Chapter 97

She cautiously descended the staircase, feelings racing through her. She had sex with Ivan because she thought he loved her, and Eden could see it clearly now because Ivan had manipulated and coerced her, not because he felt some uncontrollable desire for her.

Now Eden was his brother’s omega of whom she barely knew, and every time this man touched her, it was as if her body was crying out for his caresses. Something was wrong.

What was going to happen to her now? Eden didn't know, but fear never left her.

If Eden let Ian kiss her, maybe that would help her fight off her fear a little? It might. But it wasn't honest to tempt him like that, only to turn out to be a real piece of wood in his bed. 

Eden knew enough about alphas by now to realize that.

At the bottom of the stairs, Ian held out his hand, but Eden shied away.

“Thank you, I'm fine”

It was so much easier when Ian wasn't touching her…

“ If we go that way…”

He said pointed to the right corridor.

“... we'll come to the staircase leading up to your suite. You can rest there, and I'll send up some tea.”

“I don't want to rest,” she said, approaching 

“Ian”. 

“You have to”

His tone didn't encourage discussion.

Eden pursed her lips. 

She felt she was definitely easier to argue with than to kiss. Only, she was arguing alone. Ian, for his part, was taking refuge behind convention; the things you should and shouldn't do when you're pregnant. 

Eden felt the flame of rebellion burning within her. After years of obeying the orders of one man, her father, now she felt ready to cross swords with her husband. 

This was quite disconcerting.

Eden saw a door ajar, which snapped her out of these troubling thoughts.m

“ -What's back there?”

Without waiting for Ian’s answer, Eden pushed open the door and entered the room. It was beautifully proportioned and would have been very bright, had someone taken the trouble to clean the windows.

There were two small beds, a wooden horse, a drum, a shelf holding dust-stained wooden soldiers in red suits, and a form hidden under a tarpaulin, also covered in dust.

“ A child's room? So far from the main floors” Eden exclaimed.

“Ours, Ivan’s and mine, until we turned six," Ian replied as Eden stepped through the connecting door into the adjoining room.

The furniture was adult-sized.

“This is the nurse's room. On the other side, there's a pantry, where she prepared meals and washed our things. It was a sort of... closed circuit.”

“But... didn't your mother want you around?”

“About an hour before our bath, we were led into her boudoir to greet her.”

“Brrr... that's not much. And you lived here with IVan?”

“Until he was six, yes. Then he moved downstairs, and I had this room all to myself. 

Next to his was his tutor's room, and then a classroom. I had my own room and attended classes with him.”

“Poor little boy! It must have been lonely here…”

Ian remained on the threshold. He shrugged.

“I was used to it, it's quite normal in a big house like this.”

“Well, it won't be anymore…”

Tradition had its merits, but this isolated room made her uncomfortable; it was as if the children were being punished for a crime... the crime of being children, that is.

“I want to have the baby with me. What's this?”

Eden pulled back the dusty tarpaulin.

“Oh, a cradle. How old was it?”

It was strange; under her hand, the dark oak felt alive. With an impulse, Eden gently rocked it. She looked under the wooden corolla with a smile, imagining her baby safe under there and returning the smiles.

“This is the cradle of the heir to the title.I think. You can see it in many of the portraits in our grand gallery. See the coat of arms on the back?”

Eden leaned over to look at the back of the corolla. The engraving in the round could be easily deciphered: a hawk, which, a rarity in heraldry, had its head to the front and held an arrow in its talons. The noble bird was surmounted by a cartouche reading: 

"I hold that which is mine.”

“I'll ask them to take him down and oil the wood a bit," Eden murmured.

“If it's a boy, he'll sleep in it. Naturally, if it's a girl, that won't be possible.” Ian replied. He seemed intent on tradition.

“Naturally.”

There was no need to argue over a crib. The question of the nursery was more important.

“I'll take a look at the rooms near mine that might be suitable for the baby.”

“This one's fine. It just needs cleaning, repainting and a little furnishing.”

“No, you don't understand.”

Eden straightened up and faced him.

“It's much too far away.”

“We'll hire a competent nurse. You need rest, not the cries of a child beside you…”

His face was closed, almost stubborn. Eden tried not to raise her voice for the first time. 

“The nursery will be downstairs, or I'll have to go up”

“What's this? An ultimatum?”

Ian raised an eyebrow, looking interested. Eden fought the urge to shout her anger. Not that she was afraid of Ian, but there was something about this room she didn't like. Eden could feel it and couldn't explain it.

“Call it... like that, if you like. I'm sorry, Ian, but I feel this is a necessity, and if we discuss it any further, I think I'll start crying. I don't know why, but I feel... I just feel…” A sob.

“Oh, God, no” Ian sighed.

Ian crossed the room and took Eden in his arms, then lifted her off the ground and released soothing pheromones to soothe her. Toby, who had followed them, began barking frantically.

“Put me down!”

“And make you feel bad? No way”

Ian smiled at her.

“I know that, in your condition, it's easy to want to cry. Fillies about to give birth don't make such a fuss…”

“Really, Ian?” Eden replied wryly.

Eden tried to defend herself, but Ian carried her down the corridor, then up the stairs, cursing the dog that yapped at his legs.

In spite of herself, Eden enjoyed being carried like this, feeling Ian’s muscles playing against her body. 

She leaned her head against his shoulder.