Page 126 of Hunt Me

“How could there be a choice if we are fated mates?”

“Oh. I have forgotten that part.”

“Why is this child so early?” she asked through clenched teeth. She leaned over the bed and placed her hands on the mattress. “She is heralding my demise.”

“This is a joyous day for Night Falls. We finally have an heir,” Dr. Blackwood said giddily, not paying Matilda or her anxiety any mind.

“Dr. Blackwood?”

“Yes, my Queen?”

“I need you to give it to me straight. Is there a chance that I don’t return?”

“Yes,” he said simply.

His bluntness hung in the air like a poisonous cloud. Eventually, he acknowledged her fears.

“I apologize, Matilda; however, turning a human isn’t an exact science. King Alesi is aware of the risks, but he believes in your strength.”

She released a shaky breath. “Belief won’t bring me back.”

A contraction ripped through her, forcing her to brace against the bedframe. Her nails dug into the wood. “Gods… she is not gentle.”

Dr. Blackwood moved to check her again, his expression tightening with concern. “She’s coming fast. Faster than expected.”

Matilda laughed bitterly when another wave hit her. She gritted her teeth and ignored the sweat beading along her brow.

“I have another inquiry,” she said to distract herself from the pain. “What happens to the king if I don’t return?”

Dr. Blackwood hesitated. “The king will do what must be done.”

Her eyes snapped to his. “Meaning?”

He sighed and resigned himself to the conversation that needed to be had.

“When Queen Anastasia died, I thought that was the end of him. I truly believed he would not survive a month. He refused blood. Refused counsel and shut himself away and allowed the hunger hollow him out. I had treated soldiers on the brink of death, but I had never seen despair like his.”

A contraction tore through Matilda, but she forced herself to listen as the physician continued.

“He would not speak or rise from the floor some days. I feared he would simply… fade. Vampires do not die easily, but grief can be its own kind of rot.”

“And you think he’d fall apart like that again if I don’t return?”

“I think,” the doctor said, meeting her eyes, “that if you do not return, he will follow you into whatever darkness took you. Whether it takes hours or years.”

Her breath hitched. “Years,” she whispered. “I could miss her entire childhood.”

“It is possible,” he admitted. “Rare, but possible. Some take days to rise. Some take seasons. A few… take decades.”

“Decades,” she mumbled.

Dr. Blackwood studied her silently, taking in the worry and indecision on her face.

“You are not certain of being turned, are you?”

“I love him.”

“That is not what I asked.”