EIGHT

 Breakfast with Alaric present at the table always felt different.

 The maids would always roll in more dishes, making sure the table was filled to the brim. Every meal that perfectly suited his palate would be prepared, only to have him randomly pick at most two dishes and call it a day.

 That morning was no different, the maids filling the table the moment Alaric took his seat. His mother sat opposite him, Rebecca taking the seat next to him as she always did as Luna. It was their usual seating arrangements but for the first time, it felt odd to Alaric.

 “Where’s Eliza?” Alaric asked, his question directed to no one in particular. “Why isn’t she at the table?”

“She is probably sleeping in,” Rebecca replied him before Pamela could beat her to it. “You don’t have to worry. She’ll come out soon enough. And if she doesn’t-”

 Her words were interrupted abruptly by a sight that immediately made her let out a gasp. She watched in horror as a maid walked in with a tray in her hand, containing fresh mangoes.

 “Mangoes?” her voice managed to remain calm but the authority that echoed from each word was impossible to ignore. Immediately the maid froze, bowing her head lightly as she pulled her arm inwards. “How dare you serve mango on this table? Do I need to remind you both I and the Alpha are allergic to it?! Have you-”

 “I personally asked them to serve it,” Alaric’s voice interrupted hers. “It wasn’t a mistake from their side.”

 “What?” Rebecca glanced at Pamela and noticing the same confused expression on her face, returned her gaze to Alaric. “Why would you do that?”

 “They’re for Eliza,” he replied her, signalling to the nod to lay them out carefully on the table. “She said she craved them so I prepared them.”

His words landed heavy between them, Rebecca immediately falling silent. She felt like she was kicked in the gut, the revelation both painful and disgusting.

 She looked up at Alaric, hoping for more explanation from him but none came. He never repeated himself. His words were law and not even her, his Luna, dared go against it.

 “Oh is she already having cravings?” Pamela’s voice broke through the silence. “In her early stages? Wow, she’s just like me. Alaric, when I was carrying you, for the first three months I had the most random cravings. Even the meals I used to hate all suddenly became my favourites!”

 Rebecca lowered her head and grabbed her cutlery. She had already lost her appetite but couldn’t show it. At least, if she couldn’t contribute to discussions relating to pregnancy, she could sit still and eat like a graceful Luna.

 Alaric barely responded to his mother’s comments, the old woman quickly resigning to focus on her food. It wasn’t for long though, the mango and empty space catching her attention again.

 “Why isn’t Eliza here yet?” she asked. “Alaric, is everything okay with her? She barely left her room all day yesterday.”

 “I believe she’s fine,” Alaric said then slowly dropped his cutlery. She looked fine the previous day and even after choking, he’d hoped she finished the rest of her fruit. But now that she was refusing to come out for breakfast, he couldn’t help but think he should have stayed back for a while longer. “She needs to eat. I’ll go fetch her myself.”

 “No, allow me!” the speed at which Rebecca threw her cutlery on the table and rose to her feet was alarming. She looked at Alaric and Pamela, both taken aback by her unusual behaviour.

 “Allow me go check on her,” the smile on her face didn’t suit her but she wore it regardless. “If she’s too tired to come out, I’ll just take the food to her. I mean, I saw her taking a walk around the palace yesterday so maybe it drained her out a little.”

 “Oh,” Alaric was convinced and immediately returned to his seat. After all, she did return to her room after taking a walk. “Alright then. Thank you, Rebecca.”

 “My pleasure,” she nodded and walked out of the dining room, aware of Pamela’s eyes on her. She kept her steps calm and graceful until she was completely out of sight and in front of Eliza’s room.

 “Eliza?” she called out to her, placing a gentle knock on her door. “Are you in there?”

 No response came.

 The corner of her lips stretched as she placed another knock on her door, a louder one this time. “Eliza?”

 The response was the same, Rebecca taking it as a cue to help herself in. With an exhale, she grabbed the door knob and twisted it open, stepping inside the room.

 It was empty.

 Just as she expected.

 A chuckle escaped her lips as she looked around the room, every trace of Eliza now faded. She walked over to the bed and ran her hands through it, the sheets cold as ice.

 No heat. No Eliza.

 “Enjoy your rest then.”

 Returning her hands to her side, she walked out of the room, carefully shutting the door behind her. Her steps regained their natural rhythm as she returned to the living room, Pamela immediately raising her head.

 “Where’s she? Did she refuse to come out?”

 Alaric didn’t speak but Rebecca watched his eyes dart towards the mangoes. They lingered on them for a while before he looked up at her, curiosity etched all over his face.

 “She’s still asleep,” Rebecca said with a calm voice. “I tried waking her to come out to eat but she was just so deep in her sleep. Her tour of the palace yesterday must have left her exhausted.”

 Their faces had appropriate reactions, Rebecca continuing.

 “You don’t have to worry. I’m certain once she wakes up from her sleep, she’s going to be so hungry she’ll rush out for breakfast herself.”

 “So, in the meantime,” she glanced at the maid standing at the corner of the dining. “Why don’t you take these mangoes off the table?”