Rham’s POV
I stood by the window, going through the chaos that occurred less than a week ago.
The same chaos where I lost Serenity.
According to father, we lost almost a quarter of our men. But that wasn't what I was worried about. I was thinking of Serenity. She wasn't supposed to escape. She wasn't supposed to be this far from me.
Or so near to her mate.
Especially if she is carrying my child.
I shook my head.
Then I hear father shouting again in the room beside mine in our emergency house.
"No!" he shouted, "If she is staying anywhere, it should be with us. We were the ones who found out of her ability."
"She's a princess." a man calmly points out. "She needs a better accommodation than this."
"She's a prisoner! Accommodations should be the least of her worries!" a thud says that father hit the top of the table with a furious fist.
"I will not be spoken to like this human."
"Look here, bloodsucker." I frowned, "You are the one who is asking for my help, lucky you that we want the same thing. I will not deny an alliance between our kinds if it is the answer of the shifters’ fall."
"All I want is to finish the lineage of the Daughter of the Moon." the stranger says, "No deity, no hope. No hope means death. Death means no more shifters."
"So you are planning to"
"Kill the heirs or every newborn of the royal family of the shifters."
I wanted to move away from where I stood, not wanting to hear any more. But it was as if I was rooted on the floor as my father finally responded.
"That isn't hard to do; we'll kill the queen and the princess if we have to." My frown turns into a scowl in an instant, "But they are too highly guarded right now.”
"I have already taken care of that." the stranger says again, sounding satisfied."And I might also have an idea of where she is."
"If you have everything fixed, then what do you need my men for?"
"Manpower."
I leaned nearer to the wall listening to their plan. My eyes widened when my father's visitor went into detail.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*end of flash back~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
That was what happened earlier, and now Eric pinned me on the wall, Serenity's mate's hand clamped around my neck, choking me enough to make me see black and white.
"You have the nerve to step into my house, hunter!" he shouted on my face.
But as fast as he had me pinned, he was pulled off away, and I dropped on the ground, gasping and coughing, catching my breath.
"Get him out of here if you don't want him dead, Siam," he growled.
I can hear someone arguing with him, but it was his voice that rang the greatest. His hate and pain struck me, and his anger pierced my heart.
"This is my house. Serenity is my mate, an unworthy being like that piece of sh*t is not welcomed in my land much more my house!"
"Calm down, Eric!" Siam shouts over his friend's anger.
Eric, I thought. Eric is his name.
I struggle to look at what was happening. He was being pushed back by the two other shifters who were as big as he was but were obviously struggling to hold him back.
"Kill him now!" he barked at one of the guards.
"You will do no such thing!" Siam warned the guard, who was now torn between his alpha and his king.
"Do you even know who that is?" Eric asked, his voice reeked of disgust for my very being.
I looked away, ashamed.
"He was the one who raped her!" he screamed, "He raped Serenity, and now he had the decency to keep her to himself! The decency to stand breathing and proud in front of me... in front of you!" he points the finger at Siam, "He raped your sister!"
Siam turned to me; I knew I should have told him earlier. But then, he would never agree to see me.
"What he says is true." I said, my voice rough, "And I deeply regret it now. You don't know how much-"
"No one with a decent mind and who is truly regretful would have had the guts to send a video of how you tried to manipulate her and turn her against me... to record what you did to her... how you dishonored her!"
He dropped to his knees now; the two shifters moved away but were looking at me, shocked. He gasped for air, fighting the urge to cry as he whispered, "Again... and again..."
I closed my eyes, pushing away the memory of Serenity, begging me to stop, how I hurt her, how I betrayed her. And nowhere is her mate, a grown man, someone I can never be to her, in pain because of my selfishness.
A man that I’ll never be.
"I am so sorry..." I whispered.
"You monster!" I hear the other shifter move toward me and kicked me in the gut. I fell on my side, groaning in pain. Before he can do any more damage on me, the bigger shifter pulled him away from me again. Throwing him back to where he was standing previously.
He then glared down at me and picked me up by the collar.
"I will only protect you until my king says so." he says, "Or at least until we get the information we need from you. After that," he looks at me with pure hatred, "may the goddess forgive me for my thoughts of how to kill you."
He slammed me again on the wall, and I fell on my knees again.
"You have heard, my friends." Siam, the king, and Serenity's brother walked up to me with a disgusted look on his face. All respect he had for me earlier had gone. "You are still breathing because you have used. The moment you think of betraying us, I will personally rip you from limb to limb."
I swallowed the lump on my throat and nodded in understanding.
“Now tell us what you know.”
I was now pacing the library where the King and the others left me three hours ago.
