Thank you for reading! I don't own any of Harry Potter! Please let me know if you enjoy! Updates every second and fourth Saturday!
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Sebastian tried not to audibly purr as he moved towards Ciel with a smirk on his lips and a softness in his dark gaze.
Lady Phantomhive glanced over her shoulder, vulnerable and desperate, as he came to stand behind her.
Sebastian wrapped his arms around his small mate as she moved her hands at his silent request and allowed him to splay his fingers over her swollen womb that held their child.
Ciel drew in a deep breath as Sebastian caressed the small mound in awe.
"Goodness, my lady~..." He purred as he marveled at his amazing lover.
"I have to…..I have to make a choice." Ciel said tersely as she swallowed the thick lump of tears that had crept into the back of her throat, "I can't go on like this, the others will notice soon. My dresses fit too tightly."
"We can purchase looser dresses for you to wear." Sebastian chuckled, "However, when you're overtaken by pains one day and give birth, I'm sure that someone besides the midwife will ask more than a few questions."
Ciel frowned up at Sebastian.
He kept his hands over her little belly as he smirked down at her with a wicked smugness on his handsome face.
"I may as well fling myself from the rooftop." Ciel bitterly remarked, but Sebastian laughed in response.
"Don't be ridiculous, my lady." He cooed to his lover, "I won't hear of such talk, you belong to me…...It is my honor and pleasure to protect not only you and Lady Elizabeth now, but the life that you carry. Come," Sebastian whispered while he leaned down and let his lips brush against Ciel's ear, "...Breakfast will be served shortly, allow me to help you dress."
"NO!" Ciel cried stubbornly as she squeezed her eyes shut and grabbed Sebastian by his forearms, "I…..I can't! I can't go on like this! I need you!"
Sebastian pulled away and blinked as Ciel folded herself over her belly where his hands rested while bitter sobs began to shake her small frame.
A scowl formed on the Phantomhive's butler's pale face.
He was content to remain by his forbidden omega's side, but he would not tolerate a level of resistance that endangered his unborn pup.
He feared that Ciel's refusal of food, coupled with her emotional outburst may have negative consequences for the life inside her.
"My lady." Sebastian commanded in a low, threatening growl, "While it is the pinnacle of my existence to entertain your whims and fulfill your wishes, I'm terribly sorry to inform you that I must temporarily abandon those convictions, at least until our child safely enters the world."
Ciel looked up at Sebastian through her teary eyes as she sniffed.
"Calm yourself….." Sebastian urged her, "If you don't wish to take the morning's meal at the table, then I'll arrange to have it brought to your bedchamber…...However, if you are capable of swallowing and holding down food, you must eat."
"You can't force me to do anything!" Ciel spat angrily.
Her words were viciously venomous, but in the broken sadness that clouded her sapphire eyes, Sebastian understood the silent test that she gave him.
Ciel enjoyed presenting herself as a woman who rebelled, and it was true, her spirit was headstrong and obstinate, at least to those whom she felt coldly towards.
Yet, Lady Phantomhive was an omega and she craved a mate as badly as one broken half yearns for its other.
Ciel despised listening to her father, Edward, and anyone else, but she was secretly being driven mad with the need to listen to Sebastian, her alpha.
Lady Phantomhive badly wanted Mr. Michaelis to force her to heed his words.
She needed to know that his feelings for her were genuine enough that he would put in the effort required.
Sebastian was more than happy to display the depth of his affections for his lover.
He glared down at Ciel for a moment before he swept her off of her feet, carried her over to her bed, placed her on top of the covers, and pulled the many silk handkerchiefs from the bottom drawer of her dresser.
"Sebastian?" Ciel asked quietly while she watched him work.
One handkerchief at a time, Sebastian knotted them all together to make four separate bonds that looped around each of the bedposts and fastened tightly, but not too tightly, to Ciel's wrists and ankles.
She had ample time to flee from the room, to shout for help, or to struggle free from Sebastian's captivity.
Instead, she gladly chose to sit still and docile while her alpha bound her to the bed, brought in a plate of chocolate scones, fresh blueberries, and a cart bearing hot, Earl Grey tea.
