Betrayed By My Mate, Claimed By His Lycan King Uncle
Chapter 129: I am pregnant!

Chapter 129: I am pregnant!

Back at Lupien Pack

Four Weeks Later

The Empress Luna, Melissa, sat regally on her throne-like chair, its golden feathers gleaming in the morning light. Today, she was dressed in her finest, an elegant sky-blue blouse adorned with intricate golden stripes, and a flowing skirt to match. Her hair had been meticulously styled and decorated with golden pins, each more elaborate than the last. Her makeup was flawless and bold, highlighting her radiant smile that seemed impossible to miss.

Everything about her appearance today was extra....her clothing, her smile, her excitement as she waited anxiously for the imperial healer, who had been summoned to take her pulse.

"What is taking so long?" Melissa asked sharply, her perfectly arched brows raised in impatience. Her right hand remained extended toward the healer, who hovered over her wrist nervously. "You should hurry. I simply cannot wait any longer."

"What’s going on?" her trusted maid, Nanny Peace, asked with concern lacing her voice."Speak, healer. Her Highness shouldn’t be kept waiting like this."

The healer, an elderly man with shaking hands and a deeply furrowed brow, hesitated, visibly flustered.

"He hasn’t spoken yet because the result must be wonderful, Nanny Peace," Melissa said with a smug smile. Her free hand instinctively came to rest on her stomach, caressing it softly. "But I deserve to know, healer. Speak. You will be handsomely rewarded for your good news."

The healer bowed low to the floor, his voice barely above a whisper. "Your Highness, the Empress Luna..."

"I’m pregnant!" Melissa interrupted gleefully, rising to her feet as joy sparkled in her eyes. "I knew it! The morning sickness was a sign. I knew I was carrying the future heir!"

"Congratulations, Your Highness, on conceiving the royal prince," Nanny Peace said with a deep, respectful bow.

"Nanny," Melissa declared, beaming, "Give the healer two boxes filled with gold. Build a new house for him and have it completed within a fortnight. And of course, raise his salary tenfold. This is a celebration worthy of the future crown prince, the next ruler of the werewolves!"

But before Nanny Peace could even leave the chamber, the healer’s trembling voice halted everything.

"Y...Your Highness..." he stammered, his face pale, his body shaking as he remained prostrate on the floor. "You... are not pregnant."

The room fell into a thick, suffocating silence. The kind of silence that made the healer look up slowly, his heart pounding in his chest.

Melissa stood frozen. Her expression had shifted from joy to disbelief, and then to barely controlled rage. A sword gleamed in her hand.. she had drawn it without a sound and it now pointed directly at the healer’s throat.

"What did you just say?" she asked, her voice dangerously low, her eyes wide and wild. "Did you just say that I’m not pregnant? That has to be a joke. A terrible joke. And you do realize that such a joke could cost you your head."

The healer’s voice cracked with fear as he tried to speak. "Y...Your Highness, I would never joke about such a sacred matter. But the truth is... your pulse does not match that of a pregnant woman. I need to conduct more examinations to determine the exact issue. Perhaps a potion or concoction could help in aiding conception, but...."

"Silence!"

The word rang loudly. Tears began to spill down Melissa’s cheeks, streaking her immaculate makeup. She stumbled backward, her sword raised even higher, fury and despair written all over her face.

But before she could strike, Nanny Peace rushed forward and wrapped her arms tightly around Melissa’s waist, holding her back with all the strength she could muster.

"You can’t, Your Highness. Please, lower the sword," she pleaded, tears welling in her own eyes.

Then, turning her tear-filled gaze to the healer, she spoke with quiet venom, "Leave. Now. And remember...you saw nothing, you heard nothing. Should a single word escape your lips, you and your entire family will be slaughtered."

The healer bowed deeply, still trembling. "Yes, Nanny Peace... Yes, Your Highness..." he whispered before scurrying out of the Empress’s chambers, his heart still hammering in his chest.

The heavy door shut behind him, and Melissa collapsed to the floor with a cry of anguish, her sword clattering beside her. Her hands clutched at her abdomen as if willing a child into existence.

