The Other Part of Me

Cassie

Cassie heard voices around her, but they sounded warbled and far away. She tried to open her eyes but felt so sleepy. Her body felt sore, she was cramping, and her head hurt, and her heart felt as if it was breaking.

"Eva, what's happening?" She tried asking her wolf. Eva did not respond, but Cassie was able to deduce her broken heart stemmed within. "Eva, why am I feeling this..." she was asleep before she was able to complete the question. The next time she woke up, she managed to open her eyes and keep them open. She was groggy and tired. She noticed the edge was taken off most of the pain she had felt earlier, her heart still felt wounded. She looked around the unfamiliar surroundings. Everything was blindingly white and sterile, save for the IV stand next to her which was chrome in color.

She saw a bunch of bandages and tubes taped to her left arm. She was clearly in a medical facility - where they likely already drew blood.

Cassie grabbed the tubes and pulled them out of her arm. She tried to stand but the moment her feet touched the surface of the cold, hard floor, she began to tip over with dizziness.

"Easy there," she heard a familiar voice against her ear, as strong arms came around to steady her. "What are you doing?"

"Braden?” Her voice was raspy, her throat felt dry. "Get me out of here. The bloodwork will come back abnormal." She pushed against him weakly.

"Shhh-it's okay," he enforced his hold on her. "You're in the pack hospital. Everything is fine. Let's get you back in bed." He scooped her up in his arms and gently dropped her back in the bed. He pulled the sheets across her body. "Close your eyes. You've been through a lot." He stepped away from her for a moment-she heard him call for a nurse.

She was in the pack hospital.

It slowly started to come back to her. "The fire was anyone hurt?"

He pulled up a chair close to her. She looked at him, realizing he looked like a mess. His hair was disheveled, his eyes were bloodshot, and he had heavy five-o'clock shadow growing. He leaned forward, stroking her cheek, without saying a word.

He leaned his bedraggled face close to her. "Go to sleep. You won't be released until you've regained your strength."

A nurse came in then. Cassie recognized her face but at this moment, didn't care about her name at that moment. Braden looked like a mess and she could smell he hadn't showered.

As the nurse busied herself with reinserting the I.V.'s and checking on her vitals, Cassie spoke to her mate. "Braden, you need sleep and a shower, and I'm guessing food. Go home, I'll be fine."

He shook his head. "I'm not leaving your side." He asserted. "I don't care if you're the one hurting here, I'm not leaving your side until you've been discharged."

The nurse turned to him. "You can use the shower in the bathroom," she motioned to one of the doors in the room. "I can have one of the orderlies to bring you some towels and bathing supplies, and I can call the mansion and ask Jason to bring you something to wear."

He nodded.

The nurse turned to Cassie. "We have feminine pads in the closet, if you feel you have the strength to change yourself, great, if not, just give us a buzz and one of us can come help with the change."

Cassie smiled. "Oh, I don't need them right now, I'm-," it dawned on her. She looked at Braden, who chose this moment to look away from her. "Oh," was all she could say.

"How's the pain?" The nurse asked. "You were moaning earlier, with all you have going on, we figured you were in pain. We administered pain medicine through the IV drip, you calmed down substantially after that."

She looked at her bandaged arm. "How much damage is there?" She asked. "Aside from," she placed her hand on her belly. She couldn't bring herself to say the words in front of Braden.

The nurse started typing away at the computer in the room. "Nothing that won't heal with time." When she was done, she walked to Cassie and Braden, grabbing their hands and joining them together. "You can try again. It's not the end." With that, she walked out of the room, closing the door behind her.

Braden curled his fingers around Cassie's hand.

Neither moved, neither spoke. They remained immobilized. She didn't know what to tell him, as far as he knew, she was considering aborting the baby, she didn't get to tell him she had changed her mind. To express sadness in front of him felt hypocritical.

A knock came to the door. A young, teenager walked in. "Daphne asked me to bring these things to Alpha Braden," she said, walking towards them.

Braden turned. "Thank you," he said accepting the bath items. As soon as the girl left, he turned to her. "Do you need anything?"

She shook her head. He nodded. "I'll just be in there for a few minutes."

As soon as he disappeared into the bathroom, Cassie stood up slowly. Once upright, she felt a whoosh of fluid exit her lower body. She looked down her legs and saw an excess of blood running down.

She placed her hands over her belly, dropped herself on the floor and began sobbing quietly.

Two knocks joined the sounds of her silent sobs before Gloria walked. "Braden?"

Cassie covered her face. She didn't want Gloria, of all people, to see her like this.

"Oh, hon," she heard the woman say, "Let me help you." She ignored her and continued to cry.

A few minutes later, Cassie managed to compose herself a little. Gloria cleaned her up and assisted her with a fresh pair of hospital underwear and a new pad. She helped her get back on the bed.

She was wiping blood from the white floor with paper towels when Braden emerged from the bathroom.

"What happened?" Braden rushed to Cassie. She turned to face the wall.

When Cassie remained silent, Gloria spoke, "I brought you a change of clothes and something from the kitchen. When I walked in, she was crying on the floor." She heard the sound of running water. "I wanted to come apologize to her for the way I behaved," Cassie heard Gloria say. "Many of us do."

She heard Braden sigh. "Now's not a good time for that. Maybe wait until we're back home."

"It's just that, we heard a prediction that came from Magdalena from Spearhead," she paused. "We thought it meant-,"

Braden quickly interjected. "Not now, Gloria. Please go home."

After a moment, she heard the door open and close.

Cassie felt Braden move away from her. She heard rustling and zippers, and finally felt Braden lie down next to her on the small bed.

She reached for his hand and brought it around her waist. "I'm so sorry, Braden." She whispered.

He nuzzled her neck. "Bridgette told me."

Tears brimmed her eyes. "I'll be going back to L.A. after this." She sniffled. "I miss my family."