“By the way,” he added, shifting slightly as his hand rested over my stomach, “what was the result?”
My chest tightened.
“The baby,” he clarified. “What are we having?”
For a moment, I hesitated. Not because I didn’t want to tell him. But because I already knew. I knew what his reaction would be.
Still, I answered.
“A girl.”
The silence that followed was subtle. But I felt it. His hand stilled. His body, once relaxed, became rigid behind me.
“Oh,” he said after a moment.
Just that. Just one word. But it carried more weight than anything else he could have said.
I slowly opened my eyes, staring blankly at the wall in front of me.
“I see.”
His voice had changed. It wasn’t warm anymore. It was distant. As if the child growing inside me had suddenly become less important. Less valuable.
I bit the inside of my cheek, forcing down the wave of emotions threatening to rise.
“She’s healthy,” I added quietly, though I wasn’t sure why I felt the need to justify it.
“Mm.” He hummed in acknowledgment, but there was no real interest in it.
Of course. He wanted a son. An heir. Someone to carry his name, his power, his legacy.
Not a daughter. Not… her.
My hand moved instinctively, resting over my stomach. Protective.
“I’ll have someone prepare your vitamins,” Alpha Cain said after a while, pulling away from me as if nothing significant had just happened. “You need to take better care of yourself.”
“I can do it myself,” I replied softly.
He chuckled.
“You’re too stubborn sometimes.”
Despite that, he stayed, watching as I slowly sat up and reached for the small table beside the bed. The vitamins were already there, neatly arranged, along with a tray of food that had likely been brought in earlier.
I picked up the pills, swallowing them without complaint.
Then I ate. Each bite felt heavy. Like I was forcing myself to perform for him.
Alpha Cain watched the entire time, a faint smile playing on his lips.
“That’s more like it,” he said approvingly. “A woman shouldn’t be so difficult.”
My grip tightened slightly around the spoon.
“Your job right now is simple,” he continued, his tone light but firm. “Get pregnant, stay healthy, and give me many pups. Continue the bloodline.”
The words settled over me like chains. Heavy. Unyielding.
I kept my gaze down, saying nothing. Because what was there to say? That I was more than that? That I wasn’t just a vessel for his heirs?
Those words would mean nothing to him now.