The Glow

I stood in front of the tall mirror in the bathing chamber, water still dripping from my skin after another forced bath. The silk robe hung open. And there it was.

A faint golden luminescence glowed beneath my skin, constant now, not just flashing during the draining. It traced along my collarbones, pulsed softly across my belly where the child grew. I ran my fingers over it. Warm. Alive. Stronger every day.

"What are you doing to me?" I whispered, staring at my reflection. The glow brightened slightly, like it was answering.

I glanced at the door. Guards outside. Vesperian in meetings until late. Good. I needed to test this.

Closing my eyes, I focused on the bond humming in my chest. I reached along that invisible thread toward Vesperian. At first, nothing. Then…

A rush of emotions hit me. Sharp focus. Pride. Underlying hunger. He was thinking about me. About us. The intensity made my knees weak.

I opened my eyes, breathing fast. "I can feel you... really feel you."

The child kicked in response, a strong flutter that made the glow flare brighter across my stomach. I pressed both hands there, concentrating. The draining magic stirred, eager. Hungrier than before. The baby’s power mixed with mine, twisting the parasitic flow into something sharper. More efficient.

That night, when Vesperian came to me, I saw the proof.

He took me slower this time, almost careful with my changing body, but still deep and possessive. I lay on my back, legs wrapped around his waist as he thrust steadily, knot starting to swell.

"Alpha," I gasped, nails digging into his shoulders. I let the draining open wide. The combined magic with the child pulled harder, greedier.

Vesperian groaned, hips stuttering. "You feel... different. Stronger."

I didn’t answer. I just clenched around him, drawing more of his vitality into me and the baby. When his knot finally locked us together and he came with a low growl, I watched his face. His golden skin looked just a little paler afterward. The shadows under his eyes deeper.

He stayed locked inside me, forehead pressed to mine. "You’re glowing," he murmured, tracing a finger along my collarbone where the luminescence showed clearest.

I turned my head away. "It started after the confirmation. The child... it’s doing something to me."

"Good." His voice carried dark satisfaction. "It means he’s powerful. Like we need him to be."

I hated how much I liked the praise. Hated how safe his weight felt on top of me.

~~~~

Later that night, sleep pulled me under hard.

In the dream, I stood in the middle of the throne room, belly huge and glowing like a beacon. The child tore free from me in a burst of violent magic, fully formed, eyes burning gold like Vesperian’s but filled with uncontrollable power. Thrones shattered. Alphas dropped to their knees screaming. The empire burned while I watched, helpless, my body drained dry and empty on the cold stone floor.

Vesperian reached for the child, but it turned on him too, power exploding outward until nothing remained but ash and silence.

I woke with a scream tearing from my throat, bolting upright in bed, hands flying to my belly. Sweat soaked my skin. The glow pulsed wildly.

The connecting door slammed open.

Vesperian rushed in, bare-chested, eyes wild. "Eli!"

He climbed onto the bed and pulled me into his arms before I could push him away. One big hand cradled the back of my head, the other splayed protectively over my belly. The child kicked hard, as if sensing his father’s presence.

"Shh. Breathe," he murmured against my hair. "I’ve got you. Nothing can touch you here."

I clung to him, trembling, face buried in his neck. His scent wrapped around me, cedar and smoke and safety I didn’t want to need. "The dream... the baby destroyed everything. Everyone. Even you."

His arms tightened. He rocked me slowly, one hand stroking soothing circles on my back. "It was just a nightmare. Our son will be strong, but we will guide him. Control him."

I pulled back enough to look at his face. He looked tired. The draining was showing more clearly now, the slight pallor, the way his shoulders carried invisible weight. Yet here he was, holding me like I mattered. Like we both mattered.

"I’m scared," I whispered. It was only half a lie. I was terrified of the future, of what I was becoming, of how badly I wanted to stay right here in his arms.

Vesperian cupped my face with both hands, thumbs brushing away my tears. His golden eyes held mine with fierce intensity. "You belong to me now. Both of you."

The words sank deep, wrapping around the soul bond like chains made of silk. I should have pulled away. Should have remembered his manipulations, the cousins he killed, the way he’d engineered my entire capture.

Instead, I leaned forward and pressed my forehead to his, letting him hold me tighter. The glow between us brightened, the child calming under his touch.

"I belong to you," I repeated softly, voice breaking. The words tasted like surrender. Like truth.

The bond hummed with dark satisfaction inside me. I realized with dawning horror how deeply it had already corrupted my will to resist. I wasn’t just surviving anymore.

I was choosing him.