The cramps hit hard once again, and I knew I was having another child. A white-suited woman took Lona from Wolf. I cried out, both in pain and alarm, as she was whisked from my side.
I didn't have time to offer a protest, the cramps coming in waves. I screamed and tightly gripped the men's hands as the baby finally emerged. It wailed loudly, held aloft by Dr. Janet. It was a boy.
Dr. Janet wrapped it in a soft blue blanket and handed him to me. His skin was fair, like his sister's, although his hair was darker, almost black. His eyes… He opened his tiny eyes and I gasped. His eyes were dark blue. Hawk's. He was Hawk's son.
Immediately, I pulled him to my chest, hiding him within the veil of my hair. I cried over him, deep sobs quaking my body.
"Min jack, min jack, ou eil proviso tu?" I cried, whispering his name-- Sorrow, "Braoin, Braoin, min jack."
I heard Daniel mutter once again to Wolf. Wolf took Braoin from my arms, holding him gently. I watched him with wide eyes, alarmed. He would not kill him, would he?
"Non mortem!" I cried out, reaching again for my child.
Wolf shook his head, not looking up from the wide blue eyes of my child. "Owen," he said quietly, finally looking up at me.
I gasped. Surely he didn't understand. Fortunate One? How could my child be fortunate? I shook my head mutely.
Daniel spoke to me, "Lona a Owen es proviso por," he said gently.
"Veritas?" I asked, looking back to my child. Daniel nodded, smiling slightly.
I laid back in my bed, closing my eyes in relief.
"Dormitais," Daniel whispered, patting my hand.
Exhausted, I relaxed into sleep, trusting Daniel.
-ooo-
Loud voices woke me. It was late, the lights were dimmed, and I could hear Wolf arguing with Dr. Janet. I raised my head to peek around the curtain. Dr. Janet injected Wolf with something, to which he rolled his eyes and sighed.
Dr. Janet gestured toward the doorway, commanding Wolf. My eyebrows raised in astonishment. She must be more powerful than I thought.
Wolf left, grumbling.
Dr. Janet turned around with a sigh and caught me watching her.
"Lobo?" I asked, gesturing to the left of the doorway, where I had seen him turn before he was out of sight.
Dr. Janet smiled and shook her head. She said something I didn't understand. She sighed again and gestured to the left-- her fingers imitating walking. She 'walked' past two doors and turned down a hallway, stopping at the last door. She pretended to sleep.
I smiled at her, lying back. She smiled, nodded, and left.
I pretended to sleep while the nurse puttered around. Finally, she left. Drawing the curtains around my bed, I slipped out of the room and down the hall to the left, the thin dress they had provided me with opening disconcertingly in the back. There were not any people about, so I had no trouble finding my way to Wolf's door.
I tested the handle. It was not locked. I opened the door silently and crept in. I shut the door behind me, the crack in the bottom allowing the only light in. Carefully, I made my way to the bed, Wolf's silver hair guiding me like a beacon in the darkness.
I could see the outline of his body, uncovered except for a thin pair of shorts. He moaned and muttered, turning over. I moved to touch him, but pulled away as he shouted in his nightmare language.
Alarmed, I sat on the bed next to him and leaned over, reaching to shake his shoulder. He sat up suddenly, knocking me from my perch. I fell backwards with a gasp, landing heavily on the rock floor. His head pivoted, turning to look at me. I scrambled to my feet, facing him.
He stood, his face in shadows. I could not see his eyes. He stepped towards me, his hand wrapping around my throat. I squeaked out a cry of dismay as he shoved me against the smooth rock wall. His eyes were lit now, the dim light from under the door illuminating a dark, blank, sinister look. He asked me something in that strange nightmare tongue.
I shook my head, barely able to breathe. He growled and ripped away the dress I wore, the thin knot that held it together snapping without resistance. He lifted me from the floor by my throat, and I grabbed his arm, trying to take some of the weight.
"Non morti!" I whispered, fighting to pry open his fingers. "Por las jacks, non morti!" I begged. "Por min children!" I broke into what little I knew of his language. "Please!"
His grip relaxed and I fell to my knees. He said something to me, a strange mix of his true tongue and his nightmare tongue. All I heard was 'kill' and 'children'. My eyes wide and filled with tears, I looked up at him from my place on the floor.
"Anything, J'offre vu anything." My eyes shifted south, hovering on his shorts. "Please."
Wolf paused, thinking. I held my breath. He could not refuse. He could not decide I was useless. Daniel had promised my children would be taken care of, but I knew that Wolf would not be stopped if he changed his mind. He could not refuse me.
I kept my eyes steady, submissive. When Wolf moved, it was quickly. He had me up against the wall before I could gasp. One of his hands encircled my arm, the other I could feel removing his shorts. I could only see the outline of his head silhouetted in the dim light. His hand tightened, and then he yanked me onto the bed, pressing me into the soft bedclothes. His hand moved to my breast. Already sore and swollen, I whimpered in pain. He entered me than, much like the first time.
"Promesa, non kill children. Promesa!" I gasped out. He ignored me. "Please, promesa!" I begged, half-whimpering as he satisfied himself. "Please…" I was cut off as his hand clamped around my mouth.
I saw the cold blackness in his eyes as he whispered something to me in his nightmare tongue. I struggled under his hand, unable to breathe. As I was about to pass out, he released me, shoving me off the bed to land heavily on the floor.
"Leave!" he growled, pointing to the door.
"Promesa?" I begged, looking up at him from the floor.
"Leave!" he screamed, standing.
I scrambled up, snatching my dress from the floor, and left.