Chapter 22 - Elena

The stench that hit Elena's nostrils as consciousness returned to her made her want to retch. Herby, floral and overpowering, it was impossible to pick out one scent from another, but there had to be at least one hundred different herbs and flowers. It made it nearly impossible to smell anything else.

How anyone could have so many scents all in one room baffled her. She blinked open her eyes, relieved at least that the room was dimly lit by candles.

The scents, the candles, the smokiness of the air, all pointed to one thing. She was in the healer's store—the one where Layla sold much of her produce now—and by the lack of windows, she guessed it was the back room.

As the world returned to her, so did her mind and her memory. She panicked, remembering the attack and how painful it had been. The way the wolves had torn at her as she had desperately tried to fight them off. They'd gone from wanting to take her to Christopher to willing to kill her for fighting back in an instant. She didn't regret her actions—at least, not for herself.

Her hands flew to her stomach, the panic growing. "Oh no, please, no!"

She felt oddly hollow, empty, lifeless. She recognized that feeling all too well. She had felt it the last time she lost her baby. Tears started to well in her eyes, but before they could fall, hands grabbed hers.

"Elena, be calm. Everything is alright."

Hanson's voice was calm, affectionate, reassuring, but it did very little to help her panic.

Instead, she bit at him, "How can you possibly know that?"

She snatched her hands away from his. It was simply too painful to have him touch her. Oversensitive, panicked, vulnerable, she bared her teeth at him. "Get away from me. Don't tell me everything is alright when clearly it isn't!"

Hanson's face fell. He pulled back.

"He's right," a gentle voice said from the doorway, and the beaded curtain parted to reveal Layla. The she-wolf looked tired, a little weary, but otherwise unharmed. That was something, at least. "Everything is fine, Elena."

"How…how can you possibly know that?" Elena asked, her throat constricting. Everyone had told her that before, and she had still been forced to lay her baby on a funeral pyre.

"Violet looked you over herself," Layla said, moving to stand at the end of the bed. "She's assured me that both you and the pup are fine. You just need a little TLC to fully recover, and then you'll be right as rain."

Elena wasn't a huge fan of that saying. Sure, rain wasn't all bad, but it could often put a dampener on things.

As if she saw the continued uncertainty in Elena's eyes, Layla whipped something out from behind her back. It was a small, handheld device with what looked like a probe shaped like a microphone.

Elena raised an eyebrow and out of the corner of her eye, she saw a similar look on Hanson's face.

"It's a heartbeat doppler," Layla said, shrugging her shoulders. "Humans are good for some things."

"How…how does it work?" Elena asked, feeling more than a little stupid for not knowing what a heartbeat doppler was.

"I just stick a little jelly on your belly and use this end to find the baby's shoulder blade. Humans have to wait until sixteen weeks for this kind of thing, but we werewolves and our shorter pregnancies get to pick it up a lot earlier. Violet guessed you'd be about five to six weeks from your last period, is that right?"

Elena cringed at that. How witches knew things like that was beyond her. She nodded, gritting her teeth.

"Well, shall we try and give it a go?" Layla asked, looking between her and Hanson. She then paused on him and said, "Maybe you'd prefer to wait outside."

"I…I can go if Elena wants me to?" Hanson suggested, looking to her.

But even before he had finished, Elena reached for him.

If this was the moment she learned that she had lost their baby, she didn't want to be without him. She had been alone the last time, and it had broken her. But how would it be learning such a fate with the father at her side?

Suddenly, she wasn't so sure.

"It's entirely up to you," Hanson told her, holding out his hand.

Elena looked at it, and in a split second, she grabbed on tight, pulling him closer.

Layla came around the other side of the bed and reached down under it to grab something from underneath. Elena washed her squeeze a lubricant-like jelly onto the probe end of the device.

Humans and their little gadgets were strange, but if it worked it was worth a try.

"If you wouldn't mind just lifting your top," Layla said, and for the first time Elena realized that she was wearing clothes. The last thing she had known, she had been naked in the woods, having shifted to fight her way into the barn and rescue Hanson.

Now she wore what looked like an old oversized t-shirt and a pair of shorts. If she had to guess, from the floral design on the front of the t-shirt, she'd say they were Layla's.

She moved to pull up the t-shirt with one hand only to feel her ribs and shoulders aching painfully. She winced, remembering the battering she had received from the wolves of the enemy pack.

"Here, let me help," Hanson insisted, reaching out with his free hand to gently pull her t-shirt up.

"Thanks," she said, smiling at him, hoping he'd see in her eyes how sorry she was for snapping at him only a few minutes earlier.

