CHAPTER 6

Elsie's POV

I reached the Healers' Hospital faster than I thought possible, my heart hammering, but my steps steady. The faint scent of herbs and antiseptic hit me the moment I pushed through the door, and I didn’t even hesitate. I was here for answers, not small talk.

The reception desk was as empty as usual, the nurses milling around the halls, their soft voices blending into the background. I headed straight for the back where Dr. Myles’s office was, my footsteps echoing against the cold tile floors.

When I reached the door, I didn’t knock. I simply pushed it open.

To my surprise, the sight that greeted me wasn't a calm, collected doctor but a rather... intimate scene.

Dr. Myles, who was supposed to be a respected member of the pack’s medical staff, was hunched over the desk, pressing a kiss against the nurse’s lips. Their bodies were close, a little too close for a work environment.

For a moment, time froze.

The nurse squealed, pulling away abruptly, eyes wide, and I swear she blushed three shades darker than the sunset. Dr. Myles, on the other hand, quickly pulled back, looking flustered, his cheeks going pink.

I raised an eyebrow and crossed my arms. “Well, if you’re done, I’d appreciate it if you could get to work. This is urgent.”

The nurse hurried out of the office, her face still crimson. Dr. Myles turned to me, looking caught between embarrassment and confusion. He straightened up, cleared his throat, and put on his usual calm, professional expression, though I could see the edges of his lips twitching as if he was trying not to laugh at the awkwardness of the situation.

“Elsie, you could’ve knocked,” he said with a smirk, as if this wasn’t the first time I’d walked in on him being less than professional.

I didn’t bother responding. There was no time for banter, not today.

His smile faded when he saw the urgency in my eyes. "What’s going on? You’re in a rush, I can tell."

I didn’t waste a second. “I need a scan, now. I need to know if I’m pregnant.”

Dr. Myles blinked at me like I’d just asked him to perform some impossible procedure. He paused for a beat, clearly not following the sudden shift in the conversation.

“Pregnant?” he asked, his eyebrows knitting together in confusion. “Elsie, I... I’m not sure why you'd need a scan for that. Have you... missed your cycle or something?”

I didn’t waste time explaining. The urgency was clear enough in my voice. “Just get the scan, Myles. Please. Now.”

His confusion only deepened, but he quickly recovered and nodded. “Alright, alright. You should have led with that.” He gestured for me to follow him.

I walked over, my heart thudding in my chest. This wasn’t about him, about whatever weird situation he had with the nurse. I couldn’t care less about that right now. The only thing on my mind was the possibility of my twins—my children—being alive, being here with me from the other timeline.

Dr. Myles quickly prepped the equipment, still looking at me like I’d lost my mind.

“You’re really sure you want this?” he asked. "It’s not typical for someone to request a scan without some other reason... not to mention you look healthier than I remember.”

I glanced at him. He looked younger than before. Much younger than in the other timeline. But that was not important right now. “Yes, I’m sure. Just do it.”

Myles let out a long sigh, clearly questioning my sanity, but he didn’t argue further. He gestured for me to lie down on the examination table, and I did without hesitation.

As he moved to start the scan, I kept my gaze fixed straight ahead, trying to steady my breath. The soft hum of the machine was the only sound in the room, and it felt like an eternity before he spoke again.

“Well, Elsie, the good news is... you’re not pregnant.”

My world stopped.

The words echoed in my mind, but I couldn’t process them. I felt the floor beneath me vanish, my thoughts spinning, crashing against a wall of disbelief.

Not pregnant.

The very thing I’d feared the most wasn’t even possible, yet it still tore through me. My mind drifted—drifted to another place, another time.

I remembered that other life, that cruel version of myself.

Ten long years without children. Barren Luna, they’d called me, their eyes filled with pity and judgment. I had endured their cruel whispers and looks, but just when I thought I could breathe again, fate turned its back on me.

I’d been blessed with twins—two lives growing inside me, my hope renewed. I’d felt their tiny hearts beating, their movements reassuring me. They were real. They were mine.

But then, just as quickly as they had appeared, they were taken away.

Killed by their own father and my sister.

The tears came before I even knew they had started.

Silent and hot, they trailed down my face as the memories pressed in on me.

My body trembled, my chest tight with the weight of all I had lost, all I had endured.

Myles’s voice broke through my haze of pain, though it sounded distant, as if I were underwater. “Elsie? What’s wrong? Why are you crying?”

I blinked rapidly, the tears blurring my vision, and quickly wiped them away with the back of my hand. My heart was in pieces, and I couldn’t bring myself to respond.

What could I possibly say? How could I explain this unbearable weight in my chest, or the fact that, in another timeline, I had been pregnant—carrying my children—only for my mate, their father, to kill us both?

“Thank you for your help,” I managed to say, my voice strained and barely audible. I didn’t wait for a reply.

I stood abruptly, the room spinning, and before I knew it, my legs were carrying me out of the hospital.