Lose It All

Lose It All
The tracking team returned at dawn. I heard the commotion from Elizabeth's guest room. Voices. Movement. The sound of horses.

He was back.

My heart hammered. My stomach turned. Not sure if it was the baby or nerves or both.

I sat up slowly. Listened.

Connor's voice. Firm. Giving orders. Then another voice. Male. Rough. Exhausted.

Darian.

The bond flared. No longer stretched thin with distance. Close now. So close.

And I'd kept the walls up the entire time. Kept him blocked. Kept him from feeling me. From knowing I was here.

I should lower them. Should let him feel me. Should give him warning.

But fear kept them in place. Fear of what I'd feel back. Fear of his reaction. Fear of everything.

I got dressed quickly. Hands shaking. Pulled on clean clothes. Braided my hair. Made myself look presentable even though I felt like I was falling apart.

Voices continued outside. Then footsteps approaching the house.

The door opened. Elizabeth's voice. "She's in the guest room."

More footsteps. Closer now. Coming toward me.

I stood. Faced the door. Tried to breathe.

The door opened.

Darian stood there. He looked terrible. Hair disheveled. Clothes dirty from days of travel. Dark circles under his eyes. Thinner than when I'd left. Like he hadn't been eating. Hadn't been sleeping.

We stared at each other. The bond screamed between us. Pulling. Demanding. Desperate to reconnect.

His eyes swept over me. Taking in every detail. Looking for something. Checking if I was real. If I was okay.

"You're here," he said. His voice was rough. Wrecked. "You're actually here."

"Yes."

"I went north. Searched for you. They told me you'd already left. That we'd missed each other."

"I know. Connor sent people to bring you back."

He stepped into the room. Closed the door behind him. We were alone now. Just us and the bond and everything unsaid between us.

"Why?" he asked. "Why did you leave? Why didn't you talk to me? Why did you just disappear?"

I opened my mouth. Closed it. Didn't know where to start. How to explain.

"I saw you," I said finally. "With Celeste. In your room. She was pressed against you. Your hands were on her waist. She said she missed you. Missed what you had."

His expression shifted. Shock. Understanding. Horror. "Lyra—"

"And I ran. Because I couldn't watch you choose her. Couldn't watch you pick duty over us. Couldn't stay and break apart slowly."

"I didn't choose her. I've never chosen her."

"You let her stay. Let her touch you. Let her act like she owned you."

"Because I didn't know how to make her leave without—" He stopped. Ran his hand through his hair. "That moment you saw. She came to my room uninvited. Started talking about the debt. About what her family did. About what I owed. Then she touched me. Pressed against me. And yes, my hands went to her waist. But I was pushing her away. Not pulling her closer."

"That's not what it looked like."

"I know. But that's what was happening. I was about to physically remove her when you must have left. Must have seen just that moment and assumed—"

"Assumed you were still tied to her. Still unable to choose."

"I'm not tied to her. The debt is real but it's not what she claimed. Marcus found the original documents. Proved she was lying."

"I know. He told me."

Darian's eyes widened. "He's here?"

"Arrived yesterday. Told me everything. About the lies. About the Council petition. About how she's been manipulating you."

"Then you know I didn't want her here. Didn't want any of this."

"But you let it happen. Let her stay. Let her poison everything between us."

"Because I was trying to be careful! Trying to handle it without destroying everything I'd rebuilt. Without losing my reputation again. Without—" His voice broke. "Without losing you."

"You lost me anyway."

The words hung between us. True. Painful. Undeniable.

Darian took a step forward. "Then let me find you again. Let me fix this. Let me prove I choose you. Only you. Always you."

I wanted to believe him. Wanted to let down the walls. Wanted to fall into his arms and let him make it all okay.

But I couldn't. Not yet. Not until he knew everything. Not until I gave him all the information and let him make a real choice.

"There's something you need to know," I said quietly.

"What?"

My hand went to my stomach. Protective. Automatic. "I'm pregnant."

Silence. Complete. Total silence.

Darian stared at me. His expression went blank. Shocked. Like I'd spoken a language he didn't understand.

"What?" he whispered.

"I'm pregnant. About seven weeks. The baby is yours. Ours."

He didn't move. Didn't speak. Just stood there frozen.

The bond pulsed with his emotions. Shock. Disbelief. Joy. Terror. Everything at once. Overwhelming. Consuming.

Then he moved. Crossed the space between us in two steps. Dropped to his knees in front of me. His hands went to my hips. Gentle. Reverent.

"You're pregnant," he said. Looking up at me. Gray eyes wide. Vulnerable. Real. "We're having a baby."

"Yes."

"When did you find out?"

"Four days ago. In the northern territory. That's why I came back. To tell you."