They left to deliberate and probably planned as well. I know I was selling out my father here, but I have done enough chaos in my life. It was about time that I did something right.
Like getting Serenity home.
Suddenly the door opened, and a pregnant girl, just about Serenity’s age, was looking back at me.
“Oh, I’m sorry, I was told that the library was available.”
“Oh, Uhm, yes….” I said—very slick Rham. I thought. “Uhm, the king left me a few hours ago for the Uhm...” I racked my mind for their whereabouts.
“The war room?” she asked.
“Yes, yes, the war room,” I said and sat down, trying to calm down.
Then she sighed and sat across me, “Well, I guess I should expect him to be busier now…” she sighed, then she looked up at me with a smile, but then it disappeared.
Shit, did she also know me like Eric?
“You are all bruised!” she said, “Are you alright?”
“Oh, Uhm, yes….” I said, surprised, “it’s nothing… it’s just….” I remembered Eric’s face. I knew that look was when he was fighting with dominance with his wolf.
He probably wants me to die in his hands.
“I deserved it,” I said in almost a whisper.
“No,” she tsked, “there is no such thing. No matter how big a mistake is, no one deserves to be hurt.”
I stared at her, and it finally dawned on me.
“Anna?”
She looked up at me, surprised, “Do I know you?”
“Oh, no, no….” I shook my head.
Great, this is awkward. What am I supposed to say? I know you ‘cause I’m the guy who raped your sister-in-law slash best friend.
Perfect first impression.
“I’m actually-“
“Shit…” she hissed between clenched teeth as she ran her hand gently over her stomach.
“Hey, what’s wrong?” I asked, checking her for any strain.
“It’s nothing, it’s just…” she shrugged, “it’s like it’s a freaking triathlon in there. He has been swimming around and kicking the whole morning.”
“Is this something new?” I asked.
“No, he’s been doing it for a while now,” she said.
“Are you under a lot of stress?”
“I try not to, but it’s hard, but I’m pretty sure I’m fine in that department.”
“Oh, well…” my doctor mode is kicking in, “Can you call for your husband now?”
“Why?”
“Cause you might just be going in labor.”
She stared at me, surprised, and then started shaking her head, “Oh no… no, no, no…” she then looked at her belly, “We’ve talked about this Sylver, you are staying in there until your Aunt Serenity comes home…” she paused as she obviously took in another kick, “I don’t care if you come out as a seven-year-old kid with a backpack for school, you are staying in there.”
I grinned, definitely Serenity’s best friend.
“I don’t think it can be put on hold anymore….” I said, then I reached for her and laid her on her back on the sofa. She was staring at me, scared. “Don’t be scared. I’m a doctor, or at least, and hopefully, I will be by next year when I finish my residency.”
She shook her head, “I’m not scared because of that.” she said, “I need Serenity here… I don’t think I can do this….”
I smiled down at her, “I know you probably promised that to each other, but there are some things that just aren’t meant to be Anna. Now you’d have to choose over her absence or your son’s stubbornness to get out.”
She then groaned, “Damn, I was hoping that he wouldn’t be getting that trait from the Greys.”
I stifled a laugh.
Suddenly the door burst open, and in rushed Siam and the other boys.
“What do you think you’re doing?” Siam asked, about to pull me away.
“Don’t Siam.” Anna said, “He’s a doctor. He’s been helping me through…” she got cut off by another hiss.
“He’s a guest, babe. We should call for Mama Ellena….” Siam says, pushing away the hair on her forehead, looking at her lovingly.
“She left to go to Elder Felix’s home, remember?” she said, “And I don’t think I will make it to the hospital….”
Siam shrugged and turned to me, “What do you need?”
And just like that, the queen had given birth to Maximm Alexandr, weighing eight pounds and is 21 inches long.
I smiled, watching the king, queen, and their friends are cooing over the newborn.
“This doesn’t change anything.” I turned around and saw Eric behind me. “You may have saved Anna, but I swear you will never be welcomed here.”
I frowned, “I understand.”
Then he stepped forward, angrier than ever. “And if ever my mate is pregnant?” I frowned, “Might as well forget it cause I will never allow that child to be associated with a monster like you.”
“You can’t-“
“I can, and I will.” He says with so much authority that I had to back down. “I will not allow Serenity to be reminded of what you did to her. You’ve hurt her enough. That child will not be a reminder of the hell she was in.”
With that said, he left and joined his friends, sitting beside Anna as she showed off Ximm (Sim).
I wanted to argue but found nothing to say. All my focus was on the fact that I was never going to see my child.
For some reason, I agree with him that it is what is best for everyone.