***Aubrey's POV***

If nightmares were a song, I could write an album.

Every night for two weeks I have relived a vivid assault of my past.

Every night I wake in cold sweats and screams.

Even on my earliest days as a human, when torture filled my life, I never felt as violated as I do now.

I had good dreams in between and they were equally as vibrant and realistic.

My brain was working overtime and I was worse for the wear.

This morning I woke to a soaked sheet stuck to my skin. Sweat drenched my hair and my voice physically ached from the raw screams that ripped thru my vocal chords.

What dream violently warred with my subconscious?

My angel.

Push!

I pushed for hours.

One more time Aubrey, you got this.

I bore down and pushed with such intensity, my body tremored from the force.

It's a girl.

The doctor handed me my screaming child and I looked at her beautiful angelic face.

Perfect.

I grabbed her fingers and she wrapped them around my thumb.

I cooed and awed at her eyes.

Then she let out a blood curdling scream.

Her fingers detached from her hand.

I matched her scream with one of my own.

I rubbed her head to calm her down and her soft whispers of hair came from her scalp and melted into my hand.

I stared at my baby as her limbs disappeared in my hands.

I screamed torturously while she fell apart in my arms.

The flashback of the nightmare had me praying to the porcelain god.

I puked every ounce of food from my body and bile chased behind it.

"Baby. It's ok. It was just a nightmare." Darius frantically brushed my hair from my head as he wiped a cool cloth across my face and laid another upon my neck.

"I can't handle this. I can't." I cried.

I was so tired. My body ached from lack of sleep. I couldn't stay awake and I didn't want to be asleep.

I threw up more than I kept down.

The stress was unbearable.

"Parvulus, we need to get you to the doctor." Darius begged.

"Call her. I need something. I can't take this." I pleaded.

Darius got me in the cool shower and cleaned the filth of despair from my body.

I got dressed and trudged slowly down the stairs.

I was completely exhausted.

Black bags sat under my eyes and red dots peppered my pale skin from the puking.

"Aubear, still not sleeping well?" Bryan worried.

I shook my head no and laid my head on the cool granite of the breakfast bar.

"Do you want to eat?" Claire whispered as she rubbed my back.

"No. It will just come back up." I teared up.

I was so hungry. Famished. But, I didn't want to be sick again.

"Sweetie you have to eat. This isn't good for you." Luce pleaded.

"Fine. Just make me anything. I don't care." I whimpered.

A few minutes later Darius brought me a steaming plate of hash browns with my favorite toppings.

I lifted my head and began eating. I washed it down with coffee.

I felt a little better, for a few minutes.

Ten minutes in and my stomach was rejecting my offering. It lurched and I lunged for the trash can.

It took seconds for Darius to be behind me.

I violently shook as breakfast made it's encore. I bent my knees and let it projectile. Darius leaned me into his lap once I was done and I collapsed with him on the floor.

He rocked and cooed at me while getting me to take sips of cool water.

"Alpha she needs the doctor." Abi ordered.

"She will see her at 2pm today." Darius confirmed.

"This is obscene. I have never seen anything so painful as watching Aubrey sick." Luce paced around the kitchen.

"I'm okay." I promised.

"Aubear, you are a lot of things. And we love you for that. But, history proves you will sacrifice yourself for our sake. You are far from okay. You are fucking sick. So, do us all a favor and just be quiet. Please. Luna. Please." Jackson barked.

When he snapped, my emotional mask snapped.

I wailed. Hot, thick tears ripped from my eyes and plopped upon my shirt.

"I'm not okay. I'm tired. I'm hungry. My body hurts. I have headaches every day and my stomach is always queasy. I feel like I weigh two hundred pounds from the pressure of the stress. I. Am. Not. Fucking. Okay." I sobbed.

"Fuck, Aubrey. I'm so sorry. Goddess forgive me. I'm so so fucking sorry." Jackson sat on the floor beside Darius and pulled me into his arms.

"I'm sorry." He whispered as he cradled me in his arms.

"She weighs nothing. She's like a child." Jackson looked over to Darius.

"She's right here you know." I cracked a watery smile.

"Babe, you need to get better." Ethan crouched beside our floor party and ran a hand thru my hair.

"2 o'clock." I confirmed.

"Yes, baby we will see the doctor at 2." Darius promised.

"Can I lay down?" I asked.

"Where do you want to go?" Darius questioned.

"The living room." I directed.

Jackson laid me down on the couch and sat a sprite beside me with a bowl of crackers and a trash can.

Abi sat down and yanked my feet into her lap and started rubbing them thru my socks. Bryan draped a blanket over me and Abi.

Everyone settled around us and Darius grabbed the remote and sat on the floor near my head.

"I'm sorry." I whispered to the man I love.

"Don't be." He cooed.

I nibbled a couple crackers and took a few swigs of sprite before giving up on nutrition. My stomach was threatening to evict the little I ate.

I settled on closing my eyes.

***Darius POV***

Aubrey's soft whistles wheezed out of her lips as she slept above my head.

We all sat quietly watching a movie. Mostly we were really just watching Aubrey.

The last couple weeks have been hell.

Sleep has been minimal and stress has been abundant.

The whole pack is worried about Aubrey. She spends most her time curled up on a chair. She's too afraid to go to sleep, too tired to move and too sick to eat.

All in all. Hell!

1:30 rolled around and I woke Aubrey.

