Oh?

Chapter 5

    Two months later, Cassy's father brought her before Alpha Lino. She had taken in. Alpha Lino had taken Cassy into his arms and spun her around, howling in delight.

    Cassy, despite herself and her waring hormones, she laughed. Alpha Lino had realized what he was doing and he'd dropped her, murmuring an apology, with his face beet-red. And Goddess help her, Cassy found the Alpha oddly handsome when he was flustered.

   Cassy's pregnancy had been a surprise to everyone. Most had believed that the Alpha couldn't have a child. Or rather, couldn't father a child. However, she had proved them wrong. If her constant morning sickness and dizzy spells in the castle were any indication.

    Eleanor watched Cassy from afar. Watched how the woman grew closer to her mate with each passing day. Watched how Alpha Lino doted on the woman and visited her chambers frequently. She couldn't remember the last time her mate had graced her chambers since the news came. 

    Every eye that turned her way watched her with pity. Eleanor, the fairest, they had once called her. Now, she was Eleanor, the forgotten.

   Cassy's name was upon everyone's lips. They spoke of her with respect, as though, the moment she had conceived the heir, she ceased being a lowly Omega. Some even called her the Goddess of fertility, for she had achieved something no other woman had.

   Soon, whispers began to spread of the Alpha's plan to make an Omega his Luna. Eleanor's hatred became palpable, but she said nothing.

   She deemed it untrue. She was yet to be crowned Luna, but there was no debate as to what she was to Alpha Lino. Not even the appearance of a child could take that from her.

   Still, it didn't halt the thoughts that plagued her mind. The thought of harming Cassy. She didn't want to hurt her mate's child. She knew how much this child meant to the Alpha.

    However, it hurt. Every single day, watching her mate change into someone she couldn't recognize, someone she couldn't reach, all because of Cassy. It was hell. Eleanor had never seen her mate smile like that with her. Or laugh with anyone else. She hated Cassy with every bone in her body. And even more than Cassy, she hated the babe in her belly that brought about the change.

    Eleanor sashayed through the hallways and stopped short when she noted the maids tidying the Grand Hall. Her eyes narrowed. They only ever arranged like that when the Alpha had a meeting. She knew he was planning something and had tried to get him to speak of it but he barely spoke to her about anything these days. She wondered what the Alpha had planned.

 

***

    The maid pulled a little too hard on the lace of her bodice and Cassy winced.

    "Must I wear this? It is rather uncomfortable," Cassy murmured, plucking at the prickly material.

    "It is a formal meeting, my Lady. You must look the part. Attending in the Alpha's company requires you to dress the part."

    Cassy scowled at that. She was tired and sleepy. Attending this meeting...she didn't know why she had to be there. Had Lino not asked her so nicely, she wouldn't have gotten up from the bed.

    As a matter of fact, she was yawning again for the sixth time in the last minute.

    "Call me Cassy," she told the maid. She already had people thinking she was out to steal Eleanor's position--which was far from the truth. She didn't need the titles that would serve to anger the woman even further. She had told the maids severally to call her by her name but they never took heed.

     A knock on the door made her turn and Lino stood by the door, leaning against its frame. He was dressed formally in a blue threaded jacket, black pants, and knee-high boots. His hair was slicked back against his head but a couple of stubborn strands fell over his full brow.

    He smiled faintly and Cassy's heart skipped a beat. He was dashing in formal wear. She stared at him, taking him in with her eyes until his lips tugged up.

    Her toes curled when he walked towards her and whispered in her left ear. "You look stunning."

    Cassy vaguely registered the maid running out of the room but with his lips so close to her skin, she could barely think of anything else. 

   "Hmm...even with my bulging belly?" She whispered.

  

   "Especially with it," he said and placed his hand atop her stomach. The baby kicked at Alpha Lino's hand and Cassy winced, even as laughter escaped her lips.

    "He doesn't seem to like you much," she cooed.

    "Well, shall I get him more whipped cream?" Lino joked and Cassy laughed, feeling surprisingly light. Alpha Lino had that effect on her. Over the past few months, they had grown close. Friends, they had called each other, even if she sometimes caught herself wanting to kiss him. Even if sometimes, Lino's gaze lingered on her lips and the column of her throat. Even if on some days, the goodnight kiss he pressed against her cheeks turned into something more and he would nip at her jaw and her ear lobes until she moaned.

   Thinking about it made heat pool between her legs and Alpha Lino's nostrils flared as he smelt her arousal.

   His brows rose in question and mischief danced in his hazel-green eyes.

    Cassy turned red. "Ah... it's the baby."

   "Oh?" Alpha Lino purred and her toes curled again at the sound.

    "Y-yes."

    It wasn't entirely a lie. The baby growing in her belly had her feeling things she hadn't felt before in her entire life. It was sometimes frustrating but she found that she had grown attached to the child.

   In the times when Alpha Lino couldn't be there to keep her company, she spoke to her child, telling it all about her day and Alpha Lino. She usually got kicks as a response and it brought great joy to her heart. She was yet to give birth but she already loved the child.

    It was nearly as great as what she had begun to feel for Alpha Lino. But she's never going to admit that. Not to herself. Or anyone.