Chapter Twenty Three : Sudden Warnings
Almost 20 minutes later, I was back in Eros’ room, lounging on the bed because I had nothing better to do.
If the next couple of days are going to be like this, then I might just die of boredom. I was always used to the fast pace life with work being my main priority, other than trying to find what made me stop aging. It was odd to be sitting around like this.
Rora had brought me some books to read but I was already getting bored of that too. No one was willing to give me a phone or laptop because they were afraid that I would try to contact someone and escape. Which that would be something that I would do.
What person in their right mind wouldn’t?
At the moment, I felt as if I was a sitting duck, waiting for the danger and attack to come. It made me nervous, anxious and slightly hesitant.
According to that werewolf council, I only had 6 months time to be marked, mated, and pupped. I wonder what the consequences were if Eros and I did not mate by that time. Were they going to take me away from this pack and hand me off to another Alpha who could finish the job?
That last thought nearly had me leaping out of the bed.
That’s not a possibility, right?
They wouldn’t do something that depraved...right?
I’m not quite certain about their morals of taking away someone’s mate and handing that mate to another male to breed heirs. Just the thought of getting handed off to any male made me queasy.
If that’s the case then I would rather stay with Eros.
Who knew if I would be upgraded to first class, downgraded to coach, or seated on the wings of the plane?
I really didn’t want to test my luck and, from somewhere deep in my heart, I felt as if being stuck with Eros as a mate wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. I’m never going to admit it though.
This isn’t a case of Stockholm syndrome right?
“Emi? I brought some cookies,” Granny Ada called through the door before bringing in a plate of cookies with her. My eyes immediately zoomed in on the zucchini cookies on the plate.
Don’t judge a zucchini cookie before eating one. Although they don’t look very appetizing, they are quite yummy and slightly healthier than the average cookie.
Just the sweet and delicious scent was making my mouth water.
I almost reached out and took a zucchini cookie until I remembered that Zanthos helped make them.
This could be a delicious trap set by Zanthos. I’m not too sure if I want to walk right into that one. Hopefully, Granny Ada was there to surveillance the entire time to make sure he didn’t put anything weird in.
But then again, I shouldn’t judge him just by his arrogant and creepy attitude. Who knows, he could be a softy at heart, like a big giant with a cotton candy heart.
Who am I kidding?
He still creeps me out.
“I didn’t come just to bring cookies, Emi. I wanted to detail you in on some information,” she informed, taking a seat on the bed and watching me salivate at the cookies before throwing caution to the wind and taking a bite.
This was one delicious cookie!
Heck, I ended up eating almost three before stopping because I didn’t want to ruin my lunch. If the delicious food continued coming my way like this, I doubted that I can ever leave this place.
“Eros said that you are a scientist,” she stated, watching my facial expressions.
I knew she was hinting towards my experimentation of her kind.
Although I am ashamed of what I have done, I can’t really change my past.
“I am. I experimented on supernaturals for the government for a couple of months.” I wasn’t afraid to admit what I did because my grandmother didn’t teach me to be a coward. I own up to what I did, no matter how bad it may be.
“I’m not too sure if you have encountered breeders in your research, but I want to inform you in case old age gets to me and I become too senile to remember,” she joked rather dramatically.
I almost spat out the bits of cookie in my mouth to laugh.
Yup.
Granny Ada definitely reminded me of my grandmother, who I always say was a comedian in the last life. The lady was funny, from facial expression down to the contagious laugh.
I was getting really fond of Granny Ada and her sense of humor. She was too nice not to like. It’s hard to hate a person that’s feeding you zucchini cookies and cooking your meals. My grandma always said to never bite the hand that feeds you, and I don’t plan on going against it.
“As a breeder, you are more special than regular she-wolves. You have the ability to conceive several times a year. For regular werewolves, we can only conceive from rutting during the solstice moon, when the mating season approaches. Which is usually around springtime with a duration of a week because we go into oestrus for only 5-7 days. She-wolves are not as easy to impregnate,” she said, putting aside all theatrics to seriously relay information that she deemed beneficial for me.
