Jaden was jerked awake by the other person's stir. He enjoyed the warmth of the morning sun filtering through the window. He noticed Ranulf had stopped snoring.
He looked to his right and found Ranulf staring wide-eyed, with a frown on his face.
Jaden immediately remembered the activities of the night before. What the heck.
Ranulf shot up from the bed without a word, eliciting a sound from Jaden. He quickly put on his clothes as if he were being chased. A cold wave of shock washed over Jaden as he sat up. They had done it. The last time they had was a month before Jaden returned with Marcus and a mate bond.
He could remember the unspoken words from Ranulf, who had raised an invisible wall between them.
He remembered the anger in Ranulf's eyes the day Jaden had finally confessed about Marcus, the mate bond, and the pregnancy.
Ranulf hadn't believed it at first, but after healers confirmed it was true and final, he was convinced, and he was visibly heartbroken. And had despised Marcus so much.
But Ranulf could not stay angry at Jaden for long. His anger had quickly softened into a quiet, resigned sadness that hurt far worse.
Jaden stiffly swung over the side of the bed to pull his clothes. He felt hollowed out, muscles aching, and his thoughts tangled. Where had Ranulf gone?
He didn't have to wonder for too long as the door burst open. Before he even finished buttoning his shirt, Ranulf''s voice came through as he entered, followed by a middle-aged woman.
"Jaden, I've brought a healer"
"What's going on?" Jaden asked with a rough voice.
"I brought her here as you're unwell," Ranulf stated the most obvious fact in the world.
"No need to be distressed, young man" the healer stepped forward with a firm voice. She gestured towards the bed. "Back you go. Let's have a look."
Jaden had to comply because he wasn't the only one bewildered by what had happened. He laid back on the sheets.
The woman's hands were gentle but thorough as she checked his pulse, pressed her palm to his forehead, palpated his neck where scent glands should be swollen. She hummed thoughtfully, then straightened with a knowing look that made Jaden's face flush.
"Well" she glanced at Ranulf. "There's no fever" casting a sideways glance at Jaden "He's perfectly fine. Just exhausted from his heat, I'd say".
Ranulf shifted, crossing his hands, his eyes darting quickly to Jaden and then the floorboards. Jaden was utterly lost.
Ranulf's face twitched as he pointed at Jaden, and he sputtered, "What? No! That's impossible!"
The healer raised a skeptical eyebrow. "I've been a healer for years, and I know what a post-heat omega looks and smells like" glancing at Jaden, "the boy is fine"
Ranulf insisted, "But he's mated", his voice ringing with frustrated confusion.
"I am pregnant," Jaden stated. Both Ranulf and the healer snapped their heads to him; he had been watching them as if he wasn't part of the conversation.
Ranulf's face flashed with something unrecognizable, but the healer frowned.
The healer's face flashed with understanding, she sat by the edge of the bed while looking at both of them. "Boys, let me explain something. A mated omega does not go into heat around other alphas, the bond suppresses it. And a pregnant omega certainly does not release scent the way you did last night"
Ranulf, at this moment, almost shouted at her "He's pregnant and I had healers confirm it" getting the attention of the healer and Jaden.
"I had seen the mate mark" the healer looked at Ranulf like he was dense.
"I understand he recently had his mate bond severed" She said without noticing the faces of the two people
"I tried to avoid bringing it up, as it might be sensitive to the omega".
After the healer left, the silence was so loud and none of them moved.
Her words finally sank in. NO MATE BOND?
Ranulf mouth was still wide open while Jaden walked up to the mirror.
The mark was really not there, it was faded. 'When a mate bond is severed, the body resets itself, and any pregnancy depending on it....' Ranulf paced to the window, visibly restless, he was quickly at the door "I don't trust her".
The second healer, younger but just as certain, confirmed everything.
Then the third, "NO BOND AND NO CHILD" leaving them alone to their own conclusions.
Jaden stared at his hands. In his memories, he'd been pregnant when the assassins attacked, had carried that child to Marcus's camp, to prison, until stress stole that small hope away.