CHAPTER 35: PREGNANT ROYAL

CHAPTER 35: PREGNANT ROYAL
Maya’s POV

I tried to get up but the royal lycan tightened his hold over my waist and effortlessly kept me in place on his lap. How embarrassing!

My pulse fluttered beneath my skin like wings trying to break free. I wanted to stand, but Sebastian simply slid one large hand around my waist and pulled me across his lap once more. His strength made resistance pointless.

“Your Majesty,” the courtier kept his head low, avoiding his gaze to fall on me. Poor guy. Anyone who dared to even breathe in my direction today was his direct enemy. Sebastian was uncharacteristically touchy today and refused to let me get out of his reach for even a minute.

“What?” Sebastian snapped in a deep growl that vibrated through his chest and into my spine. As he spoke, he brought his mouth to the curve of my ear and let his lips brush against the delicate skin. He pulled my earlobe between his teeth, gentle at first, then firm enough that a tiny gasp escaped me. The sound was nearly silent, but he heard it. His lips curved in triumph behind my ear.

His tongue teased the exact spot that made my breath stumble. I felt warmth coil low in my stomach as he coaxed another unsteady breath out of me, quieter than a whisper yet loud enough for him. He wanted me to react. He enjoyed every tiny sound he could coax out of my throat. I could feel his smile behind my ear when I softly let out a noiseless wisp of air. He knew my silent moans by now and he was clearly taking advantage of my helpless situation. I could better understand poor Zane’s plight now. Sebastian was unusually clingy and playful today. Nothing could deter him from keeping me all to himself. No force in the world could remove me from his lap.

I could hardly think clearly when he tugged me closer on his lap, guiding my knees so that I straddled one of his thighs but in a way hidden entirely by the heavy folds of my gown and his long ceremonial cloak. To anyone watching, I was simply perched on the king’s knees. Only I felt the deliberate pressure of his thigh sliding subtly upward, lifting me just a little, shaping heat along my body in a way that made my breath flutter again.

“Yo-your Maj-jesty…,” the courtier trembled.

“Speak clearly,” he said to the courtier. His voice rumbled, low and impatient, while the hand not holding my waist slid just barely beneath the edge of my dress. Not enough to be seen, not enough to be vulgar, but enough for me to feel the warmth of his fingertips skim my skin. I swallowed hard, trying not to show how badly he affected me.

“Your Majesty,” the courtier tried again, shakily. “To harm Lady Selene’s unborn child would curse our kingdom. The law forbids it.”

“Explain.”

“You-your Majesty, the royal doctors and physicians should be executed but we should let Lady Selene go and forgive her for her crimes. She is carrying the bloodline of our King. She is carrying your child. We can not execute a pregnant woman.”

Suddenly, there was a sharp crack that rang out like thunder. Everyone flinched. A dagger quivered in the pillar while the old courtier clutched his heart, his breathing ragged and face drained of blood. Sebastian’s dagger pierced into the pillar with a loud crack, the courtier’s hat hanging by the thread. An inch or two south and it would have been the courtier’s head at the other end of the dagger.

“Where was this remorse when the Late Queen Olivia was brutally executed, Sir?” Sebastian jeered, his hands going into forbidden regions under my dress. Did this man have no shame? We were in the throne room and he was discussing important matters, keeping me on his lap and shamelessly touching me publicly nonetheless. “As far as I remember, she was executed by the public on the common grounds while pregnant and you led the execution, wasn’t it?” he asked as if genuinely curious, his head peeking out of my bite-laden neck. He dropped another kiss on my neck before continuing, “Plus Selene is not carrying my child and neither is she pregnant. She is clearly guilty. The evidence is bullet-proof. So what is your excuse now?”

“Your Majesty,” the courtier said, falling to his knees. “Princess Selene deserves forgiveness. She might be your true mate carrying your blood! Not a rejected omega with someone else’s pups.”

Sebastian let out a humorless laugh. His hand reached behind me, sliding upward over my ribcage, hidden under my hair. My breath hitched sharply before I could stop it.

He heard.

He paused for only a second, the pause itself a question that rushed heat through me. Then he continued upward, his fingertips rising along my spine in a path so controlled and sensual that I felt my eyes flutter shut. The movement was small, nearly invisible, yet devastating.

I wanted to tell him to stop.
I wanted him not to stop.

He leaned forward and placed a slow kiss on my neck, right where my pulse hammered far too quickly. Then he spoke against my skin with a voice thick with restrained fury. “Selene? My mate? Pregnant? Is this a court hearing or a place for jokes?!”

“Your Highness! How can you deny your child and Lady Selene’s pregnancy? That is gruesome,” the elderly courtier cried foul. “We are talking about the heir to the throne! Our crown prince!”

“Oh?” Sebastian replied, his lips curling in amusement. My heart thundered against my chest. I had never seen him act so cold. It chilled to even think what he could do next. He suddenly looked at me with a soft smile and brought the pad of his thumb against my lower lip, gently soothing the trembling lip. His mere touch calmed me down. I relaxed in his hold and closed my eyes. He was always so considerate unlike my ex-mate. Even when in his most dangerous form, Sebastian threw away everything to soothe me and protect me. “I am waiting for an answer to my earlier question.” Sebastian thundered, his voice shaking the courtier to his very core.

“I-I don’t under-understand,” the courtier stammered.

Sebastian huffed, smiling, chilling everyone with his sudden calm. Everyone knew this was the calm before the storm.

“Then let me break it down to you in simple words, Mister Graham. Olivia Thunderstorm, my revered mother and mighty Queen of the North, married my father, the Lycan King when you and the courtiers pled her to save the Lycan Kingdom from the rogues. She fought beside my father against the powerful dark forces. She gave her all to this kingdom, only to be framed by you all for espionage after winning against the enemies. She was executed without a defense. The crowd was instigated against her but for what? That a mere omega stole the kingdom’s secrets to help her kingdom? The Northern Kingdom that housed the most powerful and wealthy omegas who helped you all restore peace in this heinous and poor Lycan place? Hmm? What happened to saving the mighty Northern Warrior Queen? What happened to not executing a pregnant royal then? And where is your proof that your Lady Selene is indeed pregnant? Aren’t the royal doctors all her puppets? Couldn’t have they fabricated her lie? When have you ever seen me with her? Why don’t I know that I have been with a woman when drugged? Surely, you don’t think that my lycan would not have recognized the scent of my pup in her womb like he can recognize the scent of the one forming in my mate’s womb right now!” Sebastian dropped the bombshell and I instantly tried to get on my feet.

I was pregnant?!