My eyes almost bulged out of their sockets at her choice in topic.
Why did I have to hear words like ‘rut’ and learn about mating while I am enjoying these good zucchini cookies? The timing could have been tweaked a little.
Granny Ada either noticed my discomfort and chose to ignore it or didn’t care too much for my blatantly uncomfortable face, that possibly looked like I was constipated for weeks.
“Our chances of conception run lower than even human females; although, the time of pregnancy is only 4-5 months compared to the 9-10 month time of the average human woman. Many couples rut the entirety of the solstice moon, yet some tend to come out with no results. She-wolves have rapid healing and strong bodies that tend to destroy the male’s seed upon entry. It is almost like the destruction of bacteria from white blood cells in a defense of sorts to keep out virus and infection. The stronger the she-wolf, the harder it is to conceive. Yet the stronger the she-wolf, the higher the chance of the pups survival during pregnancy.”
At this point in time, I was listening to her carefully while nibbling on a cookie. It seemed interesting to learn about the differences between human females and she-wolves.
“The she-wolf can become impregnated with multiple pups; however, most do not carry to full term or one or more of said pups may end up being stillborn. It is a very common occurrence. As a breeder, you have the ability to carry a full litter in succession and to full term. Your body was gifted to easily conceive and heal after conception.” Her bright eyes seem to be gauging my reaction to see if there were any questions.
I just nodded along before the information was actually processed.
Wait.
What the hell?
“Full litter?” I choked out through a dried mouth, full of cookie crumbs and zucchini. She was quick to hand me a cup of milk.
“Yes. Full litter. As in 4-8 pups per pregnancy,” she explained with this look that said that this was something entirely normal for the female population to have 4-8 kids at the same time.
That is not normal.
Not for humans anyway.
My mouth dropped open in disbelief for several seconds.
I knew that it was not a well-mannered look, but I couldn’t really control my emotions.
I already had knowledge on this information from research; however, it is a completely different story when said information is being applied to myself.
My throat felt bone dry when I cleared it once with a cough to cover the embarrassing atmosphere.
At least I wouldn’t have to get in vitro to have 8 kids.
But then again, do I really want to give birth to 4-8 ‘pups’?
Who even knew what would come out?
I unconsciously crossed my legs at the thought and could feel the blood leave my face at the extremity of her words.
No way.
No way in hell am I going to birth 4-8 kids at the same time.
I would be called octo-mom for years if my relatives knew!
And I doubted that I could be a good mom to eight ‘children’ at the same time. Not many women would be able to take care of all eight and give them the care that they needed.
I only have two arms.
Eight and two don’t go together.
At least not in my books.
And knowing my luck, if I ever ended up pregnant with Eros’ kids, I would be the one with eight kids.
Wait.
Why am I even considering having Eros’ children?
I was quick to clear my wayward thoughts after that, patting my chest as if to laugh off this strangely nightmare like reality. The tempting notion to stay with Eros was starting to invade my thoughts, but reality was quick to drag me back. This information was definitely a slap to the face and it woke me up from the dream.
I do admit that the life I previously lived wasn’t exactly desirable, but at least I had a choice in everything I did. Although I lived with a mask on every day and was always in complete fear of being discovered for my abnormalities—okay, who am I kidding?
Do I really want to go back to a place where I would stand out in a way that could cause danger to myself? Or stay in a place where I wouldn’t be looked at like a freak and used as a specimen for scientific experiments?
Even a five-year-old would choose the latter.
I mean, once I listed the pro and cons, I found that staying seemed like a better option. But a part of me, that didn’t like following rules, wanted to rebel.
I didn’t want to have a werewolf council telling me what to do or submitting to their demands without a question or fight.
And the thought of having 8 kids didn’t seem desirable either.
What should I do?
Stay or go?