Chapter 78 

It makes no sense to me. Why would Caleb kill me for this? 

“You still don’t get it,” Bethany says. 

I shake my head, hopelessly lost. 

“King Caleb does not have children, nor does he want them with anyone other than his mate,” Bethany explains. “He uses his harem for sexual gratification but he has no intention of impregnating any of them. He’s meticulous and careful. For him to have slipped… 

My confusion does not clear. If he’s waiting to have children with his mate, then how could he possibly think that I am hiding his secret baby? Unless he slipped up that first night too and came inside of me. I don’t totally remember that night, but the morning I do remember. 

Yes, that could have been the case. 

Is that why he thinks I was pregnant? He does understand that it doesn’t always work. My body might not have been in a fertile state at that particular moment. 

But what about tonight? 

Could I be pregnant right now? 

What would he do if I was? Would he kill me now, or would he wait until the baby was born! 

“Has this ever happened before?” I ask Bethany. 

“No 

Yet here I am. It’s happened to me twice now. If the bastard would just use a condom. 

“Usually he uses condoms, Bethany says, and my thoughts go skidding to a stop. 

I try to remember a time when he used a condom with me… I’m not having much luck. 

Come to think of it, maybe I should have been concerned with STD’s and pregnancy from the start. 

“Have any of the girls ever gotten sick?” I ask. 

“No,” Bethany says. “Most were virgins before they came here. Hot even them, the King, and you too, Harper, are regularly 

checked.” 

Ah, so that’s what the occasional blood test is for. 

Well, at least there are no fears of STD’s, then. That doesn’t make me feel better about a possible pregnancy though. 

Pressing my hands over my lower waist, I think about what it might feel like to have life growing inside of me. On one hand, I’m terribly excited at the prospect. I don’t know that I’m ready to be amom, but how great it would be to bring life into the 

world. 

On the other hand, knowing the father would be the King, and the child would be illegitimate fills me with worry and fear. Would the child be an outcast in their own home! Would the King ignore or mistreat them? Would the King simply kill us both since we’d be unwanted? 

No. I believe the King would spare the child, even if death was my own punishment. With how desperately he’s trying to track down the non–existent child he believes we made together before, he would likely fiercely protect any child of his own. 

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Chapter 78 

blood. 

1 I have no illusions about my own fate, though. I’m certain I would be killed, especially after what Bethany said. 

Caleb is waiting for his mate. That’s definitely not me. 

970%二 

“You should try to get some sleep, Britney suggests, and while that sounds nice, I know I would not fall asleep if I laid down. Im unlikely to find any sleep tonight at all. 

“I’m going to shower first,” I tell her. “And try to relax. You should head back to your room though, and get some sleep” 

Bethany gives me an uncertain look. “Are you sure? I can stay if you need me.” 

I would love to have a friend near me right now, but no, that would be far too selfish. Bethany works hard and needs a full night’s sleep. Also, I don’t really want her to witness Caleb’s rage if he wakes up in a rage and decides to kill me before the 

sun even comes up. 

He could strangle me 

I shudder as a touch of fear runs down my spine. My throat still hurts. 

I’ll be fine. I tell Bethany, pulling on a strong face. “I will see you in the morning.” Definite positives, I hope, will help us both. I will see you, not I might see you. 

“Okay,” Bethany says, though she still hesitates on her way to the door. She turns back twice, and then a third time at the door before finally slipping outside. 

I watch the door for a time, half–expecting Bethany to come back or for Caleb to come finish the job. When, after a few minutes, when neither of them appear, I turn to the bathroom to take my shower. 

Later, resting in bed, I find no sleep that night. 

It’s almost a relief when the sun rises and I don’t have to pretend anymore. 

Midmorning, a knock sounds on my door. Bethany and I both freeze, thinking it might be King Caleb wanting to kill me. 

But Caleb wouldn’t knock. And anyone he sends to kill me in his place wouldn’t knock either. 

This has to be someone else. 

“Come in,” I call. 

The door opens and a doctor and two nurses enter. I recognize them from the hospital ward. 

“Harper,” the doctor says. He’s carrying a doctor’s bag. The nurses wheel equipment in on carts. “We need to examine you.” None of us have any choice in the matter, as all of us will likely be punished if I refuse. This doctor and these nurses helped save my life in the hospital ward. I’m not about to turn around and betray them in turn 

“Very well,” I say, complying. 

Over the next hour, I am poked and prodded, inspected all over from my head to my toes, though especially between my thighs. They take any blood and check my vitals. 

As it all is happening, the doctor asks me questions about my menstrual cycle. 

After it all, he sits me down at the table while he continues to stand. Behind him, the nurses work to clean up, gathering and sanitizing their things 

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“Given what you’ve told me about your cycle, the doctor says, “seems unlikely that you are pregnant. However, we will not know for sure until you start your period.” 

I nod. That assuages some of my fears. Not all of them though. 

“King Caleb has instructed me to return here every morning und we are certain one way or the other. Our future visits will not regularly be this invasive, however.” 

That, at least, is a relief. “Thank you. Doctor.” I consider things for a inoment. “I don’t suppose… when this all reveals that I’m not pregnant, of course. If it would be possible to receive some birth control.” 

The doctor’s face shows no hints of judgement. He shows no opinions at all, either for or against. “I will see what we are allowed to do for you.” 

That means I need the King’s permission to start birth control. 

Great. Well, if he would use condoms like he does with all the other girls then I wouldn’t need to do this at all. Yet here we 

Not that I’ll say that to the King. I like having my head attached to the rest of my body 

His behavior last night still leaves me shaky and nervous. I can usually stand up for myself, but he was so ruthless, so bloodthirsty, it was almost as if he was another person. Someone well beyond reason. 

I can stand my ground with the man Caleb usually is. But this was a monster. 

Which Caleb is the real one? The man or the monster? 

As the doctor and nurses leave, I wrap my arms around myself, wondering if today is the day I’ll find out. 

鱼