The sickened luna’s last chance

Alexander

I was knee–deep in vendor contracts for the supporter picnic when my phone rang. Gabriel was pacing

around my office, rattling off logistics about sound equipment and security protocols, but I barely heard him over the spreadsheet I was reviewing.

The call display showed Liam’s name, which was strange. He rarely called me directly. We’d settled into a distant sort of quasi–friendship since the time he’d spent living here, mostly just for Ella’s sake, but we weren’t close enough to have random phone calls for catching up.

“Alexander, you need to get to Memorial Hospital right now,” Liam said the moment I answered.

My blood instantly went cold. “What happened?”

“It’s Ella. She got sick while we were having lunch and collapsed. The paramedics brought her in about twenty minutes ago.”

The phone nearly slipped from my hand. “Is she okay? Is the baby-”

“I don’t know yet. They won’t tell me anything because I’m not family.” Liam’s usually calm demeanor cracked audibly. “Just get here. Fast.”

I was already reaching for my jacket before I’d even hung up. Gabriel stopped mid–sentence, eyebrows

raised.

“What’s wrong?”

“Ella fainted and went to the hospital,” I explained, tugging on my jacket. “I have to go.”

Gabriel just looked exasperated. “Alpha, I’m sure she’s fine. Pregnant females get dizzy spells all the time. We still need to finalize these contracts-”

I whirled around to glare at him. “Did you not hear me, Gabriel? My mate–your Luna–is in the hospital. The contracts can fucking wait.”

Gabriel’s mouth snapped shut at the authority in my tone, but I was already halfway out the door, not bothering to dwell on his insubordinate reaction just yet.

The drive to the hospital felt like it took hours instead of fifteen minutes, but finally, I arrived–probably breaking about two hundred traffic laws in the process. I screeched into a parking space and barely even waited for the car to stop fully before I rushed inside, where Liam was waiting for me. He led me to her room, and I braced myself for the worst before entering.

room, Ella was sitting up in bed, looking surprisingly alert. She looked a little pale, but

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was shaky. My wolf instantly surged as I felt her fear through the mate bond, every instinct to protect her suddenly snapping into place like a bomb had gone off in

cupped her cheeks, turning her head this way and that, even running my fingers along her neck as if afraid I might find a seam where it was about

I blurted

thin smile. “I just got really sick at lunch and passed

cleared her throat. “Ella tells me she has been experiencing prolonged nausea and vomiting, which we initially attributed to typical pregnancy symptoms. However, our blood work

stomach dropped and I whirled to face the doctor. “Concerning

mercury in her bloodstream. Not immediately dangerous levels, but high enough to cause the symptoms she’s been experiencing.” Dr. Evelyn consulted her clipboard. “It appears to

Ella, confused. “But you’ve been careful about what you eat. You haven’t

been following all the pregnancy guidelines. No raw fish, no high–mercury species. Lilith’s

“Mercury poisoning during pregnancy can be tricky to diagnose because the symptoms mimic normal pregnancy discomfort. The levels we found suggest prolonged,

does that mean for

However, if the exposure had continued for another few weeks, it could have

We could have lost our child, and

over her face. “I’ve been so careful. Lilith checks

too. With Ella’s life, in

foods, even contaminated cookware. We’ll need

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mercury poisoning, likely consumed over a long period of time.

thought I would say this, but Ella’s fainting spell was probably the best thing that could

happened.

was nearly evening. Ella was steady on her

home was quiet. Ella dozed in the passenger seat while I tried to process everything that had happened. Mercury poisoning.

when we got home, pacing the front hallway. The