"Why? Why?! Why?!!" she screamed, her voice cracking with heartbreak. "Why am I not pregnant?! I spent the night with the Emperor! I should be pregnant, Nanny! I should be carrying his child!"

Nanny Peace knelt beside her, gathering the sobbing Empress into her arms.

"You will, Your Highness," Nanny Peace said gently, patting Empress Melissa on the back in a bid to soothe her. "You just need to give it a little more time."

"Time?! I don’t have time, Nanny!" Melissa snapped, her voice cracking with desperation as fresh tears rolled down her cheeks. "The Emperor is already behaving irrationally. Even though they’re trying to keep it a secret, it’s obvious...he’s slipping into madness. And who knows if he’ll die soon?"

Her breathing turned heavy as she continued, her voice a frantic whisper. "The other consorts... I already made sure none of them could conceive. Their wombs have been ruined. I did that to ensure I would be the only one. And now..nnnow if I also fail to get pregnant, and the Emperor dies... I will lose everything! I won’t be Empress Regent for a royal heir....I’ll be nothing more than a disposed queen! They’ll crown another emperor... probably that Beta Lord."

"Please calm down, Your Highness," Nanny Peace urged, her voice shaking, though she tried to maintain her composure. "You’ll definitely get pregnant. It’s just a matter of time. Perhaps... perhaps if you drug the Emperor again, this time with something stronger...."

"No." Melissa cut her off sharply, wiping her tear-streaked face with the back of her hand. "That’s no longer an option. I have to act now, Nanny. Now. I must be pregnant by tomorrow. I must."

Nanny Peace blinked in confusion. "How will you do that, Your Highness? But... you’re not pregnant."

"I’ll fake the pregnancy," Melissa said at last, her voice low and cold, barely louder than a whisper.

Nanny Peace staggered back in shock, a wave of terror washing over her. "Your Highness, that... that’s a crime. A grievous one. Deceiving the Emperor, it’s punishable by death. Not just yours, but of your descendants... your entire bloodline!"

"No one will ever find out," Melissa said firmly, her tone turning calculating and calm. "First, we get rid of the imperial healer. That old fool will be a threat as long as he draws breath. Then, I’ll take a concoction that mimics the pulse and symptoms of pregnancy. Once a new healer checks me, he’ll confirm the lie as truth. From there, I’ll begin wrapping my abdomen, gradually faking the growth of my womb."

"And when it’s time to deliver?" Nanny Peace asked cautiously, dread thick in her voice. "Where will the child come from, Your Highness?"

"Commoners give birth every day," Melissa replied coldly, flicking a hand in the air as if it were the simplest problem. "I’ll find one, snatch one. I don’t care if it’s a boy or girl. If it’s a boy, I’ll claim him as the Crown Prince, and no new emperor will be needed. I’ll rule as Regent. But if it’s a girl, I’ll accept the situation and allow another Alpha to be crowned. It doesn’t matter."

Her lips curved into a dark smile. "Once a new Alpha is crowned, I’ll produce a son with him instead. Either way, I remain Empress. I will never lose my position, even after Lupien’s death. There are lots of people waiting for my downfall as well as my family own. The empress dowager is waiting for it and I can’t let her witness that. Instead I want to witness her death."

Nanny Peace bowed deeply, her body trembling. "Your Highness is wise... as always. I’ll handle the healer tonight and begin preparing the pulse-altering concoction right away."

Without another word, Nanny Peace turned and left the Empress’s chamber in haste, her heart heavy with fear and guilt.

Left alone, Melissa stood by her window, staring out into the open sky, her eyes dark with obsession.

"I never loved Lupien anyway. He never showed me love after all," she whispered to herself. "If I can’t bear his child, then so be it. I’ll never surrender my crown. Never."

"And if the Beta Lord takes the throne as he’s the next to be crown after Lupien if he doesn’t have an heir... so much the better. He’s far more handsome than Lupien ever was anyways. Even his concubine, Arata, is pregnant. That proves he’s not cursed. He’s virile. Capable. Useful. If I get pregnant through him, then I only need to eliminate him too later as he’s a threat to my family.

She turned away from the window and let out a wicked laughter, cold, cruel, and echoing through the chamber.