Chapter 4: Pregnant

Esmeralda POV

Pregnant?!

The healer's words struck me like a blade, and for a moment, everything around me stopped.

The room became so quiet that all I could hear was the frantic pounding of my heart.

Like for real, pregnant?

I stared at the healer, waiting for her to shake her head and admit she'd made a mistake, but she didn't. Instead she simply returned my gaze with the same calm expression she'd worn since arriving.

My lips parted, but no words came out.

No...

That couldn't be right.

Hell, I'd been feeling strangely ill ever since that night with the stranger. Morning sickness, nausea, constant fatigue, and sleeping far more than usual. 

I'd noticed all of it, but it had never crossed my mind that pregnancy could be the reason.

 My family had assumed I'd caught some terrible disease, which was why they'd hurriedly called for the healer.

But this?

Nothing could have prepared me for this.

Slowly, almost without thinking, I placed a trembling hand over my stomach. It still felt the same beneath my palm. Soft and flat, without even the slightest sign that anything had changed.

Yet somehow, everything had.

A baby?

Inside me?

The thought stole the air from my lungs as memories of that night flashed through my mind in broken pieces. The stranger. His touch. The darkness that had hidden his face. The warmth of his body against mine.

One night.

A shaky breath escaped my lips.

Yes, it had only been one night. One night of fun and bad decisions, something I thought I would probably forget with time. But now...

My fingers pressed gently against my stomach as shock, confusion, and countless other emotions crashed through me.

God, what had I gotten myself into?

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Sofia and Clara watching me. They looked almost as stunned as I felt. Clara's mouth hung open while Sofia stared at the healer, disbelief written all over her face.

She was the first to break the silence.

"Wait... Are you sure you haven't made a mistake? I mean, how could she just be pregnant?"

The healer remained composed despite the disbelief in the room.

"Yes, ma'am. I'm certain of my diagnosis."

"Oh God..." Clara covered her mouth before turning to Sofia, panic spreading across her face.

"Mom, this... this is bad. Father is going to lose his mind. What if the Alpha King refuses to accept her now? What if he sends her back?" Her breathing became uneven as tears gathered in her eyes. "I don't want to marry that monster."

"There, there." Sofia quickly pulled her into her arms, rubbing her back as though she were comforting a frightened child. "Calm down, sweetheart. None of that is going to happen."

Her voice was soft as she comforted Clara, but the moment her eyes shifted to me, every trace of warmth disappeared.

"You..." She slowly approached until she was standing directly in front of me.

"I always knew you had shameless blood running through your veins, but I never expected you to disgrace us like this."

Her words pierced me, and I lowered my gaze, swallowing the painful lump in my throat.

Oddly enough though, despite the insults, the shame and regret she clearly expected me to feel, I couldn't bring myself to regret the child growing inside me.

That realization startled even me.

Yes, this baby had come from a one-night stand. I didn't know who the father was, and any sensible person in my position would probably be terrified.

I was terrified.

But whenever I thought about the tiny life inside me, a strange sense of peace settled beneath the fear.

I'd always believed children were gifts from the Goddess. Maybe... just maybe, this child was mine for a reason. Perhaps, after everything life had taken from me, the Goddess was finally giving me something precious.

"Well," Sofia said after a moment, cutting through my thoughts, "since it has come to this, I think we only have one option."

I slowly lifted my eyes to hers. Something about the way she stared at me made my chest tighten.

"You'll terminate the pregnancy."

For a moment, it felt as though the air had been stolen from my lungs.

My eyes widened, and both hands flew instinctively to my stomach. The movement happened before I could stop myself, as though my body had already made a decision my mind was still struggling to understand.

"What?" I whispered, slowly shaking my head. "No... No way."

Sofia's gaze dropped to my hands, and her expression darkened. Clara followed her eyes, her jaw tightening as she watched me cradle my stomach as though I were already holding a child in my arms.

"So that's it," Sofia said bitterly, folding her arms across her chest. "You're already attached to it."

I looked down at my hands.

Maybe I was.

Because only moments ago, I hadn't even known there was a baby growing inside me. Yet now, at the mere thought of losing it, my chest ached so badly that breathing became difficult.

"And what makes you think you're in any position to decide?" Clara snapped, marching toward me with anger radiating from every step.

"Look," she snarled when she stopped in front of me. "I spent years perfecting the act of becoming Alpha Draven's Luna. Years, Esmeralda!" Her voice rose, trembling with fury. "And now you want to ruin everything with your bastard pregnancy?"

Her words echoed through the room, but all I could think about was how she hadn't once asked if I was alright or how I was handling any of this.

Of course, she was worried. But her concern was for herself, her position, and her dream of becoming Luna to a neighboring pack. Not for me, the sister who was supposed to be sacrificed in her place.

Still, that didn't mean I'd let them decide the fate of my child.

They'd controlled almost every part of my life since childhood. What I wore, how I behaved, and even who I was expected to marry.

But not this.

This choice was mine. This pregnancy had come from a decision I'd made myself, and whatever happened next would be decided by me.

