Page 104 of The Alpha's Crimson Vow

Valerian just stares.

“You don’t,” I press, ignoring the tremble in my own voice. “The kingdom isn’t yours. But you can fix this. You can make peace with Alex and—”

Valerian laughs. The sound is so sharp, so cold, it cuts straight through me.

“Oh, you really are stupid,” he says, his tone dripping with condescension.

I clench my jaw, my chest rising and falling rapidly.

Just then he stops, going completely still. A strange look crosses his face. Then—his nostrils flare slightly, like he’s smelling the air.

And then, his lips curl. “Oh,” he murmurs.

Something in his tone makes my stomach drop.

His voice turns icy. “You’re carrying his child.”

My breath stops.

He tilts his head, his expression unreadable in the darkness. “I can smell it on you.”

“How?”

The question slips out before I can stop it, my confusion evident. Even Alice couldn’t just smell it off me, how can he? But he doesn’t hesitate, his voice cutting through the air, edged with something dark and knowing.

“It’s one of my powers,” he says, his tone carrying that dangerous, ice-cold bite. “Most wolves have a strong sense of smell. But me? Mine’s sharper than most. No matter how faint, how subtle… I catch it.”

His gaze locks onto mine, unblinking, unwavering. And then—

“I can smell a tiny little wolf beginning to brew inside you.”

And just like that, he erupts into laughter then. Not just laughing—maniacally laughing, his voice bouncing off the wooden walls like some kind of deranged symphony. His amusement feels sick, twisted, completely wrong. The laughter continues, stretching out for too long, as if he can’t contain himself, like myexistence—my pregnancy—is the funniest thing in the world to him.

The world around me sways, my stomach flipping, and for a moment, I think I might actually throw up. But Valerian finally settles, his chuckles fading into a lingering, eerie smirk as he tilts his head, studying me like I’m an insect pinned beneath glass.

“You don’t know, do you?” His voice is almost… soft now, like he’s genuinely curious.

My lips part, but no words come out. I don’t know what he means. And I hate that it shows on my face.

His smirk widens, a cruel, knowing grin.

“You don’t know what carrying a shifter’s child does to humans.”

Something cold slithers down my spine.

“What—” My voice is hoarse, barely there, but he doesn’t wait for me to finish.

“You’re human, Katherine,” he says, the word rolling off his tongue like it’s a curse. “Weak. Fragile. And now, you’re carrying something inside you that’s stronger than you. Faster. Wilder.”

I shake my head, trying to reject the words, but he keeps going.

“A shifter’s child doesn’t grow like a normal baby. It doesn’t just sit quietly in the womb, waiting to be born. No, no, no.” He leans in, and I can see the amusement in his dark, soulless eyes. “It demands space. It takes what it needs. And your pathetic human body?” His lip curls. “It won’t survive it.”

My breath catches. A sharp, stinging pressure starts building behind my eyes, and my heartbeat stumbles.

“No,” I whisper.

“Oh, yes.” He grins wider. “And that is what makes this so delicious.” He spreads his arms as if presenting some grand,cruel joke. “You think Alex is coming to save you? You think he’s going to rescue his beloved Katherine?”

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