SILVER AND SHADOWS

Elaris's POV

Averic's sword hovered near my stomach as the silvery glow surrounding it faded to a warm tingle.

The archive room was practically unrecognizable.

Clouds of dust motes floated through the moonlight as shards of broken glass, scattered pages, and a trail of dark red streaking from Caedmon's nose to his chin littered the floor.

Yet he wasn't interesting in inspecting any of it.

His hazel eyes were still fixed on me.

"Our child," Averic murmured.

I swallowed.

"Yes."

A long, taut beat of silence stretched between us.

I pressed my hands to my stomach, feeling the strange warmth fade away as the tiny heartbeat within stayed strong and fast.

Averic finally lowered his sword, a look of something like shock crossing his face before twisting into an expression I'd never seen before.

It was wonder, mixed with fear, and laced thickly with possessive male pride that coiled right into my wolf's bones

Neryss limped closer, still holding the bronze candelabra she'd used to bash Caedmon for me.

"Alpha,

"she said, "we should get Lady Elaris out of here."

Averic wasted no time getting between Caedmon and me.

His sword was fully drawn.

"Take him." he commanded.

Two guards yanked Caedmon away from the shattered shelves.

He didn't fight them off.

Instead, his dark eyes remained fixed on my midsection.

Fear. There was also something else in his gaze that warned me.

Even as he was hauled through the opening in the far part of the room, Caedmon chuckled.

Averic's lips curved downward.

"What's so amusing?" he snapped.

Caedmon's eyes found mine.

"You think the child protects her."

Averic's grip tightened on his sword.

Caedmon's smile was humorless.

"You've only made her more valuable."

Once Caedmoon was gone, Virelle took a step back.

"Averic, "she said, her voice softening into that wounded tone she favored, "I only came because I heard the disturbance. I was worried you were in danger."

"Don't speak." Averic snapped. Virelle's mouth clamped shut and for a long moment, her calculating gaze swept over me.

Averic turned to me.

His amber eyes roamed over my face before lingering on the spot where the silver light had been.

"Can you walk?" he asked.

My hands trembled slightly as I nodded.

"My legs are shaking, but I'll manage."

He extended his hand, and for a brief and foolish moment, I considered refusing.

Then I shoved my palm into his hand and felt a very mild pulse of silver light beneath my hand.

Averic's eyes widened.

He could feel it too.

But neither of us spoke as Virelle took in the exchange with narrowed eyes.

Instead of tossing me over his shoulder like any reasonable man would have done, Averic marched me out of the ruins, side by side with Neryss and flanked by a half-dozen palace guards.

The long hallways seemed endless and the servants skittering aside to let us pass whispered loudly between sapphire pillars.

I kept a hand pressed against my stomach.

The silver lights were gone, but I still remembered how strongly they had pulsed at Averic's touch.

Something ancient in me had recognized him.

Something powerful.

Caedmon had seen it too.

So had Virelle.

And that was the last thing I needed.

Still, halfway down the corridor, Averic came to a halt.

He turned to the guards.

"From this point on, no one is to talk about what happened in the archive." he said.

At the guards' swift nod, Averic's gaze met mine.

His fingers curled slightly where he held my hand.

"And no one is to spread any rumors about Elaris or the child." he added. "If they do, you'll answer to me."

The guards bowed and I stared at Averic in astonishment.

Not only had he risked his life to come to my aid, he refused to let the palace's underbelly prey upon me now that they knew about the child in my womb.

But was it because he loved me?

Because the child was his heir?

Averic turned us into a side wing of the palace I hadn't seen before.

The doors shut behind us with a sigh and Neryss, Averic, and I were alone.

Averic turned to Neryss first. "Find a healer."

Neryss nodded. "Which one?"

"The kind who answers to my mother."

The woman hesitated.

"Alpha, most of the senior physicians are already giving reports to the council."

"Then find me someone not answering any man but me."

