Chapter 33

ANASTASIA MULBERRY

At eight and a half months pregnant, Anastasia could barely get up from her seat. When she struggled to do so in front of the pack doctor, Raphael and Justas as her name was called, they all chuckled while she huffed and rolled her eyes, only a little bit annoyed.

“You’re laughing at me, but you have no idea what it feels like to be the size of a whale.”

Justas chuckled quietly while Raphael bent over in half and laughed loudly, tears spilling from the corner of his eyes.

“It’s not funny!” She protested but when he continued laughing at her, she huffed and pushed past them both before nodding respectively at the pack doctor who helped the door open for her, an amused smirk playing on his lips.

“How are you feeling today, Miss Mulberry?”

“Hugh.” She sighed as she dropped herself on the sofa in the doctor’s office, drained from having taken just a few steps. “What have I said about you calling me Miss Mulberry?”

“Not to.” Hugh’s lips twitched higher.

At first, she had been feeling very apprehensive about changing from her regular doctor at the hospital to the pack doctor when she was so far into her pregnancy, but it was only on the insistence of her previous doctor and the budding fathers-to-be that she reluctantly agreed. It appeared that they believed it would be far more relevant and useful if she were to see a werewolf doctor, or even a doctor that specialised in wolf births in case of any complications and being able to better tend to her needs.

While ultimately, she agreed with her doctor, she was still nervous about it all. Luckily, Hugh, the pack doctor had been nothing short of great and welcoming when she had walked into his office three appointments ago, having just entered into her third trimester.

“Exactly.” She hummed with a smile of her own, but mock scowled as Raphael and Justas joined them in the room, the latter closing the door behind them to give them some privacy from the few wolves that were sat in the waiting room outside, not that they wouldn’t easily be able to eavesdrop with their enhanced supernatural hearing.

“Okay, let’s try again.” He chuckled as he grabbed his desk chair and scooted it across the room to position it in front of her. “How are you feeling today, Anastasia?”

“Bloated, tired and I’m hungry all the time.”

“More like hangry.” Raphael muttered from behind his hand, ensuring he was loud enough for her to hear even with her human hearing.

“Very funny.” She mocked scowled at him, unable to hold back the playful smile that her lips twisted in to. “I may be hangry but just remember, this baby is getting half my DNA so give it a few years and you’ll have another hangry me to deal with.”

The three wolves in the room chuckled at her response before they got down to business. The check-up was standard and didn’t take very long. Within half an hour the trio were in and out of the office but instead of heading back to the pack house for dinner, they decided to grab a bite to eat at one of the diners on pack grounds. It was mostly due to Anastasia’s insistence as she didn’t want to step a foot back into the pack house after how Alpha Storm had treated her last time.

She was just thankful that the doctor’s office was on pack grounds but technically not in the packhouse but rather, just down the road from it.

Once they ordered their food and the waitress had dropped them off, Anastasia glanced up to find two pairs of amused eyes watching.

“What?” She sounded ungraciously as she reached for a handful of fries, dunking them in her milkshake one by one.

“Nothing.” Raphael chuckled as he reached down for her burger. “It’s just that you’ve ordered nearly enough food as us.”

Anastasia frowned as she glared at him. “Are you fat shaming me?”

He threw his head back and laughed, knowing his friend well enough to know that she didn’t care the least bit about what others thought of her.

“No, of course not!” Justas was quick to deny, afraid that his mate’s comment had upset her.

He would have moved onto apologising on behalf of his mate but when the other two shared a knowing look and burst out laughing, he huffed and rolled his eyes.

“I don’t get your guys’ friendship. It’s so confusing.” He groaned before taking a bite of his burger, shaking his head as they continued laughing.

The rest of the dinner continued like this, with Raphael and Anastasia taking jabs at each other and with Justas in the middle playing the moderator.

“I don’t think you should drive home tonight.” Justas hummed as she watched her carefully from over the rim of his coffee mug, a thoughtful expression on his face. “You look awfully tired.”

“Then how do you suggest I get home?” Anastasia asked as she leaned back against the booth she was sat on, rubbing her hands up and down her very fully belly, the pup inside suddenly very excitable despite how drained she was beginning to feel.

Raphael and Justas shared a brief, knowing look before they both turned back to face her.

“You could always stay the night in the pack house.” Raphael suggested quietly, aware that she wasn’t the biggest fan of their Alpha at the moment, and with good reason, too.

“No. That’s not an option.” She shook her head sharply, not even taking a moment to think about it. “One of you could just give me a ride and I could drop by tomorrow to pick up my car or something.”

“We could drive you home,” Raphael hummed with a small smirk on his face. “But we’re not. And we’re certainly not going to let you drive home when you’re carrying such special cargo.”