Captured By The Dragon
Episode 38

Patara – weeks later

It didn’t make sense. I went to bed with a flat stomach, and now there was a large bump as if I was 8 months pregnant. None of my clothes fit except for sweats and oversized sweatshirts that I normally only wore when I had my period.

Now it was all I had that fit over my stomach.

My mother did her best to avoid me at all costs over the past few weeks. I didn’t intend to seek her out even for this—but I knew something was very wrong. I needed help, even if it wasn’t from her.

I called my sister and she pulled up to the house within the hour. I wobbled as quietly as I could down the stairs, though it wouldn’t have mattered if I was extremely loud. My mother would have ran the other way the moment she realized I was coming down the stairs.

If my father wasn’t at work, I might have gone to him. He at least still talked to me even when my mother gave me the cold shoulder.

“Pat!” My sister gasped when she saw me. All it took was one look and she knew something was very wrong. She quickly helped me in the car and got in the drivers seat. Her wide eyes were wild and panicked as she drove. “What the hell—why is your stomach like that? It shouldn’t be so big right now! You have months before it gets there!”

“I know!” I doubled over and gripped the door handle when a sharp pain stabbed on my side. I gasped loudly and closed my eyes. “It—it hurts so bad! I don’t know what’s happening to me!”

“How long has it been hurting?!” My sister asked frantically. I didn’t have to look up to know she was swerving. It only made me more nauseous.

“It’s been hurting a little bit ever since I found out I was pregnant… it’s only become more so the past few days!” I g*****d. “It feels like something was moving inside me.”

“Patara… that’s impossible! You can’t have anything moving in there yet, you’re not even three months pregnant!”

“Nina, I’m telling you—it feels like something is inside me and it’s upset or something! I don’t know what’s happening!”

I grabbed my stomach and felt it ripple under my touch. How was this possible?

“I’m taking you to the doctor right now.” Nina said as she jerked the car out of a lane. I couldn’t even look at what she was doing, it would make me throw up all over her car.

“I’m…starving.” I gasped. “I feel like I haven’t eaten in days… Nina… what is happening to me?”

“It’s okay, it’s okay. We’re getting you help. I’m going to call mom—“

“No! Don’t call her. She doesn’t want anything to do with me! All she will do is laugh and tell me that she was right.” I smacked the phone out of Nina’s hand when she tried to dial our mother’s number despite my words.

“Pat, you need to let them know what’s happening!” My sister pulled up to the hospital and parked the car. She grabbed her phone and shoved it in her bag. “I’m going to call them after you get checked in.”

I g*****d when she went around to help me out and into the lobby. The staff took me immediately and I knew I must have looked like a dying rat to them with how messy and whiny I was. Nothing could relieve me of this horrible pain—

I blinked and I was in a dark room. A towel was placed over my privates and s cool gel was wiped across my stomach. I shivered at the touch—had I blacked out?

“There she is…” Said a familiar voice. I squinted my eyes and saw Dr. Lily pulling on a pair of latex gloves. “Are you feeling okay right now? Do you need any water? There should be a tray of food up here soon for you.”

“I—where is my sister?”

“I’m here!” Nina came to my side and grabbed my hand. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

“What’s happening to me?” I whispered. It felt as if all of my energy had been sucked from me and replaced with pain.

“I tried to schedule more appointments through your mother to talk to you about this—but she never called me back.” Dr. Lily watched the screen as she moved around my stomach. I was too terrified to see it for myself.

“What are you talking about? What’s happening?” I whimpered when she pressed down a little.

“Sorry, dear.” She frowned before she continued. Her face was a permanent worry. “I was afraid this would happen—“

“What is happening? Will you tell us already?” Nina snapped, her hand tightened on mine and I could tell she saw her worried face too.

Dr. Lily finally looked over at the both of us and sighed. “Patara… I mentioned to you that there would be a great risk if you decided to have the baby. Your body is… small and young. It is not capable of handling a shifter baby with ease—“

“You never told her that!” Nina said. Her eyes were wide and frightened. “You should have told her that the moment you found out she was pregnant!”

“I understand your anger and fear, but I did try to tell you and I tried multiple times to schedule an appointment with you but your mother never returned my calls.” Dr. Lily said calmly.

I swallowed the thick lump in my throat. My mother hadn’t spoken to me since I decided to keep the baby. It had felt like years since she last smiled at me or said my name. I didn’t realize she would hate me enough not to schedule appointments with a doctor who was urgently contacting her over and over.

What if I died now because of it?

“So what is this?” Nina gestured to my growing stomach. “She shouldn’t be this big. She should still be barely showing.”

Dr. Lily sighed again. “Shifter babies grow at rapid speed compared to regular children. Our 9 months is about 3-4 months with them. Sometimes less. When did you notice the growth?”

My jaw dropped at her words, I almost forgot to respond. “Oh… I noticed a small bump earlier in the week but last night I went to bed and woke up with this. I couldn’t even fit in my clothes.”

“Oh dear, that’s not good.” She mumbled to herself and looked at the screen again. “A growth that big overnight…”

“What is going to happen to my sister?” Nina demanded.

“We’re going to need to keep her here over night and watch over her. It won’t be safe for her to return home incase something else happens.”

“Like what?” I asked. “What is going to happen?”

Dr. Lily turned her worried gaze on me and I saw it on her face. “You might… your body might not be able to handle it.”