"Yes..."

I took a slow, shaky breath before finally speaking.

"I know this was a mistake. I know nothing about the man who fathered this child, and I understand how impossible this situation is."

I paused, lowering my eyes to my stomach before looking at them again.

"But I'm still not giving up my baby."

The room fell silent, and even I could hear how certain my voice sounded.

"I'm not letting an innocent soul suffer because of my mistakes."

"Innocent?" Clara laughed bitterly, pointing at my stomach. "That child is about to destroy my life, and you stand there calling it innocent?"

I instinctively took a step back. The hatred in her eyes stirred every protective instinct inside me.

"And how exactly do you plan to raise a child?" Sofia asked.

Her voice was calmer than Clara's, but far colder. She folded her arms neatly across her chest, studying me from head to toe.

"Have you even thought that far?"

I opened my mouth, but no answer came. The mocking smile that slowly spread across her lips told me she'd expected as much.

"I thought so."

"If the Alpha King rejects you because of that pregnancy, your father will throw you out without a second thought. You'll have nowhere to go, nothing to your name, and no one willing to help you. So tell me, Esmeralda..." She tilted her head slightly. "How do you intend to feed a child when you can't even feed yourself?"

Her words settled heavily in my chest because she wasn't entirely wrong.

Father would definitely reject me, and for a brief moment, I could almost picture myself standing outside the pack gates with a child in my arms and nowhere to go.

The thought sent fear twisting through my heart, and doubt crept in.

Could I really protect this baby?

My hand brushed gently over my stomach, and somehow, the simple touch calmed me.

No.

I didn't know how, but I'd find a way.

I had to. If I couldn't protect the innocent life depending on me, what kind of mother would I become?

Slowly, I looked back at Sofia.

"Yes, I don't know what the future holds," I admitted quietly. "I don't know where I'll go or how I'll survive."

A tear slipped down my cheek, but I quickly brushed it away.

"But I'd rather struggle every day for the rest of my life than spend even one day wondering what my child could've become."

Silence filled the room.

For the first time, neither Sofia nor Clara had anything to say. They simply stared at me as though they couldn't believe what they'd just heard.

Then Sofia's expression turned frighteningly calm.

"Wait. Do you think that just because your father allowed you to keep your memories of that night, you suddenly have the right to start making decisions now?" she asked quietly.

Somehow, the softness in her voice unsettled me far more than her shouting ever could.

"Well, let me make one thing very clear."

She stepped closer until we were almost face to face.

"I don't need your permission because whatever happens to that child will be decided by your father."

With that, she turned and left.

Clara followed, but not before throwing one last look at the way I still held my stomach.

"You... Don't think you've won, because I'll never let you ruin my future."

Then she stormed out.

The healer, who had remained silent throughout the confrontation, looked at me with quiet sympathy. She seemed about to speak, but eventually settled for giving me a small nod before leaving.

Finally, I was alone.

Silence settled over the room, so thick that I could hear my own breathing.

I stared into the distance, trying to figure out what to do next. I'd told Sofia and Clara that I would keep the baby, but how exactly was I supposed to make that happen?

The confidence I'd forced myself to show them was beginning to crumble. I lowered both trembling hands over my stomach, and all the fear I'd been hiding started to surface.

"Look... I don't know what I'm supposed to do with you, baby," I whispered.

My voice barely rose above a breath.

"But I'm not letting anything happen to you."

The promise had barely left my lips when hurried footsteps echoed through the corridor. Before I could turn toward the door, it was thrown open.

"Lady Esmeralda!"

I looked up as one of Father's messengers hurried inside, his breathing uneven as though he'd run all the way here.

"Alpha Cassius, the Alpha King, has arrived, and Alpha Gale requests your presence immediately."

What?

The blood immediately drained from my face, and my heart seemed to stop beating.

The Alpha King...

He was here.

From the corner of my eye, I noticed Sofia and Clara freezing outside the doorway. They exchanged panicked glances, clearly just as surprised by his arrival as I was.

But Father had said he wouldn't arrive until tomorrow.

So why was he here today?

The very day my entire life had changed.

I hadn't even had enough time to think, let alone decide what I was going to do. I'd been telling myself that since the Alpha King wasn't arriving until tomorrow, I still had one more day.

One day to think. One day to come up with a plan.

But now that chance was gone.

A cold knot tightened in my stomach.

No.

This marriage couldn't happen.

If the Alpha King discovered I was carrying another man's child, he would kill me. And if Father found out before that, he wouldn't spare me either.

Either way, there was no good ending waiting for me.

Just yesterday, before learning about this pregnancy, I would have forced myself to go through with the marriage.

But things were different now.

I wasn't fighting for myself anymore. I was fighting for the tiny life growing inside me.

My fingers tightened over my stomach.

I still had no idea how I was going to protect this baby, but one thing had become painfully clear.

If I wanted to keep my child safe, I had to stop this marriage at all costs.

And that meant I had to make the Alpha King reject me.