"No problem," he told her, giving her hand a gentle squeeze.

"Okay then, shall we?" Layla asked, holding up the doppler.

Again, Elena felt the urge to reject the offer. She wasn't entirely sure she wanted to know. She wasn't ready to let go of the hope that maybe, just maybe, she had been given a second chance. If she had lost another baby, then what real hope was there for her?

As if he sensed her hesitation, Hanson squeezed her hand and leaned in close, whispering in her ear, "Do you trust me?"

A quiver ran through Elena at the way his warm breath stroked her earlobe.

"Yes," she whimpered with a small nod.

"Then trust me when I say everything is going to be fine," he told her, and he rested his free hand on her shoulder, stroking the bare flesh just above the collar of her t-shirt with the ball of his thumb. It sent a warm tingling sensation down her spine that did give her a little more reassurance that all was, in fact, going to be well.

"Okay, go ahead," she said, relieved that her voice sounded much braver than she felt.

"Brace yourself," Layla warned as she perched herself on the edge of the bed and leaned over her. "This might be a little cold."

Elena nodded, gritting her teeth.

It was cold, but it wasn't anything unbearable, and she half-relaxed as Layla started to move the doppler probe over her stomach, clearly searching for the baby. At first there seemed to be nothing but a sound of static. Then she heard a heartbeat, and her heart leapt into her throat.

"That's your heartbeat," Layla explained, and Elena's heart sank into her gut. Then Layla moved the probe again and another heartbeat, one that sounded much faster, started to play through the speaker on the device.

"Wha—what's that?" Elena asked, barely daring to believe.

"That is the sound of your baby's heartbeat," Layla told her, smiling with shiny eyes, as if she was holding back tears as much as Elena.

"R-really?" Elena gasped, but before she could get an answer, Layla started to scowl. The probe had moved slightly. Something sounded different. The heartbeat changed. How, Elena wasn't sure, but it definitely had. "What is it? What's the matter?"

Layla held up her index finger and said, "Just one second," then she turned her face to the door with the beaded curtain and called, "Violet, if you aren't too busy, could you come in here and listen to this for a second?"

"Layla, what is the matter?" Hanson demanded, sounding just as concerned as Elena now. His hand squeezed hers so tightly that it was almost painful. At least, it would have been if not for the fact she was squeezing just as tightly. She didn't need to look to know that both of their knuckles were bone-white.

The she-wolf didn't answer. Instead, she turned to Violet and said, "Would you give this a listen for me?"

Violet smirked in a way that made Elena cringe. She had always been wary of witches. They never really got on with werewolves. The two factions had very different views of the world, much like many supernaturals.

So in her most vulnerable state, Elena wasn't sure she wanted a magic user anywhere near her. She just saved my life, she reminded herself, trying to keep her cool even though she felt an odd urge to bare her teeth at the witch.

"I think I already know what you're asking," Violet said, coming to the bedside. She took the doppler from Layla's hand, listening for a moment before she moved it back to where Layla had been holding it before. "One, two, three."

The witch's counting was more than a little confusing.

"What do you mean, one, two, three?" Elena demanded. Her mind reeled over what she might mean, none of it good.

Violet and Layla looked at each other, and though both of their eyes glowed with excitement, Elena still couldn't bring herself to believe that it was anything good. How could it possibly be, after all of the crappy stuff that had happened to her over the last two years? She'd lost her child, her mate, and in turn her pack, unable to stay under the power of an alpha who had killed her partner. What else could life possibly have left to throw at her?

"Both pups sound perfectly healthy to me," Layla said, smirking at Elena in a way that made her heart race.

"Both pups?" Hanson gasped incredulously.

"B-both pups?" Elena repeated, astonished. Her eyes widened so far, they felt as if they were going to fall right out.

Time seemed to stop as she waited for a response. Her entire body grew numb with disbelief as she started to hear what Layla and the witch had been hearing.

"Congratulations, Elena, you are having twins," Layla and Violet said at the same moment.

Elena felt a second wave of disbelief wash right over her. The way Hanson's hand loosened in her own told her just how shocked he also was.

For a second, nobody spoke. Nobody so much as moved. The entire world felt as if it were holding its breath.

It didn't seem to start again until Hanson broke the silence. "May we have a moment or two alone?"

As he spoke, he slipped an arm around Elena.

"Of course," Layla said, and Violet silently slipped from the room, the doppler still in hand. Elena half wished she had left it. Not that she would have any idea how to use it herself.

Layla reached out and squeezed Elena's shin comfortingly. "We'll be just on the other side of the door if you need anything."

"Thank you," Hanson said, as if he was answering for her.

