My Second Chance Mate is a Barbarian (Sera and Fenris) novel Chapter 241

Sera

"Um... what?"

The words hung in the stagnant air of the bedroom. I was shaking. My boots scuffed against the rug, the vibration travelling up my legs and settling in my gut. I swallowed, trying to find enough spit to speak again.

"I'm pregnant," I repeated. My voice sounded thin, a dry scrape that lacked the Luna's authority I’d been trying to wear. I looked away from her, focusing on a loose thread on her sleeve. "It’s... I’m pregnant, Mina."

Mina stayed on the floor with me, her hands still gripping my arms. She nodded slowly, a rhythmic motion that looked more like she was trying to convince herself of a lie. Then her brow pinched.

"Fenris certainly hasn't been having sex with you for that long, right?" she asked.

I nodded, then shook my head, the thoughts tangling. "No. The timing... it's too early." I heard my own voice rise, a sharp, panicked spike. "I should be physically incapable of this! It isn't normal. My body... it doesn't work that way." I took a jagged breath, the smell of woodsmoke and old wool filling my lungs. "This was exactly the reason Kane betrayed me. Because I couldn't give him an heir. So why the fuck am I pregnant now?"

Mina's expression shifted. She placed a hand over my mouth, her eyes darting toward the door. She stood up, her thin wool nightgown whispering against her legs. I heard the iron latch drop, and then the lock clicked.

She came back to the rug, kneeling in front of me. She pressed a finger to her lips.

“Shhh”

"Keep your voice down," she whispered. "If you want to live, Sera, you’d better start being discreet. Do not sell yourself off by shouting. Folks in the North do not forgive infidelity."

I frowned. The word felt weird in my stomach. "I wasn't unfaithful. What is that supposed to mean?"

Mina shook her head. "Every moment you spend on this rug crying and cussing, the noose closes. You think Fenris loves you? Maybe. But the moment he finds out there’s a pup in your womb that doesn't belong to him, he’ll freak out."

She leaned in, a look of pity that felt like a sneer. "It isn't a great sight when an Alpha loses it. They’re territorial, Sera. And that thing in your stomach? That goes beyond another Alpha treading on his ground. He’ll perceive it as someone nutting into his own Luna. His pride won't handle the disgrace."

Mina cursed sharply. "Fuck... what is it going to look like when the entire pack finds out the Luna is pregnant for another Alpha? Fuck! They would go as far—"

I stared at her. My heart did a slow, heavy leap. As she spoke, the reality of her shift hit me. I could see the hard lines of her face in the dying firelight. It was difficult to envision Mina as hostile. I’d seen her as the girl who protected me, the one who took care of me. But right now, her face carried a look that could only be named as hate.

"I'm... I'm sorry," I whimpered. The heaviness in my chest became dense, a physical pressure. "I'm sorry, Mina."

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