Chapter 76 - The Weight of Expectation

Chapter 76 - The Weight of Expectation
The morning was born cold, the sky silvery over the valley, and Cassie was already awake before the sun touched the frost-covered rooftops. Hendrick had left early, and the house seemed quieter than usual. The tension of the last few days still lingered in the air, but she tried to focus on the now.

She knocked on Matt’s office door a few minutes after eight. The metallic sound of instruments and the smell of alcohol and herbs greeted her when he opened the door with his calm smile.

“Cassie,” he greeted her, making space for her to enter. “Good thing you came early.”

She stepped inside, observing the tidy environment: glass shelves, vials labeled with small letters, a desk with meticulously stacked papers. The office was on the ground floor of Matt’s house, and it was the only place where human modernity seemed to have touched that wolf village — old microscopes, tubes, ampoules, and a stethoscope hanging on the wall.

“You’re nervous,” Matt commented, without looking at her, his voice calm as always.

Cassie chuckled softly, fidgeting with her hands. “It’s just that you called me here so seriously... I started to think there was something wrong with me. You said you wanted to talk,” she reminded him, sitting down on the wooden chair. “What is it?”

“It’s nothing bad, I hope,” he replied, finally turning to her with a slight smile. His eyes were serene, but attentive. “I just want to clear up a doubt.”

Cassie raised an eyebrow, curious. “What kind of doubt?”

Matt approached, leaning on the counter in front of her. “About the possibility of pregnancy.” He said, without beating around the bush. “I need to know if you got pregnant after your first night with Hendrick... I wanted to confirm if... anything happened after that.”

Cassie blinked, surprised, even though she had already imagined this would be the reason. “Already? But... it’s been a short time.”

“Long enough for us to detect something,” he replied, with professional calm. “I just want to make sure you’re well.”

She nodded, although her heart was racing. The idea of being pregnant felt like a burden and a promise at the same time.

Matt prepared the materials. The cold metal of the needle touched Cassie’s skin, and she looked away. “I never thought a blood test would make me nervous,” she murmured.

“It’s an important test,” he replied, his voice low and serene. “Perhaps the most important one in our history.”

Cassie raised an eyebrow. “History?”

Matt looked at her with that expression that always mixed science and faith. “Cassie... you know we’re only eleven now, right? Eleven living men of a lineage that once numbered hundreds.” He sighed, capping the tube with the sample. “Almost three hundred years ago, humans hunted us. They decimated our females. The northern and southern villages were burned. What was left of us hid here, among the forests.”

Cassie swallowed hard. She knew that story, but hearing it from his mouth had a different weight. “And since then...”

“Since then, nothing has been born,” Matt completed. “No new shifter has come into the world. None.”

She took a deep breath. “And if I am pregnant...”

“If you are, Cassie,” he said, with a fragile hope in his eyes, “it won’t just be Hendrick’s child. It will be the first of a new generation.”

She didn’t answer. Part of her wanted to laugh at the absurdity, another part wanted to cry at the size of the responsibility.

Her heart skipped a beat. Cassie didn’t know if she wanted to laugh, cry, or run away from there. “Do you really think I...?”

“I don’t think anything,” he interrupted, gentle but firm. “I just want to be sure. If you’re pregnant, it’s important news. And if you’re not... it is, too.”

Cassie looked away, taking a deep breath. The idea of carrying a child still felt too big—and scary. “All right,” she said, finally, with a nod. “Do the test.”

Matt prepared the syringe delicately, cleaned her arm, and with the precision of someone who had done this for centuries, drew the blood. Cassie watched in silence, thinking about Hendrick — the way he smiled crookedly, his firm hands, the look that said more than any word. Since the conversation about Kallias, things between them seemed calm, but there was a weight, a silent care. Hendrick was trying to be strong, but she knew he still thought about Kallias’s confession.

Matt touched her arm, gently. He capped the vial and carefully placed it in the holder. “I’ll analyze it and get back to you later today.”

Cassie nodded and stood up, with a small smile. “All right.”

But as she walked out the door, she felt the cold air burn her lungs. It was too much to think about. Too much to be.

The day was too beautiful to worry about the destiny of the shifters. The fresh forest air brought the smell of damp leaves, and Cassie followed the path to Nick’s house, determined to bring smiles to whoever she met.

He was sitting in the shade, patiently carving a wooden goblet. He looked up when she approached.

