Caught by the Mad Alpha King-Chapter 368: Noted.

Ethan stared at the three pregnancy tests lined up on the edge of his sink like they were a joke someone had committed to too hard.

Two lines.

Two lines.

Two lines.

Not ’maybe.’ Not ’faint if you squint.’ Not ’evaporation line, calm down.’

Hard disagreement with reality.

He gripped the counter until his knuckles ached, then forced his hand to relax and tried to breathe through the sudden, stupid vertigo.

The Sahan physicians had told him that he might never have a child. Not by carrying one himself, not by ’assisting’ someone else, not by any of the polite phrasing they used to avoid saying ’your body was damaged’ and ’we don’t know how to fix all of it.’

Ethan had believed them, because the doctors in Saha didn’t sell comfort. They sold facts.

And because believing them had been... easier. Safer. A clean limitation he could build around.

He picked up one of the tests, turned it over like there might be a hidden switch, checked the expiration date, then checked it again because he was an engineer and denial came in the form of double-checking.

He even opened the trash and pulled out the packaging like a raccoon with a degree.

Everything was valid, but his stomach rolled anyway.

Ethan stared at his reflection. Same face. Same eyes. Same stubborn mouth. And yet he felt like the rules he trusted - medicine, probability, basic cause-and-effect - had been rewritten behind his back.

He had let Sirius mark him and knot him only because he’d been convinced it didn’t matter.

Because he’d told himself it was a fling. Temporary. Something that would burn out when Sirius drowned in duty again and remembered he wasn’t allowed a life that fit inside Ethan’s one-bedroom apartment.

Ethan picked up one test, turned it over like it might reveal a hidden switch, then set it down with shaking fingers.

There were a dozen calls he could make right now. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

A doctor. Mia. Chris.

But there was only one call he had to make.

He stared at his phone on the closed toilet lid like it was another test waiting to judge him. Then he grabbed it, thumb hovering over Sirius’s name while his mind sprinted through every possible outcome.

He hit call anyway.

One ring. Two.

He almost ended it out of pure reflex, but Sirius answered.

"Ethan."

That calm voice hit Ethan harder than he expected. Like his body recognized stability before his pride could object.

"Are you busy?" Ethan asked.

A pause. "No."

It was probably a lie. Sirius was always busy, but he was making room for Ethan to speak first.

"I need to tell you something," Ethan said.

"Okay."

Ethan tried to find sarcasm and came up empty. "If you say ’okay’ like that again, I’m going to throw up."

"Ethan," Sirius said, patient. "What happened?"

Ethan stared at the tests like they were going to start laughing.

He forced the words out clean, because dragging it out would kill him.

"I’m pregnant."

Silence.

Then Sirius inhaled slowly, controlled. "Are you sure?"

Ethan let out a harsh laugh. "No. I took three for decoration."

Sirius didn’t bite. "Where are you?"

"In my bathroom," Ethan snapped, because anger was easier than shaking. "In my apartment."

"I’m coming."

"No."

"Yes," Sirius said, and the calm in it was a command. "You need to see a doctor."

"And?" The rustle on the line told Ethan he was already moving - coat, keys, the sound of someone who didn’t debate logistics when he’d decided.

Then Sirius’s voice shifted slightly, no longer aimed only at Ethan.

"Lucius. Take my next two meetings. I know you’re free," he ordered.

Ethan stared at the phone. "Are you... are you talking to him right now?"

"I’m walking past him," Sirius said, like that answered everything.

A muffled, irritated voice carried in the background, just close enough to bleed through.

"Fuck you too, brother."

Ethan closed his eyes for a second. "Lucius is going to kill you."

"He’ll survive," Sirius replied. "You’re the priority."

Ethan swallowed hard, hatefully aware that part of him softened at that.

"Stay there," Sirius added, voice low and firm again. "Don’t go anywhere. I’ll be there soon."

—

The rest of the day blurred into a sequence of events that happened too quickly for Ethan’s brain to label as real.

There was the clinic first - because Sirius said ’doctor’ like it was a command and Ethan had learned, painfully, that arguing with a Crown Prince in motion was like arguing with a train. The physician was calm, competent, and infuriatingly unshocked.

"You may experience morning sickness earlier than average," she said, flipping through Ethan’s file like pregnancy was just another variable in a system.

Ethan stared at her. "So my body is an overachiever."

The physician blinked, then continued as if sarcasm was a symptom. She explained timelines, monitoring, what to avoid, what to watch for. She used words like ’stable’ and ’uncommon’ and ’we’ll confirm with bloodwork.’

Ethan heard about half of it, because every time the nausea rose, his mind went back to the tests. Three little plastic sticks that had apparently decided to ruin his entire understanding of probability.

Sirius, meanwhile, was maddeningly... reliable.

He asked questions Ethan didn’t think to ask. He remembered details. He paid attention to the physician without trying to charm her or intimidate her. He adjusted the schedule like he adjusted borders. He also kept hovering at Ethan’s side with that quiet, controlled focus that made Ethan want to slap him and cling to him at the same time.

Which was an insult. To Ethan’s dignity.

By the time they left the clinic, Ethan had a list of follow-ups, a sealed folder, and a small bottle of something that tasted like despair but promised to reduce nausea.

He also had Sirius walking beside him like this was settled.

"You’re staying with me," Sirius said, as they reached the car.

Ethan stopped dead. "No."

Sirius stopped too, matching him effortlessly. "Yes."

Ethan stared at him. "Absolutely not. I have an apartment. I have a life. I have—"

"You have a target," Sirius cut in, voice low enough not to draw attention. "You’re visible, you’re connected to half the wrong people, and my father will try to turn you into a banner again the moment he realizes what this is."

Ethan’s jaw tightened. "So you’re going to lock me in a palace."

"I’m going to keep you safe," Sirius corrected. "And you’re going to stop pretending safety is an insult."

Ethan held his stare for half a second, then turned on his heel and started walking toward the car before his mouth could get him killed.

"I’m going to keep you safe," he muttered under his breath, pitching his voice into a perfect imitation of Sirius’s calm. "And you’re going to stop pretending safety is an insult."

He didn’t even realize Sirius was close enough to hear until Sirius’s hand landed lightly at the middle of Ethan’s back.

"You’re terrible at impressions," Sirius said.

Ethan shot him a look. "I’m excellent. You’re just offended because it’s accurate."

Sirius’s mouth twitched faintly. "I’m offended because you’re walking like you want to fight a wall."

"I do want to fight a wall," Ethan snapped, then immediately softened it into a grimace when his stomach rolled again. "And I want to fight my own biology."

Sirius opened the car door for him without comment, which was infuriatingly considerate.

Ethan climbed in and muttered, "Don’t get used to me obeying you."

Sirius shut the door with quiet finality. From the other side, his voice carried through the glass, calm as ever.

"I won’t," he said. "I’ll get used to you arguing while you obey."

Ethan stared at him through the window, scandalized.

"Excuse you," he said, clearly.

Sirius walked around the car like he had all the time in the world. "Buckle up, Ethan."

Ethan hissed, "I hate you."

Sirius got in beside him, composed. "Noted."