Chapter 0116
Emory gives me a knowing look, smug in her righteousness. I have to resist the urge to kiss that look off her face. I will have to do that later. I won’t kiss her in front of my mother–not yet anyway.
“Have you eaten, Kane?” my mother asks. “Darling, you must eat. You’re getting far too thin these days.”
I’m fine, mother.”
“Come take a seat. We have those butter biscuits you enjoy.”
I take the empty seat beside Emory. Food will do nothing to put meat on my bones. Only blood will do that. But they do taste good, so I help myself to a cup of blood and the butter biscuits, leaving the macaroons to Lola. I pour the blood into my cup carefully and stir it with a spoon.
My mother takes a sip of her blood. “There’s a matter of importance I need to discuss with you, Kane.” “About what?”
“We should renovate the nursery in the castle as it’s been some time since we had a baby to take care of. And we’ll need to purchase ‘wth all the things you’ll be needing to take care of the child. Your old things won’t do at all.”
I stare at my mother in shock, trying to comprehend what she’s saying. I try to play dumb. “What do you mean? What baby?”
She puts down her cup to give me an exasperated look “Are we really doing this, Kane? You are far too old to be pretending like you don’t know exactly what I’m talking about.”
“I truly don’t know what you’re going on about, Mother From my peripheral vision, I can see Emory’s guilty face. Turning to her, I stare at her in disbelief and betrayal.
She swallows hard. “She knows.”
Turning to face her, my eyes widen. “You told her? How could you?”
She winces. “It just slipped out. It felt wrong not to tell your mom. Besides, she sort of already knew.” “Did she tell you how much she wants grandkids? She’s been using that line on me for years.” “You’re being dramatic, Kane,” my mother rebukes. “Emory simply wanted to share the good news with me, the grandmother of your unborn child. It’s not as if couldn’t hear the heartbeat.”
She says ‘grandmother‘ with such relish. She can’t even hide her glee at the news even if she wants to. “We were going to wait until Emory was past her first trimester to tell anyone. You know how risky pregnancies are for our kind,”
“I am very aware, which is why Emory needs to have a support system. You are far too busy to be here every moment of the day. Emory could use all the help she can get before and after that baby comes.” I resist the urge to stab myself in the eye with a butter knife out of frustration. I mistakenly thought my mother was trying to poison Emory out of disapproval of our relationship. Instead, my mother approves wholeheartedly and is practically frothing at the mouth at finally becoming a grandmother. This shouldn’t be a surprise as my mother has been nagging me about having an heir for decades.
+25 BONUS
Chapter 0116
The baby might need a particular sort of care considering their parentage,” my mother continues. “With the baby being half–vampire and half–wolf shifter, it’s certainly going to be a handful.”
A movement in the corner of my eye makes me turn to see the weasel of a diplomat standing nearby and listening to our conversation. Before I can get to my feet and run after him, Alistair is already rushing back to the castle. I don’t know how much he heard, but it was likely more than enough. He will no doubt share the news about Emory’s pregnancy with King Peter as soon as he can get his hands on a phone.
Emory notices I am truly upset and worriedly asks, “What’s wrong?”
I grab a biscuit off a plate and take a bite. “King Peter’s rat just found some cheese.”
