CHAPTER 15 - A Knife Between Us

“They said if I spoke to you again,” she whispered, “I wouldn’t live long enough to give birth.”

Something dark stirred in me. Not rage. Something colder.

“Who said that?” I asked.

She opened her mouth

“Enough.”

Damon’s voice cut through the air like a blade.

I turned. He stood there, his expression hard, his presence filling the space without effort.

“You shouldn’t be here,” he said to her. “I told you to stay away.”

She flinched.

“I had no choice,” she said. “I needed her to know.”

“You need to leave,” he replied, his voice controlled but sharp. “Now.”

I stepped between them before I even thought about it.

“No,” I said. “She stays.”

He looked at me. Really looked.

“This doesn’t concern you,” he said.

I met his gaze. “Everything concerns me now.”

His jaw tightened. “Aria.”

“She came to me scared,” I said. “I won’t send her away like she’s nothing.”

Sera’s breath hitched behind me.

“She’s lying,” Damon said quietly. “My family wouldn’t threaten her.”

She laughed then. Not loud. Not mocking. Just tired.

“You taught them well,” she said. “You taught them how to make it clean.”

Damon’s eyes darkened. “Watch your words.”

“I am,” she replied. “Every word could be my last.”

Silence fell.

I felt it again. That pull in my chest. Stronger now. A warning.

“What exactly did they say to you?” I asked.

Damon turned to me. “You don’t need to hear this.”

“I do,” I said.

He hesitated.

Sera spoke before he could stop her.

“They said I was useful,” she whispered. “They said my body was just a vessel. They said the child matters more than I do.”

My hands curled into fists.

“They said if I stepped out of line,” she continued, “they would make sure I didn’t survive the birth.”

Damon’s face went still.

“That’s not true,” he said, but his voice had lost its edge.

“Isn’t it?” she asked. “You know how they think. You know what they do to problems.”

I turned to him. “Is this possible?”

His silence answered before his mouth did.

“You promised me,” I said slowly. “You said she was safe.”

“I said I would protect her,” he replied.

“And did you?” I asked.

He looked away.

The answer hurt more than any words could.

Sera stepped forward, her hands shaking. “I don’t want to be their pawn anymore,” she said. “I don’t want to be used to controlling you. Or her.”

I looked at her. Really looked.

I saw fear. I saw exhaustion. I saw someone trapped in a game she never asked to play.

“You didn’t come here to hurt me,” I said.

She shook her head fast. “Never.”

“You came because you’re scared,” I said.

She nodded. Tears slid down her cheeks.

“And because you trust me,” I added.

Her voice broke. “I had no one else.”

Something shifted inside me then. A quiet realization.

She wasn’t my enemy.

She never had been.

Damon stepped closer. “You need to leave before this gets worse.”

She looked at him. “It already has.”

Then she turned to me.

“They’re afraid of you,” she whispered.

My chest tightened. “Why?”

“Because you don’t belong to them,” she said. “And they can’t control what you carry.”

The room seemed to narrow.

“What do I carry?” I echoed.

Her eyes dropped to my stomach.

My breath stopped.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

She hesitated.

Damon’s head snapped up. “Sera.”

She met his gaze. “You didn’t tell her?”

“Tell me what?” I demanded.

He stepped toward me. “This isn’t the time.”

“When is the time?” I snapped. “When it’s too late?”

Sera spoke softly. “They want your child.”

The world tilted.

“My… what?” I whispered.

She lifted her eyes again. “They believe you’re pregnant.”

The word rang in my head. Loud. Unreal.

“That’s impossible,” I said. “I would know.”

She shook her head. “Not yet. Not with your awakening. Not with what you are.”

Damon reached for me. “Aria, listen to me.”

I pulled away.

“You knew,” I said. It wasn’t a question.

His silence cut deep.

“You knew they suspected this,” I continued. “You knew they might come after me.”

“I was trying to protect you,” he said.

“By lying?” I asked.

“By delaying,” he replied. “By keeping you out of it.”

I laughed once. It sounded empty.

“They already pulled me in,” I said. “They always do.”

Sera’s voice trembled. “They said your bloodline would change everything. They said a child born of your power would belong to them.”

A cold spread through me.

“They said they would take it,” she added. “No matter the cost.”

My hands pressed to my stomach without thinking.

“I don’t even know if it’s true,” I whispered.

“They believe it is,” she said. “And belief is enough.”

Damon stepped closer again, his voice urgent now. “Nothing will happen to you. Or to any child.”

“Can you promise that?” I asked.

He opened his mouth.

I closed it.

The truth sat between us like a blade.

“I won’t let them use me,” Sera said suddenly. “I won’t let them use you either.”

Damon turned to her sharply. “You don’t get to decide that.”

She met his stare. “I already did.”

She reached into her pocket and pulled out something small.

A folded paper.

“They gave me orders,” she said. “Dates. Names. Movements.”

My heart pounded.

“They’re planning something,” she continued. “Soon.”

Damon stared at the paper like it could explode.

“Why show us this?” he asked.

“Because I’m done being silent,” she replied. “And because I might not survive this pregnancy.”

The words fell heavy.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

She swallowed. “The healer said my body is weak. The stress. The pressure. If things don’t change…” She trailed off.

“What if it doesn’t change?” I pressed.

“I might not live through it,” she finished.

The room felt too tight.

Damon’s face cracked then. Just slightly. Enough to show fear beneath control.

“You should have told me,” he said.

“I tried,” she replied. “You were too busy protecting everyone else.”

I looked between them. So much history. So many secrets.

“So what happens now?” I asked.

Sera looked at me. “Now you decide if you trust me.”

I met her gaze. “I do.”

Damon turned to me sharply. “Aria”

“She warned me,” I said. “She didn’t have to.”

“She’s still connected to them,” he argued.

“So are you,” I replied.

That stopped him.

Sera stepped back. “I should go before they notice I’m gone.”

“Where will you go?” I asked.

She gave a sad smile. “I’ll hide. For now.”

She turned, then paused.

“They’re afraid,” she said softly. “Not of you. Of what you could become.”

Then she looked at my stomach again.

“And of what you might give birth to.”

She left.

The silence she left behind was loud.

I turned to Damon slowly.

“How long have you known they wanted this?” I asked.

He exhaled. “Longer than I should have.”

“And you didn’t tell me,” I said.

“I didn’t want you to be afraid,” he replied.

I laughed without humor. “Too late.”

He stepped closer. “Aria.”

I held up a hand. “Don’t.”

He stopped.

“If there’s even a chance she’s right,” I said, “then everything changes.”

“I won’t let them touch you,” he said.

“I don’t need you to decide that,” I replied. “I need the truth.”

He hesitated.

Then he said quietly, “They’ve been waiting for an Alpha-born child for generations.”

My blood ran cold.

“And they think that child is mine,” I whispered.

“Yes.”

I pressed my hand to my stomach again.

I didn’t feel anything. Not yet.

But something inside me stirred.

Awake.

Watching.

If they were already hunting my child, the question was no longer ifI was pregnant but how far they would go to take it from me.