Elena stared after Layla until Hanson slipped onto the bed beside her and pulled her into his arms. It was only then that she realized she was crying. In fact, she wasn't just crying, she was weeping. It was an uncontrollable torrent of emotion that poured from her eyes and nose and made her feel completely empty inside, empty save for the odd fluttering she felt in her abdomen now that she knew the truth.

She hadn't lost her baby. In fact, she had two. How that could even be possible after so much horrid luck, she didn't know.

"You are so beautiful, Elena," Hanson said, wiping the tears from her face when her crying finally subsided.

Elena scoffed, sniffling still. "You're just saying that."

Hanson moved so that he could look her dead in the eye and shook his head. "No, I mean it. You are the most beautiful she-wolf I have ever laid eyes on. And your soul is even more beautiful."

"Stop it," Elena said, cringing away, though in truth his words made her feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Still more than a little sensitive, she wasn't sure she was ready for this kind of talk.

"Elena, there is something I need to tell you," Hanson said, and she was certain she heard a quivering to his voice, a nervousness she had never heard come out of his mouth before.

"What's the matter?" Elena asked, stiffening. Was this the part where everything fell apart? Was he about to tell her that something terrible had happened while she had been out cold? "What's wrong? Is Eddie alright? Jack? The others?"

Her heart hammered in her chest. She had almost entirely forgotten about everyone else. How could she possibly have done that? They had all risked their lives to save Hanson from the barn.

Had the Pine Valley wolves arrived in time? What if they had, only to be destroyed themselves?

A whole host of horrendous thoughts took up residence in her mind. She hated it. She hated her anxiety and that even in her desperation to know the truth, she was still somehow terrified of knowing it.

"Elena, calm down," Hanson said, holding her close. "Eddie is fine. Everyone is fine—a little battered and bruised, but alive!"

Elena pulled away from him then and looked him in the eye. "Then what do you want to tell me?"

"Jeez, Elena, you don't half make things difficult," Hanson growled at her, his eyes darkening. Her stomach twisted and then started to flutter as he took hold of her face in both his hands. He didn't so much as blink as he said, "I have been fighting the urge to tell you this for a long time, but I can't hold it back any longer. I love you, Elena."

A growl rumbled in Elena's chest. It made its way up her throat and out into the world before she could stop it. Defensively, she pulled her face from his hands and turned away.

"You're only saying that because I'm carrying your pups," she said, cringing. Even to her, it sounded absolutely ridiculous, but she couldn't bring herself to believe otherwise.

"Stop it, Elena, stop pushing me away!" Hanson snarled at her. He grabbed her chin and forced her face back around to him. Meeting her gaze again, he said, "I understand why you are doing it now, but I am tired of it. I am not Jason, and these babies," he paused, laying his free hand on her stomach, "they aren't your last baby."

The lump in Elena's throat grew. Just the reminder of how everything had gone the last time made her feel sick to her stomach.

Tears threatened once more. She barely managed to get the words out as she said, "I can't go through that again."

Hanson kissed her then. It was a tender, affectionate kiss filled with love, and it made her head spin. He leaned his forehead against hers then and whispered against her lips, "We will do whatever we can to prevent anything like that ever happening again."

"How?" Elena whimpered. She closed her eyes, not daring to look at him. She knew she was asking him the impossible. Even for werewolves, miscarriages were entirely unavoidable. If they happened, they happened. There was usually no stopping them.

"We've got Violet and the other magic users," Hanson pointed out. "I happen to have heard that the witch is an excellent midwife."

Elena couldn't help but laugh at that. It was so different to weeping that it made her feel strange.

A little embarrassed, she attempted to be funny. "You aren't seriously expecting me to have a witch for a midwife, are you?"

Hanson cocked his brow and grumbled, "I said everything, and I meant everything. If a witch midwife is what it takes to keep you and these pups safe, then so be it."

The determination in his tone sent a shiver through Elena. She wanted so desperately to wrap her arms around him, hold him and never let go. And yet, she couldn't quite bring herself to do it.

Luckily, she didn't have to. Hanson grabbed hold of her face once more and growled, "I can't deny it any longer, Elena. I can't stay away from you, no matter how hard I have tried."

What the hell is he trying to do to me? she thought, fighting back tears again. This time, they were tears of relief, of the knowledge that she wasn't the only one feeling this way.

"I don't care what anyone thinks or what anyone says. You're mine. Whether you like it or not, that's the truth, and if you want me to stay away I will," Hanson continued, his eyes boring into hers in a way that made it impossible for her to blink. "But if you want me to stay, if you want me to be here for you and for these pups, I will be. And I won't let a single thing come in between us."

