The Unliving Child

*Kaius*

The Alpha's house at Storm Wardens was a modest structure compared to Ravenhollow's grand pack house.

Kieran stood on the porch as I approached, clearly having sensed my arrival.

"Why are you here?" he asked, his tone carefully neutral despite the tension vibrating between us.

"You wanted attention. You've gotten mine; we have unfinished business. Come," I replied, not bothering with pretense.

His eyes narrowed, weighing his options. After a moment, he descended the steps, keeping a careful distance. "I had been expecting your return, but I had not thought it'd be so soon."

I didn't waste time with more words. As soon as he was within reach, I struck, my fist connecting with his jaw with enough force to send him sprawling into the dirt. The guards moved immediately, but Kieran waved them back, wiping blood from his split lip as he rose.

"I'll handle this," he told them, not taking his eyes off me.

"I know what you did to her," I said, advancing again.

Kieran didn't try to dodge the next blow, nor the one after that. He took each hit, staggering but never falling, never fighting back.

"She trusted you, and what did you do? You took advantage of her," I spat, grabbing him by the throat and slamming him against a tree.

"What do you mean?" Blood trickled from his nose, his voice strained.

"You know what I mean," I tightened my hold.

"She fucking wanted it. I never took advantage of her," he managed to say, his hands coming up to grip my wrist.

"Don't you dare lie to my face; if she had wanted to fuck you as you say, then why don't she remember doing so?" I lifted him higher, his feet barely touching the ground.

Something shifted in his expression then—confusion replacing defiance. "I never had sex with her."

"Don't you dare lie to me; you would be dead at the end of this anyway."

"And why would I lie? I never touched her, and that is the truth." Despite his precarious position, his voice held steady conviction.

I studied his face, searching for the tells of deception. But there was only confusion, then dawning horror as understanding began to break through.

"Explain to me why she is pregnant, even if you didn't touch her as you said." I loosened my grip slightly, allowing him to breathe.

"Pregnant?" His shock seemed genuine, his face paling beneath the blood and bruises. "That's impossible. We never—"

"Kaius!"

The familiar voice cut through the tension like a blade. I turned to see Isolde Thorne striding toward us, her face a mask of fury that reminded me painfully of her daughter.

"Hello, Mrs. Thorne," I began, only to be met with a stinging slap across my face.

"I guess I deserved that?" I said, releasing Kieran who slumped against the tree, breathing heavily.

"Stay away from him; stay away from me and my family too!" Isolde's eyes blazed with rage.

"I am trying to help here."

"How? By beating up the Alpha? That is not helping. If you really want to help, then you could let go of my daughter."

The request hit harder than her slap. "No, I can't, Isolde. The thing is, I really love her."

"You don't; if you loved her, you would never have hurt her; goddamn you, she only started healing; if you had stayed away for a while, she would have been married and happy."

"And how do you know that? How do you know she would have been happy?" I challenged, my own pain bleeding into the words.

"You've never deserved my daughter." The conviction in her voice was absolute.

"That I know, Isolde. Please let me make it up to you," I said, forcing myself to sound calmer than I felt. "I am sorry, and I want you to know that I am ready to do just anything to take care of her, and that is the exact reason I am here."

"You let her go, young man."

"I can't do that, but you are welcome to my pack anytime you would like to visit," I offered, knowing even as I spoke that she would refuse.

"Go to hell, son of the devil!" she spat, turning to help Kieran who had remained silent during our exchange.

"I didn't touch her; I am not saying this because I am afraid, but I love her; I would never do that," he said once he'd caught his breath, meeting my gaze steadily despite his injuries.

There was something in his eyes that made me hesitate, a genuine concern that couldn't be faked.

"When you were alone with her in the dungeons, what did you do in there?" I asked, remembering the blood I'd seen on Elowen's lips, the sudden vitality it had brought her.

Kieran's expression shifted, realization dawning. "Could that..." He shook his head, his jaw tightening. "I need to go get the sorceress."

"What sorceress?"

"She can only explain what is going on with Elowen. I will meet you at your pack."

I studied him, weighing the risk of letting him go against the need for answers. Whatever was happening to Elowen was beyond my understanding. If this sorceress had answers...

"Don't keep me waiting,"

I watched as he spoke quietly to Isolde, who cast one more venomous glare in my direction before returning to the house. Kieran moved with surprising speed despite his injuries, disappearing into the forest without a backward glance.

The return journey to Ravenhollow was a blur, my thoughts consumed with Elowen and what might be happening to her in my absence. I'd left Frost to watch over her, but how much protection could even he provide against whatever was growing inside her?

By the time I reached the pack house, the sun was beginning to set, casting long shadows across the grounds. I made my way directly to the healing wing, my steps quickening as I sensed something wrong in the air—the scent of blood, Elowen's blood.

The healing room was a flurry of activity, with the healer Daisy barking orders to her assistants as they moved around a bed at the center. Frost stood by the wall, his face ashen as he watched the proceedings.

"What happened?" I demanded, pushing my way to Elowen's side.

The sight that greeted me struck like a physical blow. Her abdomen had expanded drastically since I'd left, swollen and distended as if she were months into a pregnancy, not days or hours. Blood stained the sheets beneath her, and her skin had taken on a sickly pallor.

"Is this normal?" I asked Daisy, though I already knew the answer.

"No. It's not. There is something I want to show you," she replied, gesturing to a screen beside the bed.

I followed her to the machine, recognizing it as human medical technology—an ultrasound.

"What am I looking at?" I asked, staring at the grainy image.

"This is an inner view of her stomach."

"Okay," I said, trying to make sense of the shapes and shadows.

"The child is over here," Daisy pointed to a distinct form. "The child seems alive... but it's not."

"What does that mean?"

"We can't detect its heartbeat, and yet it still lives. It's growing ten times the speed any usual child should."

"If you can't detect a heartbeat, then it's dead," I insisted, unable to comprehend what she was saying.

"That's right, yet it is still moving; I have not seen anything like it," Daisy's professional demeanor cracked slightly. "But more to that, it seems to be feeding off her at the rate of its growth."

Cold dread settled in my stomach. "What happens?"

"I have doubts; she might not make it."