"Doris! What on earth are you doing out of bed?" Beth tore Doris out of her half sleep and into the blinding daylight. She felt as if a cloud was all around her and fogging up her vision to the point that it was hard to focus on her friend. "How long have you been on this lumpy couch?"
Doris sat up when Beth helped her. "I woke up sick again. I feel so nauseous and dizzy all the time, so it kept me awake."
Beth froze for a moment until she lightly seated herself next to Doris. "I've been meaning to ask you about your... symptoms."
"I don't think I was poisoned-"
"No, no. That's not what I'm concerned about." Beth cleared her throat. "Have you and William been intimate yet?"
Doris felt her cheeks flame instantly, as well as a bit of shame swell up inside her chest to the point where she wanted to choke. Beth quickly silenced her. "You don't have to say anything. I just want to know if you were... careful during those times."
A new sort of panic formed to replace all that tried to scare her before. "Careful?" Doris whispered.
"Yes... with protection...?" Beth said gently as if she didn't know how else to explain without going into gory details that would make Doris melt into the floor.
It was like all their heated moments flashed before her eyes... and one thing was missing. One obvious thing that made her want to scream. Doris dropped her head in her hands. "How could I be so stupid?" She mumbled.
Doris's mother had never taught her the first thing about sex or when to be careful, she learned all of that from books but somehow her mind didn't consider the consequences for her own actions in the heated moments. Why hadn't it crossed her mind once? Why did she live so blissfully in ignorance to her consequences?
It was like a light went off in her head when Beth mentioned protection. How stupid could she be? How stupid-
"No, no no. This can't be happening!" Doris closed her eyes tightly and prayed it was all a dream. That her symptoms weren't because of her careless behavior.
"It'll be okay, Doris... the prince will make sure you're taken care of. He wouldn't leave you in the dark on this!"
"I know he wouldn't but- I'm not ready to have a baby with him, Beth. I'm still confused on half of the things I feel when he's in the room, how am I supposed to be the mother of his baby?"
Beth rubbed Doris's shoulder soothingly. "I know this wasn't what you planned, but perhaps it's a sign."
"A sign of my stupidity?" Doris sunk deeper into the couch.
"You weren't the only one who forgot, Doris. William is much more experienced on these things and knew better-so don't you dare try to blame it all on yourself for this." Beth wrapped her arms around Doris and trapped her in a hug that tried to erase all of her horrible thoughts. "Haven't you ever wondered why wolves have so many children? They rarely care for things like protection."
"I just... I suppose I can wipe the idea of freedom away from the palace out of my future. If I have his baby, he will make me stay."
"Do you truly want to be free from him? If you had the chance, would you leave right now even if there wasn't a possible baby?" Beth asked.
Doris stared down at her hands. Would she be able to get up and leave right this moment? Would she be able to forget the way his blue eyes turned to storms whenever he was worried about her?
"I-I don't know." Doris admitted. "I don't know if I could, even though it's all I ever wanted. I hate these walls and I hate this palace, I want to be free from all of this but now..."
"Love changes us." Beth whispered. "It changes what we want in life and it changes who we think we are."
"Freedom is all I've thought about for the past five years. I swore to myself I wouldn't let anyone change that dream for me. And now..."
"Now it feels as if it's changing?" Beth asked gently. "That's love knocking down all of your past plans you had for yourself-because now there's someone else on your mind."
Doris felt her wave of dizziness start to pass. She dropped her head against Beth's shoulder. "What am I supposed to do now? William won't want this, Beth."
"You're his mate! There's nothing else he would want more."
"A war is about to brew between him and his brother. I don't think a baby is going to make him happy right now." Doris said bitterly. She glanced at the window and watched the snow fall slowly.
"There's a possibility it isn't a baby, we won't know for sure until we have you checked." Beth stood and went to the stack of bags by the door. "Do you want to go now before we leave-"
"No, he should be here soon. I'll have to... find a way to tell him after we're settled at the new camp."
"I just came from the servants quarters and all of the staff has already been divided. Surprisingly, William had a lot more followers than I expected." Beth laid out warm clothes for Doris to change into. "I heard that they sent ahead quite a few groups to set up a new camp area for his army."
"They've already got it picked out?" Doris asked.
"Oh yes. Apparently they've been talking about this since you all returned from the north. It's been claimed for days-hopefully there's a good place for you all to rest when you get there."
"And you." Doris bumped Beth lightly with her hip and smiled.
William's guard showed up an hour later to take their things to the stables. Beth held Doris's hand tightly as she walked with her down the palace halls for what felt like the last time. For all she knew, it very well could have been the last time either of them stepped into this palace.
For some reason, that didn't sit right with her.
William stood tall by the carriages that lined the cobblestone path. His eyes found her instantly, she wondered if he could sense her nearby as she always sensed him.
He said nothing as she approached, only held out his hand to help her into the carriage. The uncertainty thickened in her stomach, she wondered how long she could keep it from him or if she would blurt it out the second she opened her mouth.
Beth scooted in close followed by Patrick and William on the other side. She gripped Beth's hand tightly when the carriage lurched off. It felt as if her insides were about to come right out of her from the movement alone.
"Are you alright?" Beth whispered. Doris nodded quickly and glanced up to see William watching her with those stormy eyes. He said nothing, but his eyes asked so many questions that she didn't want to answer at the moment.
"How long until we get there?" Beth asked quickly as if she could sense the building tension that crowded the small area.
"We should be there within an hour. It's not far but the roads are covered in snow." Patrick said, oblivious the the air around him.
Doris tore her eyes from William's and stared out the window for the rest of the trip. No one else said anything besides Patrick making small talk with William about things they had to ready once they arrived. Doris couldn't have felt further from her body.
Once it rolled to a stop, she was the last one to get out. William's grip tightened on her as he set her on the ground. His eyes searched every inch of her for some sort of injury that wasn't there.
"William, we need you to look this over before we approve it." Patrick called from behind him.
William narrowed his eyes slightly when their gazes met. "We'll talk soon." Was all he said before he left her by the carriage with her friend.
Beth let out a long breath. "He's intimidating, I swear a hole was going to burn through you in that carriage."
"How did he know something was wrong?" Doris whispered and followed her friend through the camp. It had several large tents set up and a large fire in the middle of it all. They were brought to one of the bigger tents near the center of the camp.
"Wolves can sense when their mate is under distress. Plus, it was obvious from how pale you are. You don't look well at all."
Doris brought her cold hands to her face. "I suppose there's no use in trying to hide it, then."