Elena gulped. What exactly was Eddie going to think of all this? He had been like a wolf with a sore head ever since she had arrived. Whether he had been like that before she did, she didn't know, but this was bound to only make him worse.

When Hanson kissed her again, she realized, he is just going to have to get used to it.

They all were. After all, what did all of this mean for the both of them? If they were mates, they had a huge problem. He was a Blackwell wolf, and she was an outsider. Her stomach twisted. Jack had always offered for her to join them if she wished, but the last time he had mentioned it was a long time ago, before she had gotten herself into trouble with Christopher's pack, before she had gone and gotten herself knocked up by one of his wolves without even asking to join the pack beforehand.

If everything was so damn messed up, how did it also feel so damn right?

The kiss deepened, and suddenly Elena didn't care about anything save for kissing him back. Her hands rose to his cheeks, and she held him there, kissing him with all of the emotion she had been holding back for so long.

If they hadn't been in the back of the healer's shop, things might have gone much further. In fact, with his kiss on her lips, she could barely feel the aches and pains of her injuries. It was as if they didn't exist when she was in the comfort and protection of his arms. But her beating had been a bad one, and it was most certainly going to take some time for her to heal.

She cringed when Hanson's hand dropped down to her ribs, reminding her that she did, in fact, have some pretty nasty bruising.

How her pups were safe, she would never know. But she prayed it stayed that way.

Hanson snatched his hand away, his lips following. "Did I hurt you?"

His voice was little more than a growl, and it was clear he was angry with himself.

Elena nuzzled her nose against him, ready to kiss him again as she said, "It's nothing I can't deal with."

Hanson stiffened and gripped her hands, pulling them down gently from his face. "You need to rest."

Elena was about to argue when someone cleared their throat on the other side of the beaded curtain. A voice followed, "May I come in?"

It was a small relief to know that it was only Layla, but Elena groaned at their being interrupted.

As if he wished to use it as an excuse to stop himself from hurting her, Hanson pulled away and called, "Sure. Come in."

Elena bared her teeth at him to show her disapproval, and he shot her a playful warning glance as Layla slipped into the back room.

"Sorry to interrupt," the she-wolf said as she stepped out of the way of the doorway, "but Jack just called looking for you."

She looked to Hanson as she spoke.

Elena's heart sank. If Jack was looking for Hanson, then that could mean only one thing—he was needed. And that meant that they were going to have to part ways. She could already see from the tension in Hanson's shoulders that he had realized the same.

"Does he have need of me?" he grumbled, clearly none too happy.

Layla nodded. "They've just returned from their last round-up of the stragglers."

Elena heard Hanson grind his teeth. He shook his head. "I can't leave Elena. I'm sure they can manage without me."

Elena stiffened. As much as she would welcome his remaining close by her side for the rest of eternity, now most definitely wasn't the time for her to get between him and his pack. If she had any hope of making this work, she had to stay on the right side of the Nightstar wolves.

"You need to go," she said, reaching out to squeeze hold of Hanson's forearm. "Don't worry about me."

Hanson leaned over and kissed her forehead before he slipped off the bed. He didn't go any further as he said, "I will always worry about you."

From the looks of the way Layla eyed the floor, she was at least attempting to give them some privacy. The she-wolf cleared her throat again before she offered, "I'll stay with her."

Elena squeezed Hanson's arm again when he gave no hint of acknowledgement toward the other she-wolf.

"You heard Layla, she'll stay with me," she said encouragingly. Faking a yawn, she added, "Besides, like you said, I need to rest."

Still, Hanson looked reluctant until Elena leaned over, wincing with the pain in her ribs, and hooked hold of his cheek with her hand to pull him back down for another kiss.

Just before her lips touched his, she whispered, "Go, please. I can't have you falling out with your pack because of me."

That seemed to reach him, and his lips brushed hers lingeringly before he said, "I'll be back as soon as I can."

"Please, don't rush," Elena said, "I feel like I could sleep for a week."

She only realized the truth of her words as Hanson left the room. This time, when she yawned, it wasn't at all fake.

"Can I get you anything?" Layla asked, raising a brow. "A drink, something for pain, another pillow?"

Elena's insides twisted. Everyone in Nightstar was so kind. It made her feel more than a little guilty for all the trouble she had caused. After all, if she hadn't gone and gotten herself caught by those no-good rogue werewolves, the Nightstar wolves never would have snuck onto their base to rescue her, Hanson never would have been caught, and they never would have had to start a second attack.

Instead of answering, she shook her head and asked, "Layla, is everybody really alright?"