An Unexpected Result

~Kyra~

A month later....

A pulsing ache tore through my muscles as I drop to my knees in the dirt, my breaths come out in short pants and desperate gasps for air as I attempt unsuccessfully to stabilize my breathing.

The stench of my own sweat fills my nostrils, and my vision blurs as Jake's voice sharply demands, "Get up," his tone is as hard as steel. "If you hope to be worth anything, you do not have the luxury of weakness!"

A sharp retort springs up to my lips but I swiftly bite it back. Pushing myself up to my feet instead, though every movement feels like it will be the last I make if Jake keeps this up. Jake stands just a few feet away from me, his arms are crossed over his chest and his eyes are narrowed, watching me struggle just to get to my feet.

I wince visibly, catching the flash of disappointment in his eyes. It has already been a month since Jake began training me and while I have put my all into it, my body constantly seems to betray me and I just cannot break past its limits.

Jake tells me I have gotten much stronger than I realize but I do not believe him, I do not feel any different, if anything, I feel even more vulnerable and the truth shows in moments like this when I fail to meet up to his expectations.

"We'll call it a day." Jake says to me at last. "You won't be of any use to me half-dead."

Relief floods my veins but I suppress it easily, responding with a curt nod instead. The first thing Jake taught me is to control my emotions and reactivity, never letting the next person know what thoughts are on my mind... that lesson, I took seriously.

Jake does not spare me another word as he turns and walks away towards our cabin, his small wooden home which we both now share. I do not follow, instead I head in the opposite direction, deeper into the woods, taking the moment to steady my breathing.

The woods are still and quiet at this hour, it is early evening as Jake's favourite training hours were usually from the crack of dawn to sunset, after which the rest of the day will be spent preparing for our overnight shift at the bar.

The dim glow of the evening sun bathed the woods in colorful shades, a sight many would find beautiful but I feel no comfort. I have been falling behind in training, everyday, the sessions become harder to endure, like my body has set a no-cross limit on me. Jake is yet to say anything but I know he has also noticed it... I cannot keep this up.

A dull ache flares in my stomach. The ache is so sharp that I wince visibly, I lift a trembling hand to my abdomen. It wasn't just the training, something else is wrong.

The gleaming lines on the pregnancy test I took two days ago is ingrained into my mind, as clear as if I am still holding the small tool in my hand.

"Positive... pregnant..." I murmur slowly, the words still sound foreign to my own ears, though I have murmured them in this same manner before, repeatedly for each confirmation test I carried out... hoping, praying for a different result.

At the fifth try, the floor beneath my feet had dropped out and I still feel like I am floating in mid air, an unending abyss beneath me. Positive... pregnant, it had hit me like a lightning bolt through a clear sky. It is impossible, it has to be. Yet deep down, I already knew... the nausea, the exhaustion, the dizziness, it all made sense.

 My hands clench tightly at my sides. "How could I have been so careless?" I wonder, though I am not certain what I could have possibly done to avoid this result.

I had hoped leaving before Alaric awakened would mean a clean break, no loose ends and no attachments, I had hoped it was the right decision, I could not continue to be a part of Cedric's maddening plot...but now, everything is unraveling.

"I can't let them find out... I can't let him find out..." I murmur quietly.

If my pregnancy is discovered, Cedric would immediately seize the opportunity. I will not let my child be used as a tool to force a bond with Alaric, and Alaric...he would feel compelled to take responsibility.

Perhaps he would bond me because of it and I will forever live in the shadow of the woman in his heart, or perhaps he will take my child away from me and toss me into his dungeons. It is not a life I want to live... not when I have tasted true freedom in this past month and I cannot imagine giving up my child.

And there was Mikos... the mere thought of him sends a shiver of terror down my spine. The mate bond between Mikos and I remains, his vengeance for his father will be claimed at any cost and if he finds out that rather than repenting, I am pregnant with another man's child... I cannot risk letting my child be known to anyone, not after what I have done.

Within me, a nagging feeling reminds me of the fact 'The child is not mine alone...but Alaric's also.'

I clench my jaw tightly and force the thought away. It did not matter... Alaric has not contacted me once since that night, since I arrived at Embermoon.

One thing is clear, Alaric does not care for me and probably regrets that night, and that is fine with me... the farther his regrets keep him, the safer I and my child will be.

There was only one trouble...

"Kyra!" Tracker's familiar voice calls out to me.

"Speak of the devil." I think to myself. I hurriedly compose myself and jog back to the cabin where I will face Rhett and hope his sharp senses do not figure me out even before I decide on what to do about the baby.