Chapter 5: The Threat ‎

My body was violently at war with itself.

I gripped the edges of the cold copper washbasin, my knuckles turning white as I heaved. The bitter, ash-tasting potion the King forced me to drink was fighting a losing battle against the powerful changes happening inside my blood.

The potion wasn't meant to hide my existence. Everyone in the inner court knew exactly who I was. I was the Blackwood tribute. I was the rare male carrier King Kael had acquired to serve as a biological vessel for his heir. What he was desperately hiding was my scent. He forced me to drink the potion to bury the sweet vanilla and honey pheromones that screamed I was his fated mate.

I splashed freezing water onto my face, staring at my pale reflection in the mirror. I looked completely exhausted, hollowed out by Kael’s punishing nightly visits and the chemical poison I was forced to swallow.

Suddenly, the heavy iron lock on the bedroom door clicked open.

I froze, wiping my mouth with the back of my hand. Kael never came during the day. Doctor Hallow always knocked first.

I walked out of the washroom, bracing myself.

A tall she-wolf stood in the center of my bedroom. She wore a tailored red winter dress and a thick white fur cloak. It was the blonde woman I had seen Kael greeting in the courtyard. Lady Selene.

Because my presence here as a breeder was an official arrangement, the Lycan guards didn't stop her. As the future Queen, she had the authority to walk right through my door. The guards simply bowed their heads and pulled the heavy oak door shut, leaving us entirely alone.

Selene looked slowly around the grand bedroom, her piercing blue eyes finally landing on me. Her face twisted into a sneer of pure, unfiltered disgust.

"So, this is the famous Blackwood tribute," Selene said, her voice sharp and mocking. She walked slowly toward me, her heels clicking loudly against the stone floor. "I expected the King's temporary breeder to be better looking. It is pathetic."

I pulled my loose shirt tighter around my chest, my heart hammering against my ribs. Her alpha aura was incredibly heavy, pushing against my chest to force me to submit, but I held my ground.

"I am Lady Selene," she stated, stopping just a few feet away. "The daughter of the Northern General. And the future Lycan Queen."

A cold weight dropped into my stomach, but I kept my face blank. "Why are you in my room?"

"To establish the hierarchy of this castle," she said, looking down her nose at me. "Kael has been entirely transparent with me. I know exactly why a male carrier was brought here. The King needs an heir to secure his throne before our wedding, and his bloodline is too dominant for a normal female to survive."

She stepped closer, completely invading my personal space.

"You are nothing but a surrogate," Selene hissed. "Do not mistake his nightly visits for anything else. You are a temporary fix to a biological problem. A vessel."

"I know what I am," I replied evenly, ignoring the sharp ache in my chest. "I signed a contract with the King."

"Then you know exactly how this ends," Selene smiled. It was a cruel, wicked look. "The moment you give birth to that pup, it becomes mine. I will raise the royal heir. I will stand beside Kael on the balcony and present the child to the kingdom as my own flesh and blood. And you?"

She reached out and roughly grabbed my chin, her manicured nails digging painfully into my jaw.

"You will be quietly disposed of," she whispered. "Kael might have promised to send you away with gold, but I do not leave loose ends that could threaten my reign. The moment that child takes its first breath, I will have my personal guards drag you to the border and throw you to the rogue packs. You will be torn to pieces, and your pup will never even know your name."

Cold, paralyzing panic gripped my throat. She was going to kill me.

She shoved my face away and wiped her hand on her red dress, as if touching me had stained her skin. "Stay out of my way, Omega. And pray you are actually pregnant. Because if you cannot give Kael a child, the court has no use for you, and I will have you executed by morning."

She turned around and strode out of the room, the heavy door slamming shut behind her.

I collapsed onto the edge of the mattress, my breathing coming in short, frantic gasps. I wrapped my arms around my stomach, completely terrified.

Ten minutes later, the door opened again. This time, it was Doctor Hallow.

She didn't speak. She walked straight to the wooden table, opened her leather bag, and pulled out a small glass dish and a silver needle.

"Give me your hand," she ordered.

