Lethia’s heart pounded as Renar stepped closer. She wanted to just run straight to her room, but that would’ve made things even more awkward, wouldn’t it?
"Oh, I thought you wouldn’t be ho because of work." Lethia flicked her hair to the side with a casual sweep of her hand, walking confidently toward the dining table.
"You hoped I wouldn’t be ho, so you could walk around half-naked like that?" She could feel his presence trailing behind her as she sat down.
But he didn’t move to face her. Instead, he lood behind her, his closeness tingling the hairs on her nape.
"This is what I usually wear around this hour. I’m just having a late dinner tonight."
"So... that bastard didn’t even feed you after he ate you?" His hand brushed her hair aside, fingertips grazing her neck where her hickey was.
Lethia let out a bitter laugh in her head.
Of course, for beasts like them, she was nothing but a delicious piece of at ready to be devoured. Why the hell should she bother about their feelings when all they ever wanted was to feast on her like prey?
"Soone interrupted at the right ti, so I didn’t even think about food," she said coldly, unbothered, and continued eating her chicken soup.
She winced slightly as the heat of the soup burned the tip of her tongue. She couldn’t wait to scarf it all down—the savoury scent was driving her stomach mad with hunger, her gut groaning and throwing a protest for being ignored too long.
But another kind of resident inside her—fluttering butterflies—suddenly burst into chaos as both of Renar’s hands slid from behind and crept down to her lower belly.
The sharp clang of a spoon clashing against the bowl rang out when her hand slipped from the shock.
"Glad your baby still protects you well," Renar let out a soft chuckle a few seconds after his hand lingered on Lethia’s lower belly.
"What do you an?" Lethia snapped at the ntion of her baby. "You... Could it be—?"
Renar let go of her stomach but remained standing behind her. "Be what?"
Lethia rose from her chair and turned to face him, eyes narrowing in confusion.
"Could it be that you can telepath with my baby too?" Her eyes glead, wild and impatient for answers.
Renar’s lips curled into a faint smirk. "That’s why I held myself back in the bathtub."
"Why didn’t you tell , then?"
"Because of our heat," he said lowly, "I wasn’t sure if your baby actually growled at or if it was just in my head. But the reason I pulled back was my choice. I’d never take a pregnant woman."
Lethia blinked, stunned, still unsure if she should believe him.
"Then why can you and Caelum telepath with my baby... while I can’t?"
Renar walked over to the sideboard near the living room, opened a drawer, and pulled sothing out before coming back to her.
"Perhaps... Fated mate," he said, his voice calm but heavy. "That scent that drove insane? It wasn’t just you. It ca from your pregnancy hormones."
Lethia’s gaze dropped to the object he had taken from the drawer. A bandage.
"Caelum said the pup just wants its father, who can claim ." Lethia t Renar’s brown eyes again, wary of what he’d do next as he unwrapped the bandage.
Renar let out a mocking chuckle. "That’s not wrong." He paused, like he’d just realised how deep the intimacy between Lethia and Caelum had gotten. "Don’t just take whatever that stupid bastard says. He’s a damn puppet to his own lust. He’s gonna hurt you in the end."
He stepped closer and lowered his head to gaze at the curve of her neck, where a hickey was, before pressing the bandage over it.
Lethia clenched her fists as his fingers brushed her neck while he applied the bandage. The sudden closeness made her blink, her eyes flicking to the ceiling.
There was a mix of sha and a bubbly sense of comfort in what Renar was doing, which only deepened the guilt that gnawed at Lethia.
"Are you saying Caelum could be my fated mate, too? Is it possible to have more than one fated mate?" Her voice softened as she spoke, genuine curiosity in her words, as she tried to understand how this fate thing worked here.
Renar furrowed his brow, lowering his gaze, as if deep in thought.
"That’s why we need to wait for your test results. After that, everything will be clearer."
Lethia sighed in frustration, dragging her chair back with a scrape before sitting down.
It would have been easier to digest all this if Renar and Caelum’s actions were influenced by the bead fox. But what she faced now were two completely different things.
She stirred her soup aggressively to vent her irritation. But then, she took a spoonful of the now-warm soup and devoured it hungrily.
No matter how frustrated she was, she still had to finish her al if she didn’t want Tuffy to lecture her on how valuable food was—even if it was just a spoonful.
"Eat slowly, and don’t sleep too late," Renar said with a tone that was strangely comforting.
Lethia heard his footsteps fading, signalling he was heading to his room. Then sothing hit her, "Renar..." she called, standing up and peeking from the dining room as Renar halted his steps and turned around.
"Hmm?"
"I... I’m sorry." She fidgeted with her thumbs, unsure if it was the right thing to say.
Renar stood still, watching her with an inquisitive, almost hurtful look. "For what?" he asked in a gentle tone.
"For... making you worry."
A thin smile crept onto Renar’s lips, giving Lethia reassurance that she did well by apologising.
"The whole ti, I wasn’t really angry at you. So, no need to apologise. And I need to take you to the hospital tomorrow so you can get dicine for your heat. As your baby grows, you’ll find yourself in heat more, which could even make you faint often."
Lethia’s face tightened with worry. "Is it that bad?"
"Yeah, if you don’t get the dicine. Let the OB-GYN tell you tomorrow."
"Ah, I see, and... do you have ti tomorrow after work?"
"Why?"
"I need to buy workout clothes for the physical test. Will you co with ? And..."
"And?"
"I’ll treat you to a nice dinner as a thank you."
Renar’s smile deepened with aning, and he only nodded before disappearing down the corridor toward his room, leaving Lethia standing there, full of uncertainty.
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