Chapter 125: Chapter 125
Silence settled between us, thick and overwhelming as we took in Jade's words. I stilled in my seat, the arms of the chair digging into my sides, legs pushed against the ground firmly. On instinct, my hand immediately went around the pudge of my tummy, eyes filling with tears. This felt like a punishment, an undeserving one at that. Why couldn’t my body accept our pup? Felt unreal.
From the corner of my eyes, I saw Aiden shift in his seat, face turning white as a sheet.
A lump lodged in my throat, which I swallowed with great difficulty, croaking out the words. “J-Jade, you must be mistaken. Check again. Please.”
The witch winced, making a sympathising face as she shook her head. “I am afraid not, Miss Rose. You see this crystal here….” She pointed at the round globe in the centre of the table, her fingers shining with pink like energy again. “I derive my powers from this, and it never lies.”
“W-Why?” A hot tear slid down my cheek, heart thumping loudly in my chest and making it impossible to breathe. It felt as if someone physically squeezed my lungs. “Why me?!”
“Your abilities are also your curse, Rose.” The witch started softly, making my eyes widen in shock. I whirled my head towards the Alpha next to me, narrowing my gaze accusingly. Did he tell the witch about my unique abilities? It was supposed to be kept a secret.
“No one needs to tell me. I am a witch, remember?”
“Oh,” I sagged in my seat, cheeks flushing for jumping on a conclusion too soon. “Right. Sorry.”
Jade cleared her throat, hands clasped together and elbows resting on the table. A grim look settled on her features, head tilting towards us. “As a healer, your wolf rejects any harm coming your way. Right now, it thinks of your pup as a danger to you and the wolf. That’s why you were not even made aware of it for a long time.”
I opened my mouth to defend only to press in a tight line. If not for my mother, I would have never figured out about my pregnancy. My fingers stroked against the material of my dress, teeth sinking on the plush of my bottom lip in worry.
“Uhh…And what if I want to keep my pup?”
My question hung in the air, suddenly the room shrinking and making me feel hot. I noticed Aiden with his jaw clenched tight, nails turning white by force, they held onto the chair. The Alpha looked at the wall in front of him rather than facing me.
“Miss Rose, I understand your affection for your pup, but it’s perilous.” Jade voice lowered, tense. “There may be consequences, and…in the worst case, you may also die during the childbirth.”
The breath knocked out of my lungs at that, body shrinking in the seat and a fresh set of tears burning in my eyes. The thought that I won’t be able to see my pup hit me all at once, vision blurring with tears.
Aiden sucked a sharp breath, the hackles rising, back straightening in his seat. The Alpha let out a low growl, turning to the witch. “Get rid of it! Now!”
“Alpha Aiden—” Jade slowly tried to calm him down while I abruptly stood up.
“How can you…Aiden, it’s our pup.” I whined, taking a step back and putting a protective hand over my baby bump and baring my little canines with a violent expression of betrayal that crushed through me. “W—What are you saying, Alpha?”
His chair scraped against the carpet as he stood up, taking a hesitant step in my direction. “Baby, I just need you to be okay,” He started hoarsely, face crumpling with guilt, hands falling by his sides. “I don’t want to lose you. The thought of that happening kills me. Please, baby. Don’t do this. Please don’t give this the chance to take you away from me. I promise we can try again when we know that you will be safe—”
“I…” My throat went dry, lost at words as he stared at me with a broken expression. Rage coiled in my belly, teeth-gritting together as I blinked through the tears. “This? This is a new life in my belly, our pup Aiden. I can’t believe you right now! H-How can you just be okay with ending our child’s life?”
Worded like that, it was enough to make the Alpha flinch, but he still did not give up on convincing me. “I’m not okay! I am not okay, but I know what is important to me! This pup could end your life! And I can’t take that chance, Rose.”
I could feel Jade's eyes shift in between us, the witch shifting awkwardly in her seat. The last thing I wanted was to make a massive spectacle in front of her. Turning to her, I managed to put on a weak smile before thanking her for all the help, walking out of the door.
***
Black spots danced in front of my vision as I tried to swiftly move past the Alpha, praying that I wasn’t going to pass out because my head kept spinning so fast. I needed to get my shoes and coat from the stand, but I didn’t bother.
I could hear Aiden’s thunderous footsteps behind me, that familiar crunching of his boots as he followed me to our cabin. That made me want to stop, want to turn around, but I resolved not to do that. I needed to clear my head, taking refuge in my room to organise the thoughts crowding in my head, to think about the words the witch spoke a while ago. While also trying to repress the urge to smack my skull against the nearest concrete wall.
Once inside my room, I let out a sharp exhale, slumping against the wall. My face was cold, my arms littered with goosebumps, and the hair on the back of my neck stood up. I felt my knees wobble as I tried to move towards the cupboard.
While ruffling through the clothes, I heard the door being pushed open. I didn’t need to turn around to know that the Alpha had followed me in, was probably stepping from one foot to the other, waiting for me to acknowledge him. He took a step close, placing my coat and shoes on the single loveseat nearby.
“Rose.”
At the painful sigh, I froze and dropped my hands to my sides and straightened, fixing the Alpha with a pointed gaze. There are only a few feet between us, but once again, after fighting and reconciling and arguing again, the distance was tangible, and it hurt.
“I am sorry.” His head hung low as he continued, shame filling his features, “I don’t know what came over me, but you need to understand that this is scary for me too, Rose. The thought of something bad happening to you and….”
“Aiden”, I called out his name, cutting him off, a headache forming in the base of my temples, fisting at the material in between my hand. My shoulders sagged in defeat. “Can we not talk about it now? Please, I need some time to clear my head.”
His eyes shifted to the fresh set of clothes I was holding, widening. “Are you going somewhere?”
“Yes,” I softly whispered, shutting the door and standing with my back against it.
The Alpha hastily shuffled closer to me, his hand coming to wrap around my wrist, pulling on it. “Rose, please, we can talk about it. You cannot leave me—”
"I'm coming back, Aiden. You don’t have to worry about it. I intend on keeping my promise of staying by your side. Please have a little faith in me.”
“I do…” He croaked, swiping his tongue over his dry lips.
“Okay.”
I slipped on the coat sleeves, pulling them tighter around my body and flipping up the collar. At night the air turned biting and cold, creeping through every gap, numbing my entire skin and limbs along. I spent too long inside of the cabin, near the wood fire and a heater in his room which made me fear the harsh reality of nightly woods and deserted streets.
Aiden cleared his throat, breaking the oppressive silence that crept between us, “Where are you going?”
“To see my mother.”
“Oh.”
Aiden hesitated for just a second before closing the distance between us, bending down and wounding his arms around my waist to give a solid hug. I stilled, arms dangling by my sides awkwardly while he closed around immediately, locking at the small of my back and pulling me closer. The shoulders of his jacket were slightly damp, and he smelled like snow and oddly sweet like a particularly good brandy. His curls tickled at my side as he turned his face into my neck until his nose brushed my warm and soft skin.
“I’ll be waiting for you.”
***