Page 23 of Shadow's Claim

"Rest," he commands, lowering me into the water with that disturbing gentleness that feels more violating than brutality would. "We have much to discuss when you wake."

As he turns to leave, shadows gathering around his massive form, a terrible thought occurs.

"The resistance operatives in my memories," I say, voice stronger than I feel. "What happens to them?"

Kael pauses, partially dissolved into darkness as he looks back with those inscrutable violet eyes. "Their fate depends on variables beyond your control."

He disappears completely, leaving me alone with devastating knowledge that everything I've fought for, everyone I've protected, everything I've believed in for years now lies exposed to the enemy I've spent my life fighting.

And worst of all, some small, terrible part of me feels almost relieved that the burden of resistance has been forcibly lifted from my shoulders—a thought so treasonous I can barely acknowledge its existence even in the private darkness of my own violated mind.

CHAPTER9

FOUND AND LOST

My stomach lurchesthe moment the medical technician's expression changes—that slight widening of the eyes, the quick glance toward her colleague that sends ice crawling down my spine. The cold examination table beneath me suddenly feels like a slab of stone, the harsh lights burning my skin as instinctive dread floods my system.

"What is it?" My throat constricts around the words.

The beta woman avoids my eyes, sweat beading at her temples as she focuses on the monitors. Her fingers tremble slightly against the controls. She's careful not to look at Kael, whose massive form dominates the corner of the examination room, the temperature dropping several degrees around him as shadows pulse in rhythm with what I've come to recognize as agitation.

"I need to run another test," she says, her clinical tone betrayed by the rapid pulse visible at her throat. "Please remain still."

The scanner passes over my abdomen again, cold enough to raise goosebumps across my skin. The chill seeps deeper than surface level, as if the device is reaching into my core. I fight the urge to wrap my arms protectively around myself, acutely aware of the lingering soreness between my thighs, the claiming bruises scattered across my hips and breasts—each one a map of possession I can't escape.

The second technician approaches, a thin man whose Adam's apple bobs nervously as he recalibrates the scanner. "This is highly unusual," he whispers, the words not meant for me to hear. "We should inform Dr. Grey immediately."

Kael unfolds from his position, shadows coalescing around him like a living cloak. The air thickens, making it harder to breathe as he steps forward. "What have you found?" His voice vibrates through my bones, the sound seeming to come from inside my own head as much as from him.

Both technicians freeze, primal fear response overriding their training. The woman speaks first, words carefully measured. "Lord Nightshadow, preliminary scans indicate..." Her hands clench against the scanner. "The omega is pregnant. Approximately ten days post-conception."

The words hit me like a physical blow. My ears ring. The room tilts sideways for a moment as bile rises in my throat. Pregnant. The word echoes in my mind, foreign and impossible. My hands fly to my abdomen—still flat, still mine, still human—but suddenly harboring something alien.

"That's impossible," I choke out, the taste of fear metallic on my tongue. "Shadow demon hybrids don't survive in human hosts." I search the technicians' faces desperately. "The rejection rate is over ninety-seven percent. Everyone knows that."

The male technician's scientific curiosity momentarily overcomes his fear of Kael. "Which makes these readings extraordinary. The embryonic shadow integration patterns are unlike anything in our records."

Kael moves with unnatural speed to my side. The sudden proximity makes my skin crawl even as something deeper—something I refuse to acknowledge—responds to his presence. All four of his hands motion for the technicians to step back. They comply instantly, pressing themselves against the wall as though trying to melt into it.

"Show me the readings," he demands, purple eyes burning with such intensity that they cast faint light across the monitors.

The female technician complies, fingers dancing across the controls to display a dizzying array of data. Hormonal charts with spiking levels. Cellular imagery showing what looks like darkness flowing through cell membranes. Microscopic footage of something pulsing with unnatural rhythm.

"Hormone levels have already surpassed established parameters for this stage," the male technician explains, pointing with a shaking finger. "And these cellular formations—" he indicates clusters of cells tinged with what looks like living shadow, "—show integration patterns we've never documented. The shadow essence isn't overwhelming the human cells but... merging with them."

A sound rumbles from Kael's chest, vibrating through the air with such intensity that the instruments tremble. It's not quite a growl, not quite a purr, but something primal that makes the shadows around him writhe with what can only be described as pleasure.

"Leave us," he commands, and the technicians flee, practically tripping over each other in their haste to escape.

I'm alone with him now. The examination table's cold surface seeps through the thin medical gown, raising goosebumps across my skin. My insides feel hollow and foreign, as though my body has become unfamiliar territory overnight. My hand trembles as it moves to my abdomen—still flat and unchanged to the eye, but suddenly harboring an impossible truth.

"This isn't happening," I whisper, voice cracking. "This can't be happening."

One of Kael's massive hands hovers over my midsection, not touching but close enough that I feel the cold emanating from his shadow-black skin. "And yet, it is."

Something about his tone—a reverence I've never heard before—sends a fresh wave of terror through me. This isn't just about claiming me anymore. This is something more.

"Is this what you wanted all along?" The words scrape my throat raw, hot tears threatening at the corners of my eyes. "Was this your goal? To plant your... your monster inside me?"

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