I held out my trembling hand. She pricked my finger, letting three drops of my blood fall into the dish. She then poured a clear chemical liquid over the blood.

I watched in heavy silence. For a few seconds, nothing happened.

Then, the blood in the dish didn't just change color. It ignited. It glowed a brilliant, blinding gold that actually illuminated the dark corners of the room, radiating a sudden, intense heat.

Doctor Hallow gasped loudly, dropping the silver needle onto the stone floor. Her hands were shaking violently as she stared at the glowing dish.

"The Goddess be praised..." she whispered, her strict, clinical composure completely shattering. She looked up at me, her eyes wide with absolute awe. "The test is definitive. It is a miracle."

A broken sob tore from my throat. I placed both hands firmly over my lower stomach. There was a life inside me. A tiny, fragile piece of me and the mate who rejected me.

"It hasn't even been a full week..." I whispered, wiping the tears from my face. "How is it possible to know so soon?"

"You are carrying the supreme Alpha," Doctor Hallow explained quickly, her voice breathless. "The sheer, ancient power of the royal Lycan blood forces an immediate, violent physical reaction in a carrier's body. The embryo implants and floods your system rapidly. That is why you have been feeling so ill. You must not stress, Elian. High-density pregnancies are incredibly delicate, but the royal magic is strong."

Before I could answer, the heavy door swung open for the third time.

King Kael stood on the threshold. He was dressed in his dark battle armor, his golden eyes scanning the room before landing on the doctor.

"Well?" Kael demanded, his deep voice echoing in the quiet room.

Doctor Hallow immediately dropped to her knees, bowing her head so low it nearly touched the stone.

"Congratulations, Your Majesty," Doctor Hallow said, her voice shaking with profound reverence and excitement. "The curse on your bloodline is broken. The Omega is with child. The long-awaited royal heir has finally taken hold."

Kael completely froze.

The heavy iron door handle slipped from his grasp. He stared directly at my stomach, and for a terrifying, breathtaking second, the cold, calculating King vanished entirely.

His inner beast violently rushed forward. His eyes flashed pitch-black, the darkness bleeding into the whites of his eyes. A deafening, vibrating rumble tore from his chest—a fiercely protective, earth-shattering purr that literally rattled the glass in the windows. His lineage was saved. After years of failure, whispers of his dying bloodline, and political threats, his fated mate had given him the ultimate prize.

He took a heavy, staggering step toward the bed, his massive hand twitching as if desperate to reach out and touch my stomach.

But the moment his boot hit the rug, Kael caught himself.

He forcefully crushed the feral instinct. He clenched his fists at his sides so hard his knuckles turned white, fighting a brutal war to force the gold back into his eyes. He built his wall of ice back up, but I could see the cracks. His chest was heaving.

"Good," Kael said, his voice noticeably thicker and rougher than usual, betraying the hurricane of triumph and lust warring inside him. He looked at my face, forcing his expression into a mask of authority. "The contract is in motion. You will remain in this room under maximum guard to ensure the absolute safety of the pregnancy."

He turned his attention back to the doctor.

"Inform Lady Selene," Kael declared coldly, though his jaw was locked tight. " She'll be in charge of you. She is to begin preparing the nursery in the West Wing immediately."

My heart stopped beating. He was openly handing my child’s future over to the exact woman who had just threatened to murder me.

Kael turned around and walked out the door, the heavy iron lock sliding into place with a terrifying finality.

I sat on the bed in the absolute silence of the room. I looked down at my stomach, pressing my palms flat against my skin. The fear that had paralyzed me when Selene threatened my life began to fade. In its place, a sudden, fierce heat bloomed deep in my chest.

My inner Omega had always been submissive. I had accepted the cruelty, the beatings, and the rejection. But now, there was a pup to protect. A tiny life that depended entirely on me.

The Lycan King thought I was just a compliant vessel. His future bride thought I was easy prey.

But they had completely underestimated the terrifying, undeniable strength of an Omega protecting his own. The game had just changed. I was no longer playing to submit. I was playing to survive.