Chapter 109

• Her mood has already begun to shift with the pregnancy—a sign, perhaps, of just how difficult the next eight months will be. I had prepared myself for the usual trials: the cravings, the mood swings, the aching, the clinging. Most Beasts grow more affectionate, even needy, when carrying. They seek warmth, touch, and reassurance. But Catherine… she surprised me. The last thing I anticipated was for her to begin wanting space—from me.
• I’ve tried everything to soothe her. I’ve offered my body as comfort, placing her gently on my lap as I work through council papers, molding myself around her when she sleeps, breathing her in, heart steady and quiet, hoping she might feel safe. Yet she pulls away. Again and again. She slips through my fingers like a wisp of smoke—choosing instead to hide from me, surrounding herself with her human companions and vanishing into corners of the estate I don’t frequent. I don’t even think she knows how much that wounds me.
• Frustration builds in my chest like a rising tide. I’m not a man given easily to desperation, but I’m close—close to calling in that human doctor of hers and demanding answers.