Aurelia POV
I cried through most of the night.
Rowan left me alone after our conversation, granting me the privacy my grief demanded, retreating to sit near the hearth with respectful distance while I processed everything crashing through my mind. I curled beneath the rough blanket on the narrow cot, my hand pressed against my still-flat stomach, tears soaking into the worn fabric on my cheek.
Every possible fear surfaced during those long, dark hours.
I thought of raising a child alone, without family, without proper resources, without the safety net every mother deserved when bringing new life into the world. I thought of Ragnar's face during the mating ceremony, the cold rejection in his eyes, and wondered what expression might cross those same features if he ever learned a child ex
