Page 40 of The Lycan King's Captive

Besides, no one was going to see me.

I was two steps from my room when Garrick melted out of the shadows.

“Shit!” I jumped and slapped a hand over my racing heart. “Garrick, what are you doing out here?”

“Sorry.” He gave me a sheepish look. “I was just bringing this.” He waved a pregnancy test in the air.

I froze. Another test? Cyrus was sticking to the program even after last night? Dark thoughts gathered in my head. He’d spoken of how difficult it was for lycans to further their lines. How kings had resorted to taking concubines for just that purpose. He’d made it a point to say my wolf was strong. The mark on my neck began to ache.

Was I still just a womb to him? A means to an end?

Concern shaded Garrick’s brown eyes. “Are you okay?”

Somehow, I nodded and smiled, and I must have murmured something appropriate, because he handed the test over and waited in the living room while I went to the bathroom.

I avoided my reflection in the mirror. I didn’t want to see the hurt in my eyes.

The dress that had felt so sexy last night now seemed tawdry and demeaning as I hiked it above my hips and hovered over the toilet. I gritted my teeth and thrust the stick between my legs, trying not to feel degraded.

Fail.

When I was finished, I tossed the test on the counter and didn’t look at it as I washed my hands. What I needed was a hot shower. As soon as I got rid of Garrick, I was going to scrub Cyrus’s scent from my body so I could think straight.

I grabbed the test from the counter so I could toss it in the trash.

Two pink lines. Positive.

No fucking way.

A memory from undergrad biology filtered through my head. First morning urine was the best for pregnancy tests. The pregnancy hormone was more concentrated. I hadn’t peed since before dinner last night. I’d been too busy begging Cyrus to fuck me.

The test shook, and I realized my hand was trembling. A wave of dizzying crashed over me. I gripped the edge of the counter so I didn’t topple over.

Positive. I’d probably conceived the very first time Cyrus and I were together, when he’d created the ocean in my mind. I’d been pregnant this whole time. My head spun, but I dug my fingers into the counter to stop myself from flying apart.

Triage. In vet school, I’d been trained to prioritize needs when faced with a cascade of complications. Right now, my first priority was to get rid of Garrick. Yesterday, he hadn’t demanded to see my pregnancy test, which meant he was unlikely to now.

Moving quickly, I wrapped the test in toilet paper and shoved it to the bottom of the bathroom trash can. Then I looked in the mirror and tried to school my features into something resembling nonchalance. I had to be convincing. Garrick was unquestionably loyal to Cyrus. If he suspected something was up, Cyrus would be breathing down my neck within minutes.

With my heart in my throat, I went to the living room, where Garrick was pacing like an expectant father.

“Negative,” I said.

He stopped. “You’re sure?”

I put a hand on my hip. “Garrick.”

“Sorry. Of course you’re sure.” He glanced at a small clock on the fireplace mantel. “I have to go check on breakfast preparations. Is there anything special I can bring you?”

“No, thanks.” I kept my smile plastered on my face and tried not to think about things like morning sickness and food cravings.

Somehow, I managed to stay calm until he left, but it only lasted until the door closed behind him. Then I staggered to the sofa, sat, and put my head in my hands.

I’d woken deliriously happy. Now I was terrified. A baby well and truly made me Cyrus’s prisoner. I didn’t need to know much about lycan history to know he would never relinquish an heir. The thirst for dynasty was something common to kings everywhere, human or wolf.

But I was a werewolf, which meant my child would be…a halfling? Would my son or daughter inherit the throne or be relegated to some kind of in-between status? Before, when pregnancy had seemed a distant and unlikely possibility, I’d regarded a potential child as something that might shackle me to Cyrus. I hadn’t given much thought to how that child would be treated if they ever actually existed. Cyrus’s parents had matched him with Celeste at birth because her wolf was strong. That was the sort of backwards world I was dealing with.

And now I was going to bring a child into it

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