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.

the room, Ella was sitting up in bed, looking surprisingly

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I felt her fear through the mate bond, every instinct to protect

my hands immediately going to her face to check for injuries. I 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

I

met my gaze with a thin smile. “I just got really sick at lunch and passed out. They’re running some tests to figure out what

throughout this entire exchange, cleared her throat. “Ella tells me she has been experiencing prolonged nausea and vomiting, which we initially attributed to typical pregnancy symptoms.

I whirled

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

what you eat. You haven’t had any fish

told them.” Ella’s brow furrowed. “I’ve been following all the pregnancy guidelines. No raw fish, no high–mercury species. Lilith’s been making sure

“Mercury poisoning during pregnancy can be tricky to diagnose because the symptoms mimic

for the

done. However, if the exposure had continued for another few weeks, it could have caused serious

backwards. We could have lost our child,

hands over her face. “I’ve been so careful. Lilith checks everything before she

trusted Lilith, too. With Ella’s life, in

Dr. Evelyn explained. “Certain supplements, some imported foods, even contaminated cookware. We’ll need

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

this, but Ella’s fainting spell

happened.

time we were finally cleared to leave the hospital, it was nearly evening. Ella was steady on her

to process everything that had happened. Mercury poisoning. How the hell had mercury gotten into

home, pacing the front hallway. The moment