Chapter 44

KARIN POV

“What’s taking them so long?” I ask rhetorically as I pace around my room. I stop as fear courses through me. “Oh my goodness, what if they were in an accident? What if their cars were hit by a rogue airplane and while they were trying to escape the rubble, they started to spontaneously combust and—”

“Lady Karin, please!” Maggie shouted, silencing me. She grabbed my shoulders to keep me from starting my pace again. “They’re fine. I spoke to Henry last night. Everything is wrapped up and he said they would make their return soon. Apparently, the delay had to do with Moon Shadow’s gammas incompetence. After the first week, Sir Ansel asked the king if they could finish things on their own.”

I roll my eyes. “He has always been a showoff,” I say, though, as usual, Ansel had left me in awe. No matter where he went, he always seemed to dominate the room as if it was made for him. A blush finds my cheeks.

He dominates everything he does.

“Did Henry say anything else?” I ask, forcing my mind from my impure thoughts. The last thing I needed to think about was the way Ansel controlled every part of my body.

Maggie nods. “Yes. He said that Sir Ansel made it clear to Alpha Alfred that the future of the alliance between Blue Moon and Moon Shadow will not rest on him and Lady Cherry being together. The king agreed, and Lady Cherry almost blew a gasket. He said she approached Sir Ansel afterward and though he’s not sure what the conversation was about, he was certain that the amount of egg on her face afterward could feed a family of four breakfast.”

We cackle loudly together, that ends with us on the floor. “I would pay to have been a fly on the wall. I can only imagine how low to the ground her face was. It almost takes a bit of the sting out of what she did to me.”

“I still think more should have been done to her, but that’s not my call to make. Anyway, that’s not all that happened. Sir Ansel overheard one of his gammas speaking ill of him.”

“What do you mean?” I ask sitting up. “What was he saying?”

“Nothing bad necessarily, just not something he should be discussing about his commander. He had a few choice comments about Sir Ansel wearing the bracelet you made him, and his overall gentle nature with you. There was talk about how you seem to have diverted his focus a bit. Oh, and there were some comments about the two of your excursions lately.”

“Oh gosh,” I say, groaning. “At this point, we may as well put it as front-page news in the papers. I’m convinced the entirety of Blue Moon knows that we’re having sex.”

Maggie giggled. “Well, if they do, they better not mention it. Apparently, the gamma that did landed himself and the others in pretty hot water. Sir Ansel made the deduction that if they had time to gossip, that meant they had more time on their hands than they should. He told them he would consider that when they were on the training field. Then he announced Henry’s new position and instructed him to take over training for the week.”

“From the smirk on your face, I bet Henry has something sinister up his sleeve. Still, it sucks that he has to deal with intense training because of someone’s nosiness.”

“Please,” Maggie said, waving me off. “Henry leaves training every day and trains on his own for three hours minimum. The only person I know who trains more than him is Sir Ansel. In my opinion, they should be happy that it’s my husband and not the Second Prince. Henry may make them sweat, but Sir Ansel would have drawn blood.”

“Serves them right. I don’t get what the big deal is about a bracelet. Sure, the one I made may not be the manliest in their eyes, but I worked hard on it.”

“I think it has less to do with what it looks like and more to do with Sir Ansel wearing it. He doesn’t wear jewelry often, and on the off chance he did, it wouldn’t be while he’s away in battle. People carry trinkets and good luck charms with them in battle, but that’s not something he would ever do, so to see him wear something you made him so faithfully raises a few eyebrows.”

“Yeah, well, hm,” I reply, unsure of what to say.

I can’t believe he really wore it.

My thoughts went to the way he’d reacted when I gave it to him. There had been a slew of emotions in his eyes. I rub the back of my neck.

“I’m glad you convinced me to give it to him,” I say, and Maggie smiles warmly.

“Something tells me it was just the thing that Sir Ansel needed.” Maggie tilts her head and her smile increases. “Speaking of the devils, Henry just said they will arrive in two days. The weather was bad, and they had to pull over and find shelter at a hotel for the evening which will delay them.”

“That’s great news. Please tell Henry that I’m glad they’re safe.”

“You could also tell Sir Ansel that,” she says, smirking. “How come you haven’t spoken to him since his departure?”

I shrugged. “He’s busy. He doesn’t need the distraction.”

“Maybe he does,” she replied. Standing, she pats my back. “Would you like anything for dinner?”

“No thank you. I’m a little tired. I’m just going to head to bed.” Maggie arched her eyebrow at me. “What’s the matter?”

“That’s the second night in the row that you’ve turned down dinner and been exhausted earlier than usual.”

“Really? I hadn’t noticed.”

“I have. Are you feeling alright?”

I waved her off and climbed into bed. “Stop being such a worrywart. I’m fine. I promise I’ll eat breakfast. She inspects me for a moment, then cuts out the light.

“Breakfast. No excuses.”

“There will be none. Goodnight, Mags. I’ll see in the morning.”

“Goodnight Lady Karin. Sleep well. Let me know if you need anything,” she says, exiting. Hearing the door close, I grabbed my stomach and winced in pain.

What’s going on with me?

For the past few days, I’d felt horrible. I was nauseous and had no desire to eat. The tiniest thing seemed to make me emotional, and I felt exhausted. It was the true reason I hadn’t contacted Ansel. He was always good at picking up when I was in distress, and I knew this time would be no different.

Maybe I should talk to Maggie, but I don’t want to worry her…but what if it’s something serious? I also don’t want to wait until the last minute and make things worse.

Truth was, there was a small part of me that was afraid to know. What if it was something detrimental? Or something that would keep me from providing Ansel with an heir. The color drains from my face, and I place my hand on my stomach.

No…it couldn’t be. Am I pregnant?