Chapter 20

Clara

I stared in shock as the strange wolf shifted back into the familiar form of Prince Gideon. How had he found me? Why had he bothered? Didn’t he understand that it was better if I was gone?

He took a step towards me. I panicked. I knew I could never outrun a Lycan Prince, but I still tried to run.

I barely made it three steps before a sharp, tearing sensation ripped through my gut. My knees turned to jelly and I collapsed in pain.

I lay on the ground, and curled around my stomach. What was happening? I felt blood trickle down my thigh. Had I hurt myself on something while I ran?

Prince Gideon ran to me and turned me over. I would have whimpered if I could have. I tried to curl back up. Everything hurt.

“Hold on, Clara,” Prince Gideon said.

He scooped me up in his arms and started to run. I closed my eyes and tucked my face into his chest. I hurt too much to try to get away.

Gideon carried me back to the palace. He ran like I weighed nothing.

We reached the royal compound. Gideon carried me through the gates and right into the main palace. I tried to squirm out of his grip. I could walk. The pain came in waves, and it had waned as we reached the gate.

Gideon ignored my efforts and carried me right to the healers. He called for help and placed me in a bed. I looked over, expecting to see Healer Eric. Instead, one of the Royal Healers hurried over.

“What seems to be the trouble?” the healer asked.

“She is bleeding,” Prince Gideon said. His voice was calm, almost cold. “She collapsed and appears to be in pain.”

“Appears to be in pain?” the healer repeated. He turned to me. “Are you hurting?”

I nodded, and pointed to my belly.

“I would prefer if you answered me. Does it hurt too much to speak?” the healer asked.

I shook my head.

“She is mute,” Prince Gideon explained. “I am familiar with her signing speech. I can translate.”

“I see,” the healer said. “If it is not too much of an inconvenience, your highness, I would appreciate the help. I fear I never learned signs.”

The Healer asked me questions and waited patiently while I signed my answers to Prince Gideon, who translated. The Prince was patient, despite all the trouble I had caused him.

I had thought that I might have slashed my leg on a tree branch or a rock while I ran. I told the Healer that, and he tugged my dress aside to examine me. Prince Gideon politely looked away.

“She is not injured?” Prince Gideon asked after a moment.

“I can find no sign of a wound,” the Healer replied.

“Healer, there is a chance she is with child,” Prince Gideon said.

“Is this true?” the healer asked me.

I nodded miserably.

“Well, let me take a look. There is blood on your leg and you mentioned that your stomach hurt.” The healer’s face was grave.

I realized there was a chance I was having a miscarriage. I winced through another wave of gut twisting pain.

“If you please, your highness, I would like to draw a curtain for her privacy,” the healer said.

“Of course. Call to me when you need me to translate for her again,” Prince Gideon said.

“I’ll keep my questions to yes or no answers for the moment,” the healer assured me.

The healer was gentle, but the examination was still painful and embarrassing. He asked me several questions, and finally tucked my skirt back over my legs and covered me with a sheet before pulling aside the curtain and calling out to the prince.

“Well?” Prince Gideon asked.

“She is quite all right, your highness,” the healer said. He turned to me. “You may rest easy. You are not pregnant, and you are not ill or injured. This is simply your menstrual cycle. You stated that your cycle is regular; perhaps you lost track of the moon’s phase.”

I blinked. My cycle? I had always been regular, and it had never caused me anything like the symptoms I had experienced. I had certainly never collapsed from the pain of simple cramps!

Gideon

I listened as the healer explained that Clara was simply experiencing her normal menstrual cycle. I translated her questions. The subject was somewhat delicate, but I kept any embarrassment I felt off of my face.

I was a prince and a Lycan warrior. I would not betray any squeamishness over a little moon’s blood.

Clara signed that she had never collapsed from cramps before. She insisted that her cycles were regular and mild.

“Ah, yes,” the healer said. “Well, have there been any changes in your lifestyle recently? Have you changed your diet, perhaps? Or are you working more than you had been before?”

“She was recently promoted,” I answered. “I assume there have been some changes.”

Clara nodded.

“That explains things, then,” the healer said. “I imagine you’re eating richer food in the palace, and your work load has lightened.”

The healer explained that it was normal for a woman’s cycle to intensify at certain points. The richer foods she ate in the palace gave her body more nutrients to work with.

“This is actually quite healthy,” the healer reassured Clara. “The lighter cycles you are used to are a result of a lack of nutrients. Now, I will prescribe a tea that will help mitigate your cramps. In a few cycles you should go back to normal. There’s nothing to worry about.”

Clara thanked the healer, and I translated. I could tell that she was relieved.

I offered to walk her back to her room. She accepted, tucking the little package of tea into her dress.

“I suppose I don’t need to ask why you ran,” I said. “You thought you were pregnant. With my baby. And you fled.”

Clara looked away, obviously ashamed.

“I hope you understand why that was a foolish decision,” I said. “You could have been killed.”

Clara nodded. She signed, “Will I be punished?”

“You should be,” I said. “You are in service to a royal mistress. You can’t just leave any time. You have responsibilities.”

Clara’s shoulders hunched. “Lash or the dungeon?” she asked. “Or both?”

I remembered watching the whip fall on her back. I remembered how she flinched, unable to scream with the pain. I remembered watching her collapse.

My wolf wouldn’t tolerate seeing that happen again. I didn’t think I could stand it, either.

“Neither,” I said. “I think you have learned your lesson. And if I put you in the dungeon, you won’t be able to serve Nora. It’s unfair for her to be without her attendant simply because you made a foolish mistake.”

“Thank you,” she signed.

“Thank me by being less foolish in the future,” I said. “Remember that your actions reflect on Nora, and on me. You are a part of the royal household now.”

“I will remember,” she signed.

“Now. Put your things back in order. I expect you to serve dinner at the usual time.” I paused and dropped the pack on the floor. “If you happened to have, let’s say borrowed, any supplies for your little escapade, I will give you this one chance to return them without any questions. Simply leave them outside your door and I will have them collected.”

Clara nodded and bowed. She thanked me again.

“Remember to drink your tea,” I said, then added, “Goodbye.”

I left Clara to put herself and her room in order. I should have been relieved. She wasn’t pregnant. Everything could go back to normal, like this whole episode had never happened.

Strangely, though, I felt a twist of disappointment. It could have come from my wolf, but I had to be honest with myself. That feeling was my own.

Some part of me had wanted there to be a baby.