Chapter 4. Baby Daddy

With a start, Cinnia woke up and coughed at the weird smell of a powder that lingered in her nostrils.

Squinting at the bright sunlight coming from a gap in a boarded window, she shook her head trying to get rid of the cloudiness.

It hurt to keep her eyes open, her throat felt itchy and her body felt like it had been slammed by a speed train.

She could hear voices talking in low tones. Voices she didn't recognize.

As her eyes adjusted to the light, she noticed she was seated in some kind of small room.

There was a small, iron bed beside her, right next to the window where the sunlight came from; hung around the walls were various artifacts and idols of which she only recognized a few because she had seen them in the Fae forests where she grew up in.

What the hell is this place?

There was nothing but darkness in front of her. The sunlight from the single window wasn't enough to illuminate it.

When she tried to move to see what was behind her, she realized she had been tied down to a tall pole behind her.

"Don't worry, the ropes are just a precaution," said the same voice belonging to the person she remembered holding a knife to back at the clothing store.

The blonde woman stepped out from the shadows and it was then Cinnia had the chance to look at her closely.

The woman seemed to be a bit older than she was—maybe by a year or two, but there was a certain darkness behind her youthful face and lithe figure.

"You."

Recognition flooded Cinnia's face as she recalled the face she had seen when the woman at the store took off her hood.

"Where have you brought me? If you're going to kill me, just get it over with. No point in dragging out the inevitable."

"I'm not going to kill you, Cinnia. Why would I get rid of someone so useful?"

"What do you mean?" Cinnia asked, raising an eyebrow in question.

"I am not the one to explain this to you."

Without another word, the woman walked away to the door and opened it.

Just before she closed it, Cinnia could faintly hear her say something to whoever was on the other side.

"She's awake."

Then she shut the door and Cinnia was left with more questions than answers.

A while later, the door was opened and two elderly women both dressed in flowing hand-embroidered gowns, one with wrinkled paper-white skin, having her long, fire red hair peppered with grey tied up neatly in a bun, and the other ebony-skinned with her dark brown hair cascading down her shoulders in twists strutted into the room and came to stand in front of Cinnia.

"Oh good. More people," She drawled, rolling her eyes in annoyance.

"Would either of you be so kind as to tell me why I'm here if you don't want to kill me?"

The two women glanced at each other and with a small nod, the ebony-skinned elder moved forward.

"Cinnia, daughter of Manara and Nathan Ramilek. You look just like your mother did when she was your age."

"Of course, you knew my mother. Let me guess, I'm not in Lunar Crest anymore?" She asked, cocking her head to the side.

"No, you're not. This is Darah Haven. You're in the central coven compound, Cinnia. You may call me Esther and I am the leader of all witches here," She said, introducing herself with a benevolent smile stretched across her face.

"Well, Esther, enough with the small talk. What do you want from me?"

"Untie her, Nanette," Esther instructed the pale-skinned woman she came with.

When she was freed, Cinnia rubbed her sore wrists and ankles then stretched out her body.

Relaxing into the chair, she crossed her legs and waited for an answer.

"You are an anomaly that should not have been born. A disruption to the balance of nature. You know this. You know that is why you have been hunted for the better part of your life.

"We would have killed you by now if you didn't have the leverage we need against the wolves."

"Leverage? What leverage? In case you've forgotten, I have been running away from you guys for five whole years and have lived in fear for most of my life. I have nothing. I have no leverage against anybody!" Cinnia's voice rose as her eyes flashed with anger.

"You left me with nothing! I even had to live under a fake name! And now you're telling me this? What the fuck do you people want?!" She yelled, rising from her seat.

She squared up to Esther, towering over her short, round frame as fury coursed through her veins.

"You are pregnant, Cinnia."

Those simple words hit her like a sledgehammer, knocking the wind from her chest.

Pregnant?

"W-what?" Cinnia's voice wavered as she stumbled back a step.

It suddenly made sense.

Three weeks after her enthralling experience with the man from the bar—the one she felt the mate bond with and subsequently left without a word, she began to feel sick but shrugged it off to be a result of stress.

She was too busy preparing to face the truth to even think that she could be pregnant.

"You're lying. What proof do you have? I'm not pregnant."

"I can't be."

Nanette smiled softly, almost motherly as she reached forward to stroke Cinnia's face gently.

"Oh, child. If you were so sure about that, there wouldn't be a flicker of doubt in your eyes right now," Nanette said, drawing her hand back to her side.

"No, no, no. You're trying to use me for something. Tell me what it is instead of using this petty lie! There's no way that I'm pregnant!"

"You can deny the truth all you want, Cinnia but the truth remains the truth."

"I am not denying anything," Cinnia argued, crossing her arms stubbornly.

Deep down, she was afraid. She didn't know the first thing about being a mother or bringing a child into a world that would not accept it. Just as she wasn't accepted.

"Sophie!" Nanette called.

A moment later, the door opened and the blonde woman from earlier strode in.

"Give her the pregnancy test," Nanette ordered.

Sophie handed Cinnia the box containing the tests and reluctantly, she took it.

"We'll give you some privacy and you'll find out if we're lying or not. You can use the toilet, it's behind you on your right," Esther said.

They all left.

Her lips wobbled as tears stung her eyes. She didn't want to believe it.

"This cannot be happening to me," She muttered.

As she stepped into the tiny toilet, the first place her eyes flickered to was the window right above the W.C. but that was also boarded and even if it wasn't, it was too small for her to slither through.

She couldn't escape the reality that was being forced down her throat.

"Please be negative. Please be negative,"

She prayed, biting her lips so hard that she almost drew blood. 

Her prayers were not answered.

The two sticks both indicated that she was pregnant.

The sound of the main door opening and closing stopped Cinnia from entering a mini-breakdown.

Squaring her shoulders, she walked out of the bathroom to be met by the knowing gazes of Nanette and Esther.

"So what? This baby is the leverage you need against the wolves? I don't even know who the father is, so your plan, whatever it may be, already seems pretty stupid to me."

Esther chuckled dryly. "You know nothing, child and yet you talk as if you know everything."

"Well, it got me this far, didn't it?" Cinnia sassed back.

"Enough," Nanette instructed, rolling her eyes in exasperation.

"The same way we know that you were pregnant is the same way we know who the father is and we have already made arrangements to request his presence so that we can make negotiations," She explained.

"They know who he is? Do they also know about the bond we shared?"

She wondered just how much they knew and how much they were willing to share.

"He's going to come here? Today?"

Her heart fluttered at the thought of seeing him again.

His green eyes remained engraved in her mind since the moment she turned her back on him.

Having to put herself first crushed her more than she expected. Sometimes, she could feel his gentle caress on her skin, and in her dreams, she could still hear him calling her princess.

"Yes," Esther answered.

"Not sure how well your negotiations would go but good luck with that. I mean, I'd appreciate it if you told me what the terms and conditions are but judging from the look both of you are giving me right now, I don't think you're going to tell me.

"Instead, I am much more interested in knowing exactly who this Alpha King is and who my baby daddy is," Cinnia said, staring at them expectantly after she sat down once more.

Her father never spoke about his life as the Alpha of the Nightfall pack and his tenure as the Alpha King but only told her what he felt she needed to know about the wolves.

Nanette and Esther exchanged a brief look before Esther sighed in acceptance.

"The Alpha King is Jerome Montgomery and his eldest son, the father of your child, is the Lycan prince, Denzel Montgomery."