-HER-

"I am scared," Is the next thing that I utter before I bury my face in his chest and break down into tears. His arms are instantly around me, holding me close to him and giving me a sense of safety. As I cry, I feel something travel up my food pipe. In the next moment, I am pushing him back and rushing to the bathroom.

He is hot on my tail and holds my hair back as I throw up. I continue to sob silently in his arms after I am done emptying my stomach. I feel so overwhelmed by my own emotions but soon, serenity engulfs me as he reaches to me through the bond and tries to calm me down.

"Oh, Neff," He runs his hand over my back while I bury my nose in the crook of his neck and breathe in his intoxicating scent. Vesta is missing. She is not responding to my pleas of help and I wonder why. This makes me sob harder.

I hear the bedroom door open and close outside the bathroom, signaling the arrival of a Healer. Arles lifts me up in his arms before he takes me to the bedroom and lays me on the bed. I refuse to desert his arms, so he sits on the bed with me in his arms as the Healer checks me.

"You'll be alright, Nefret." Arles assures me as he places a gentle kiss on my forehead. It's enough for me to stop sobbing but not enough to stop the internal turmoil raging inside me. Suddenly, the skin around my arm tingles with pain and soon, I realize that the Healer is taking my blood samples.

I let out a small whimper as I dig deeper into his chest to the point when I could hear his heartbeat clearly. I concentrate on its rhythm and soon, I daze off. It is after some moments when I am being shaken awake by him.

The Healer has left with my blood and Arles has said that in less than an hour they'll test it and bring it back. After that we lay together in the small bed, engulfed in each other's warmth and scent and on top of that- silence.

"This bed is so small," I comment when I had to fold my limbs so that he could properly fit.

"Well, it wasn't meant for us," He says and looks down at me. Blood rushes to my cheeks as soon as I understand the hidden message in that phase. I try to act oblivious to it and busy myself doing and undoing the button near his shirt's collar, diverting my gaze from his.

After a few moments of silence, a light knock on the door is heard. Arles gently presses an assuring kiss on my forehead before he gets up and attends the door. I could only hear whispers before he steps out of the door and closing it behind me, leaving me alone in the room.

~

-HIM-

"What's the matter?" I ask as soon as I shut the bedroom door behind me. The stern look on the Healer's face has the concern for my mate rising like a high tide. My mind races with all the possibilities of things being wrong with her but Rey doesn't agree with me. It's as if he knows something but is reluctant to tell me.

"Your highness," The healer bows in front of me before he continues, "I put the queen's blood through various tests and everything came out normal," I could have signed in relief after hearing his words but the slight edge to the tone with which he spoke has me waiting for him to tell me more. The air is slowly thickening with tension around us as I stare him down to tell me more.

He lowers his eyes from me, unconsciously feeling dominated by my powerful and regal presence. "And?" I persist as I step closer to him. I know that there's more to what he had said and it's eating up my insides to know what's it. Is something wrong with my Nefret?

It can't be!

"And?" I growl when he doesn't answer me. His silence is feeding the panic and anger inside me and these two are the most dangerous combination if they influence my actions.

"Sh... she is expecting a pup," He speaks before clearing his throat. In the next moment, I am holding his face to look me in the eyes, "Say it again," Rey growls this time. I don't realize when he has taken over.

His eyes are lowered even though I have his face holding up to see him properly. He gulps audibly before repeating himself again but this time, his voice is weaker than before, showing me his submission, "The queen is expecting a pup,"

Several knots loosen in my chest, letting my mind run free before I release him. "You're dismissed," I utter before he bows very lowly and leaves me standing in the hallway for me to collect my thoughts.

I am surprised when a lump starts to build in my throat and my nose stings. Tears swell up in my eyes for the first time in million years. A new spectrum of emotions takes over my old ones. I have never felt so alive in all these years. She made my cold heart beat after so many years for the first time. She gave me life.

~

-HER-

I am sitting on the bed, waiting for him to come back. The silence of the room is feeding to my anxiety. Panic is slowly building inside me and the nausea is slowly coming back. My werewolf hearing powers are not able to hear what's going outside the room and it's feeding to the tension slowly rising inside me.

I snap out of my trance when the door opens, and he walks in. The look on his face is one that I have never seen before, not only on his face but not on any other living person's before. The bond is draining his feelings into me. They all comprise of compassion and admiration but there's something else too that I can't name.

He stands in front of me and in the next moment, he is on his knees while his eyes are glossy with unshed tears. I am at a loss of words to see him like that. He is physically submitting to me regardless of being a great king and a god.

"Nefret," My heart tugs when his voice wavers. It's when a tear leaves his eye and trails down his cheek, my mouth hangs open. My chest tightens at this. I have never seen someone so powerful to let their vulnerable side show up.

"What are you doing?" I cry out as I try to step down from the bed, but he is holding my legs so that I am sitting on the bed.

"What happened, Arles?" I ask, feeling the panic rise in me. More tears trail down his cheeks but amidst of them, he smiles at me. His smile reaches his eyes and for the first time, he looks happy. He looks alive.

He lets out a sob which sounds more like a laugh before he bows his head in front of me. I am overwhelmed seeing him like that. I never thought I'd bring such a strong man to his knees and see him crying.

"Your highness..." He trails off, his deep and powerful voice sounds weak and vulnerable. It's a part of him that I never knew could exist inside him but now it's out and before my eyes. His hands tighten on my thighs as he continues, "I am so blessed to have you as my Queen," His shoulders are shaking, and his head is bowed down low in front of me.

Seeing him like that, I am left to wonder to myself what did I do to bring this man on his knees with is head bowed before me. He is a king and kneeling before someone is the last thing he does. Seeing him like this has me realizing how powerful I am but at the same time it's making me feel weak.

I lean down and take his face in my hands before making him look at me. Tears are still trailing down his eyes. "Raise," I command, and he stands up before I pat the place beside me for him to sit.

"Are you alright?" I ask as I take his face and wipe his tears away. He is watching me fervently. I have never been able to read his eyes so clearly as I could now. Suddenly, I am feeling all the emotions a person could ever feel at once.

He leans in to kiss me before wrapping his arms around me and pulling me into him. I kiss him back slowly. When we pull back, I finally get to ask him, "What did the Healer say?"

He sniffs before taking my hands and looking me in the eye, "Neftret..." He trails off, searching my eyes.

"Yes?" I utter.

"You're soon going to make me a father," I am stunned at his words before I melt down in his arms. He runs his hands through my hair before pressing a gentle kiss to my head. "You bought life too Zaeris"

"But I am not ready to be a mother yet!" I blow my nose in his shirt and surprisingly he doesn't mind.

"It's okay, we'll figure it out together." He holds me closer while I wrap my arms around his neck, and we sob together.

I love you,"

"I love you too." With that we lay in the darkness, dreaming about a bright future together where we'll have an abundance of happiness, where we won't have to worry about falling apart because if we do, our love will always bring us together. Where the past won't matter, and the future won't scare us because our present would be secure. Where, no matter if times are good or bad, we will always have each other.