Page 18 of Abel

“I wish I could be that naive.But I’m the daughter of a king.My job is to get married and produce an heir.And I can’t do that one simple thing that is expected of me.”

“I don’t care about any of that.”He winced when he saw the pain flash in her eyes at his words.“That’s not what I meant.I mean, I love you.You are my mate, and none of that changes because of your fertility.I don’t know what to say.I don’t know how to say the right words.”He scrubbed his hand over his face as pain grew in his soul.“Nothing has changed for me.And if you want kids, we can still do that, there are other avenues… Adopt—”

She cut him off.“I wanted to be a mother, Abel.”The sobs came fast, she doubled over, burying her head in her hands as her shoulders heaved, and her breathing became constricted.His heart broke.No, not his heart.His entire soul broke, his wolf broke.Every molecule in his body felt like it was being ripped apart just to be put back together just to do it all again as he listened to her cry.

Esme’s breathing came back to normal as she regained her composure, sniffling to calm the stream of tears.“And now you know, and I have no more secrets to take to my grave.”

“Don’t say that.”Abel reached out for her, but she flinched from his touch.“How did this information make its way into the marriage contract?I can’t imagine you told Remus about this.”

Esme nodded.“Remus found out, I’m not sure how, but he purposely worded the contract with the stipulation that I had to also be pregnant.He used it as a way to control me, to make sure I couldn’t break the contract and marry someone else.”

“Remus is an ass,” he growled, pacing back and forth in front of her.“He’s going to pay.”Abel paused and added, “I will fix this.”

“Abel, it’s not your problem to solve,” she said gently.“I knew what I was getting into when I signed the contract.”

Abel stood there stunned.He’d never imagined a she-wolf could be infertile.It was practically unheard of for wolves.He had always assumed that if they mated, she’d get pregnant, and they would have children.But now, he realized that it was not that simple.

Esme looked at him, her eyes full of sadness.“I’m sorry.”

Abel took a deep breath.“It’s not your fault, Esme.But you shouldn’t have kept this from me.”

“When was I going to tell you?When you were busy being angry and insulting me every time you saw me?There was no good time to tell you.”

“I...”Abel stammered.

“You what?”Anger started to replace the sorrow in her voice, and maybe anger is what she needed right now.He braced himself for what was about to come.“What would you have done?Nothing.Just like you’ve done every day since you decided to punish me for my father giving you back your life.It’s because of him that you are able to leave Elysium, he’s why you can be with your family instead of being a soul stuck in the afterlife.He is why you can stand here now and act as if you’ve never done anything wrong in your life.”

“Es...I’m sorry.”

“I’m sorry too!”She screamed the words at him.“Sorry, I ever thought we could be together.”Stiffening her shoulders, she pursed her lips tight.“Now, I have a wedding to finish planning, you can leave.”

Abel stood in the hallway for a few moments, listening to Esme’s sobs.He felt a pang of guilt in his heart for not being able to take away her pain.He knew that no words could heal the wound that infertility had left in her heart, but he had hoped that his love and support would be enough to ease her mind.

The need to hold her and tell her that he loved her had his wolf nearly crawling out of his skin, but he knew that she needed time to come to terms with everything..

The rest of the night was spent sitting outside her door, listening to her sobs and trying to think of a way to make her feel better.He knew that she had always dreamed of having a family, and he couldn’t bear the thought of her giving up on that dream.

As the sun began to rise, Abel finally decided that he couldn’t just sit there anymore.He got up from his spot on the floor and knocked softly on Esme’s door.When she didn’t answer, he pushed it open and stepped inside.

Esme lay in bed, her face red and puffy from crying.Abel sat down next to her and took her hand in his.

“I will fix this, I swear to you.Even if it starts a war, I would gladly burn the world to the ground for you.”

* * *

A quick tripthrough the castle’s hidden passages led Abel straight to his target.He entered the bed chamber of the sleeping king.“Lycaon, I need you to be sane for the next couple of minutes.”

The old man coughed into a handkerchief.“I’m always sane.”

Abel rolled his eyes.“Sure, and I’m the king of England.”

“I’ve met all the kings of England and trust me, you are not from that bloodline.”

“You know sarcasm when you hear it, right?”

The king sat halfway up as a coughing fit hit him again.

Abel watched him carefully and saw the sly glimmer in Lycaon’s eyes.“Don’t milk your illness, old man.I have no sympathy for you.”

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