*Isla*“Everything looks wonderful,” Mystica says as she finishes examining me. “The baby is a bit small for when we think the child was conceived, but other than that, the heartbeat is strong, everything is proportionate, the rest of the organs are developing on track as well, and movement is right on track. I think we shall have a healthy child in a few months, despite my apprehension earlier. Congratulations to the pair of you!” She stands at the foot of the examination table with her hands clasped together and a big grin on her face.“Thank you,” I tell her. “Do you have any indication yet of the sex of the baby?”Mystica looks from me to the king, and Maddox nods. He wants to know, too.“Well, I do,” she says. “Let me show you on the machine. I think that will be better.”She’s already done an ultrasound to measure everything, but while she was doing all of that, she looked like she was concentrating so hard, I didn’t even want to interrupt her to ask this question. Also, she is
*Maddox*“I understand the significance, Alpha, but I don’t think now is the best time to make the announcement.”Seth is sitting across from me in my office, helping me decide whether or not we should let the other Alphas know about the baby. Now that I’ve seen his tiny, wiggly body for myself, seen that he appears to be healthy, and even heard his heartbeat, I feel more confident that Isla will proceed through the rest of her pregnancy without problems, and we will have a son soon enough. It seems like it’s time to let the other Alphas know the situation, to proclaim Isla “the winner” of this ridiculous contest, and then start preparing the castle for the arrival of the next Alpha King.Seth disagrees with this idea. He is about to tell me why, and this had better be good.“Why not?” I scrutinize him, my hands folded on my desk, wondering what his reasoning could possibly be.“The other Alphas have been complaining all along that their daughters aren’t getting to spend any time with
*Isla*“Well, who was it from?”Poppy’s voice is too chipper for me. I’ve only just woken up from a long nap, and blinking a few times, I try to get my bearings, wondering what the hell she is talking about. Where is Maddox? I glance at the clock and see it’s almost 6:00. He’s usually done working by now.“Isla?” Poppy is fluffing the pillows on the bed next to my head. Why is she in here? Did she wake me up? “You can’t sleep all day! I know you’re growing a human, but that requires food, too. You didn’t eat any lunch before you went to sleep. So why don’t you eat the snack I had the cook prepare while you tell me about the letter? I heard that King Maddox has had Seth in his office for a few hours, so who knows when he’ll be done.”I sit up, feeling groggy. Whenever I don’t wake up naturally from a nap, I am always a grump. My stomach is rumbling, though, and when I glance over at the table, I see that Poppy has brought some of my favorites, including toast with cheese and sliced gre
*Isla*The content of the letter continues to play through my mind for the next several days as I try to concentrate on other matters.More important matters.Like… whether or not Maddox is going to go ahead and announce the baby’s existence to the world. I have only asked him once, though, and when he practically growled at me that he hadn’t made a decision yet, I knew I just needed to wait and let him tell me.For the most part, the two of us have been getting together very well since the appointment with Mystica, so I don’t want to irritate him. He just doesn’t know how to speak to me sometimes.I often wonder how Rebecca would’ve responded if he’d growled at her, but I probably don’t want to know. From what I know about his wife, she didn’t take shit from anyone, whereas, even my own mother will tell me I am often a doormat.Wonder whose fault that is….Other more important matters include trying to decide on a name for this little one. I would like to know what to call him. Maddo
*Isla*The six girls standing between me and the exit to the library swivel around at the sound of Trinity’s voice, their mouths dropping open when they saw the woman standing there that they all revere as the front runner in this stupid contest.The blonde who had been such a bitch to me immediately changes her tune. “Oh, Trinity. Hi,” she says, stammering a little. “We were just… playing around with Iris here.”“Isla,” Trinity corrects her. “And I don’t think that’s true, Veronica. I think the six of you were going to try to hurt her. Do you honestly think that would be a good idea? Do you think that Alpha King Maddox will even let you stay in the castle now? You’ve threatened to hurt another contestant, you stupid bitches.”All of the girls stare at her wide-eyed, and it seems evident to me that Trinity knows all of their names and can identify them for Maddox.“I didn’t do anything!” a dark-haired girl standing near the bag blurts out. “All I did was stand here! Iris can attest to
*Maddox*I’m at my desk going over a few reports, trying to decide whether or not to continue to take Beta Seth’s advice when what I really want to do is plan a huge festival and announce to the entire kingdom that I’m having a child with the woman I love when a knock at the door interrupts my thoughts.“Yes?” This had better be important. The guards usually steer away anyone who is just a nuisance.Trinity pokes her head in, and like most times when I first see her, I forget, and confusion washes over me for a millisecond before I recognize the girl fully. “So sorry, Your Majesty, but I have something important to talk to you about.”“Of course.” I set the files aside. I know that Trinity wouldn’t barge in to talk to me if it wasn’t something that needed my attention right away. The look on her face tells me that whatever it is, she’s distressed.Sitting down across from me, she takes a deep breath. “I ran into Isla in the library. She wasn’t alone.”My immediate reaction is to becom
*Isla*Lying in bed next to Maddox, my fingers trailing over his bare arm, I try to catch my breath. We’d made love so ferociously, it reminded me of that first night, when he came into my room, and I thought he was going to claim me, but he didn’t. It was so animalistic and raw. If I wasn’t pregnant, who knows how much more wild it might’ve gotten.But I think somewhere within the thoughtless thrusting, it occurred to Maddox that he needed to be more careful with me, and he slowed down a bit. Now, we are lying here, glistening in the moonlight, looking into each other’s eyes, and I want to know what has motivated him to become so fierce tonight.Does he know about what happened in the library?I think I saw little flecks of red on his clothing when I was peeling it off of him earlier. I wasn’t sure, but it looked like it might’ve been blood.Is it possible Trinity told him already?Maddox lifts a hand and smooths my cheek. “You should’ve told me.” His voice is soft, just above a whis
*Isla*Hiding the book from Maddox isn’t easy, but I manage. He has been so preoccupied with this mess with the Alphas since he had the girls who attacked me beaten and thrown into the dungeon that he doesn’t have too much time for me. But when he does show up, I have no idea he’s coming. He’s just suddenly there. Which means I have to be very careful about when I read the book. I try to have Poppy’s ear to the ground whenever I have it out, but she is not always cooperative.“I think it’s dumb,” she keeps telling me. “Why do you keep reading about it now when you’ve already decided you’re not going there?”“I don’t know.” It’s not a lie. I really have no idea why I am looking at it. I know I can’t go to my island home until after my son is born. Logically, I know that. Still, the more I read about it the more fascinated I become.Then, there was the letter I’d gotten in the mail from my aunt, one she’d obviously sent a long time ago. She’d been waiting for me to get there to help wit