Fallen Love

Chapter 9

Alioth

I stood outside the bathroom door, waiting for my heart to open it but she refuses. She is sobbing on the other side and it's taking all my will power to refrain from kicking this annoying piece of wood to the ground. I don't want to hurt her, I don't know how close she is to the door.

"My love, please open up." I begged, losing whatever composure I usually have. I don't know what happened. I was gone, helping Titania during one of our sessions as I have been for the past couple years.

When I came home ready to greet my mate after hours of separation, she was in the bathroom crying but she won't tell me what's wrong. I've been standing outside this damn door for an hour now, losing my mind. I was pacing, banging on the door, pacing some more, I have to knock the door down, I can't take this.

"River, please sweetness, please open the door. What's wrong?" I asked her.

"Alioth just leave me alone." She sobbed.

After all these years with my beautiful mate, never once did she act this way, I don't understand. I ran a hand through my coarse hair, gripping it tightly. Did I do something wrong? Have I hurt her in some way?

Our relationship with one another was strong, she always confided in me and I her. For her to keep something from me is alarming because of many reasons. Over the past few weeks, she has been a little off, her eating habits have changed, she doesn't want to make love as often, in the mornings she looked ill but never once said anything about it.

Maybe she is sick of me and no longer wishes to stay here, I can't think of anything else. It would explain why she has been avoiding me lately. My heart ached at the thought.

"I won't leave you alone River, not like this. If you tell me what's bothering you, we can talk about it." I tell her gently, struggling to not raise my voice. I closed my eyes, leaning against the door.

I heard her take a shaky breath, "I can't." She whispered.

I closed my eyes tight, my palms sweating, "Do you no longer wish to be with me?" It hurt to ask but I have to know.

That's when I saw the doorknob jiggle and I backed away to give her the space she clearly wants. She opened the door watching me with confused eyes.

"Alioth," She breathed coming to me slowly. She rested her head against me, sighing. "I will never leave you, I love you."

I scooped her up to prevent her from shutting me out again and sat her on the bed, crouching between her legs to be eye level with her. I rubbed a soothing hand up and down her thighs, wishing she'd ease my worries already so I can relax.

"Then tell me what's wrong," I urged.

She wiped her face, looking away from me but I pulled her face back to face me, I need to see her eyes so I know what she's feeling. I can't stand to see her like this.

"I'm. . . pregnant." She tells me quietly, looking down at my hands that rested on her legs.

That statement silenced me, and I waited for her to tell me she was joking but she didn't. My jaw dropped and I stood up slowly watching her with a narrowed gaze. She's going to have a raji, a baby, my baby.

That's when I noticed her true appearance for the first time. She was glowing, her hair looked shinier, for weeks she has been wearing baggy things which were not her style at all and I didn't notice once. She hid her stomach from my view all this time, but why?

She wanted children and as promised we waited for years to have one, it's not completely unexpected. Why does this pregnancy make her cry, why wouldn't she tell me this? I've been leaving her to perform my duties to Titania and the pack but I wouldn't have left so much if I had known. I never would have left her so vulnerable knowing she was carrying my child. It angers me that she knew all this time and still allowed me to leave her. Anything could have happened in my absence, maybe not an attack, but River can be a clutz sometimes.

"Why didn't you tell me this?" I couldn't stop my voice from getting louder, River only slumped her shoulders, covering her face with her hands while crying into them.

"I'm sorry." She whimpered.

I sighed, removing her hands from her face, "No, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have raised my voice at you. I just don't understand why you didn't tell me and why you're so sad about it."

I waited for her to explain and slowly, she calmed down enough to speak, folding her hands in her lap.

"I just. . ." She sighed, "Growing up in foster homes, I never truly had a family. Once we were freed, the other aeteri all remembered their past lives, they remembered the families they lost and some of the lucky ones even got to reunite with them. I didn't have parents to remember or any family members. I only remembered the foster homes and how often I was moved. I don't remember my mother, I don't know the first thing about how to raise a child the right way."

She started crying again and I finally understood. Now that she's actually pregnant, she doesn't think she'll be any good at being a mother. How could she think that? She is incredibly sweet and loving.

"Hey," I gripped her chin, forcing her to look at me while smiling at her. "You will be a great mother, my love. You have always been good with Titania's twins, Halo looks up to you, or down rather I guess since he is now taller than you." I joked hoping her mood would lighten which it did.

"What if I'm not?" She asks me, her eyebrows drawing together.

"You will be. We will do this together, I will be by your side the entire time. All these years I've spent alone and I never thought I would have this. You are my second chance and I am determined to make you the happiest you'll ever be in life. This child will complete us and I'm so excited to meet them." I tell her honestly.

She finally sighed, relaxing at my words. It's my job to lift her up and make sure she knows she is stronger than she thinks. I will always encourage her and tell her how amazing she is, every day.

"You really think I can do this?" She asked nervously.

I grinned, "You can do anything."

"Okay," She laughed a little, sniffling.

My hands found the hem of the larger sweater she wore and I ask her permission with my eyes to take it off of her. She has known of this pregnancy for weeks which means she has grown larger. She's an aeteri and I'm Venstrai, surely this pregnancy will be fairly quick.

She nodded, giving me her approval. I didn't hesitate to lift the material over her head making sure to be gentle. Her breasts were exposed to me along with her stomach which was swelled to a decent size. She's bigger than I thought, my eyes widened and I leaned in to kiss her belly. Goosebumps coated my love's skin as I continued to torture her body with my lips, not leaving any spot untouched.

"How far along are you?" I asked her. Her face was full of guilt but she answered anyway.

"Three months."

I hummed, continuing my kisses. I refused to be upset with her, she was scared and confused, I won't hold it against her. All I can do now is be here for her and make sure she remains safe while carrying our child.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you." She apologized.

I shook my head at her, "It's alright. I'm just glad you and the baby are okay. I won't leave you alone anymore while you're carrying our child."

She rolled her eyes playfully, "Oh god."

This girl is my entire world and she has given me everything I've ever wanted. Her love is endless, her smile contagious, her laughs are music and she is what I've been missing for centuries.

She is better now and together we talked about how happy we are to bring life into the world. I made sure to keep her smiling and she promised that she would never keep something like this from me again. As long as she's safe, I don't care what happens.

I placed my hand on her stomach, watching her lean into me to rest her tired body on mine. I kissed her head, the constant need to touch her a lot stronger now.

"You are my entire world, River. I will love you forever." I whisper in her ear.

I watch her smile, "I love you too. Always."

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