All Chapters of The Alpha King's Pregnant Omega: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

The cart rattled eastward for the better part of two days, and Cassian spent every mile of it fighting a battle no guard or noble could see, the battle of a body pushed past its limits, jolted over rutted roads with nothing to cushion the impact but thin straw and his own trembling arms wrapped around his belly. The two guards assigned to escort him spoke little, and what conversation passed between them was carefully pitched just beyond his hearing, though he caught enough fragments to understand they had drawn lots for this duty and neither had wanted it. Small mercy, he thought, that even men sworn to the crown's will seemed to find something distasteful in delivering a pregnant omega to a forest that ate travelers whole. By the second evening, they had reached the last outpost before the eastern hills, a rough garrison town that marked the final edge of civilization before the land turned wild and unclaimed. The guards allowed him down from the cart long enough to relieve himsel

Cassian woke to grey morning light filtering through the vines at the cave mouth, his body aching in ways he hadn't known were possible, and Lirian a small, warm weight still tucked against his chest, sleeping with the boneless trust of a creature who did not yet know how precarious his first hours in this world had been.Elias sat near the fire, feeding it carefully rationed wood, and something in his posture told Cassian he had not slept at all."How is he?" Elias asked quietly, nodding toward the infant."Breathing well. Warm." Cassian shifted carefully, wincing at the soreness radiating through his lower body. "Hungry, I think, though I confess I've never done this before and have no idea if I'm doing it right.""You will learn quickly. Most do." Elias rose and crossed to check on them both, his touch professional and gentle as he examined Lirian's small chest, counted his breaths, pressed careful fingers to the pulse at his tiny wrist. "He's small for his time, but steady. That's

Cassian's body ached in ways he hadn't imagined possible as he followed Elias along the narrow forest path the next morning, Lirian bundled tight against his chest in a sling fashioned from Elias's spare cloak. Every step sent fresh soreness radiating through muscles still recovering from the birth, but the forest around them had settled back into its earlier, watchful quiet, and Elias moved with the confidence of a man who had learned every inch of this land through hard necessity."Not far now," Elias said, glancing back to check on him for perhaps the tenth time that morning. "The ground rises just ahead, and the hollow sits just beyond that ridge.""You don't need to keep asking if I'm well," Cassian said, managing a tired half smile despite the strain in his legs. "I'll tell you plainly enough if I need to stop.""Forgive me. I've delivered children before, but I've rarely had the chance to see how the following days unfold for the parent. I find myself unexpectedly invested in g

Cassian's whole body went rigid at the sound, and beside him, Elias woke instantly, some old instinct honed by years of exile pulling him from sleep the moment danger drew near. He was on his feet before Cassian had even finished shaking Dorran awake, moving to the shuttered window and pressing his eye to the narrow gap between the boards."How many?" Dorran whispered, already reaching for the sword he'd carried from the castle, buckling it with the ease of long practice despite the darkness."I can't tell yet. More than two, fewer than ten, by the sound of the hooves." Elias's voice had dropped into the same hard, focused calm Cassian remembered from the birth, a man accustomed to working through fear rather than being paralyzed by it. "Cassian, take Lirian and get to the back corner, behind the woodpile. If this goes badly, I want you as far from the door as this room allows."Cassian moved without argument, cradling his son against his chest, Lirian miraculously still asleep despit

They left the ruined hollow while the sky still held the deep blue of pre-dawn, moving in careful, silent formation through trees that seemed to grow closer together the further north they walked. Cassian carried Lirian bundled tight against the morning chill, while Elias led with quiet vigilance and Dorran brought up the rear, sword still drawn despite the apparent absence of any further pursuit."How much further?" Cassian asked, his voice pitched low, though the forest around them felt too still to risk anything louder."Another hour, perhaps two." Elias's eyes swept the treeline constantly, alert to any sign of movement beyond the ordinary sway of branches in the wind. "The ground begins to change before the ridge itself. You'll know we're close when you see it."Dorran shifted his grip on his sword, glancing warily upward at the canopy, which had grown thick enough here to blot out most of the strengthening dawn light. "You never did explain what waits up there, beyond old storie