Chapter 42

"Having offspring is very difficult for Volders, sometimes one has to try several times with different partners. Usually, a Volder's goal in taking a Leech is to have offspring." Alice paused for a moment. "And that is why Nicholas is very eager to kill Alastair."

But... "Alastair changed me not because he wanted to have offspring."

"I know. But Nicholas sees it differently, and he will always see Alastair as a threat." Alice smiled wryly at the expression on my face. "And not only that, Eleanor, a Leech is the property of the Volder who changed them. They are bound until one of them dies. In short, Alastair's blood and power are more dominant in you than Nicholas's, no matter what."

"What will happen if Nick kills Alastair?"

"If he kills Alastair? His clan will retaliate, of course. Alastair's clan is one of the oldest clans. I don't want to alarm you, but no matter how strong Nicholas is, he won't have a chance to... avoid it. There's one more thing Nicholas needs to consider before killing Alastair, your baby. Regardless, he will have a bond with Alastair, and if Nicholas kills Alastair... your baby will belong to that clan."

I could feel all the blood draining from my face. "Belong to that clan?"

"The laws in the Volder world are different from human laws, Eleanor. If Nicholas dies, the guardian of your child will not fall to you or Gregory but to the Volder who changed you, Alastair. If Alastair also dies, the guardian of that baby will be his clan."

Now I understand the reason for Nick's silence when he learned about my pregnancy. I buried my face in my hands.

"Nicholas has no choice. If he kills Alastair, your child will belong to the clan. But if Alastair remains alive... This child will have a strong bond with Alastair."

"What do you mean by bond?" I asked with a choked voice.

"A blood bond, and of course, Alastair's power will be passed down to him. Eleanor, Alastair's blood will flow in your child's body, even stronger than his father's."

***

The cloudy sky made my mood even worse. Alice had left hours ago, but our conversation kept repeating in my head. After Alice left, Erik came back with my lunch. A bottle of Nick's blood. When I asked if Nick was in his office, he only replied with a formal 'Mr. Shaw is not in.' then went to the kitchen with his laptop and didn't come out until now.

I sighed and lay down on the sofa, the raindrops slowly starting to fall under the cloudy sky. My hands caressed the small bump on my stomach. I wanted to tell Lana, but I didn't know if it was appropriate. Besides, the person I most wanted to talk to right now was Nick. I wanted to ask him why he hid this problem from me and bore it all alone...

The sound of rain slowly lulled me to sleep.

When I woke up, the room was dark, as was the sky outside. The only light was from the small garden lamp outside. I blinked my eyes to dispel the sleepiness; how many hours had I been asleep? A thick blanket enveloped my body, and I lifted myself slightly when I realized someone was sitting on the sofa across from me. Nick's silhouette was staring at me. I couldn't see part of his face, which was covered in dark shadows, only the silhouette of half of his face downwards. Nick was still wearing his work clothes.

"Nick?" I called out with my sleepy voice. He didn't move from his place at all when I called him. After a long silence, he finally answered, "Did I wake you?"

His silence made me a little scared. I didn't like this side of Nick, which was too distant from me. I pulled the blanket off me without answering him and stood up from the sofa. His face was still covered in dark shadows, so I couldn't see his expression at the moment. I let the blanket fall to my feet as I walked to turn on the light; the light flooded the room instantly, but what made me stumble was Nick. He looked disheveled. His usually neat brown hair was now messy as if he had been messing it up several times. And his tired eyes were looking at me. I could only stand still in my place. Seeing him like this broke my heart. Once again, Nick felt very far from me, even though our distance was only a few meters.

Suddenly, he reached out his right hand to me, "You haven't had dinner, Eleanor."

I stepped towards him until I stopped right in front of him. My hand cupped his face, and he smiled slightly, "You look so beautiful that I momentarily forgot everything." His blue eyes softened as he said that. I bit the inside of my cheek and whispered the only sentence that was in my mind right now, "I love you, Nick."

"I know." He answered, pulling me into his lap; he buried his face in my neck and took a deep breath. "I know, Eleanor." He repeated without lifting his face. We stayed in that position for a few moments; I could hear our heartbeats amidst this silence. "You don't have to bear it all alone, Nick." I said softly.

Nick pulled himself away from me, a cold smile adorning his face. "Alice told you."

"You didn't want to tell me." I answered with a slightly hurt feeling. "Alastair—"

"Never mention his name." He cut me off, his eyes slightly darkening when I mentioned Alastair's name.

"He's not dangerous, Nick. Can't you forget what he did? For me?" I asked with a little frustration. I didn't mind being Alastair's Leech as long as Nick was by my side.

"I don't want to talk about it, Eleanor." Nick pulled away again.

"In that case, we'd better end it here." I replied with a choked voice. Before I could stand up, Nick's hands stopped me; he looked at me with his calm expression. "Do you think you can leave me just like that when you're pregnant with my child?" His question sounded gentle, but there was a hint of danger in it.

"I can't be by your side and let this baby live in danger." I replied, pulling my hand from his grasp.

"Then are you going to leave me?"

"I don't have a choice." I replied, not averting my gaze from him.

"You have it." He whispered. "You can be by my side and protect this baby with me. You don't need to run away..."

Somehow, we managed to get through dinner with Greg and Lana. After I told him about my pregnancy, Nick was silent for quite a while, he didn't even look at me anymore after that. For a moment, I was sure he was going to leave me. I know I took too long to tell him, but no matter how much I tried to prepare myself, Nick's response still felt very painful.