The drive to Dr. Christy was quiet and Aubrey was shaking. Her skin was pale and her lips were almost the same color. She had cold sweat beading across her forehead. Her arms were lined in goosebumps.

If I didn't know any better, I would think she had the flu.

Werewolves don't get the flu.

Aubrey's lack of food and energy earned her a place in my arms. I didn't offer her to walk and she didn't argue.

I carried my queen into the doctors office and we waited for her appointment.

Once we were called back, I helped Aubrey undress and she put on a hospital gown.

It was mechanical.

Dr. Christy came walking in with Aubrey's file in hand.

"Good afternoon King and Queen." She greeted us.

"Good afternoon." I smiled falsely.

"I see Aubrey isn't feeling well." Dr. Christy stated. It wasn't a question. It was an observation.

"What's been going on?" This time she looked to Aubrey for answers.

"I'm sick." Aubrey whispered.

"That's apparent, mind telling me what has been happening." Dr. Christy was professional but, you could see the worry behind her words.

"I can't sleep without nightmares. I can't hold down food. I'm exhausted. I shake. I sweat. I scream. I cry. I puke. My body hurts. Everything hurts. The headaches are unbearable." Aubrey rattled off the list as she done earlier.

"Aubrey, we are gonna take some blood and I am going to do a physical exam as well. Is that okay?" Dr. Christy explained.

"Please. Whatever you have to do. I can't take this anymore." Aubrey pleaded.

It must be worse than I even know. Aubrey has never sounded so defeated. She never begs.

I watched in silence as Dr. Christy started an IV. She put in a butterfly needle, a winged infusion set. This allowed for fluids to be inserted along with medication. This also allowed for blood draws.

The first thing was the blood draw. Aubrey was bad with these. Her vein collapsed and the doctor started the same process successfully on her other arm.

As Dr. Christy pulled the blood from Aubrey's arm, Aubrey started dry heaving and her eyes rolled back. Before we could do anything she was passed out cold.

"This is gonna take a few hours Alpha. She is dehydrated and that is my main focus at the moment." Dr. Christy walks me thru each step.

"I'm administering Zofran for the nausea and a pain killer for the headache. Then the Saline will rehydrate." She continued talking me thru her actions.

The doctor left with the three viles of blood before she said another thing.

As I waited for Aubrey to wake back up, I mind linked Jackson the status of our appointment.

I sat and watched quietly, praying for answers.

Persephone called me on my cell, she was worried for Aubrey. No doubt she had been watching thru The Great Fountain. Her obsession was apparent. I was grateful for it.

I explained the last few weeks and Persephone followed up with a promise to be here if we needed her.

I wasn't sure what we needed yet.

Two hours passed as I watched my angel sleeping. No tears seeped down her face. She looked peaceful. The fluids had been drained from the bag. Without warning, a nurse quietly slipped in and changed out the IV for a full new bag.

"Alpha, she should be awake soon. This second bag will work miracles." She explained without pause.

"Thank you." I whispered.

A few moments passed before Dr. Christy rushed in the room and started another IV. This one went more smooth.

"Alpha, she is severely anemic. She needs blood. Now. Can you donate it?" Dr. Christy asked.

"Yes, of course." I immediately agreed.

"Can anyone else donate?" She requested.

"Yes, I will get my warriors." I promised.

I hastily mind linked Jackson.

"Jackson" I called.

"What's up Alpha." He answered.

"I need everyone at the castle to come down please." I ordered.

"On our way. What is it?" He hurried out.

"Aubrey needs blood and a lot of it." I explained.

"We're running now. Give us five minutes." Jackson confirmed.

Five minutes later, I walked into the waiting room with a nod. All six of my elites were standing there. They would do anything for me. I loved them for that.

Dr. Christy had us hooked up and finished before we knew it. I followed her back to the room and she administered my blood to Aubrey.

"I will take her hemoglobin in a half hour. If she needs more we will continue giving it to her until she is stable." Dr. Christy informed.

As promised the routine was repeated three times. Three bags of fluids and three bags of blood were drained before Aubrey stirred. She looked so much closer to my beautiful and lovely Queen.

"Hi baby." I cooed as I kissed her.

"Hi." She whispered with a genuine smile.

"How are you feeling?" I urged.

"So much better." Aubrey gripped my hand. The strength in her hold confirmed her words.

Dr. Christy came back in and took a seat between Aubrey's legs. She propped Aubrey up into stirrups.

"I'm going to examine you now." Dr. Christy spoke softly.

After the exam was over, Aubrey winced. Dr. Christy smiled.

"Alpha, Luna. I think I know what's going on." Dr. Christy comforted us.

"What?" Aubrey frantically spit out.

"I will need to do one more test to confirm." Dr. Christy promised.

Seconds later, Aubrey had a device in between her legs and a picture appeared on a large tv screen in the office.

"Luna, you are pregnant. The dreams are a reaction from the sudden surge of hormones. Your levels are much higher than normal, that would be due to the two pups nestled in your womb." Dr. Christy beamed at her diagnosis.

"Pups." I cried. Slobbering, messy cries.

"Oh my, pups. As in two. Goddess." Aubrey wept.

I kissed my Queen.

"I'm gonna give you meds. Some for nausea, some for the headaches, iron for the anemia and vitamins. With a healthy diet and some exercise we are going to have you up to par." Dr. Christy promised.

"Pups. A litter of pups." I repeated.

"We're going to be parents." Aubrey smiled like the light of a thousand suns.