Caught In The Act

MAELIS

I woke up the next morning, weaker than the day before. My body felt heavy, and the second I sat up the nausea hit hard.

My hands flew to my mouth, and I barely made it to the toilet before throwing up everything I had eaten previously into the sink. I grabbed the edge of the porcelain with both hands as the retch continued, gripping my stomach hard.

When it finally stopped, I wiped my mouth and looked down at my vomit.

There were dark red streaks mixed in with the rest. It looked like blood.

My heart began to race as I stared at it for a long moment, trying to tell myself it was just stress or the pregnancy morning sickness.

But my fear remained.

“Sera needs to know, Mae.” My wolf whispered. “She would understand why there is blood in your vomit.”

Telling Sera meant carrying out a series of more tests, and more people possibly finding out. Right now, no one must find out about my baby, secrecy was the only thing keeping my baby safe.

Also, I wouldn’t want the pack members or maids to be suspicious if I started frequenting the clinic.

Inhaling deeply, I rinsed my mouth, washed my face with cold water, and forced myself back to bed.

I rested for a few minutes before my personal maid, Hura, made her way in with breakfast. She bowed slowly the moment she dropped the tray.

“Greetings Luna, your breakfast has been served.”

I stared at her, gratefully. I knew if she were present yesterday, she’d have brought my dinner without anyone asking for my presence at the dining hall.

“Thank you, Hura.” I reached out to grab the glass of water.

“I was informed that my lady isn’t feeling well, my apologies for being absent. I took the day off yesterday to visit my maternal clan,” She replied, kneeling as she prepared the tea.

“Good thing you’re here, right?” I forced a smile on my lips.

I ate slowly, forcing down what I could for the sake of the baby, then pushed the rest away.

Hura’s eyes went wide, “My lady, you’ve barely touched your meal. Please eat more so you can recover fast.”

Recover fast…

The only way I could recover fast was if Theron let me go, but there was no way I was telling her that.

I smiled, but it didn’t reach my eyes. “This will do for now, Hura. I will eat more later.”

She fell silent, but I could tell she wasn’t okay with the answer I had given her.

She left a while later, and I curled up on my side and closed my eyes, listening to the sounds of the birds chirping. Somewhere downstairs they were getting ready for the first part of Caden’s legitimacy rites.

The thought made my chest tighten.

It also reminded me that I didn’t have time to wait anymore.

After a short rest, I sat up again. If I wanted any chance of filing a petition before the rites locked everything in place, I needed proof.

Something that showed Theron had never planned to treat me like a real mate.

“Yes.” An idea crossed my mind the moment I recalled something.

In the original contract Theron and I signed privately, there was a part that clearly said he would never mark me nor be intimate with me and it listed more things he’d never do with me.

That paper was in his study, locked away with the rest of the private records.

Without wasting much time, I got dressed in something plain and stepped into the hallway.

The house felt different this morning as everyone got busy. I caught pieces of conversation about the rites starting at midday, and about the elders already gathering.

Every word made the clock in my head tick louder, you have three weeks, Maelis.

Or less than that, if the blood in my vomit meant anything.

I had barely reached the main hallway when I heard Nerine’s voice.

She was standing near the entrance of the hallway with Evelyn, speaking in that soft voice she used when she wanted people to hear.

“I just hope Maelis is feeling better,” she said. “She looked so pale after finding out Caden is going to be the heir. I hate that my return has made things harder for her.”

“Why do you worry about a woman that doesn’t regard you? Stop worrying yourself over spoiled milk.”

“I thought it was spilled milk—“ Nerine raised a brow.

“There’s a difference between spilled milk and spoiled milk. You’d feel pain when good milk gets spilled. But would you worry over spoiled milk getting spilled?” Evelyn questioned, her voice filled with disgust.

“Of course not…wait.” She gasped. “Is Maelis the spoiled milk?”

“What do you think?” Her eyes sharply met mine, and I kept walking, my face straight with no emotions in sight.

Nerine's eyes flicked to me for a split second, a small almost pitying smile touched her lips before she turned back to her mother.

Before I could turn towards Theron’s wing of the house, a wave of dizziness hit me hard, and I knew that if I didn’t go back, I’d fall face flat.

Shutting my eyes briefly, I inhaled deeply and immediately began to slowly make my way back to my room with caution. By the time I got back to my room, my hands were shaking, and I rested again, longer this time, until the wave of dizziness passed.

The house grew quiet in the late afternoon. Most of the household had gone to watch the opening of the rites which meant no one would notice if I went to Theron’s study.

I slipped out again and took the long way. The hallway outside his study was empty, I tried the door but it was locked.

As expected.

Years ago he used to leave a spare key in the small drawer of the side table in the hall when he needed me to bring documents to the meeting chambers.

My fingers found it quickly, and I went into the study. The study smelled of the faint scent of cologne he always wore. I went straight to the cabinet where the private contract was kept and began to flip through them carefully, in search of the contract document.

After a while of searching, I found a folder with our names and pulled it out.

I folded the pages carefully and slipped them into the inner pocket of my dress, but just before I could push back the cabinet, I heard footsteps behind me.

I froze, my mind completely going blank as I turned slowly to see who it was. A sigh of relief escaped my lips as I saw Nerine, standing in the doorway, arms loosely crossed with a calm face. At least it wasn't Theron. I didn't owe Nerine any explanation.

“Looking for something, sister?” She said but I didn’t answer. I just closed the cabinet and walked toward the door.

I had expected her to move away from the door, but she didn’t move.

“I hope whatever you’re taking is worth the trouble,” she said lightly. “Theron doesn’t like people going through his things.”

I kept my voice even. “Move.”

She tilted her head, still smiling. “Okay.” She shifted her weight, almost casually, but as I stepped past her, her foot moved into my path.

I didn’t see it in time, and before I could react, my shoe caught against hers, and I fell hard on my stomach.