Heir to Desire

Chapter 4

Stella

My leg bounced vigorously as I waited to be called. Yesterday, they gave me my final injection, the one that would throw me into heat. The doctor warned me that it would be intense, but even that felt like an understatement. I was tossing and turning all night long, my skin burning up. This morning my head began to ache, my pulse like a steady drum.

All minor discomforts, I told myself. It would all be worth it for the tiny pup I would be carrying soon enough.

"Queen Stella?" the receptionist called.

Thank goddess...

"Here." I quickly went to the desk to check in.

She had me fill out a dozen forms, each a bit scarier sounding than the rest. Still, I filled them in without even blinking. Ten minutes later, a nurse came to collect me. She brought me back to a room with impossibly bright lights that made my head throb even more. She asked me a dozen questions, checked my vitals, and drew my blood. Everything was just as it should be.

"Any cramping? Dizziness? Nausea?" She asked.

"All of the above." I nodded.

"Perfect," she pulled out a paper with the donor's photo on it. "You've decided on this donor then?"

"I did." My stomach flipped just looking at him.

The memories flashed by despite my efforts against it. Suddenly, I felt sick for an entirely new reason.

The nurse only smiled, oblivious to my turmoil.

"Wonderful. Undress, and we'll be back in a few minutes to move forward with the procedure," she said, handing me a gown.

I waited until the door had clicked shut to hop off the table and undress. They say pregnancy is where pride and dignity die, and sitting with my back end exposed, I'd have to agree.

Another painful heat wave surged through me. I doubled over, fighting the dizziness that accompanied it. Going into heat was no joke, being forced into it might have been even more intense.

I counted my breaths, focusing on the wall clock tick tick tick away. Ten minutes passed. Half an hour. An hour. My skin felt like it was on fire — I couldn't sit there any longer.

I ripped through the cabinets and threw on a second gown to cover my backside. Practically ripped off the door as I made my way back to the front desk. The receptionist stared at me wide-eyed.

"My Queen - "

"What is taking so long?" I heaved for air, another wave of heat rushing up my neck.

"I'm so sorry, one of the nitrogen storage units wasn't responding. We had to force an update and now everything is frozen," she cringed.

"How much longer?" I ground my teeth together, my hands forming fists.

"Minutes, hours, maybe more." She gave me a sympathetic look. "I don't know for sure. We have our IT department on it now."

"Goddess damn it." I cursed.

"I'll get you some water," she said, abandoning her desk.

It took everything in me to stay upright. Joy would be laughing her ass off right now. But, she would have helped me too. I began to regret my decision to come along.

Until I heard his voice.

Asher.

"Stella?"

My spine straightened. I turned to see him standing there.

Years of memories flew through my head. Laughter, warmth, hope. Happiness. Asher. My high school sweetheart. The one that got away. My last official boyfriend.

He looked the same as the day I left him, better, actually. He wasn't a young man anymore, he was a man man. He was taller than I remembered, had more muscles too. But he had the same sharp blue eyes, the same wavy hazel hair. I had spent hours running my fingers through that hair.

I thought I might marry that owner of that hair. But things changed. I changed.

"I thought it was you, so good to see you." He flashed me the same smile that used to make me melt.

"What are you doing here?" A wave of dizziness took over me. I found myself gripping the reception desk for stability.

"Here to donate, earn some extra cash." He shrugged. "You?"

"I'm uh..." Another wave hit me, nearly sending me to the floor.

"Stel, you okay?!" He asked, catching me before I could fall.

My heart nearly stopped hearing him call me that again.

"I've got the water," the receptionist said, offering me a cup. My hand shook as I took it. "You don't look too good... I'll grab the doctor."

"I just... I need..." I could feel my eyes darkening, the animal inside coming to life. Within seconds, Asher's eyes mirrored my own.

"Shit..." He swallowed hard.

"Bring her back here," the doctor called.

Asher hesitantly scooped me up, his movements stiff. He brought me back to the procedure room, setting me gingerly on the bed, before taking four big steps back, his back hitting the wall.

Mated males didn't have this problem. But unmated males? It was near impossible being around a shewolf in heat. Like walking on hot coals, or swallowing ash. It was impressive enough that he was able to put some distance between us.

"Get some ice on her."

"What will we do if the system doesn't come back up?" the nurse whispered, placing a cool compress on my neck.

It felt like ants were crawling all over me.

"We can give her something to lessen the severity of her heat, and try again next month. But there's not much else we can do."

"I do not have the time or patience to do this again," I snapped. "Figure out a way to fix this."

The doctor and nurse exchanged wary looks. The doctor's mouth opened and shut, opened and shut. He had no clue what to say, what to do. This wasn't going to end. Not unless...

My eyes landed on Asher. He was good-looking. He was smart. Sure, we had history, but had the war not happened, had things played out differently... I would almost guarantee that we would have been something more.

"You said you were here to donate?" I glared at Asher.

"I - well, yes."

"Are you opposed to donating naturally?" I grit my teeth through the next heat wave.

His eyes went wide, darting between the doctor, nurse, and me.

The doctor stepped forward. "My Queen, I don't think this is entirely ethical - "

"Answer the question." I demanded, my eyes never leaving Asher's.

"Right here, right now?" He chuckled nervously.

