Caelum’s Shadow

"Keep moving. No stopping," the guard grunted behind me.

I ignored him and kept walking the gravel path anyway, one hand resting on the slight swell of my belly. The garden air felt heavier today, thick with the scent of night-blooming flowers. My skin glowed faintly even in daylight now, a soft golden sheen that the loose silk robe barely hid. The child kicked restlessly, like it could sense my mood.

I needed this walk. The royal wing was suffocating me.

A familiar figure stepped out from behind a flowering hedge. Lord Caelum. The guards tensed but didn’t intervene when he raised a hand in that effortless way of his.

"Give us a moment," Caelum said, voice smooth as polished steel. "The king won’t object."

The guards exchanged glances but backed off a few paces. Caelum fell into step beside me, his silver hair catching the light.

"You look different," he said quietly, eyes flicking to my belly and then to the glow on my collarbone. "Stronger. And he looks weaker. Tell me I’m wrong, Eli."

I stopped walking, heart racing. "You need to stop this. Someone’s going to hear you."

"They won’t. I made sure." He glanced back at the guards. "But I can see it. The way he moves slower in the training yard. The way his eyes lose focus for half a second after council meetings. You’re draining him, aren’t you? And now the child is helping you do it."

My hands trembled. I pressed one to my belly as another kick landed. "You don’t know what you’re talking about."

Caelum’s blue eyes sharpened. "Don’t lie to me. I’ve watched him for a century. I know every tell. He’s the Unbreakable Sovereign. Men like him don’t just tire. Not unless something is actively feeding on them. And that something is you. Both of you now."

Pregnancy hormones surged hot behind my eyes. Tears pricked without warning. "What do you want from me? To kill myself and the baby to save him? Is that it?"

"No." Caelum’s voice softened, but his jaw stayed tight. "I want you to stop before it’s too late. He’s changing because of you. Becoming... almost human again. But at what cost? If you truly feel anything for him beyond whatever that cursed bond is forcing on you, find a way to sever it. Before you drain the life out of the only man I’ve ever…"

He cut himself off, breathing hard.

I stared at him. "The only man you’ve ever what?"

Caelum looked away, toward the palace towers. When he spoke again, his voice was raw. "Loved. I’ve loved Vesperian for over a hundred years. Through wars, through his rise to the throne, through every cold decision he made to keep this empire standing. I was his once. In every way that mattered. Until the crown took him completely. Until he stopped seeing anything but power and survival."

My throat tightened. The child kicked again, harder, like it was reacting to my shock. "You... still love him? After everything?"

"Yes." Caelum turned back to me, eyes glistening with something broken. "And I hate myself for it. I should want you dead. You’re the threat that finally cracked his armor. But seeing him look at you the way he used to look at me... it’s the first time in decades he’s seemed alive. So I’m begging you, Eli. If any part of you cares for him, stop this. Find a way to break the draining before it kills him. Before it kills all of us."

I backed up a step, tears spilling over now. "You think it’s that simple? The bond, the baby, this power inside me... it’s not something I can just turn off. And he orchestrated everything. My capture. My pack’s betrayal. He wanted this."

Caelum’s expression twisted. "I know. I helped him track your bloodline in the beginning. But I never thought it would come to this."

The guards started closing in. Our time was up.

"Think about what I said," Caelum whispered urgently before stepping back. "For his sake. For yours."

He walked away without looking back, leaving me standing there shaking, one hand cradling my belly, tears tracking down my glowing cheeks.

~~~

That evening, when Vesperian entered my chambers, I was still raw.

He didn’t waste time. He pulled me into his arms, mouth claiming mine in a deep, hungry kiss. Within minutes I was on the bed, silk pushed up around my waist, his thick cock sliding into me with one smooth thrust.

"Alpha…" I gasped, legs wrapping around him.

He fucked me deep and steady, one hand on my belly, feeling every kick from the child as he moved. "You’re mine," he growled against my neck. "Both of you."

The knot started swelling. Pleasure built fast, mixing with the guilt Caelum’s words had planted. As he thrust harder, chasing his release, I tried. I really tried.

I reached for the draining magic inside me and pushed back. Tried to close it off. Tried to stop the flow of his power into me and the baby.

For one brief moment, it worked. The pull weakened.

Then Vesperian hit that perfect spot inside me and moaned my name, deep and wrecked. The bond surged. The child kicked hard. My body betrayed me completely. The draining magic roared back to life, twice as strong, pulling his vitality into us in a greedy rush.

"No," I whispered, even as I clenched around his swelling knot, milking him desperately.

Vesperian’s knot locked us together with a wet pop. He came hard, flooding me as pleasure tore through both of us. I felt his strength pouring into me and the child, more efficiently than ever. His body tensed above me, just slightly weaker than yesterday.

I clung to him through the waves, terrified.

Caelum was right. I was killing him. And even knowing that, even trying with everything I had, I couldn’t stop.

Vesperian collapsed over me, knot still tying us together, lips brushing my temple. "What’s wrong?" he murmured, sensing my tension. "Talk to me, little Omega."

I buried my face in his neck, heart breaking even as the bond wrapped me tighter in his warmth. I was losing this fight. And the worst part was how much I didn’t want it to end.