Chapter 34: What It Means Now

I stood at the edge of the training ring with my arms folded, staring at the empty floor as if Liora were still standing there.

The stone still held faint marks from the morning session. Scratches from Mira’s blade. Drops of dried blood that hadn’t been cleaned yet. The hall felt quiet now, but not calm. It felt like something had been left unfinished.

"She shouldn’t have stayed standing that long," Mira said behind me. "Most people would have quit halfway through the second round."

I didn’t turn immediately. "Did she?"

"No," she replied. "She got slower, she got weaker, and she kept getting hit, but she didn’t quit."

I turned to face her. "Is she improving?"

"Yes," Mira said without hesitation. "Faster than she should be."

I frowned slightly. "Explain."

"She reacts quickly now. Not like someone who has trained for years, but not like a beginner either. It’s as if her body understands what to do before her mind catches up. I’ve trained wolves stronger than her who needed weeks to adjust. She needed hours."

That didn’t surprise me as much as it should have.

"What about her endurance?" I asked.

"She shouldn’t have that much," Mira admitted. "Someone without a wolf usually breaks quickly. They panic. They hesitate. She doesn’t. She just keeps going, even when she knows she’s going to lose."

My gaze shifted back to the center of the ring again. "Persistence can be taught. Instinct can’t."

Mira shook her head. "That’s the strange part. She doesn’t fight like someone trying to prove herself. She fights like someone who has already decided she has nothing to lose."

I didn’t answer immediately, but the words stayed in my head longer than I expected.

"There’s something about her I don’t understand yet," Mira continued. "It’s not strength. It’s not skill either. It’s something else. I’ve seen warriors like that before, but never someone who is supposedly wolfless."

I was about to respond when something shifted suddenly inside my chest.

Not pain. Not anger. Something sharper.

The bond.

I went still without meaning to.

Mira noticed immediately. "What is it?"

I didn’t answer at first. The feeling came again, stronger this time, like something was pulling at me from a distance I couldn’t measure. It wasn’t fear exactly, but it wasn’t calm either. The bond didn’t react like this without a reason.

"Alpha?" Mira asked again.

I forced myself to focus. "Continue training the others. I’ll return later."

"You’re leaving now?" she asked, surprised.

"Yes."

The pull inside me grew stronger the moment I turned toward the exit, and resisting it felt pointless. Whatever was happening, it was coming from Liora, and ignoring it didn’t feel like an option anymore.

---

Liora

I was still staring at Ivy when the words she had just said finally made sense.

"I think you’re pregnant."

For a moment, I honestly thought I had misheard her.

"That’s not possible," I said immediately, even though my voice sounded weaker than I intended.

Ivy didn’t argue. She only watched me carefully, like she was waiting for me to figure it out myself.

My mind went back to the night of the Luna ceremony before I could stop it. The way everything had happened too quickly, the way I had barely understood what I was agreeing to before it was already done, the way Kael had looked at me like there was no turning back after that moment.

I pressed a hand against the edge of the table, trying to steady myself.

"No," I repeated, more quietly this time. "It’s too soon."

"Is it?" Ivy asked gently.

My head felt light again, and the nausea didn’t disappear the way I expected it to. Instead it stayed, growing stronger until the room felt warmer than it should have.

"I’m fine," I said quickly when she stepped closer. "It’s just exhaustion. Training has been harder than I expected."

But the words didn’t convince either of us.

The floor shifted slightly beneath my feet, and before I could stop it, my vision blurred at the edges. I tried to sit down again, but my legs didn’t cooperate the way they should have.

"Liora—" Ivy reached for me, but she wasn’t close enough.

The door opened suddenly behind her, and before I understood what was happening, someone caught me firmly before I could fall.

Kael’s hand tightened around my waist while his other hand supported my shoulder, steady and careful in a way that felt almost too familiar already.

"What happened?" he asked sharply.

"I’m fine," I murmured automatically, even though I clearly wasn’t.

"You don’t look fine," he replied, guiding me carefully toward the bed. "Lie down."