"We've done it in worse places." I murmured, our years together blurring through my head.

"We'll give you a few minutes," the doctor said, quickly ushering the nurse out.

"This isn't ethical!" the nurse hissed under her breath.

"We can't say no to her — she is our queen!" the doctor griped.

Asher didn't move from his spot against the wall. His throat bobbed as he studied me.

"I don't think this is a good idea."

"Probably not." I agreed. "But I can't go on like this, and I can't miss this chance." My voice wobbled. Desperation and something far worse threatened to send me spiraling.

He took two cautious steps forward. "Your father will kill me if he finds out."

"He won't find out." My breaths came out labored.

Asher took two more steps, standing between my legs. He looked unconvinced, like he might say no.

"Asher, please." I pleaded.

He let out a low growl — and then his lips were on mine. They were rough and claiming and familiar.

His belt buckle jingled, fabric pulled. I didn't need to look to know he was ready for me, his eyes said it all. I laid back. Asher quickly pulled my hips to the edge of the table, moving the stirrups out of the way. He lined up with my center and in one smooth go, he was in. We both let out relieved moans.

His hands gripped my hips as he began moving inside me, fast and hard. My breaths came out sharply as the agony from my heat began to dull. My temperature began to drop. My head stopped throbbing. All that was left was pleasure, raw and unhinged.

I felt something in me begin to coil like a living thing. Asher did always know how to make me unravel. I hooked my legs around him, silently begging for more. He leaned over me, slamming into me again and again. His movements became jerky — he was close — so was I.

A few more thrusts and I was a goner. I cried out, my release sending him into his own climax. He roared as he spilled himself into me, until every last bit of him had settled inside me.

In the quiet moments after, we caught our breath, staring at each other wide-eyed.

"That just happened." He murmured.

He carefully pulled out. I closed my legs, the weight of it all settling.

"It did," I said, reaching for my clothes. "I'll make sure they still pay you."

He huffed a breath, staring at me in disbelief.

"What?" I frowned.

"What? What do you mean what?" He chuckled humorlessly as I began to dress. "Stel, we just..." he trailed off, running his hands through his hair.

"You served your kingdom today. Don't overthink it." I patted his shoulder as I moved to the door.

"Will you at least tell me? If you end up..."

I opened my mouth and shut it again. "I don't know if that's such a good idea."

He laughed manically. "Since when did you become so cold-hearted?"

My eyes narrowed. "It was good seeing you, Asher."

"Stel - Stella!" he called.

I left without looking back.

An hour later, I was back in the castle. Anna made me a hot meal, delivering it directly to my couch with a pint of ice cream. I went to ask her for a bottle of wine, but thought better of it.

I could be pregnant.

And Asher, my ex-long term boyfriend, could be the father. What else could go wrong?

"Hey, you're here." Joy smiled, letting herself in. "How did today go?"

"Fine." I forced a smile.

She clapped her hands, a giddy look on her face. She dropped her purse on the table, pulling out a small box.

"I got you something," she beamed, handing it to me. "I know it's early, but I figured why not. It felt like a good omen."

I flipped off the top, revealing a yellow onesie and a floppy stuffed wolf. A knot formed in my throat, and suddenly the drama of today didn't feel so heavy.

"Thank you, Joy. It's perfect."

"Did they say when you might find out?"

"They said I could test in a week to ten days."

"Ugh, the wait is going to kill me!"

I snorted a laugh, returning to my dinner when my vision blurred.

We were in the castle, standing in the ballroom. People were everywhere, kings and queens dressed to the nines. Caspian was there —but so was Asher. They were fighting.

"I'm the father!"

"You don't know that!"

"Enough!" I yelled, stomach swollen. "I want you both out of my ballroom—now!"

I sucked in a sharp breath, dropping my plate to the floor.

"s**t!" Joy yelped.

"Your Majesty? Are you alright?" Anna asked, already rushing over to clean it up.

"A vision?" Joy asked.

A vision of Caspian and Asher fighting over the paternity of my unborn child. It could be nothing... a misunderstanding, perhaps. But if it wasn't...

"I—I just need a minute."

Minutes later, I was on hold with the answering service, waiting for an on-call doctor to pick up.

"Dr. Watson's office, how may I help you?"

"Hi... I just... I had a stupid question." I cleared my throat. "If I had s*x the day before my insemination, I can't get pregnant by that person, can I?"

"Well, you could, actually. Sperm can last for up to a week."

I pressed the phone into my chest, covering my mouth.

"If you are concerned about paternity, we can do a genetic test on the pup after it's born," the doctor said. Tears welled in my eyes. "Hello?"

I clicked the phone off, tossing it to the ground.

"Stella? You okay?" Joy called from the other room.

For once, I didn't have an answer.

Joy didn't push. She never did when she knew something was wrong. She and Anna busied themselves in the kitchen instead, the quiet clatter of dishes grounding me as I stared at the floor where my phone still lay.

I pressed a hand to my stomach, unsure if I was comforting myself or bracing for impact.

A pup. Maybe.

And maybe not Asher's. Maybe Caspian's.

The future had always come to me in pieces—fractured, imperfect, but manageable. This time, all I could see was fog.

For the first time in a very long while, I had no idea what was coming next.