Konstantin: The Heartless Beta

Lily

A sense of calm has come over me since meeting my mother again. She tells me stories about how life was after leaving my father, how she’s always had to look over her shoulder even after changing her appearance. My father is more evil than Fenriz could ever be by the sounds of things, but Fenriz has definitely got the temper from him.

Especially the thirst for killing Maiden Lunas.

My babies stir as my mother places her hand on my stomach, and she lets out a squeal.

"Oh, he's saying hello to me!” she gushes, rubbing my swollen belly gently.

I giggle at this and pop another cube of raw beef into my mouth; it seems the twins have been craving it lately, and it's understandable. One is a carnivore after all, and the other... well....

“I can't wait to meet him,” she croons and kisses my stomach

"You mean them, you can't wait to meet them,” I correct her, but she shakes her head.

This again. Every time I mention two babies, she rejects the idea and only talks about one. And it's always “him’, as if she knows the sex of the children already.

She suddenly sits up and looks at me. “Have you thought of a name yet, Lilith?" she asks.

I blink at this question. “To be honest, no, I haven't. Stefan has made it clear that I would be dead when I gave birth to his child.” I say.

Tienette shakes her head again. “I'm alive after giving birth to you, aren’t 1?” she says with a smile and sits up.

“You didn't give birth to a pure Succubus, Tienette. I'm half-wolf, remember?” I reply to this, but she only dismisses me with a wave.

“I'll teach you a way to survive your birth and how to control him once he's out. But first, we need a name!"

How can I make her understand that I have no intention of naming this beast inside of me? That would mean I've become attached to it, and there is no way I will ever love this creature! I'll die once I give birth, and that's it. I've come to terms with my impending demise, and I'm fine with it, but the excited look on her face makes me relent.

"Okay, but I have no idea what to call them,” I say, forcing out a smile.

“Him, just one, and I have the perfect name!”

I look at my mother, still confused as to why she rejects my other baby and why she would get excited over a name. “Okay?”

"Asmodeus,” she says with such pride that I just look at her.

Asmodeus? There's no way I would ever call my child that name. Not only is it a shitty name, but it's the name of a Demon. Did I actually have a choice in this, though? There's no way I will survive the birth of a pure Demon.

"Well?" she prods when I stay quiet for too long, and I force out a smile.

"Okay, I'll think about it-"

“I knew you'd love it!" she exclaims and throws her arms around me.

I'll never get used to this, something is entirely off about this woman, but I just can’t put my finger on it. It might be because she’s only just made an appearance in my life after I get knocked up with one of her friends’ spawns, or it could be that for the last few months, I've known nothing but misery.

Either way, I don't trust this woman calling herself Tienette Vega.

She looks at me after she breaks off the hug. “I have to go for now, but I'll be back in two days’ time.”

I nod. “I'll see you then.”

Rubbing my belly once more, she turns on her heel and walks out of my prison. She'll be back in two days, huh? I'm so close to popping that I don't think I'll survive two days longer.

Breathing out a sigh, I walk over to the reading nook by the window and lay down on the soft pillows. I've felt empty these last few days, with nothing to look forward to but death. I know this melancholy isn't good for the baby, but-

Why am I thinking about their well-being now? It's not like I'll be alive after they're born anyway, and it's not like... Konstantin's child will survive this, either.

I blink as this thought crosses my mind; I haven't thought about Konstantin since I rejected our bond. Is this the after-effects of the rejection? No, it can't be... I've hardly thought about his child either.

“I miss you,” I say out loud, my mind going to my last night with Konstantin once more, but as soon as I think about him, a sharp pain shoots up my side. “Ah, fuck,” I call out, sitting up straight and holding my belly.

What the hell is this now?

/Lily..."/

A familiar voice enters my consciousness through the fog that constantly blurs my mind. I close my eyes and try to focus on the voice calling out to me. /“Lily..."/

That's when I see her; my wolf!

One look into her silver eyes, and I start sobbing. /“Where have you been?"/ I call out, wishing I could hug her right now, but that's not physically possible at all.

/“I've always been here, just obscured by that serpent’s poison,”/ she says with smiling eyes.

/“I've missed you so much!”/

/“I've missed you too, Lily. But it would be best if you listened to me now. I don’t know how much time I have left, so I need to make this quick.”/

Frowning at her words, I nod and wait for her to continue.

/“Konstantin is still looking for us; he hasn't given up. I managed to make my way to my mate’s consciousness and spoke with him. Please don't give up on him or the Volkov's, Lily. They're looking for a way to get us back."/

/“What?"/ I ask, incredulously, /“But, I rejected him! Why is he still looking for me?!"/

My wolf looks at me sadly. /“You cannot reject your mate after the bond is anchored, Lily."/

I don't know why, but this makes me cry! After rejecting him, I cried so much that my eyes were severely swollen the following day. Stefan looked at me oddly, so did Tienette, but I did what I usually do and lied through my teeth.

/“We need you to fight, Lily. Don’t believe a word they say, especially not the female serpent.”/ /*The female? My mother?”/

My wolf gives me an odd look. /“Tienette Vega died a long time ago, Lily. That woman is not your mother."/

Before I can say anything else, my wolf is obscured by the green fog again, and I am once again left with my own thoughts.

I stand up and feel tears streaming down my face; I fucking knew it. What was the point of Stefan lying to me about my mother so that I could be complacent? I would have been, fuck, I even welcomed death a few minutes ago!

But now that I know for sure that my mate is looking for a way to get back to me, I can feel my resolve returning. I've been a doormat and slave for too long; I need to be the wolf Konstantin taught me how to be.

At the thought of my mate, another pain shoots up my side and my hand flies to my stomach. Fuck, are these contractions? Am I really that close already? But as I rub where the pain came from and look down, a jolt of fear goes up my spine.

I've heard of expectant mothers seeing a foot or hand when their babies kicked them or moved around. However, no one mentioned that you could see the claws on a demon baby’s hand when he wants you not to think about your mate.