Interspecies mating was rare, and pregnancies were even more so—almost always fatal to the mother. Yet Claire was still alive, and her belly was already quite large. That ruled out most unnatural scenarios.
In the end, the only conclusion Zion could draw was that she must've found her fated mate under unknown circumstances. And as for his current whereabouts… Zion didn't need to ask. The silence around her said it all. Her mate was probably already dead.
But since Claire bore no mating mark and hadn't gone through the formal marking process, the pup in her belly could only be considered a bastard by tradition—a stain on the royal bloodline. Still, no one would dare say it aloud.
The child carried royal blood, and that alone was enough to silence any critic. More importantly, the fact that Claire had been taken by vampires hinted at something deeper. This wasn't just a random abduction—there was a plan behind it, and she was meant to play a critical role.