I didn’t argue. At that point, staying upright felt like more effort than I could manage.

"I want a healer here now," he said without raising his voice, but the authority in it was impossible to ignore.

Ivy stepped aside quickly while he helped me lie down properly. His hand remained on my shoulder for a second longer than necessary, like he was making sure I wasn’t about to faint again.

"It’s nothing serious," I said quietly, trying to make it sound normal.

"You can explain that to the healer," he replied.

It didn’t take long. A few minutes later, the healer arrived, carrying a small bag and looking more curious than worried.

"What seems to be the problem?" she asked.

"Dizziness," Kael said. "Nausea. Weakness."

The healer nodded and turned her attention to me. "Have you felt like this before?"

"No," I admitted.

She placed her hand lightly over my wrist first, checking my pulse, then asked a few more questions that made my chest tighten slowly.

"When was the last time you felt completely normal?" she asked.

"Before the training," I said.

"And before that?"

I hesitated. "The ceremony night."

She looked at Kael briefly, then back at me again.

"Do you feel sick in the mornings?" she asked. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

"Not really."

"Today was the first time?"

"Yes."

She stayed quiet for a moment, then placed her hand lightly against my stomach, her expression growing more thoughtful instead of worried.

Finally she straightened slightly and looked at Kael.

"My Alpha," she said carefully, "the symptoms are consistent with early pregnancy."

The room went silent.

I didn’t know what expression appeared on Kael’s face at that moment because I couldn’t bring myself to look at him. My mind felt strangely blank, like the words hadn’t fully reached me yet.

Pregnant.

I knew it would happen eventually. I knew that was part of becoming Luna. But I never expected it to happen this quickly, before I even understood how to survive inside this fortress properly.

"Are you certain?" Kael asked quietly.

"Yes," the healer replied. "I will need to confirm it again in a few days, but there is no doubt."

I swallowed slowly, trying to understand how I was supposed to feel about this. Fear didn’t disappear, but something else settled in its place too. Something heavier.

"I don’t want anyone else to know yet," I said suddenly.

Both the healer and Kael looked at me.

"It’s too soon," I continued. "And I don’t want the entire fortress talking about it before I even understand what it means."

The healer nodded immediately. "Of course, my lady. I will keep it private."

I finally looked at Kael then, expecting him to disagree, but he didn’t.

"If that is what you want," he said calmly, "then it will remain private."

Ivy, who had been silent the entire time, spoke suddenly. "Why would you hide it?"

All of us looked at her.

"This should be celebrated," she continued. "You’re the Luna. An heir means stability for the pack. Why would you want to keep something like that secret?"

"Because I said so," I replied quietly.

She looked at me carefully for a moment, like she was trying to understand something that didn’t make sense to her.

Kael didn’t argue either. "It stays between us for now," he said firmly.

The healer nodded once more and left shortly after, leaving the room quiet again.

I sat up slowly once the door closed, still trying to understand how everything had changed in a matter of minutes. Ivy watched me with a strange expression, and Kael remained standing beside the bed, quieter than usual.

I didn’t know what he was thinking, but there was something in his expression that I had never seen before. Not exactly happiness, not exactly concern either. Something in between.

"I need some air," I said quietly.

"You shouldn’t stand too quickly," he replied.

"I’ll be careful."

He didn’t stop me, but his gaze followed me until I reached the chair near the window again.

Later that afternoon, after everything had finally settled down and Kael had left the room again, Ivy sat quietly in the corner with a piece of paper in her hand.

I didn’t notice what she was doing at first. I thought she was just trying to give me space.

Only when she folded the paper carefully and called Thea back into the room did I realize what was happening.

"Take this," Ivy said softly, handing her the letter. "Give it to the person I mentioned earlier. And don’t let anyone else see it."

Thea hesitated only for a second before nodding. "Yes, miss."

I watched the door close behind her, and something inside me told me that whatever had just been written on that paper would not make my life inside this fortress any easier.

And suddenly, being pregnant didn’t feel like the only thing I needed to worry about anymore.