Lyra's POV
The word 'pregnancy' set off alarm bells in my head. My heart racing faster than it has ever done in my entire life.
I had to physically restrain myself from trembling as Alpha Corvin hollered and yelled about it until he finally stalked out.
When I could no longer catch his scent, I slowly opened my eyes, and soon enough there was a doctor by my side. Solemn but straightforward as she pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose.
"How are you feeling ma'am?"
There was an IV drip attached to me, the doctor, a curly haired lady and an understanding smile, explained that I was in Lunaris pack hospital, then she went ahead to tell me my diagnosis.
I was 7 weeks pregnant.
"Ma'am you'll have to be careful because this is your first trimester and the baby's condition is not stable yet…"
I wetted my lips.
"Does this mean I still have…other options?" I said the last words catching my breath, maintaining unshaken eye contact with the doctor.
The shrinking smile on her face disappeared immediately, her expression a solid mask of seriousness.
"It's depends on the choice you want to make, but ma'am I suggest you think about it,"
I gulped down a lump in my throat, curling up in the hospital then as different machines beeped around me breaking through the monitor of silence every once in a while.
No wonder I was so exhausted, my body was literally channeling a lot of its energy to the growing existence within my womb.
And now I found myself standing at a crossroads.
And I decided that since I had no one else by my side I might as well have a child that would be.
Alpha Corvin arrived some hours later, returning calmer but his words still cut.
"I assumed you didn't have a mate, but from the timeline the doctor gave me it looks like you got pregnant just before you came to Lunaris," he opened up the conversation, hitting the nail on the head as he stood on the side of the bed.
I nodded, afraid to speak.
He released a loud sign and brushed his large fingers across his face, sliding them up into his hair and raking through the strands tiredly.
"I just knew you would have a headache…" he murmured mostly to himself. "Look I don't care what you do with it, we can make outfits that can work around your belly when it starts to grow so you can still keep dancing on the pole. And don't expect any special benefits because you are pregnant, I'll expect you right back at clawfire on the day you deliver and I suggest you start hunting for a nanny you can afford to take care of your newborn,"
He was so cold, so mercilessly distant.
"Understood, Alpha Corvin."
But he had treated me so badly that the mere act of bringing me to the hospital was humane compared to–
"Also the hospital bill I paid here will be the deducted from your salary as well,"
Oh, of course, what am I even thinking? This is Alpha Corvin.
Everything to him was a business analysis as far as I could tell, it was either what benefited him and what didn't.
A mental calculation of his profit and loss, since I started pole dancing newer customers with leakier pockets were showing up, he couldn't have the same people watch their new 'fun' pass out and do nothing.
He kept to his word as expected, even stacking my work after he knew I was pregnant.
Sometimes, it felt like he was punishing me for getting pregnant.
He only stopped when he noticed even more customers rolling in after they knew I was pregnant. I guess I will scratch some sick fetish in the corner of their mind.
Then my due date came.
It was every other regular night of grinding and no rest, fortunately I wasn't dancing today so I didn't have to wear a tight outfit.
"Madam Beatrice, I think I need to go to the storage room to get some of the drinks that table five is asking for." I liked to tell her what I did beforehand in case she decided to nitpick later on.
"Then why are you not just heading there instead of telling me? Must I point out everything to you?"
Well she still wasn't nice about it even when I told her. But I had grown numb to her insults.
I quickly arrived at the store room. Just as I bent down to pick up a crate, I felt an invisible hand reach into my lower pelvis and started squeezing-hard. I had been feeling this pain all night but it was lighter and more tolerable, however it kept growing and when I reached the storage room I could no longer feign nonchalance.
My feet gave up and I wailed, calling for someone…anyone really.
Madam Beatrice came, not because she cared of course but because I was wasting time getting the drinks.
That was the first and only time I saw madam Beatrice almost allow sympathy to pass through her eyes. But then she quickly shut it out, as if I was someone that didn't even deserve that.
I described what was happening to me through winces and she rolled her eyes.
"You just had to start having contractions at the busiest time of the night, my goddess you really are insufferable!"
She helped me. Right after she gave the customer their orders and stayed in the front for a while. I had to crawl halfway through the storage room before she came back with the guards that Alpha Corvin stationed in the bar to take care of troublemakers.
They escorted me out of clawfire in the same careless and rugged fashion they did with troublesome drunks and after 7 hours of wailing my child was born.
I looked at him and my heart stopped for a second.
He looked just like Alpha Kael.