Chapter 229
“I’ve always said to take it easy with her,” Claudia complained as they all stood gathered around Kira’s bed in the clinic room. “Look at her now. The poor thing is completely stressed out of her mind p>
Braxton exhaled sharply but wisely kept his mouth shut. Arguing with his nanny was a battle no Alpha, regardless of his power, could ever win.
He simply held his mother’s hand as Claire gazed down at Kira, sleeping peacefully against the white pillows, her face lined with worry.
The door opened, and the pack doctor stepped in, a warm smile spread across his face. He held out an envelope toward Claire.
“Congratulations, Luna Claire,” he said. “She’s approximately six weeks pregnant p>
Claire gasped, and a radiant smile broke across her face. Claudia pressed her palm to her mouth, her eyes shining with sudden joy.
Braxton, however, did not smile.
He stood frozen, staring at the envelope in his mother’s hands, looking like he had just been hit squarely in the face with a wet fish.
He knew exactly what this meant for him, for his pack. For all of them. The Lycan King had left his sister with a permanent, life-changing reminder of their short-lived marriage.
He could hide Kira away from the King. The Lycan King was a reasonable man under the surface and would eventually forgive a protective brother for shielding a heartbroken sister.
But hiding away an heir of Dravengard? That was another matter entirely. That was technically a political declaration of war.
As his mother and his nanny began to coo over the medical news, practically picking out baby clothes in their heads, Braxton slowly and carefully took two steps backwards, and quietly slipped out of the room, and neither of them noticed him go.
Back in Aethelwulf, in the library building, Jessica and Kai stood frozen, facing one another, too shocked to say anything to each other.
Finally, the paralysing shock faded from Jessica’s system, and instinct took over. She spun to run again. But Kai was faster. His hand shot out and caught her wrist, turning her back to face him.
Before she could even let out a squeak of protest, his other hand flew up, sharply flipping off the dark hoodie covering her head, and yanked away the blonde wig, letting her true ginger curls tumble free.
He stared at her like a new specimen. “So,” he muttered. “It really is you, Jessica p>
Tears filled her eyes. She twisted and pulled against his grip, but his hold was iron. “Please,” she whimpered. “Please, just let me go. Please, Kai p>
“Stop fighting me, Jessica p>
He didn’t release her. Instead, he pulled her in, wrapping both arms around her and holding her tightly against his chest. “Why did you do that to me?” he murmured into her hair, his voice cracking. “Why did you just disappear like that without a word p>
For a moment, Jessica sobbed against his chest, her whole heart yearning toward him, straining to sink into the warmth and safety of him. But she knew what this was. A risk. A dangerous, foolish risk. She tried to pull away again.
“No,” Kai said softly, holding her fast. “Just stay. Stay like this. Just for a moment. Please p>
Jessica stood motionless for a moment, but slowly, helplessly, her arms rose and wrapped around him, clinging to him as though she might drown without him.
After a long moment, Kai pulled back, his hands resting gently on her shoulders as he looked down at her.
Jessica sniffed and wiped at her face. “I really need to go,” she said, her voice trembling. She tried to step away, reaching for her fallen wig.
But Kai held her shoulders firmly, holding her in place, his eyes studying her face as though she might vanish the instant he blinked.
“No one is going to hurt you, Jessica,” he said.
Jessica shook her head fiercely. “One thing I don’t do, Kai, is live in delusion. I know exactly how the Lycans see werewolves. I’ve seen it with my own eyes. And I know the King won’t care one bit that I’m his cousin’s mate. He’ll rain his wrath down on me, and on my family, the moment he gets the chance p>
Kai shook his head. “He’s not going to do that, Jess. He isn’t. Your kind was never the problem. We know that now p>
Jessica stared at him in disbelief.
Back in Crystal Moon Pack, Kira had come to.
Braxton had gently broken the news of her pregnancy to her, and now she sat propped up against the pillows, staring blankly at the ceiling, one hand resting unconsciously on her stomach.
“We’ll hide this pup from him,” Braxton said firmly. “I’ll make sure the King never learns of it. You have my word p>
Kira sighed. “I’m so tired, Braxton,” she said quietly. “I’m so tired of running p>
Braxton crossed to the bed and took her hands in his. “This isn’t about running,” he said. “This is about your own personal agency. King Derek hurt you so deeply. He broke your spirit. Just imagine, for a moment, if you didn’t have a family like ours to run to. Where would you have gone? What would have become of you p>
His jaw tightened. “He doesn’t deserve you. And he certainly doesn’t deserve this child p>
“It’s his pup, Braxton. We can’t hide it from him. That was the whole point of our marriage p>
“But he was going to hurt you both p>
Kira was quiet for a moment. Then she said, softly, “What happened was partly my fault, though p>
“No.” Braxton shook his head. “Don’t you dare blame yourself for p>
“Braxton.” Kira cut him off gently. “I’m not trying to take the blame here. Derek hurt me so badly that I don’t ever want to lay eyes on him again. That’s true, and it stays true p>
She blinked slowly. “But that doesn’t erase the fact that I didn’t trust him enough to tell him the truth. Any of it. He shared so much of his own life with me, his grief, his mother, the darkest parts of him. And I kept feeling, the whole time, that my problems were mine alone to carry. That I couldn’t hand any of them to him p>
“That’s because that is exactly how everyone treated you your whole life,” Braxton said. “They taught you to carry everything alone. He should have known that. He should have understood p>
Kira shook her head. “He wasn’t supposed to read my mind, brother,” she said. “We both held so much back from each other, because neither of us ever truly trusted the other. It went both ways. And that’s the truth of it, whether I like it or not p>
Braxton stared at his little sister for a long, silent moment, completely thrown off by her calm, logical demeano ur. He let out a breath, rubbing the back of his neck.
“Right. Okay. So, what do you want to do now? Go running straight back to him in Dravengard p>
Kira shook her head at once. “No p>
She drew a breath, and something steadied in her eyes. “I want to go to the Wolf Council tomorrow,” she said. “And I want to file a petition for Moonfang. I’m ready to reclaim Mum’s inheritance p>
Braxton stared at her, thrown. “Kira—” He blinked. “Kira, you can’t possibly go. Not in this condition p>
Kira turned her head and looked at him, one eyebrow arching slowly.
“Condition?” she repeated. “I’m pregnant, Braxton. Not handicapped p>