Chapter 3 Chapter three

No, Claus wouldn’t have stood there and watched Sylvia’s hand on my waist, not like that. He wouldn’t be able to.

“Why can’t I catch a whiff of the watcher’s scent?” I asked Mali, but my wolf didn’t answer.

That was another problem I’d been fighting for years. Mali hated Claus for my sake, because I’d refused Sylvia, and she’d been distant ever since. She hardly shifted anymore. Even on full moons, when our pain should force the change, Mali resisted. We both paid for it; every full moon was punishment.Life has been hard.

My first mate’s reaction to my pregnancy made it worse. Who knew what Sylvia would do next? Who knew what he’d tell Claus? The questions churned cold inside me.

I inhaled and forced myself to move toward the courtroom. I needed to tell Claus. I needed to see his face, hear his voice, clear the rot of doubt.

The court doors groaned open as I pushed them. The hall smelled of wood smoke and old leather; the light slanted across the floor in thin stripes.

My heart sped when I saw him on the throne, leaning over a map, brows drawn in concentration. For a second I just watched him, the way his shoulders eased, the little crease at the corner of his mouth when he relaxed.I crossed the room and slipped my arms around him.

He set the map aside, turning fully toward me. “Ellie, you’re here. How are you feeling?” he asked, with warmth in his voice.

Heat rose in my cheeks as his golden-hazel eyes found mine, steady, soft, everything Sylvia wasn’t in that moment.

I pressed a quick kiss to his lips.“I’m fine, baby,” I lied, then tried to smile.

My chest was a tangle of joy and dread. Should I tell him now? Would he believe me? Would his hands shake?

“Ellie!” Claus said gently, as if sensing my trouble. “What are you thinking? Are you okay?”

I swallowed hard, the words lodged at the back of my throat.I nodded. “Yes. Why do you ask?”

“You look nervous. Are you sure you’re all right?” Claus asked softly, pulling me down into his lap.

I wrapped my arms around his neck and forced a smile.“There’s something I wanted to talk to you about.” My heart hammered against my ribs.

“Something? Can it wait? We’ve got a bigger problem, intruders are mixing silver into our water. Ten deaths in three days. We need to find the source.” He set the map aside, worried in his voice.

Judging by his tone, he’d already been handling it. I should leave him to it. I rose gently, but his hand yanked me back.

“What is it you want to tell me?” he demanded.

“It can wait,” I tried, hiding the disappointment that flared hot and stupid in my chest. “You should focus on the poison. It’s more important.”

“Ellie, tell me. Is it important?” His eyes pinned me with a curiosity I couldn’t dodge.

I nodded. “Yes. But the deaths, they’re worse.” I tried to stand again, but he tugged me down so I settled awkwardly on his knee. A dull pain stabbed through my stomach; I clutched it and closed my eyes.

He stared at me, brows knitting. “Are you okay? Does your stomach hurt?”So he couldn’t sense it the way Sylvia had.The ache didn’t fade. Panic pricked behind my ribs.

“I didn’t eat anything,” I whispered.

“What happened?” he asked, voice rising with worry.

“I wanted to tell you… we’re expecting a child.” The words tumbled out before I could stop them.

Silence slammed into the room. Claus froze, the color draining from his face. I expected joy to flood him, the same joy I felt, but his expression turned stone-cold.

“Claus?” I repeated, smiling weakly when his face stayed blank. “We’re finally having a baby after all these years.”He didn’t move. He only stared. And then his face darkened in a way that made my stomach drop.

“Whose child is it?” His voice cut through me like ice.Lightning struck my chest.

“What… what do you mean?” I stammered, panic rising until my hands were slick with sweat.

He leaned back and the air between us went brittle. “Who —who got you pregnant?” he demanded, voice harsh now, echoing through the courtroom.

My knees wobbled. “Why are you asking that? Haven’t I only ever been with you?” I pressed, voice shaking.

Claus pushed away. The distance was physical and lethal. This wasn’t a joke

.“Shut your mouth, Ellie. Who is the father?” he barked, his voice booming.

My world tilted. “What’s wrong with you? You are the father! How can you even ask that?”

Tears burned my eyes; I could barely keep standing.His hand shot up and gripped my jaw, steel and pain. His eyes were red, sharp with something I hadn’t seen before, grief or rage, or both.

“I can’t have children,” he said, each word a blow. “I had to have my testicles removed after I was poisoned at fifteen. I survived, but I can’t sire children. Now answer me, who is the father?”

The courtroom spun. His grip tightened. I wanted to scream that he was the father, to tell him the truth and rewrite the hurt in his eyes, but the words lodged in my throat, trapped by fear and the mounting dread of what Sylvia might have done.

Did Sylvia tell Claus I was his mate? My chest constricted. Yes, Sylvia and I had been caught in intimate positions, but he had never touched me that way. So why was Claus accusing me?My lungs seized as I met Claus’s golden eyes, now burning red. I had never seen this side of him before. I clawed at his hand, desperate to pry his grip off my jaw, but he only tightened it.

“What are you talking about, Claus? I’ve never slept with anyone. How dare you accuse me?” I screamed, my voice raw and cracking.

What was he even saying? My vision blurred, my head spun, my mate, the man I loved, was accusing me.

“Ellie, stop the crocodile tears,” he snapped, his voice like ice. “All these years I knew your obsession with children would land you in trouble. And now you’re carrying another man’s child.”

The words tore through me like claws to my heart.

My knees was too weak to carry my entire weight. My vision was splitting but yet I still manage to keep myself up.