"You came back for me."

"I came back because you deserved to know. Deserved to choose. Deserved to be part of this decision."

His forehead pressed against my stomach. Still flat. Still hiding the secret growing inside. "I choose you. I choose this. I choose us. No hesitation. No doubt."

"The Council is coming in four days. Celeste filed a petition. They're going to try to force you to marry her. To honor the original contract."

"I don't care."

"You should care. Your reputation. Your position. Everything you've worked for could be destroyed if you refuse."

He looked up at me. "Then let it be destroyed. I don't care about any of that anymore. I care about you. About our baby. About building a life together."

"Darian—"

"I'm done being careful. Done trying to please everyone. Done letting fear make my decisions." He stood. Cupped my face in his hands. "I choose you, Lyra. Publicly. Before the Council. Before anyone who asks. I choose you."

The walls around the bond crumbled. I couldn't hold them anymore. Couldn't keep blocking him when he was saying everything I needed to hear.

The bond reconnected. Full force. His emotions crashed into mine. Love. Joy. Determination. Fear. All of it mixing together. All of it real. All of it true.

"I love you," he said. "I should have said it more. Should have proven it better. Should have sent Celeste away the moment she arrived. But I was scared. Scared of making the wrong choice. Scared of losing everything again."

"I was scared too. Still am."

"Then let's be scared together. Let's figure this out together. No more running. No more walls. Just us."

I wanted that. Wanted it so badly it hurt.

But doubt crept in anyway. "What if the Council rules against you? What if they force the marriage?"

"They can't force me to do anything. I'm not property. Neither are you. And this baby makes everything different. Changes everything."

"Celeste says the mate bond doesn't matter. That it's just biology."

"She's wrong. And I'll prove she's wrong. I'll stand before the Council and tell them exactly what you mean to me. Exactly what we are. And if they don't accept it?" He smiled. Fierce. Determined. "Then we'll leave. Go somewhere they can't reach us. Build our life away from vampire politics and pack drama and everyone else's expectations."

"You'd do that? Leave everything?"

"For you? For our baby? Yes. Without question."

The tears came. I couldn't stop them. Relief. Joy. Fear. Everything releasing at once.

Darian pulled me close. Held me while I cried. His hand moved to my stomach. Rested there. Protective. Possessive. Awed.

"We're having a baby," he whispered. Like he still couldn't believe it. "We're going to be parents."

"Are you scared?"

"Terrified."

"Me too."

"Good. We can be terrified together."

I almost laughed. Would have if I wasn't crying. "This is a mess."

"Yes. But it's our mess. And we'll figure it out."

We stood there holding each other. The bond hummed. Content. Satisfied. Finally reconnected after weeks of distance and pain and doubt.

But the relief didn't last long. Reality crept back in.

"Connor ordered me to stay away from Celeste," I said. "After yesterday."

Darian pulled back. "What happened yesterday?"

"She confronted me in the market. Baited me. Made me lose control in front of the whole pack. I almost shifted. Almost attacked her. Connor had to intervene."

His jaw tightened. "She planned that."

"I know. But it worked. The pack thinks I'm unstable now. Violent. They'll tell the Council."

"Then I'll tell them the truth. Tell them what she's been doing. How she's been manipulating everyone."

"Will they believe you?"

"They'll have to. Marcus has proof. Has the original documents. And I'll testify. And you'll testify. And we'll show them what's real."

I wanted to believe it would be that simple. But nothing about this had been simple. Nothing about this suggested it would suddenly become easy.

"She's been spreading rumors," I said. "Telling people I trapped you. That I got pregnant on purpose to force your hand."

Anger flashed in his eyes. Real. Dangerous. "That's not true."

"I know. But people believe her. She's convincing."

"Then we'll be more convincing. We'll show them what we have. What we are. What we're building."

He made it sound possible. Made it sound like truth would win. Like love was enough.

I wanted to believe him. Wanted to trust that.

"Four days," I said. "We have four days before the Council arrives."

"Then we use those four days. We prepare. We gather support. We make sure everyone knows exactly what Celeste has been doing. What she's been lying about."

"And if it's not enough?"

"Then we fight. And we keep fighting. Until they understand. Until they accept. Until we win."

His determination was infectious. Made me feel stronger. Made me feel like maybe we could do this. Maybe we could survive this.

"Okay," I said. "Okay. We fight."

He kissed me. Soft. Brief. Full of promise. "Together."

"Together."

The word felt right. Felt true. Felt like maybe we actually had a chance.

But outside this room, Celeste was still here. Still scheming. Still planning. The Council was still coming. The pack was still divided.

And we had four days to fix it all. To prove we were real. To show everyone that we chose each other.

Four days. To save everything. Or lose it all.