103: Ada's POV

They had me change into a starchy, itchy hospital gown.

It was a minor inconvenience, really, and I knew that. But I hated having to do it. I hated the awkward greetings and the basic instructions. I hated the sterile smell of the room and the general coldness that seemed to permeate everything— from the ground, to the tables, to the chairs, and even to the hands of the doctors there to evaluate. I knew it was a necessity, but I had yet to find a way to alleviate the anxiety that seemed to begin the second someone told me that was where I was headed.

A pack doctor entered the cold room I was in. I shifted on the exam table, rubbing at an itchy spot on my shoulder. He shot me a smile, and I froze. Something about his demeanor was so different from any of my previous visits to this exam room. He seemed far more relaxed. His face wasn’t drawn tight, his muscles weren’t taut. His white coat was loose and even had several wrinkles. The cut of his hair was also different— more grown out and disheveled. As he smiled at me, crinkles appeared in the corners of his eyes. I’d only seen this particular doctor twice before this moment, both toward the end of Alpha King Everett’s reign.

He extended his hand to me, “I’m happy that I can finally introduce myself to you. I’m Eric, the doctor to the Royal family of the Kingdom of the Moonglade.” I took his hand, hesitating slightly as we shook. Eric was sitting on a stool, leaning back against a counter that was behind him as he released my hand. He opened my chart and skimmed over several pages, “You’ve made a lot of improvement since coming here, Ada. How do you feel about how things are going?”

I blinked at him, “What?”

His laugh rang out like a wind chime on a windy morning, “Alpha King Nikolai placed me in charge of your care once his father was deceased.” Eric ran a hand through his shaggy blonde hair. “He also lifted all of the restrictions his father had placed on those dealing with you before,” he offered me my chart, nodding at me as I slowly reached for it, “What would you like to know?”

“There were restrictions?” I blurted out, simply setting the unopened chart in my lap.

“Yes. We weren’t allowed to speak directly with you unless Alpha King Everett gave us direct permission.” Eric’s brown eyes seemed to darken as he pursed his lips, “We all had to constantly mind link him to everything that was said to you in this room. Honestly, it was exhausting.”

How had I not realized that was going on? Had I seriously been naive enough to just believe that everyone in Oberon Castle simply hated my guts? Clearly, I had. It made sense that such restrictions had been in place, given what Everett had been trying to keep hidden from everyone. A spark of anger ran through my body, making my spine go rail-rod straight. Had anyone been who they really were with me? Had any honesty been allowed when he had been alive? I’d truly been a captive of his court— and someone he didn’t trust enough to even let someone like a pack doctor be honest with.

I worked to shake the anger from my bones, trying to force a kind smile to grow on my face. All I managed was a grimace that made Eric’s smile falter slightly. My voice was level, “I’m sorry. Can you go over some of the things that were kept from me?”
The way his expression morphed told me there was more than I genuinely cared to know. I hissed out a breath, “Just the important ones.”

“Yes,” Eric clucked his tongue and stood, pulling on a pair of gloves, “Would you be alright if I did that while completing your current assessment?” When I shook my head, he held out his hand. I handed him the folder, and he set it on the counter before motioning for me to lie down, “I need to palpate your stomach.” I lay back, the paper behind me crunching. Eric stepped forward and lightly pressed into my stomach, his eyes focused on the space beside my head, “We weren’t allowed to tell you anything other than the basics. In the beginning, we were able to tell you about our weight and whether or not you were pregnant. Nothing else was cleared to share with you.”

He motioned at my breasts, and I gave a little nod. He palpated the flesh quickly, moving on as quickly as possible. His hands went up, palpating below my jawline and behind my ears. After a few more areas of palpation, he offered me his hand and helped me sit back up.

My voice cracked, “What more was there to tell me?”

Eric sat back down and sighed, “Your blood results, for starters. They have always been skewed heavily,” he opened my chart and pointed to a set of values, “We have never been able to get clear readings from your blood draws because of the magickal properties in your blood. My team and I wanted to talk to you because we were fairly certain you had abilities,” he waggled his eyebrows, “Which you confirmed when you froze off King Everett’s hand at the ball.”

I shifted, crossing my legs, “What else?”

“I wasn’t allowed to educate you on anything medically.”

My eyebrows furrowed as I stared at him, “Explain.”

“Everett wasn’t interested in hearing the truth, which is that what he was trying to do wouldn’t have worked,” Eric shook his head, “Prophecy or destiny be damned, wolves have very clear biological ticks, and he didn’t want you to know about them.”

“Can you tell me now?” My heart was thudding quickly in my chest.

“Of course,” Eric laced his fingers together and leaned back once more, “I’ve been instructed to no longer keep things from you. King Nikolai was very clear about that,” Eric shuddered, “Most wolves must go into heat to conceive. Every individual’s body is different, but primarily, we see that she-wolves tend to go into heat more frequently when they have completed mate bonds. *And,*” he stressed, “more often than not, females won’t go into heat before the age of twenty-one. We think that it has something to do with their bodies being more able to carry pups to term safely.”

A thousand thoughts flooded into my mind, but one was louder than the rest. I squinted, cocking my head to the side, “Elizabeth Jane—”

“Is an exception to most rules,” Eric finished and made a quick note in my chart, “Listen, there’s not much to be gained from other details. Your body is reacting well to the mate bonds you’ve secured. You’re healthy. It will happen eventually,” he motioned to my body as a whole, “Go ahead and change and head out. Feel free to reach out if you need anything, but I don’t need to see you for another six months.”

Eric left me to get dressed and think.