a calculator. I had grown with an adult’s view of the world and counted down the years till I was eighteen. Now, I was only twenty-six and my list of achievements were spilling over.

My pager binged from its position in my belt holster and I groaned out loud in my large office. Why couldn’t everyone just leave me alone? It was the number that had been calling earlier and I knew it had to be urgent if my grandmother’s doctor was disturbing my peace. I dialed his number, pressed the phone against my eyes and slid my eyes shut.

“Hello? Mr Carter?”

“I’m listening, Elijah,” I assured him, kneading the stress from my forehead. God, when was the last time I had a massage?

“It’s Mrs Carter. She is acting out and refused to take her medication. She is not talking to anyone and I am worried.” Wasn’t he the medical expert? If he didn’t know what to do, what help was he expecting from me?

“Maybe you can consider my suggestion? Last week, she reduced a nurse to tears and it took a lot to contain the situation.”

Doctor Elijah Moore had been my mother’s physiotherapist since she developed a partial stroke. In her youth, she had a wild streak and had been a race car driver back in the day. My grandfather, her husband was long gone, passing away while I was chasing my bachelor’s degree in Financial Analysis. My parents were a sore topic I left buried in the past where was best.

Grandma Carter had previously lived with me and I had hired live-in caregivers to help out. However, they never lasted long because of her caustic nature. In her defence, it was not easy on the mind to have to depend on people when you were used to being a fun-loving daredevil.

She was the coolest grandmother on the planet, with the Hawaiian tattoo on her neck to show for it but her stroke had limited the amount of fun she could have. At eighty, arthritis crept up on her occasionally and she did exercises with Elijah. He was the only one beside me who had the patience to care for her.

“I don’t want a caregiver!” I heard Grandma protest from somewhere close to the phone. “Teach your goddamn nurses to keep their noses out of my business.”

The mother of my father was headstrong and was used to getting her way. She had transferred those traits to me and while they were useful to me in business, they were getting in the way of her recovery.

“Elijah, I will find someone for her even if I have to pay them a fortune to put up with her ugly attitude. I will be in the hospital in an hour.”

Clarissa

“Pregnant? It is not possible.” Clyde and I had been careful. He had never knotted in me and we monitored my heat periods closely.

“But it is. The tests are almost never wrong. I take it you have been sexually active. Where is your partner?”

I scoffed, unaware of what to say to him. Should I tell him the father of my child was in fact my Alpha who had banished me? What would he think of me?

“He is not in the picture. Doctor, are you absolutely sure of what you are saying?”

He sighed, leading me back to my bed. I obediently went along, feeling the strength in him. He was probably a Gamma wolf but his eyes were golden, typical of a potential Alpha. What was such a man doing in the human world as a doctor, serving beings lower than us?

“I have been doing this job for fifteen years, Clarissa and I know everything there is to know. Added to the tests, it is confirmed that you are at least three weeks gone. You are expecting and as a werewolf, you need the company of your mate during this period. Pregnancy is not easy to go through alone.”

Didn’t I know that? But Mother had died in labour even when Father had practically glued himself to her side. I was strong and could take care of myself and my baby if the worse happened. The gestation period for werewolves was shorter than the humans meaning I had limited time to decide what to do.

An idea blossomed in my mind and I pondered on it. The baby had to be Clyde’s because since my first heat period at sixteen, I had never slept with another man. Clyde had been it for me and I had been content with his affection. He might be angry with me but a baby was a game changer. Perhaps if he knew I was carrying his child, he would give me a chance to say my side of the story.

“You never told me your name,” I prodded the friendly doctor, earning a grin from him.

“I am Jericho. Now what do you plan to do with your baby?”

I stood up, my mind made up. Clyde may not want me anymore but he would want his child even more. Though I felt guilty about using my unborn child as a guarantee for my safety, it was all I had. I had to try.

“I am going home to live with my parents,” I lied, avoiding his eyes. The piercing orbs were too discerning and when he stared at me, I felt like a bug under a microscope.

“You know I can tell when you are lying, right?” he said and I blanched, twisting my fingers nervously. He came closer and for some reason, I was at ease with him. He enveloped me in a warm hug and rested his chin on my head.

“If your partner rejects you or you discover you cannot take care of the child, come to me. I can help.”

He held me at armslength and left, allowing me some privacy. In my haste to leave, I changed quickly to my clothes and zoomed past the receptionist’s cubicle. I patted down my skirt to remove wrinkles and as I went through the front door, I crashed into a mobile wall.