The Consort

Chapter 47: Truth

* Heloix's POV*

The walk back to my office is bleak, my mind worrying over Adeline's sudden shift in mood. She seemed so excited yesterday morning, demanding my attention and clinging to me like a second skin, but after her furniture meltdown she has been filled with anxiety and hesitancy.

My Second waits outside my office door, a frown on his face as he taps his foot in impatience. I give him a slight nod in greeting, already dreading the argument I know we are about to have.

"I was walking Adeline down to the servant's quarters." I comment, pushing open the door and moving to sit behind my desk. My nostrils flare as I pick up the remnants of Adeline's scent from the time she spent here yesterday. Delectable.

Axis grunts, following me inside.

"We need to do something about her." He says, cutting to the chase as he sits himself down opposite me.

My Beast pushes at me from within, unhappy with my Second's word choice. I ignore him, forcing my face to remain blank as I tilt my head to the side in question. Axis is going to need to be more specific.

"The people were kind to her when she went to the city." I comment, keeping my excitement at the success of my test hidden.

Axis sighs, shaking his head slightly. "They were kind to her only because she is carrying your child. They saw her as your breeder, not as your mate. They hope for an heir, and their compassion will fade the second that baby no longer lives inside of her."

My eyes flash, and I put my hands underneath the desk to hide my extended claws.

"You are wrong."

"I am not."

"They could not sense it when she went to the city. I barely could and I am her mate." I argue, knowing that there is no way that a regular Beast would have been able to tell what's inside her.

"It has nothing to do with her scent." Axis sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Yours was literally oozing out of her. If she wasn't pregnant that day, then she would be shortly and the Beasts know that."

Frowning, I shut off Adeline's emotions as she sends a wave of annoyance over to me. I am confident that she is safe within the castle, so have made a habit of shutting them off whenever she is with the human boy. He is constantly angering her, and although I love the security I get from feeling her furies, I am too busy trying to deal with this child issue to keep the link open.

I was so excited to share the news with her, having had finally smelt the confirmation the day prior to us going to the city, only for her to abruptly express to me her distaste in having my children. She made a good point, but in panic I ignored her for the remainder of the morning, both incredibly hurt and unsure how to break the news to her.

Beasts almost always produce a child when they fuck their mate, and had I known that Adeline would reject my seed I would have given her a birth control to go on earlier. It was foolish of me to assume that her lack of request meant that she wanted my children, and it wasn't until I spoke to a doctor that specializes in humans did I realize that most of the time it takes many tries for them to get pregnant, which explains why she didn't worry about asking for it before giving herself to me.

Not to mention the fact that she has had limited access to health education. She probably has little knowledge about procreation.

"The Beasts don't know that she's my mate." I rebuttal. "So they would not expect her to be with my child."

Axis laughs at my words, forcing a deep growl to reverberate from my chest at his disrespect. He quickly simmers himself, his laughter cut short at my anger.