Chapter 7 A Woman

• Zane jumps out of his car and sprints to me.
• “Love, let me take you to the doctor quickly. Since this morning, I already felt that your body is changing," he explains, picking me up bridal style. I put my face on his neck and inhale his scent deeply. Just as I expected, the cramps immediately subsided and were not as painful anymore.
• Zane told me a long time ago that he can sense certain emotions in me. But once we are mated, that will increase. Because of the mate bond, I will also experience everything he feels, joy and anger, pain and sadness. But now he’s only able to perceive my pain and utter joy.
• He places me in the passenger seat and kisses me on the forehead. “Hold on, we'll be there in a minute”, he encourages me. Quickly he is back behind the wheel, turns the car nimbly and then we are on the road at high speed. Within a few minutes, we are at the pack’s hospital. He puts me on a bed and walks to the reception. “Can a doctor examine my mate? She has severe stomach cramps," he insists. The nurse looks over at me and then back at the impatient Zane.
• "Are you sure she's sick, Alpha?" asks the nurse suspiciously. Zane's eyes turn red with anger, his fangs start to elongate, ready to attack the woman. “Calm down, Alpha. Do not get me wrong. A nurse will come and explain everything to you. You should have understood what is happening by now." The receptionist picks up the phone. No sooner has she put down than a nurse comes waddling up. She is heavily pregnant but seems to be able to continue working.
• “Alpha, please. Let me see what we have here," she says calmly.
• She walks over to me and drives the bed into a nearby room. She unfastens the belt and button from my jeans to relax my waist. Then she slides my shirt up under my breasts. After some questions about the pain, she turns to Zane. “Alpha, take a deep breath and pick up her scent again. Then see if you can discover it”, she advises Zane, who’s observing her performances with a straight face.
• Zane takes a few deep breaths and then I see him looking at me in surprise. “I will write a prescription for painkillers. But actually, the presence of a mate should ease the pain," the nurse now says amusedly. Surprised I look from one to the other, the mood in the room has changed drastically within a short time. Zane comes to me and hugs me. “From today on I won't call you Little One anymore. You have now become a woman”, he whispers to me.
• I grab his neck tight. “Become a woman?” I repeat. He holds me back for a moment and stares into my eyes. “Mercedes, every girl goes through a phase where her body changes into a woman's. That is now the case with you,” he explains uncomfortably. “Do you know what menstruating is? When a woman is on her period? It is a monthly cycle for every woman. That guarantees us that we can have pups later on.”
• Abdominal cramps, becoming a woman, monthly cycle and pups. What is my mate talking about in God's name?! Zane sees the incomprehension on my face. “Come on, let's get the painkillers. Then we go to the supermarket and buy some things you need. And then home. No party for today, okay?” I nod obediently, knowing that Zane always knows better in situations like this.
• He takes the prescription from the smiling nurse and picks me up again. I straddle his waist, my face on his neck when I hear him thank the woman. When we are back at the car, he puts me back in the passenger seat. As we drive away, he takes my hand in his and presses it to his lips. His face is beaming with happiness, it looks like he's hit the jackpot.
• “Are you going to tell me more about our strange visit to the hospital, Zane?” I ask him. He nods. “When we get home, we'll google it together. Then we'll know more," he replies. "All I know is that you're a woman now and we'll have our own pups in a few years."
• I roll my eyes and decide just to wait.
• We get the medicine at the pharmacy and then drive to a supermarket. There Zane takes me to the women's section and shows me some brands of sanitary pads. Yes, I know what those are for, Clarita's sister who is two years older than us, uses them for her monthly bleeds. "You mean I'm going to bleed every month too, Zane?" I ask with a stinky nose. He smiles softly and hugs me. “Don't worry, every month when your period arrives, I'll make sure to be with you so that the cramps become bearable. We are both in this, okay?” he comforts me.
• We take a pack of three brands. According to Zane, I first have to experiment with which one of them makes me feel comfortable. Back in the car, we drive to my parents' house. It is still midday, so they are both at work. My father is the Beta of my pack and my mother is the trainer of the pups.
• We take the bottles of juice that Zane bought in the supermarket to my room. “Let's order some pizza too, Zane”, I ask with puppy eyes. He chuckles and within minutes, the order is placed.
• We sit comfortably on my bed, pillows in the back and leaning against the bedboard. Zane takes my iPad and starts a google search for a woman's menstrual cycle. Half an hour later, a banging on the front door disturbed our concentration. Zane rushes out to receive our pizza order and returns with a delicious-smelling box to the room.
• While we eat the slices pizza, we read on about the new phase in our lives...