Neryss bowed and slipped out the door.

At first, Neryss's departure left an uneasy silence between us.

Averic's gaze swept over my face.

"Elaris..." his voice was quiet. "What exactly happened in there?"

"How long?" I asked.

His fingers tightened around my upper arm. "You knew."

"I suspecting you were the father." He exhaled sharply and my heart thudded against his grip.

"You should have told me."

"I was going to tell you."

"When?"

My throat tightened but he was looking away now, his amber eyes distant.

"Before Virelle got to you."

A shadow crossed Averic's face.

"You were carrying my pup and you thought I'd reject you?" He looked away. "What did you think I would do after watching you sacrifice your child?"

I closed my eyes.

"I couldn't take the risk." And suddenly I was seeing the events of that night all over again. The sight of the boy's golden eyes as Caedmon told me he was dead, the unbearable grief, the crushing loneliness.

It had been all too easy to see the child as Virelle had.

As if her presence was a blessing, not an unbearable burden.

Averic turned away, his shoulders shaking slightly.

When he turned back, there was less of the proud, calculating Alpha and more of the man I'd fallen in love with.

"The silver light."

I shook my head. "I don't know what it is."

"Neither do I."

Averic leaned closer.

"It answered your touch. What happens when I come near?"

"I don't know."

His gaze dropped to my midsection. "Do it again." When I still shook my head, his frustration must have gotten the better of him, because Averic grabbed my hand.

Halfway to my abdomen, he stopped, unable -- or unwilling -- to touch me.

It still hurt more than it should have.

Then a soft knock announced the arrival of the healer, who was swiftly followed by Neryss.

She came directly to me, first studying the bandage on my arm, then taking my pulse.

Finally, she pressed her warm hand lightly against my stomach.

The look on the healer's face made my heart stutter.

"The child is strong."

Averic let out a breath of relief.

“Is Elaris in danger?”Perhaps not immediately, but the energy surrounding the child is not ordinary."

The healer's lips pressed into a tight line.

"What are you sensing?" Averic asked.

The healer hesitated.

"A protective sort of bond."

"To what?"

She looked at me. "To a threat."

Neryss exchanged a meaningful look with me.

"Did it resemble a mating bond?" Averic asked.

The female healer shook her head.

"It is similar, but I have never seen one forming before birth."

The Alpha tensed. "Could it be hereditary?"

"Perhaps."

To what?

But the healer didn't finish that thought -- or answer his, for that matter.

She turned away.

Something was still not right, but whatever it was remained buried beneath a jumble of emotions.

"...but there is something else," the healer finally said.

"What?" Averic asked.

"The essence of the babe seems... concentrated."

When the healer departed some minutes later, Averic dismissed the others.

The second the door thudded shut behind him, an oppressive stillness invaded the room.

Averic approached the high-set windows and stared out into the moonlit courtyard.

"You will remain in this wing." he said.

I crossed my arms.

"Until when?" I asked.

"Until I know who I can trust." he said. "especially Virelle."

"and Caedmon?"

"He will not have another opportunity to harm you."

I studied his broad back.

"You can't lock me away."

Averic turned. "I won't." When he came nearer, I wanted to back away but his fingers gently brushed my cheek.

"You nearly died tonight." He exhaled. "as did my mother."

My stomach twisted.

That was not a gentle remark nor was it one born of trust.

He looked away.

"I won't see it happen again."

Another life he'd failed.

I swallowed past the iron taste of grief.

"You don't have to protect me by hiding me." The corner of Averic's mouth tugged downward.

"You always say that."

"I know you wanted me to run." I said quietly. "But no matter now many times I say no, you will do it again. Protect me."

When he turned away, I saw the sorrow in his eyes and wondered what ghosts haunted him so.

Still, the words hung between us, unsaid but very much understood: You will not fail me.

Averic closed his eyes for the briefest moment.

Then, as though making a decision, he straightened.

