+25 BONUS
Chapter 0133
Kane cups my face in his hands. “Look at me, Emory. Those are just stories written by scared people from a long time ago. No one’s seen an actual hybrid before. Not recently, anyway. No one knows what they’re talking about.”
“That means we don’t know what we’re dealing with. I don’t know what’s inside me–if it’s a baby or some kind of monster.”
“It’s not a monster,” he insists, gently. “It’s a baby, our baby.”
I let out a shuddering breath. My whole body trembles My breath gets quicker, and I’m growing lightheaded.
“But what is it? Maybe it’s a baby for now, but it won’t always be that way. What if it grows up and becomes a monster?”
“Breathe, Emory,” Kane tells me, firmly. “Breathe in and out. You need to breathe.”
I inhale deeply and exhale slowly. Kane makes me repeat this until I don’t feel lightheaded anymore.
“Our baby is not going to be a monster,” he says. “And you want to know why? Because you’re the child’s mother, and that means that baby is going to be fine. Look at Lola, She’s good and kind because of you.” I close my eyes, the panic and fear melting away to relief. He kisses my cheek, the tip of my nose, and my forehead, His mouth is gentle as he leaves sweet kisses on my face and neck.
He kisses me with such tenderness I hold still, afraid to break the moment.
“Whatever the baby is going to be, we’ll take care of it,” he concludes. “Our child will be loved.”
I burst into tears. The shame of thinking the worst of my unborn child overwhelms me. Do I have such little faith? I have let old folktales and my father get into my head and make me doubt what I truly feel.
I know I love this baby. He or she is mine and Kane’s. Whatever they may be–shifter, vampire, or something in between, they will be loved and cared for. They will never doubt whether a parent’s love is real or unconditional. I will make sure of it.
Kane holds me and lets me cry on his shoulder. His hand rubs gentle circles on my back. He doesn’t let me go until I fall asleep.
Lex
Opal is not feeling well that morning and is noticeably absent at breakfast. I don’t care for her. I never have. When she was my brother’s betrothed, I had no interest in her besides the physical.
Things are different now. She’s pregnant with my child, and that is not insignificant. We’re tied together in an irrevocable way whether either of us like it or not. I feel responsible for her.
Later that day, I still haven’t seen her. Dinner is an unpleasant affair. King Peter mocks me to his courtier who jeers and snickers at my expense. It sickens me that I used to be like these fools who had nothing better to do than to look down on someone. I pay them no mind and leave as soon as the meal is done.
Chapter 0133
+25 BONUS
I make my way to Opal’s room. No one stops me as I enter the suite. Opal is lying on the large bed. It is the most opulent room I’ve ever seen, more flashy than elegant. The furniture is made of the same dark wood like the rest of the castle’s furnishings. The walls are painted a deep midnight blue but with sparkling stars sprinkled. As I move closer, I realize there are opals embedded into the walls. The large canopy on her bed has little opals sewn into the fabric. All this unnecessary expense is true to Opal’s
taste.
“Get out!” Opal yells at a maid, throwing a glass of a blood at her. “Get the fuck out!”
Her maids scurry away and out of the room, not even bothering to clean up the mess that Opal just made. The mess has fallen on the carpets below, soaking them. Opal sees me and throws a pillow
in my direction. I dodge, and the pillow hits the floor with a pathetic thump.
