Lone Wolf (Wilde Brothers Ranch #6)- Scarlett Grove Page 0,25
hall to the doctor's office. She didn't know what she expected to find, but she entered a comfortable room and took a seat on a plush couch. Dr. Zimmer greeted her with a smile and asked her if she needed anything to drink.
“I'm fine,” she said in a strangled voice.
“Why don't you tell me a little bit about why you're here today,” the doctor said.
Annie choked back her emotion and tried to come up with words that would express her needs but keep her concealed at the same time. “As you can see, I'm pregnant.”
“How has that been affecting you?” Dr. Zimmer asked.
Annie smirked. Pregnancy wasn’t like losing a job or accidentally buying the wrong brand of toothpaste. It changed everything at a fundamental level. “Have you ever been pregnant?”
“Yes,” Dr. Zimmer said. “I have three children.
“Then you understand that being pregnant changes everything. It's like living in a completely new reality. One that you can't control.”
“It is that, and it can be profoundly challenging for many women.”
“Was it challenging for you?”
“All three of my pregnancies were challenging. It always is. But there are positives and negatives. It just depends on how you view it… I see here that you are planning to give the child up for adoption. How do you feel about that?”
“I don't know if I feel anything at all.”
“Do you think that you should be feeling something?” the doctor asked.
Annie raised an eyebrow. “Isn't that the typical thing? To have some sort of feeling about your child? Or the fact that you’re giving them up for adoption?”
“Everyone has a different experience. If this was an unplanned pregnancy, I can only imagine how profoundly challenging it is for you. Have you spoken with the father about the adoption?”
“Yes. I spoke with him yesterday. He's agreed to take her.”
“Is that a good thing or a bad thing?”
“Good, I suppose. It's his child. She deserves a family. Even if I can't keep her.”
“How did you meet him?”
“On a shifter dating app.”
The doctor’s eyes widened with concern, and she scribbled into her notepad. “He's a shifter?”
“Does that change anything?”
“From what I understand, shifters are deeply committed to their families, their mates, and their children. If the father of your baby is a shifter, he will do anything to keep you in his life. And to make you happy. He would be a profoundly good husband and provider and love you unconditionally. So it does make me wonder why you don't want him in your life. Is there something else going on? Something from your past?”
“I had a very challenging start in life, to say the least.”
“Have you seen a therapist before?”
“No. You are the first I've had the pleasure of speaking with.”
“Annie, I'm not here to judge your decision as to whether or not to get involved with the father of your child. But if you are carrying the baby of a shifter and are the fated mate of this shifter, it begs quite a few questions.”
“Is there something wrong with wanting to be alone?”
“No, there's not. And a lot of people are happy to be alone. But if you've been matched with your fated mate, there is a fundamental philosophical question to be asked. And I think it would be prudent for you to ask yourself that question.”
“And what would that question be?” Annie asked.
“Do you truly want to be alone? I did my doctoral thesis on shifters and their relationship with fate. And while science isn't conclusive about the existence of some overarching power, there is evidence that when shifters find their fated mates, there is a profound purpose behind the relationship. I have never read of one single instance where the couple did not live a full and happy life together after meeting. And I have to wonder if your insistence that you not be together might be a mistake.”
“I think we're done here. I can't do this anymore.”
“Please consider what I've said. I am a doctor of science. Not a mystic. But there are things about fate that not even a scientist like myself can explain.”
“I'll keep that in mind,” Annie said.
“I would like to see you again. Annie, I think it would be very helpful to you to have someone to talk to.”
“I don't know if that's going to happen.”
“Please don't take offense at what I've said. My only concern is that you make the right decision for your life. No matter what that turns out to be. If you truly want to pass on