Page 48 of Lycan King's Claim
The room is silent, save for the sound of our breathing. I sit there, feeling as if I'm trapped inside a nightmare I can't escape from. A sea of questions surges within me, threatening to pull me under. Dr. Rami continues his checks but thinks it's just morning sickness that apparently comes at night. My mind is reeling.
The door closes behind him with a soft click, leaving me alone in the room with Adina. My heart races in my chest, and I can feel the weight of this new reality pressing down on me. As much as I fear Xandros' reaction to the news, there's another part of me that refuses to tell him.
“Well, at least the baby is alright,” Adina says, turning to me. I nod my head, still numb from the news. Adina paces quietly, rattling off a list of things she needs to organize for when the baby arrives. “We should go get your scan done tomorrow, we can just take extra guard. Oh, Xandros will be elated but also overbearing, I can already picture it, you need to prepare yourself--”
“Adina,” I whisper, my voice barely audible. She stops babbling and glances at me. “Please don't tell Xandros about… you know.” I can't even bring myself to say the word. Pregnant. The very thought sends shivers down my spine.
“Sienna, you have to tell him,” she replies softly, her eyes filled with concern. “He has a right to know.”
“Let me get my head around it first,” I beg, my hands trembling. “I'll tell him, I promise. Just not tonight, please.”
Before she can answer, the door swings open, and Xandros strides in, followed closely by Javier. His eyes are full of worry as he looks at me, his mate, the woman who carries his secret within her.
“So?” he asks, his voice tense, while I stare at him like a deer in headlights.
“Food poisoning,” Adina announces, holding my gaze for a moment before turning back to her son. Relief washes over Xandros' face, and he exhales a breath.
“So she's going to be fine? It's not the bond, then?” he demands, his protective instincts flaring.
Adina nods. “Yes, she just needs rest.”
“Thank you, Mother,” he says sincerely, however it feels like the air has thickened around us, suffocating me with unspoken truths.
As Adina moves to leave, she pulls me into a gentle hug. Her warmth is comforting, but her whispered words send a chill down my spine. “Tell him, Sienna. You have until tomorrow night, or I will.”
I nod, my throat tight with unshed tears. The door closes behind her and Javier as they leave, leaving me alone with Xandros. The room is filled with heavy silence.
I lie in bed, my heart pounding against my chest like a caged bird desperate for freedom. The darkness envelops the room, broken only by the moonlight filtering through the curtains. The hushed whispers of the night echo with the secrets I keep.
It's as if the very walls of the castle are closing in on me, suffocating me with their cold, unyielding stone. The decision to leave Xandros weighs heavily on my soul, each breath more labored than the last. My thoughts race with the escalating tension of the kingdom—Vin's disappearance has everyone on edge, and I can't help but worry that Xandros will learn about the life growing inside me. How did my life get so out of hand?
My hand unconsciously drifts to my stomach, cradling the secret I carry. What would he do if he knew? Would he lock me away, chain me to him, ensuring I could never escape his protective, controlling grasp? The thought sends shivers down my spine, tightening the knot of dread festering in my gut.
“Sienna,” a voice breaks through the silence, and I startle, realizing Xandros is still awake. His eyes search mine, concern etched into every line of his face. “You're not sleeping. Is something wrong?”
My throat constricts, the words trapped behind the barricade of fear. “No, it's… it's nothing.”
“Please, tell me what's troubling you,” he urges, sitting at the edge of the bed. His large hand reaches out, hesitating before gently resting atop my own upon my stomach.
The touch is electric, igniting a storm of emotions within me. “I'm just worried about everything going on with Vin's disappearance,” I say, the truth and the lie intertwined like thorny vines.
“Ah.” He nods, understanding dawning in his eyes. “I know you're worried, but we'll find him. I promise.”
I nod, and Xandros glances at the space beside me. Guilt for not telling him has me pulling back the blanket, and his eyes dart to mine. “I can sleep in the bed?”
“As long as you keep, you don't try--” I don't finish, I don't need to. Xandros, however, doesn't hesitate, instead he wanders off to get into his boxers, returning. He crawls onto the bed, slipping under the covers beside me. I roll giving him my back when I felt his hand grip my hip. I tense and I am about to cuss him out when it drags me closer.
“I'm not trying to do anything, but it might help you sleep if your bond is relaxed,” he tells me, and he does have a point. However, the ache it causes me when he's gone is horrendous.
He purrs softly, and worry gnaws at me, but he doesn't try anything, instead kisses my shoulder, tucking me closer.
25
The moonlight casts shadows that dance and flicker like ghosts of my past, spread out along the ceiling and walls like a mural. A picture painted of my failures, the ghosts that haunt me, taunting, a reminder that regardless of where I go, I can't escape this fate. That voice plays on repeat, a conversation of all things that could go wrong that I convince myself will.
Suddenly, my world spins, every conversation picking at me, forcing me to delve deeper and truly pick apart the pieces and analyze until, eventually, it all becomes one noise, fear, regret, guilt, and anguish.
Tasha has offered a chance to escape, a way for me to live freely, and surely that is better than surviving in hell. I lay wide awake in bed, my thoughts racing through the darkness. Xandros’ presence beside me was both comforting and maddening. The bond between us pulls at my heart, urging me to reach out and touch him, but my mind is plagued with doubts and fears and this unnerving clarity. Refusing to let me put back on the blindfold.