"Rest." he said. "I'll deal with Caedmon and the council."

"Averic," I murmured as he turned toward the exit.

He paused. "The silver light..."

I nodded.

He looked at my stomach.

"I feel it too."

He opened the door but the instant he did, a strange silver glow rippled just below my skin.

Averic was still watching my midsection.

The glow had faded but now, a similar swirl of light appeared just beneath the threshold.

His eyes narrowed. "Did you see that?"

I nodded.

Averic turned away and was already walking down the hallway before I followed.

Nothing greeted us save an empty corridor and a single black feather lying on the floor.

Averic picked it up, his brows knitting together.

"Raven guards protect the palace."

I frowned. "What does that mean?"

He ran his fingers over the silky texture of the plume.

"It means someone infiltrated these halls without being seen."

My breath caught in my throat. "Virelle?"

"Perhaps."

He handed the feather to one of the guards, who hurried off to do the search Averic wanted done.

Turning back to me, he said, "Stay in the wing."

Then he gone.

I lingered in the doorway until the muffled sounds of his footsteps faded down the hall.

Minutes ticked by in tense silence, and I strained to hear anything at all when a woman's footsteps echoed from the far end of the passage.

Virelle.

"How sweet of you to come out and see the Alpha."

I barely moved away from the doorway in time to hear the guard's reply, which was too muffled to understand.

The Lady of the Lamps sighed audibly. "Poor Elaris. So fragile after everything she's been through."

I clenched my fist.

The false sympathy in her voice grated against my nerves.

"She really should not be carrying that child in her condition."

Footsteps drew closer.

I edged closer to the edge of the opening when Virelle's voice became audible again.

"Did you see the light?"

From the darkness at the far end of the hallway, Caedmon answered, "Yes."

"What does it mean?" Virelle asked.

A pause.

Then Caedmon's voice -- edged with something like dislike -- said, "The child has awakened."

Virelle inhaled sharply.

"Before birth?"

"Yes." A heartbeat of silence passed before Virelle said, "Then we have less time than we thought."

My heart thudded in my chest.

Caedmon added, "when the blood moon rises, the essence of the heir will be easier to discern."

Virelle's voice quavered.

"And if the Alpha discovers what the child can do?"

"He'll do everything he can to keep the heir and that will give us more time than we have."

"You realize we don't have any other options, don't you?"

Caedmon let out a mirthless chuckle. "We don't kill Elaris."

"What?"

Virelle sounded genuinely startled.

Caedmon's voice, low and deliberate, said, "We take the child."

A creeping sensation of ice slithered down my spine.

Virelle said something I couldn't hear.

Caedmon answered, "The old ceremony required a living specimen from an Alpha's line."

My stomach roiled.

That was it wasn't it?

"They'll kill my baby."

Virelle's whisper grew louder. "Then we'll take care of the problem before the next blood moon rises."

Caedmon laughed softly.

"The palace will blame the rogue pack."

Virelle said, "And Averic?"

"He'll believe someone stole the heir."

The footsteps grew louder and my breath came faster, shallow and quick.

Then -- without warning -- Caedmon said, "Unless she already knows."

Panic shot through me.

I barely caught his footsteps fading away around the corner.

It never would have occurred to me what to do before hearing Avaric say that the child resembled him -- or seeing the wonder in Virelle's eyes as they both looked at me.

Now every instinct screamed at me to run.

The blood moon was only days away and it was far too late to come up with a new plan.

But as I backed away from the doorway, something else occurred to me.

Caedmon -- Virelle -- and certainly my own guards -- would never suspect that I'd be watching them.

A silver glow hovered near my stomach but not in my body.

The power within my unborn child had warned me.

They were coming for the baby.

And I was just beginning to understand what it truly meant.

I rushed toward the window.

The moon was growing red at the edges.

Blood moon.

And according to Caedmon, we were already running out of time.

But at least one of us knew something the others didn't.