The Secret Baby Hint

I woke up in my own bed, but I didn’t remember getting there. The last thing I remembered was the sound of rain hitting a tin roof in Killian’s arms. Now, the morning light was peeking through my thin dorm curtains.

I sat up, my head spinning. I looked at the door. It was locked from the inside, just how I always left it. I looked at my nightstand. There was a glass of water and two aspirin sitting there.

"How did he even get in here?" I muttered to myself.

I wasn't even surprised anymore. Between Alaric, Silas, and Killian, privacy seemed like a dream. They were everywhere. They were mysterious, they were overbearing, and they were starting to make me feel like I was losing my mind.

I felt terrible. My stomach was doing somersaults, and my skin felt cold and clammy. Every part of me wanted to stay under the covers and hide from the world. But then I looked at my desk. My Constitutional Law textbook was sitting there, reminding me of the mock trial today.

"I can't miss it," I whispered. "If I lose my scholarship, I lose everything."

I forced myself out of bed. I skipped breakfast because the thought of food made me want to gag. I dressed in a high-necked sweater again, brushed my hair, and headed to the law building. I just had to get through this one class.

The lecture hall was packed. The mock trial was a big deal, and everyone was dressed in their best suits, pretending to be real lawyers. I took my place at the defense table, my hands shaking as I shuffled my papers.

Alaric walked in, looking as sharp and lethal as ever. He didn't look at me, but I felt his eyes on the back of my neck.

"Begin," he said.

I stood up to give my opening statement. "Your Honor, the defendant in this case..."

The room started to tilt. The voices of my classmates sounded like they were underwater. I gripped the edge of the table, trying to steady myself. The lights above seemed to get brighter and brighter until everything turned white.

My knees buckled. I felt myself falling, but I never hit the floor.

Strong, firm arms caught me.

"Elena!"

That was the last thing I heard before the world went black.

****

When I opened my eyes, I was lying on a bed in the campus infirmary. The smell of antiseptic was strong. Alaric was standing by the window, his back to me. He looked like he was vibrating with tension.

"You're awake," he said, turning around. He didn't look angry; he looked worried, which was somehow scarier.

"I'm fine. I just didn't eat breakfast," I said, trying to sit up.

"Sit down, Elena," he commanded.

A man in a white coat, Dr. Aris, walked in holding a clipboard. He looked at me, then at Alaric, and back at his papers. He looked like he had seen a ghost.

"The blood work came back," Dr. Aris said, his voice shaky.

Alaric stepped toward him. "And?"

The doctor leaned in and whispered something into Alaric's ear. I couldn't hear a single word, but I saw Alaric’s face change. His eyes went wide, and his jaw tightened so hard I thought it might break. He looked at me with an expression I couldn't read—it was part shock, part hunger, and part something else entirely.

"Is something wrong?" I asked. "Do I have a fever?"

"We're leaving," Alaric said, ignoring my question. He grabbed my coat and helped me up.

"But the doctor said—"

"I said we're leaving."

He didn't take me back to my dorm. He took me straight to his private office in the law building. He locked the door and pointed to the leather chair behind his desk.

"Sit," he said.

"Alaric, tell me what is going on. What did the doctor say?"

He didn't answer. He walked over to me and did something he had never done before. He sat in the chair and pulled me down onto his lap. I was too weak to fight him, and honestly, I didn't want to. I felt so tired.

"You need to rest," he murmured, his hand stroking my hair. "You’ve been very careless with yourself."

I tried to stand up. "I need to go study. I have to make up for the mock trial."

Alaric reached onto his desk and picked up a wooden ruler. As I tried to push off his knees, he gave my palm a light, sharp tap with the ruler.

Snap.

"Ow! What was that for?" I asked, staring at my hand. It didn't really hurt, but it startled me.

"I told you to rest," he said, his voice a deep, calm hum. "Every time you try to get up before I say you're ready, you'll get a reminder. Do you understand?"

"You can't treat me like a child," I said, but I stayed put.

He didn't say anything. He just held me. I leaned my head against his shoulder, listening to the steady beat of his heart. I realized then that I had stopped fighting. I was sitting on my professor’s lap, being told when I could move, and I didn't want to leave. I was starting to crave the rules. I wanted someone to tell me what to do so I didn't have to think anymore.

"Why are you being so overprotective all of a sudden?" I whispered.

Alaric kissed the top of my head. "Because everything has changed, Elena. You just don't know it yet."

I closed my eyes, falling into a light sleep on his lap, wondering what the doctor could have possibly said to make a man like Alaric Blackwood look so terrified