I don't remember how long I stood there, staring at his back, until suddenly he stood up and muttered that we would be late for dinner if we didn't leave soon. Dinner with Greg and Lana was the last thing on my mind, but I couldn't bring myself to say a word to refuse it.

Nick ignored me, barely looking at me during dinner. When Greg poured wine for me, Nick switched it with a glass of water without saying a word. Greg just frowned slightly when he saw Nick's attitude. They both remained cold towards each other. The only thing that saved me that night was Lana; she distracted me with our conversation.

The journey home was torture for me, or maybe for both of us.

Nick didn't speak to me at all until we were in the penthouse, then he went into his private office and locked himself in all night. I don't know how long I waited, curled up on our bed until I finally gave up and turned off the light. As I was about to drift off, I could hear Nick's footsteps entering the room. I didn't open my eyes or turn around to face him. He joined me in bed without a word, suddenly one of his hands pulled me into his embrace so that my back was now against his chest. Nick buried his face in my hair and murmured. I bit my lip to hold back the sudden surge of feelings; I could feel his warm hand on my stomach as if he was trying to feel this baby.

When I woke up, Nick was gone from beside me. The sun was shining brightly through the curtains, and the clock showed 9 a.m. "Damn, I overslept," I muttered as I got out of bed and headed to the bathroom. I felt hungry again, but I knew Nick was working right now, and I didn't want to disturb him.

My steps towards the living room stopped when I heard a feminine voice speaking from the kitchen. Wasn't Nick working yet? I followed the source of the sound and stopped when I saw a pair of gray-blue eyes looking at me. Alice smiled slightly when she saw me and took something from the cabinet, continuing her conversation with Erik. I smiled at both of them and took a seat next to Erik; as usual, he looked neat this morning.

"Hello, Eleanor," greeted Alice with her slightly cold voice before handing me a glass of blood. Without needing to check, I knew the blood in the glass was Nick's. I furrowed my brow slightly as I accepted it. "I never thought I'd see a Volder as high level as Nicholas pumping his blood into a bottle," she said again, with a broader smile, her thick Russian accent still audible.

I drank the blood in my glass to avoid answering her question. Suddenly, Erik stood up from beside me. "Are you going back now?" Alice asked, then turned her attention back to me. "Nicholas asked Eirik to report when you woke up." One corner of her mouth twitched as she said this; I didn't know why Alice found this funny.

"Good morning, Miss Heather," murmured Erik before leaving. I replied and watched him until he disappeared behind the door. "Is he always like that?"

Alice shook her head, "Only when he's working; Eirik is very serious about his work." She answered, rolling her eyes slightly. I'm starting to like Alice; before this, she was colder towards me. "So, when is the baby due?"

Her sudden question made me choke; I placed my empty glass on the counter and wiped my mouth with the back of my hand. Alice stared at me with a flat expression, one hand tucking a strand of her golden hair behind her ear. Did I mention that Alice is very beautiful?

"How... Did Nick tell you?" I didn't know Nick would tell someone this early.

"No. But my sense of smell is quite sensitive, and Nicholas was willing to go to great lengths to pump his blood for you. Those two things are enough clues."

Nick once told me that Alice was a Valkyrie; I guess she's a level above Volder. "I'm not sure," I murmured, "Maybe in 9 months."

Alice blinked briefly at my answer, "Eleanor... Volders don't carry for that long."

"What?" This time, I was the one confused.

"Volders only carry for 45 days. They are different from ordinary humans. Hasn't Nicholas told you about this?"

Alice's explanation felt like a splash of ice water to me. Without realizing it, my hand moved to rub my stomach. 45 days? Panic began to creep in. The small bump in my stomach had been noticeable for a few days, but I thought it was just because I drank too much blood. "W-what about the baby? Will they be born... normal?"

Normal wasn't the right word for my question.

Alice's eyes softened slightly before she answered, "The baby will be born just like their father, a Volder."

After a few weeks of being a Leech, I realized that I knew nothing about Volders. How many days have I been pregnant? I forced my brain to think harder, five days? I found out about this pregnancy when I met Alastair. Maybe more?

"What's wrong, Eleanor? You look pale."

"Did... Did Nick say anything to you this morning?" I haven't seen him at all this morning; he left before I woke up. Until now, I don't know Nick's true feelings about my pregnancy. He distanced himself when I told him last night, but he held me tightly in his sleep.

"No. He just asked me to accompany you." Alice stared at me intently, "What's wrong?"

I returned her gaze hesitantly; I wish I could talk to Greg directly right now. Alice looked at me with her calm expression, her beautiful gray-blue eyes slightly widened as she looked at me, waiting for my answer. "I think Nick doesn't like my current condition."

"Of course." Alice's answer surprised me. "Tell me, has he killed Alastair? He never wants to answer when I ask him."

Alastair? What does Alastair have to do with all this? "No... not yet," I answered.

Alice pulled the corners of her mouth down slightly, then muttered something in Russian before finally saying to me, "Of course. It will be a problem when the baby is born."

"What do you mean? What does Alastair have to do with all this?"

"I shouldn't be the one explaining this to you." Alice glanced at the main door of the penthouse for a moment, "But Nicholas won't tell you; that idiot won't even tell you about the pregnancy duration for Volders." She walked over to me and took a seat, from this close I could smell the scent of peach and a hint of rose from her. Nick once told me about Alice's Valkyrie element, which is her weakness, that Alice cannot fall in love