Nick lifted his face when he saw her approach. “Well, if it isn’t the girl who messed up Christmas,” he joked, wiping sweat with his forearm.

Cassie chuckled. “Messed up? I thought it was a success.”

“It was,” he admitted. “But we’re not used to so much... celebration.”

She leaned against the workshop wall, watching his work. “What about New Year’s? Do you do anything special?”

Nick shrugged. “Not much. It’s just another day. We pray at the temple, thank the Moon Goddess, and go to sleep.”

Cassie raised her eyebrows, incredulous. “You sleep? On New Year’s?”

“We’ve been doing it for centuries,” he said, not understanding her indignation. “Since the massacre, there have been no more celebrations. It’s a day of mourning, not a party.”

Cassie stared at him, disbelieving. “Nick, you’re alive. You can’t keep living like ghosts.”

He let out a tired sigh. “Cassie... there are wounds that time doesn’t heal.”

She shook her head, determined. “Then maybe it’s time to start healing them.” She straightened up. “You are going to celebrate this New Year’s, even if I have to drag each one of you to the table.”

Nick laughed, thinking she was joking. But Cassie was not.

“I have a mission for you,” she said, with that sparkle in her eyes that always appeared when an idea took hold of her.

Nick frowned. “A mission?”

“Yes,” she perked up, searching for the words, waving her hands. “It’s unacceptable to spend New Year’s Eve sleeping! The first day of the year has to have laughter, food, wine, people counting down the seconds to midnight!”

Nick let out a short laugh. “We haven’t celebrated anything for three centuries, Cassie. That day is just another...”

“Well, it’s going to stop being that,” she retorted, convinced. “This year we are going to celebrate. I want to prepare a nice dinner, have a toast. And I’ll need your help with the wine and champagne.”

Nick smiled faintly, shaking his head as if surrendering. “It’s a good thing you showed up around here.”

“So you’re going to arrange it?” she asked, hopeful.

“Of course. Maybe I have a... cellar.” He winked. “There will be enough drink to fill the river.”

Cassie laughed, excited. “Perfect!”

From there, she went straight to the alpha’s kitchen, where she found Bart cleaning a cutting board and Uriel chopping wood in the backyard, preparing for lunch. The older alpha was shirtless, his body covered in sweat that glistened under the sun, and Cassie quickly averted her gaze.

“Uriel! Bart!” she called, excited. “I need your help.”

Bart raised his head, arching an eyebrow. “That sounds dangerous to me.”

“I want to make a New Year’s dinner,” she announced. “A barbecue in the backyard, with roasted piglet, pecan pie, champagne...”

Bart whistled. “Piglet? That sounds good. Shifters love barbecue.”

“You’re the one who’s going to prepare it,” she said, tapping his arm lightly. “I trust you not to let it burn.”

Uriel leaned the axe against the trunk and wiped his face. “Cassie, are you sure about this? None of us remember the last time we... celebrated New Year’s Eve.”

“Precisely because of that,” she retorted, firm. “You’re alive, Uriel. You survived everything. You can’t live as if you are condemned.”

The older wolf’s gaze softened, and he nodded. “Then we’ll need a good space for the fire and dry wood.”

“And dishes,” Bart added, getting excited about the idea. “And music, maybe?”

Cassie shook her head. “No music this time; we already had a show for Christmas. I want it to be something simple, intimate. Just us. Hmm... Amos mentioned he watches movies sometimes; I can check with him if we can get a movie screening.”

Uriel smiled slightly. “You want something simple, but with champagne?”

“Champagne is a symbol of joy,” she countered. “And that’s what you need. It’s New Year’s, we need to toast.”

For an instant, the air felt light — and Cassie felt she was achieving what she wanted: bringing life back to those men marked by loss.

She spent the rest of the morning organizing a mental list of what they still needed to arrange: wood, dishes, napkins, dried fruits... But the sound of footsteps made her stop.

Matt was standing at the door. His white coat was open, and he held a small envelope in his hands.

Cassie froze. “You already have the result?”

He nodded. The expression on his face was unreadable — too calm, and that made her even more anxious.

“So?” she whispered, taking a step forward. “Am I... pregnant?”

Matt hesitated, looking at her for a long moment. “Cassie...” he began, his voice low. “I think it’s better if we talk calmly.”

She gave a nervous laugh. “Don’t do this to me, Matt. Just tell me.”

Cassie took a deep breath, trying to control the tremor in her hands.