Ciel seemed perfectly content to let Sebastian keep her restrained as he proceeded to tenderly feed her her meal.
They exchanged no words while she ate, although Ciel blushed under the intensity of his smouldering gaze.
After she had eaten her fill and Sebastian felt satisfied with the amount of nourishment that she had ingested, he fretted that a touch of melancholy may still linger in his beloved's heart.
While she sat in her silk restraints, Sebastian leaned forward and pressed a gentle kiss to her lips.
Ciel sighed against him before he moved away from her mouth and let his lips trail down her throat.
Her heart leapt as Sebastian tore the thin garment that covered her body wide open with his strong hands.
A whimper escaped her as Sebastian's fingertips traced over her skin, followed by the gentle kiss of his lips as he moved down, down, down……..
As his lady started to moan and writhe underneath him while he tended her most sensitive areas, Sebastian smirked to himself.
He and Ciel were lovers, they understood each other's wants and needs, likes and dislikes.
Although Ciel hated how he could make her his with a few simple touches and a couple of well-spoken words, he knew very well that the best way to calm and soothe his omega was by taking her on a journey that sent her soaring over rising peaks of blinding bliss.
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Sebastian did his best to hide the evidence that he had managed to swell Ciel's womb but her abdomen seemed to grow with each passing day.
Lady Phantomhive began refusing visitors as her roundness became more prominent.
She also started to spend the majority of her time at her desk, sending, reading, and responding to letters.
Edward's correspondence eventually stopped.
Sebastian and Ciel slipped into a foolishly comfortable lull during the month that followed as they wistfully believed their own fantasies that Edward had finally lost all interest in his wife and daughter.
Just before breakfast one morning, while Ciel sat at her desk, a loud knock fell on the front door.
Sebastian looked up from his work in the kitchen with a scowl on his face.
He glanced over at the oven and mentally calculated how much time he would have to return to the kitchen and retrieve the batch of scones that baked within until they burned.
It made him smirk as he vaguely wondered who favored the treats more, Ciel or his little one?
Whether it was mother or baby's taste, Sebastian's mate preferred to consume the treats whenever possible.
Sebastian sighed to himself as he quickly walked out of the kitchen after the knock fell on the door a second time.
He briskly bustled across the hallway, through the foyer, and opened the door.
It was proof of Sebastian's true talent, the way that he covered his look of shock with a cordial smile as he saw Edward Midford standing on the front step.
"Good Morning, Lord Midford." Sebastian greeted his guest politely, "What a surprise it is to see you again, sir! Welcome back to Phantomhive manor. Please," Sebastian gestured as he swept himself to the side and invited Edward into the house, "Come in, sir, and I'll be glad to take your coat."
Edward stared at Sebastian as he stepped inside the manor.
The tension rose between the two men while Sebastian smiled but Edward made no motions to remove his coat.
Sebastian tried not to acknowledge the awkwardness that hung in the air as he spoke, "I can escort you to the parlor if you'd prefer, my lord? Lady Midford is-"
"-With child, is she not?" Edward asked flatly.
Sebastian blinked.
His stoic resolve was momentarily disrupted as he asked, "I...I beg your pardon, Lord Midford?"
"A curious thing, isn't it? My wife hasn't known my touch in years, yet her womb is full." Edward said as he frowned at Sebastian, "I'm no fool, Mr. Michaelis. I know that you've laid with my wife."
Sebastian's expression of shock changed to one of anxious apprehension as he and Edward stared at each other.
Fear crept into Sebastian's mind as he wondered why Ciel's husband had come that day.
Was it to take revenge against him?
To harm his child?
To slander Ciel and slap her with the scandal of a divorce?
Sebastian kept his expression calm but his heart turned to stone as he gazed at Edward and waited for him to speak again.
Sebastian silently contemplated the potential outcomes of the situation.
The notion occurred to him that Edward's life meant nothing to him, while Ciel's, the baby's, and Elizabeth's meant everything.
As he faced Lord Midford, Sebastian secretly vowed to himself that he would take whatever actions were necessary to protect his mate, his pup, and his little princess.